There’s a lot going on in today’s readings, lots of important details, but at this time of year it’s hard for me to not to just think about going fishing. 

 

Fishing is one of my favorite summer activities.  I grew up fishing the Iowa River with my dad, but now we typically just go to farm ponds and central Iowa lakes.  I haven’t been fishing much around here yet, I hear there are some great places to go, so I have some friends that want to take me if things ever slow down!

 

I consider myself a decent fisherman, but that doesn’t mean I always catch something. In today’s Gospel, we hear the Apostles were having a hard time catching anything either, until Jesus directed them.  Jesus wanted them to bring some of their fish so He could cook it for breakfast as well.

 

It’s pretty rare for us here in Iowa to have fish for breakfast, (unless you are friends with Michael Kaye and are around the radio station on Friday morning), but I imagine it was a common thing for those that lived around the Sea of Tiberias.  Plus, Jews at that time were still anti-pig, they considered the animal unclean, so no pork sausage or delicious bacon to enjoy for breakfast.

 

So these seven Apostles hadn’t caught anything in their boat that night.  You can bet that with seven men, there were at least seventy-seven opinions on where the best spot was to catch fish, and likely they were all frustrated by the time the sun began to rise.  

 

It is then at dawn that Jesus appears on the shore and tells them the right fishing spot, and they make a miraculous, abundant catch, 153 fish. There’s a lot of symbolism here, but I think the important things are the boat, which is a symbol for the Church, and the importance of the people in the boat, the people in the Church, who listened to Jesus in order to be successful and find what they were looking for.

We hear Peter and the apostles say in that first reading, “we must obey God rather than men” and no doubt it was this fishing trip combined with many other encounters with Jesus that made them realize they had to listen and obey Jesus.

 

When a fisherman proves that He knows where the fish are, the rest of the guys will start to listen to him and obey him on which spots to go to because they trust him.  Jesus proved to these guys over and over that He was trustworthy, in more ways than just fishing.

 

One of the most interesting things about today’s Gospel happens after the miraculous catch and the fish breakfast, when Jesus talks to Peter.  He asks him three times, “do you love me?” 

 

What is interesting is that we read the word “love” six times, the question and the response, but in the original language, in the Greek, there were four different words for love.

 

So Jesus actually asked Peter, “do you agape me,” or “do you love me unconditionally?” And Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I philia you.” or I love you as a brother.  Think of the city of Philadelphia, which stands for the City of Brotherly Love, that’s what Philia means.

 

A second time Jesus asks Peter, “do you agape me, do you love me unconditionally?”  But Peter answers again, “Yes, Lord, you know that I philia you.” I love you as a brother. 

 

Now guys, imagine if you were going out on a limb and telling a girl you loved her for the first time, and she comes back and says, “I like you too.” Clearly the feelings don’t match, she can’t say “the word.” It would be disappointing, right?

 

Just like any human would, Jesus wants Peter to answer with the same kind of love that he is expressing to him, but Peter must not be there yet, he must not be able to say that “word” yet.  

But, on Jesus’ third question, rather than being disappointed again, He meets Peter where he is at.

 

Jesus says, “Do you philia me?”  to which Peter says, “you know that I philia you.” Jesus met him where he was, and even though Peter wasn't exactly where Jesus hoped he would be, He still puts Peter in charge of His Church by saying feed and tend my sheep, He still makes him the first Pope.

 

It is not really different today, Jesus still wants to meet us where we are at, still wants us to be fed and tended by the Pope and the Church.  Sheep recognize the voice of the shepherd who feeds them and truly cares for them, despite the other voices.

 

Just like fishing with a big group of men who all have their own opinions on the right spots to find the fish we are looking for, there are many voices, many people in our culture who will tell us their opinions on where to find what we are looking for, whether that is love, happiness, peace, or joy... everyone wants to tell us where to go, to have us listen to them and obey them.

 

But “we must obey God rather than men.”  Jesus proves to us over and over that He is trustworthy and that He has left his Church to guide us to our deepest desires.

 

We are all on different faith journeys, we all have different levels of trust for Jesus and His Church, but if we are willing to follow Jesus, if we are willing to listen to and obey the Church, then we too will be fed abundantly.

 

And it’s easy to think this is just metaphorically being fed, but we shouldn’t discount the idea of literally being fed, we shouldn’t discount this notion of having a meal. Think about your best friends, the people you are closest to, you probably eat with them quite regularly.  I know I do, it is one of my favorite things to do with my friends and family is to share a meal. Why is that?

 

Sharing a meal is a great way to get to know someone.  It’s something that we all love to do, or at least need to do, so we are going to do it anyway, it is universal, but it is just a great time to get to talk, to have a great conversation, and to grow in trust, right?  To grow in love. Love and trust, they go hand in hand.

 

Around the dinner table is where we share more than just a meal, we share our hearts.  We talk about what we love and who we love, we get to know each other better, and as we do, we grow in love with one another.

 

At Kairos this last weekend, someone made the point, “you cannot love someone that you don’t know.”  This is so very true. “You cannot truly love someone that you don’t know.” 

 

So it makes total sense that at the heart of our worship experience is a meal, a sharing with one another here in communion, where we share a meal with our God, and with each other.  

 

Just like the cross, the horizontal and vertical are so important. We break bread with God, then we step outside and break donuts with each other ( - at least we do after the 9:30am Mass).  Or we go out to eat with each other…

 

The whole point of donuts is that we talk to each other and get to know each other better.  

 

This is a family too, a church family that strengthens us to then go and strengthen our own family. 

 

As we turn towards the Altar to be fed with Jesus’ Body and Blood, I pray that He will once again meet us where we are at and help us to know Him more and trust in His unconditional love, so that we too can respond with love for Him and for everyone in our lives.