Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The text for today’s meditation is John 21: 1-14

1After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

4Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5Jesus said to them, "Children, do you have any fish?" They answered him, "No." 6He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. 8The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

9When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. 10Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." 11So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. 12Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. 13Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. 14This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Friday fish fries are a cultural phenomenon back home in Wisconsin. I noticed the Catholic Church here in Scottsboro offered a Friday fish fry during Lent. Back home they are year round but just on Fridays. It’s kind of a big deal. At the fish fry you meet family and friends, and share some great food. That’s why they are so popular. The interesting thing about them is how much you look forward to them because they aren’t available all the time, again, in most places just on Fridays. When you can’t get a fish fry, you want it even more. Imagine wanting some fried catfish and only being able to get it on Friday and its Wednesday. It’s amazing how much more you want it when you can’t get it. So, walk with me, it’s Friday night and we are going into your favorite restaurant for a fish fry. Now, close your eyes, open the door, walk in, (big sniff) can you smell the fish? Doesn’t it smell fantastic? Now, comes the best part, sit down in your favorite booth with family and friends and enjoy an awesome meal and a great time.

In the text, Jesus puts on a fish fry for the disciples. They are out in a boat, fishing all night, and they catch nothing. Someone on the beach calls to them to throw the net on the other side. Can you imagine what they were thinking, "who is this guy; there aren’t any fish out here, we’ve been out here all night long." But, they did it anyway and what a catch, they couldn’t even haul it into the boat. At that point, John realizes who was standing on the beach. He tells Peter - It is the Lord! Peter got so excited he grabbed his coat, jumped in the water and headed for shore completely ignoring everyone else in the boat. After all, they just caught a boat load of fish and needed all hands on deck. He swam to shore to get to Jesus. When everyone finally gets to the shore and the fish are hauled in, Jesus treats them to some breakfast, a fish fry. Of course, a slightly different kind of fish fry, but, the excitement, the fellowship and the smells are all the same.

They looked forward to being with the Lord just like we look forward to our fish fry. They missed him; they missed Him even more when he wasn’t with them. Think about all those times when you looked back and realized that Christ was with you. Did you think "Ah, it couldn’t be a coincidence, it must be Christ; things don’t just work out that way"? As we continue our celebration of Easter we remember that Jesus is alive; He’s with us, He’s with us in the ho-hum things of our everyday life. He is with you when you go to the grocery store, the post office, Wal-Mart, or to work. God is with you when you swerve and miss the other car. His Spirit is with you when you’re in the grocery store with your children or your grand-children and you look around and they wandered off. You frantically search and finally find them in the candy isle drooling over the M&Ms. How many times have you met someone new and it was the exact person you needed, Christ is with you. When you come to His table, eat the bread, and drink the wine, He is with you in a special way. He is physically with you. When the baby is held over the baptismal font and the water is poured over their head while the word is spoken "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is with the child. He is with you everywhere you go. That’s what this text shows us. Jesus is alive and with us, His disciples.

Who is it? It’s the Lord! What a great and exciting discovery! We discover the Lord in the Lord’s Supper. Jesus says in Mark "Take eat; this is my body." And, He said "Drink of it all of you, for this is my blood." What a glorious discovery to know that he is with us physically in the eating of the bread and drinking of the wine. Jesus told the disciples in Matthew 28 "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." The end of the age is a long time; do you think he is still here with us? I know He is. He also says in John 6 "For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." He surely gives life to this world! He also makes a promise in John 6 "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out." So, discover the Lord, come to him and he will never cast you out. Come to the fish fry.

Do you see the Lord in your everyday life? Your life can become routine and seem ho-hum. Day in and day out, you struggle to get through life, not seeing the Lord with you. Recognize Jesus standing on your shore. He is there asking you to come to the fish fry. No fish fry is ho-hum, nothing is ho-hum after Sunday where you discover "It’s the Lord!" On Sunday, you are filled with the word of God and physically filled with the body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. "It’s the Lord!" Are you as excited as Peter was to get near the Lord when you come forward to receive the Lord’s Supper? Are you filled with joy like the disciples when you are in the presence of Jesus as it is revealed in the reading of the word of God? What a wonderful discovery, It’s the Lord! The disciples knew the person calling them to the fish fry was the Lord, Do you have to ask, "Who are you?" when you hear the word of God or receive communion? Or do you look forward to spending time in the presence of the Lord? I know somebody that couldn’t wait to tell people about his discovery of the Lord. Imagine a baseball player so filled with joy about his discovery that when he came into the dugout he asked every player "Do you know Jesus loves you?" He’s been to the fish fry and he is full. He is full of joy because the Lord is with him. Can you picture the baseball player? In your mind, how old is the baseball player? This baseball player is my four-year-old son and his tee ball team. He was excited that Jesus was in his daily life and wanted everyone else to have that same joy. He’s in your life too. Come to the fish fry, bring your friends and sit down to an awesome meal at the Lord’s Table. Come to the fish fry and bask in the presence of the Lord when scripture is read and preached. Come to the fish fry, He is with you and you don’t have to wait until Friday. Come to the fish fry! Amen.