More On Welcoming

And in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, that it may yield to you its increase: I am the LORD your God.

We begin today’s meditation with these most encouraging and uplifting words, which were told to us yesterday. As with the dejected disciples, your physical, mental and spiritual conditions do not alter Jesus’ plans for you in any way. No adjustments, tweaking, prolonging or waiting, nothing of the sort is done. Jesus works according to Him.

We continue exploring that early morning breakfast on the beach. Notice was taken of how Jesus was on the beach waiting for those empty-handed disciples, to feed them all He was offering. They were fed His Risen Presence. 

Jesus, though He knows that they have not yet recognized Him, still works with them. Understand this clearly. These are all people who belong to Jesus. He is still their Lord and Master. He is not operating on the premise of them knowing and recognizing Him. O no! Not at all! Jesus is operating on the singular fact that He knows His own disciples and recognizes His own, even in their different state. Are we not to fall down and worship our Jesus for who He is and will always be to us?

Thank You Jesus! Bless Your Holy Name! Amen!

Is this not totally weakening, yet strengthening; completely unbelievable, yet encouraging; fully breath-taking, yet life-giving? Jesus stands before His disciples in a different Form and they do not recognize Him. They are standing before Him in a different form, disciples tentative, empty, not knowing what to do with themselves really, going along aimlessly, yet Jesus recognizes them. Who is our Risen Lord and Master? O the utter peace and hope we have in Him! Even when we are so low, so blind, so out of it, that we do not recognize Him with us, He still showers His all upon us.

Jesus does not have to wait until we have become more sociable, more alert and more hopeful in hand and heart for Him to feed us. O no! Not at all! Jesus does not depend on you and me, His disciples, to teach us and feed us. He is our Teacher and our Lord. We are not His master and lord. He always sees us and knows us. There is never any form, at any time, which we are in, that our Jesus will not recognize us. Is that not most comforting? Does this not bring us to our spiritual knees in utter, divine praise and worship of our Jesus? Our Jesus knows us and recognizes us even when we are different.

Thank You Jesus! Bless Your Holy Name! Amen!

Who can fathom the ways and mind of Jesus? Peter has returned to his former work of fishing and others have joined him. It is interesting to note that those disciples who accompanied Peter, comprised people who were fishermen previously and others who were not. In other words, he had a mixture of competencies with him. Be that as it may, they were most unsuccessful in that fishing venture, in that they were not able to catch one single fish. Jesus saw them coming and spoke to them. Notice His wise words to them. Children, have you any food? John 21:5b. 

Remember our text, and God’s given ordering. We are in the Welcome time when we are to welcome the food before us and eat. Waiting time is over. Worship time has taken place giving rise to the Welcome time of eating the worked for fruit or food. Jesus ensures that they have food for He sends them back to work, but according to His directives. They return to their fishing, as under Jesus’ order and cast their net out according to His directive. The harvest is beyond their wildest dreams. So great is their catch, they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. John 21: 6b. What a miracle!

Linger here for a bit. Note that what we have been learning and being made to understand more clearly is that this is a time of produce receiving, a harvest time, a reaping time. This is not a time of sowing and planting. It is a time of reaping and eating. When you come into the land and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as uncircumcised. Three years it shall be as uncircumcised to you. It shall not be eaten. But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, a praise to the LORD. And in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, that it may yield to you its increase: I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 19:  23 – 25.

Indeed, it’s all about the fruit, the produce and here, Jesus makes it all possible. He ensures that His disciples have fish, produce as it were, to be eaten. Jesus has made a harvest time for them. Is He not our same Jesus? Are we not His same, aimless, longing, fruitless disciples? We must keep looking to Him and not our failed attempts and barrenness. Our present, Risen Lord is still the miracle worker as He was then. He ensures that we have a harvest, so that we can reap and eat. Just as He changed their no, we have no food, to yes, we have plenty food, He does for us. It is Jesus and Jesus alone who convincingly and decisively changes our negative response to His food question, to a positive one. He gives us a harvest that’s second to none.

I ask you, doesn’t this totally capture your heart, mind, soul and spirit? Hear again these words. See again these sights. Feed sumptuously on every single one. They are all self-explanatory, self-denying and spirit-renewing. May our Risen Lord be gracious to us, in this welcoming time.   

Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. John 21: 9. What did those disciples see? They saw a welcome fire with food to eat. They saw a most welcomed time, for they would all be hungry and ready to eat. They saw welcoming service, second to none, as cooked food, was waiting to be served to them all. They were not just given that welcome, but they were welcomed to bring some of their fish to add to the breakfast. Jesus said to them, Bring some of the fish which you have just caught. John 21: 10. Jesus has acknowledged the fruit of His obedient disciples in a most holy and uniting manner. Jesus has already caught His fish and has them on a coal fire, roasting. He has enabled His disciples to catch fish also. He tells them to bring some of their catch. How does He treat and regard the fruit of their obedience?

Tomorrow, as we conclude, we will answer the posed question.