"...because they realized it was the Lord” John 21:12.
“Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord” John 21:12.
In this final appearance of the Risen Lord to the Disciples recorded in the Gospel of John, they knew it was Jesus, even though he did not look the same way he did when he was in his earthly body. They “realized it was the Lord”, but they did not see the same Lord that had been there before. Webster's dictionary defines “Realized” as “to cause to seem real” or “to be fully aware of something.” How did they know it was Jesus?
First, they knew by the miracles. The disciples had been out fishing all night, and had caught nothing. Some man from the shore calls out and says, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They dejectedly answer “no.” So this guy, casually says to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they do as he instructs, and immediately, they have so many fish they can hardly carry it. Then the Disciple who Jesus loved told Peter, “It is the Lord”. Without a doubt, the disciple lovingly connected to Jesus knew it was him through the miracles.
Second, they knew it was Jesus because he fed them. He already had a charcoal fire waiting for them with bread and fish ready to eat. In feeding their bodies, before they even ask, Jesus is able to feed their spiritual needs as well. Remember, the disciples are still in shock and grieving over the crucifixion, and they are also afraid for their own lives. The man on the shore feeds them, and that is how they know it is Jesus.
Finally, they know it is Jesus through his insistence on love. Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him. “Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you” John 21: 17. Jesus is demanding love for him, as God, and also that Peter demonstrate this love to the world. After each confession of love, Jesus asks Peter to “feed” or “tend” his “lambs” and “sheep.” These are images of the vulnerable and the innocent. Jesus wants them to be loved and cared for.
With the coming of Christmas this week, we are also at the advent of a new year.
How will we be different in this new year? How will the light and love of Christmas change us? How will we use the light and love that we received in the Incarnation of Christ to make ourselves and the world better?
Fr. Richard Rohr reminds us in his book The Universal Christ (2019, p. 161): “Almost all people are carrying a great and secret hurt, even when they don’t know it. When we can make the shift to realize this, it softens the space around our overly defended hearts. It makes it hard to be cruel to anyone. It somehow makes us one…”
God is love. It is stated and demonstrated throughout both the Old and New Testaments. God only asks us to love him and receive his love. When we live in this love, we are able to love each other, and see that God loves all of his creation. God Incarnated into creation because he loves it and us. As we move forward into Christmas, and into the New Year, my prayer is that we are all able to repeat to ourselves on a daily basis, and come to realize that, “I am deeply loved by God.”