Third Sunday of Easter

The Circle of Life

When life gets complicated, we tend to find ways to comfort ourselves. A nice diversion perhaps…a good book, maybe a movie that doesn’t need much thought to understand. A good hobby, craft, or other past-time gives us a temporary repreeve from the struggles we sometimes face. Diversions are good things! Diversions are good things as long as they are healthy. We are prone to finding unhealthy ways in dealing with challenges of life. Addictive behaviours perhaps cause us to stumble. Perhaps we hide ourselves in our work. Perhaps we fall back into old, unhealthy, familiar habits which cause us to stumble. We fall full circle into the familiar, instead of expanding ourselves into the potential that we can be.

The circle of life can be draining. Jesus’ disciples didn’t fair well after Jesus was taken from His earthly ministry. In fact, all the teachings, all the lessons Jesus’ taught them seemed to disappear, and the disciples reverted back to a lifestyle that was familiar to them. They buried themselves in their work, returning to the lifestyle of fishermen.

John 21:1–14 NIV

Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 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. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

How often do we fall into the trap of reverting back to the familiar. When the going gets tough we, well we fall back into something comfortable. The disciples did that. Their story came full circle to right where they started their ministry work. Fishing, casting their nets. What Jesus reminded the disciples this time around was that we can’t simply revert back to our pasts, to the comfortable. We can’t simply cast our nets out randomly, for when we do, our nets will be empty. Jesus taught us the true way to live our lives. Jesus taught us to be eternity focused, not to stress about the mundane issues that fill our minds and actions.

Are you casting your nets on the wrong side of the boat? Has your live turned full circle, have your actions reverted to some unhealthy choices? If so, I urge you to focus on the one true perfect circle that is with us: God himself. The omni-present God, creator of this marvelous world which we are privileged to live in. the omnipotent Lord who provides us with the perfect Circle of Life: birth, living, death, eternal life to come.

I invite you over these next weeks as we look closer at our own little circles. We will take some time to develop strategies to enlarge our circles through prayer, workship, study; through self examination and correction of our actions.

The Psalmist reminds us the God’s plans for us are eternal. His plan began with creation, and unfolds for us in our journey through life…through this circle of life.

Psalm 33:1-11 “Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.”