Gospel Message & Recording
In today’s Gospel reading Jesus appears to his disciples for the third time after His resurrection at the Sea of Tiberias, where they are found attempting to fish. Simon Peter and a few other disciples were present. It was evening. Peter went fishing and the other disciples followed. It so happened that they caught no fish. When the morning had come, unbeknownst to the disciples, Jesus stood by the shores and told the disappointed disciples to go back into the sea and fish again, this time casting their nets to the right side of the boat. The result was amazing! They not only caught enough fish but more than they needed.
Here, we learn a valuable lesson, that is, there is a set time that God has prepared for us to receive our blessing—when He is present. In other words, the evening was not the time that the Lord had prepared for them to receive their “catch,” because He was not present. It’s when Jesus was present that the disciples were able to catch more than enough fish. Similarly, in our lives, we might be wondering why God is not doing anything. Well, maybe it’s because Jesus is not present in what we are doing!
The Bible talks about bearing good fruit. “A bad tree does not bear good fruit. Nor does a good tree bear bad fruit.” (Luke 6:43) This verse from the Gospel of Luke can be connected to today’s Gospel reading in that when Jesus is present in what we are doing we bear good fruit. When He is not present, we will bear bad fruit. Christ gave the blessing for the disciples to go and fish in the morning and that’s the reason why they were able to “bear fruit,” or rather catch fish. Conversely, He was not present in the evening, that’s why they were not able to “bear fruit,” or rather catch no fish.
So how do we make sure Jesus is present?
- Make sure that you are at peace. If there is confusion Jesus is most likely not present. In a good decision, directed by God, there is clarity. This is done by praying consistently about a decision and asking God for a sign or for Him to bring you to a place of peace.
- Listen to good counsel either by parents or spiritual fathers. Don’t disregard what other people think. In some cases, they might be wrong but there are always some “nuggets” of wisdom that you can take away. At the same time, don’t ask everyone and anyone about how to create your decision. Keep the “circle of trust” slim. Don’t go around talking about your indecision to others, which will only cloud your good judgment.
- Don't make a decision based on competition, jealousy or out of spite. Christ will no bless such decisions.
- Wait. If your “gut” is telling you to wait a while before making a decision in order to assess the positives and negatives and then make a measured decision—then do exactly that. Never jump into making a decision.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- “Here, we learn a valuable lesson, that is, there is a set time that God has prepared for us to receive our blessing—when He is present. In other words, the evening was not the time that the Lord had prepared for them to receive their “catch,” because He was not present. It’s when Jesus was present that the disciples were able to catch more than enough fish. Similarly, in our lives, we might be wondering why God is not doing anything. Well, maybe it’s because Jesus is not present in what we are doing!” Discuss. Comment.
- Do you feel that Christ is present in your decision-making? If not, what can you do to change that? If so, what are you doing that could be shared with the group?
- We listed four ways to make sure Christ present in our decision-making. Which one stood out to you the most? Which one have you used? Which one do you want to use in the near future?