Meditations for the Third Sunday of Easter, by Gayle Somers

St. John tells us that an appearance of Jesus at the Sea of Tiberius (also called the Sea of Galilee) was “the third time Jesus was revealed to His disciples after being raised from the dead.”  As is always the case in St. John’s Gospel, there are layers of symbolism in the simple action described.  The disciples have already seen the Risen Lord, but they have not yet been commissioned by Him to make disciples of all nations (see Mt 28:15-20), nor have they received the promised Holy Spirit for the power they will need for this work (see Acts 1:4).  For now, they are still fishermen.  Surely they wondered what would come next.  With time on their hands and a living to earn, they decide to go fishing, which was usually done at night on that sea.