John 21: 1-14 The Old Man and the Sea

In 1960 the novel for Year 11 English was Ernest Hemingway’s "The Old Man and the Sea." It’s about an old fisherman who set out from Cuba to catch his big fish and how he single handedly took a marlin much bigger than his boat. It tells of the personal battle which took something like 4 days before he could get the fish alongside his boat to harpoon it, as well as the battle against the sharks to bring it ashore.

Today we’re talking fish and fishing. The disciples were at a loss because Jesus was no longer with them. Imagine them walking aimlessly up and down the beach, kicking the sand, the seaweed or the rocks talking of what had been and what could have been saying some- thing like: "I'm bored. What'll we do?" Then impetutous Peter says "Well I'm going fishing." The others chorus back "We'll come too." After all, what else was there to do. But these expert fishermen, these professional anglers spent the night in a fruitless exercise until a stranger on the beach calls out to them to throw their net on the other side.

Don't you hate it when you know what you are doing some person you don't know comes up and says that you are doing it wrong, and adding insult to injury, proceeds to tell you how to do it. Anyway, they did as they were told: the catch was gigantic; they were unable to haul in the net because of the large number. Then they recognised that it was the Lord who spoke.

So what is here for us this morning?

Firstly, when we try to do things in our own strength, the exercise is fruitless - there is no real gain - maybe except for only a good night out, but with nothing to show for it.

Secondly, we do not always recognise the Lord in the things that we are doing. But if we are obedient then then we will see results.

Thirdly, it is Jesus who sets the game plan, not us if we want to see fruit for our labours.

Why is this story placed after the resurrection of Jesus when the other gospel writers have it as an event before his death and resurrection. Maybe John is talking about the disciples and the church. Maybe he is talking about you and me and our task as followers.

You see, a follower of Jesus in this context is to be a fisherman - Jesus said "I will make you fishers of men." For, as I have been sent, I now send you.

When growing up we had holidays at Koondrook on the Murray. One Christmas I was given my own fishing rod so I went to the river to fish. I’d watched my dad and my uncle, but didn't know anything about fish, or fishing but I caught a tidler. Fishing has never turned me on: sitting on the bank doing nothing, waiting for something and losing everything. But then, I didn't ever try to learn what I should be doing; when and how.

Jesus has called us to be fishers of men. Some of the men we are to catch are big beauties - so, back to the "Old Man and the Sea."

The old man had a variety of bait, a variety of lines set at different depths and then he had to wait. Patiently. The fish will only bite when they are ready. He had to have sensitive hands - to feel when the fish was biting at the line - he had a pile of sardines on the hook, bigger and bigger as they went up the hook. He had to resist pulling on the line until the larger fish had been taken into the fish's mouth. And even then, he had to give it a tug to enable the hook to catch deep down inside the fish, but not pull so hard that all it did was tear the flesh enabling the fish to unhook itself.

These old hands took a beating as held onto this big fish giving it line and also gradually keeping the tension on it to slowly draw it in. He had to learn give and take, a sense of win and lose. At times the fish would go down to the depths, other times it would surface. Mostly it stayed submerged where its beauty and attraction was difficult to be seen, where the light was not able to shine upon it.

Catching a fish of this size was no simple matter - no hook and toss - but was a fight to the end. Nor is the fish co-operative, giving up without a fight. The sensitive hands became cramped. They were slashed by the sharp cord which burned into the flesh as it ran through his hands. His hands were mushy pulp which he had to dip into the salt water to be cleansed. The old man struggled for 5 days.

A follower of Christ will have similar experiences if we take our fishing seriously. In our communities there are some big fish - and they will not give up without a battle. God has a purpose and a plan for each one of us, but at times sin in our lives so directs us and it is really the sin that is within us that causes the battle. The conflict between independence and dependence. The battle of the will and whether I am prepared to give up my will to serve a will greater and better than my own.

Christians need patience. They need to know the game plan. They need to hear the word of Jesus from outside of us telling us what to do, where to do it, and how. We need to be equipped, knowing the strategies of the Evil One who is equally at work to frustrate the works of God.

But we know that it is the power of the resurrection that is at work within us. It is the power of God's love which he has lavished upon us. And this is a power that will win in the end, and all the fish will be caught, because the power of love is the victory of the Cross.