May 3, 2019
Gospel stories don't often have neat or easy summaries, but if there is one for the first part of this Sunday's Gospel (read it here), it might be the expression, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always had." After some of the disciples had gone back to their normal work routine, but had had a long and entirely unsuccessful time of it, they receive strange instructions from someone they don't recognize. They follow his prompt anyway, and they are wildly successful. And it's then that they recognize that the stranger is the resurrected Jesus. Jesus suggests something new. Something different. And when the story continues, Peter receives an even greater gift -- that of forgiveness, in the form of being entrusted with practical work to do on Jesus' behalf. What a great story we get a chance to explore on this, the Third Sunday of Easter. See you Sunday,
John