May 2025

The story of Jesus’ death cuts to the core. His resurrection is a miraculous gift that words just can’t encapsulate. What was it like to be there? I can’t quite imagine “all the feels” of that weekend for those closest to Jesus. The disciples find themselves playing catch-up with what has happened. They had to be confused, hurt, overwhelmed and full of so many raw emotions simultaneously. In fact, when we look at this story in hindsight—the disciples, Jesus’ friends, the women at the tomb—all lived through these unprecedented events in real time. The resurrection was still being digested, if they could even fathom it all.

Around the third time Jesus shows up, the disciples all decide to go fishing. This seems an odd or quaint way to spend their time, yet for the disciples, fishing is familiar. It’s their old way of life, how they made a living, and something that is likely second nature to them. They can push out to sea and enjoy the movement of the boat on the waves. Together, they will cast nets and pull them in, getting into the rhythm of it all like a band trying to find its groove. Perhaps it is calming for them to do something they know so well; just as returning to something we know often helps us deal with emotional overload and gives us a reprieve from the chaos that comes with living.

The big difference for the disciples is this: they are now living in a world in which there is amazingly no escape from Jesus. In fact, after the resurrection, the routine is no longer routine; the regular is no longer regular. It works the same for us: nothing can separate us from the love and presence of God. Thanks be to God! So even when they go fishing, Jesus is there. Wherever they might find themselves, the Lord is there… waiting to comfort them, offer nourishment, and walk with them; proving to them that He will be with them always.

In all of this, we are reminded that, no matter how we are feeling, Jesus is with us. May we have eyes to see, as they do, that Christ is with us all, in the ordinary, in the way-too-stimulating world. May we all find ways to sit with Jesus, lost in the waves of the sea if you will, to enjoy time with him and escape the overwhelming world … if only for a while.

Selah,

Pastor Eric