The Same But Different

by Roberts Mohns

In the last chapter of his Gospel, John records the third appearance of the Lord to His disciples. From all external appearances, it seems as though everything is back to normal. John tells us that after the resurrection of Jesus, seven of the disciples returned to the Sea of Tiberius. Peter restarts his fishing vocation and the others join him.

As it happened, they were skunked. This is a familiar fishing experience for me, but I am not sure whether it would also be familiar to those seasoned commercial fishermen. The night came to an end. At the break of day, Jesus appears and instructs them to cast their nets in a different direction. You know the story. The nets were filled. John, the beloved child of the Lord, recognizes Him first and announces to Peter and the others that “it is the Lord.” Immediately upon hearing the Gospel announcement, Peter climbs out of the boat and rushes to meet Jesus. A fellowship meal follows, and then the blessed restoration and commissioning of Peter to be a shepherd of Christ’s flock takes place.

Though the disciples’ lives appeared to be ordinary, they were different. This last chapter of John reminds us that amid the ordinary, Jesus is present with His people, providing for us, feeding us, forgiving us, sending us.

I am particularly aware that among the disciples present that day was believing Thomas. He is the disciple who, at one time, had broken fellowship with the disciples and disbelieved in the resurrection. The Lord appeared to Thomas in the very midst of his doubts. In the presence of the resurrected Christ, at the Lord’s command, Thomas was given to believe.

Now in this Gospel text we hear Thomas abiding in the fruits of the Lord’s resurrection. Restored to fellowship with the disciples and the Lord, he is present to witness the signs of Jesus’ gracious and merciful presence. He sees firsthand the Lord’s restoration and commissioning of Peter. I cannot imagine what must have been going through Thomas’ mind as he witnessed the depth of the Lord’s love!

We should not miss the significance of Thomas’ presence here. This man was once separated from the Lord and the disciples by unbelief; but here he is included in the joyous work of Jesus restoring a fallen brother. I don’t know if Thomas’ life ever returned to the ordinary, but I do know his life was different because of Jesus.

In our longing to return to the ordinary there is a temptation to hope that our lives will be better. We hope that when our lives return to normal we will experience rest—perhaps healing, hope, health, and all the rest of what we hold to be valuable. Instead, the Lord directs our focus to Himself and to His promises. We know that Peter’s life did not return to the ordinary: called to be a fisher of men, the Lord commissioned him to be a shepherd to His flock.

When the Lord’s Church was driven from Jerusalem, the city of peace, and into the world where they suffered persecution, when it seemed that their whole world had come to an end, the Lord raised up Peter to proclaim the Lord’s promise once again. They might have longed for a return to the ordinary lives they enjoyed in Jerusalem, but the Lord, through His servant Peter, called His Church in diaspora to cast the net of their eyes in a different direction, to look to the promised blessing of a new home, a heavenly home:

I pray we would take these words to heart. Whether the Lord will grant us a return to the ordinary, I don’t know, but I know that our lives are different now. May our eyes and hearts remain focused on Jesus and rush to meet Him where He bids us to find Him: in His Holy Word and blessed Sacraments, in the communion of His people. May the fruits of our Lord’s bloody death and triumphant resurrection bring healing, unity, and peace in and among us, and peace at the last with all the saints in His heavenly Kingdom which has no end.

Rev. Robert Mohns is Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC)'s West Regional Pastor.