When my son was in elementary school I made it a habit to visit him at lunch often. There is nothing like sitting on too-small stools at a long table with a bunch of grade school kids. You learn a lot of things. One day I noticed one of my son’s friends at the end of the table looking despondent. His head was drooping, almost touching the table, and he wasn’t talking to anyone in particular. I asked what was wrong and he looked at me and said the following:
“My life is over.”
I quickly found out he had just gotten caught stealing an extra serving of milk. His parents would have to be informed. I tried to cheer him up but to no avail. As far as he was concerned, this was the end.
This is a funny story because we know the truth. This wasn’t a life-ending event for him even if he thought it was. There would be repercussions but life would indeed go on. I am sure that at the moment he was thinking there was no coming back from this. But he was wrong.
Sports is a lot like that too, especially football. You cheer for your favorite team, but what happens when they are down by a lot late in the game? Do you stick with them to the bitter end, or do you turn off the television because you don’t want to see them lose? I usually turn it off. But every once in a while that mentality backfires and you miss an amazing comeback. The game isn’t necessarily over when you think it is.
This brings us to the star of the show for today. Peter. The man labelled as the rock of the church. Jesus’ right-hand man, so to speak. Here is how they met:
Luke 5:1-11
5 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
You might be familiar with this story. Peter gets his start with the faith this way. He leaves everything and starts fishing with Jesus. But what happened when Jesus was arrested? Did Peter come to his aid? No. In fact he denied he had any association with Jesus three times.
Peter’s life is over. At least that is what he thinks.
But there is a second chance here.
John 21:1-6
21 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
Notice the parallels between the two stories. They happen in the same place (the sea of Gennesaret is another name for the sea of Galilee). Peter and the others went to fish but didn’t catch anything. They were only able to catch fish when Jesus instructed them. And then they caught so many that their boat was in danger of sinking.
This is the third time that Peter met Jesus in a boat. His reaction the first time was to tell Jesus to go away from him, for he was a sinful man. The second time was the famous “walking on water” story, and Peter’s reaction is quite different. He tests Jesus. Peter asks for a miracle (allowing him to walk on water too) if it is really Jesus. The third and final time is after the resurrection, and the reaction from Peter is very different yet again. He jumps in the water to get to him as fast as he can. In a way this is the evolution of faith for Peter. I have seen many people mirror this behavior in their own lives. They move from not wanting God to come near, to putting conditions on their faith, to full-on acceptance. It is a journey a lot of us make.
Peter gets his chance to fish again. His life is not over.
Your life isn’t over either. You can always pick up the net and start fishing again. May it be so.
God Bless