John 21:11-12

So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.

From Background Notes [BN] for April 6^th & 7^th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

What do you do when your past feels shameful, and the person you hurt the most is suddenly standing within ear-shot? Why, you do what Peter did. You find ways to avoid eye-contact! You get dressed!

 

 
You busy yourself with the concrete tasks at hand, in this case, hauling in the net “full of fish” across a football field of water to the shore. Then, once ashore, you make an accounting of your catch: 153 fish. That little detail escaped me for many years, as I hastened to get to the good parts of the story. Did you ever wonder what the deal was with telling the reader there were 153 fish? Scholars have exhausted their resources teasing out possible meanings, including the Jewish belief that there were 153 different species of fish. Frankly, that might well be true, and John might have his reasons for highlighting that cryptic fact, but I’m attracted to a simpler reason for giving us the number: Peter counted the fish — every last one of them! That’s right, wanting to delay the inevitable confrontation with Jesus, Peter busied himself with counting the fish, one by one, looking efficient and responsible at his work. We sometimes turn to mundane tasks as distractions from other, more pressing demands on us.  [BN, 3-4]

Join us this week in Study, Worship, Praise and Celebration at Chicago First Church of the Nazarene:

* Saturday 6:00pm
* Sunday 8:30am & 11:00am