In today's Gospel reading from John 21, Jesus gives the disciples a fishing lesson. Well, maybe not so much a fishing lesson as a lesson in obedience.
Simon and Andrew, James and John were all professional fishermen. Before following Jesus, they fished the Sea of Galilee for a living. So they probably thought it odd that, after fishing all night and catching nothing, Jesus told them to cast their nets off the right side of the boat. But, in obedience, they did. And they caught an enormous number of fish.
You're probably very good at what you do for a living. How would you react if someone told you to do something that seemed ridiculous or counter-intuitive? You'd probably resist, right? After all, you know what you're doing. Perhaps that's how Peter and the others felt. I mean, what difference would it make which side of the boat they fished from? What if that someone making that crazy suggestion was God? Obedience paid off for the disciples that day. And it will pay off for us as well.
Father, teach us to be obedient, even when what you ask of us seems ridiculous to us. Give us faith in your outcome. Amen.
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