Lord, is it You?
Come and have breakfast.

After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tibe’ri-as

Hey, I’m going fishing. Want to come? Sure Peter, let’s do it!

We’ve been here all night and we’re coming up empty. It’s been great hanging out, but let’s head… hold on, there’s someone on the beach. Wait, He’s saying something. What? Cast over the other side? Uh, ok.

Look at this, a huge load of fish. Wait, this seems familiar. Look, it’s the Lord. Peter, it’s the Lord.

We can all picture ourselves in this scene. I can picture the morning sun on the water, the boat a little offshore, the scent of the charcoal fire and the fish cooking.

I always think how beautiful it would be to be there that morning. Recognizing Jesus after we had been separated for some time. His invitation to “Come and have breakfast.” Sitting on the beach with the Lord, having the breakfast He prepared, listening to Him, just being in His presence.

This breakfast is much like our everyday lives.

In today’s Gospel we see that Jesus “showed himself,” “revealed Himself,” “manifested Himself,” or even “clarified Himself” to the disciples. John uses the verb “reveal” twice in today’s Gospel. As far as the Gospel of John is concerned, he notes, This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. The third time must have been the “charm” because John doesn’t recount any of the other appearances, even though Luke and Acts tell us that Jesus kept appearing to them over the course of 40 days. John’s Gospel and Letters use the verb “reveal” eighteen times in total. Compared to the two times it is used in the other three gospels, Jesus’ re-revelation must have been an important concept to John.

We are blessed because this process of re-revealing is not over. The Holy Spirit is constantly re-revealing Jesus to us. Not through spooky “appearances,” but in our hearts.

Like the disciples, sometimes we miss it, don’t get it or get separated. We need to be reminded of the cost of our redemption and the joy that is within our reach. As we walk through our everyday tasks, in our jobs, at home, in our hobbies and pastimes (even fishing) we may well forget the presence of Jesus, His closeness to us, and the fact that He wants us to recognize Him in all things. Jesus is waiting for us to get it, to see Him.

In every moment of our lives we need to recognize Jesus. From breakfast to bed recognize Him.