Casting the Net on the Other Side

Anton DeWet

John 21:1-13

We have probably all heard the story of the guy was desperate to win the lotto. He obsessed about this and eventually began to pray to God to help him win the lotto. This went on for weeks, and on a clear day, standing on his porch, he looked up and broke out into prayer:

“Please God, please let me win the lotto tonight.”

A voice boomed from the blue skies: “Then help me out and buy a ticket for a change.”

Someone once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.

There is an element of this in today’s story. The story is told as though Jesus has appeared to the disciples after his crucifixion and resurrection but they do not recognize him at first. They have been fishing the whole night. They were back to doing the things they used to do. And then a stranger appears and says to them; “throw your net in on the other side of the boat.”

Simon Peter was a rough and ready kind of guy who stood for no nonsense. I wonder what he thought of this stranger telling him how to go about his business—a business he knew well as a seasoned fisherman. One would have expected Peter to have told this stranger intruding into their workspace to take a hike. But for some reason he relents and casts his net again and the story tells us this time the net overflowed with fish.

There is a very small probability that this is an accurate description of an actual historical event but that’s not what’s important. There are a number of wonderful lessons to learn from this story.

Casting one’s net on the other side after you have worn yourself out trying to reach a certain goal and then, by actually taking a chance by changing direction in one’s life, you suddenly find yourself where you had never dreamed of being.

Our lives are all at different places because we are such a diverse group of people. Some of us are extremely content with our lives. We may be of a younger generation and things are developing well for us. Or we may be retired and happy with how our lives have turned out. We might be happy in our marriage or relationship—we might find peace in our love for this land and its people—one might be deeply grateful for one’s family and friends—for one’s children and grandchildren.

But reality also suggests that there are at least times in our lives when we feel deeply frustrated. There are times when our relationships fail or disappoint us when they turn out to become stale and uninspiring.

There are times when our careers or lack of one, leaves us feeling useless. As though our life has been wasted and time is just clicking by.

There are times when tragedy strikes and we feel abandoned and swept into despair.

There are bitter memories that hold us captive to old family feuds or failed friendships and we are wounded and pained by these memories.

There are times when we feel that our expectations of God have been destroyed and then we panic and even leave the church and turn our back on God.

Our society undergoes great changes—our country undergoes great changes—our politics undergo great changes—our church undergoes great changes—and we become lost and alienated. We don’t know where we belong. We don’t know if God is real. We become anxious and we feel like tumbleweed being driven wherever the wind blows us with no control or sense of belonging and we despair.

Because we are creatures of habit, we become disoriented when our habits—our rituals—our sense of order is disturbed and we become unhappy.

If ever someone’s sense of order was disturbed, it was these poor disciples. If ever there was a group whose dreams had been shattered it was these disciples. If ever there was a group whose future had been destroyed, it was these disciples.

The one person who had become their anchor—their hope—their bright morning star in the midst of the dark night—had been killed as a common criminal. What remained for them but to return to their former lives—give up on the dream and settle for the mediocrity of their former lives.

It takes this stranger on the shores of a lake they knew like the back of their hands, to teach them a lesson. Cast your nets on the other side. And when they do this they recognize their future. They see how blind they have been.

According to our records, these same demoralized beaten men and women actually began to understand that the death of Jesus was not the end… it was only the end of the beginning. And so we know that these early disciples got going again. They got together in Jerusalem and they began to do what Jesus had tried to teach them all along. They accepted responsibility to become God’s hands and eyes and ears.

They formed communities called churches and they described them as the body of Jesus Christ. With him being the head and they being the hands and heart and feet and ears. They went out and invited others to accept God’s new message of love and forgiveness and hope. They built the foundations of a movement that understood God in new ways and today we are the ongoing product of their work and vision. Without them this church would not be here today for no one would even know who Jesus was.

From a beaten, demoralized group of ordinary people they decided to cast their nets in a different way that transformed not only their own lives, but that transformed the whole world.

Are we not sometimes so afraid to cast the net on the other side? To break free from the bonds of comfort and ease—form the bonds of familiarity, and cast our lives in a different direction?
That’s what I view to be trusting God. By accepting that we cannot change the things that fill us with anxiety and fear and pain and despair, how about deciding that with that in mind, we are going to change the way we look at it and in stead of viewing it as a constant negative that is dragging us down begin to see it as an ally that will motivate us to rise above it.

People who are able to accept their circumstances and jump into the journey of life with hope and passion inevitably succeed in enhancing not only the quality of their own lives, but they enhance the quality of life for a number of others around them.

I know some of us have taken a beating in life. But no one can change that. We cannot go back and undo something. We can only go forward and do something constructive. God calls us forward into the world. That’s why there is so much emphasis on forgiveness. Not because God is always keeping score of our sins but because its much more important that we get over our sins and get on with life. Forgiveness says: “Its over now. Forget it. Begin afresh—anew.”

Jesus never spent time prying into people’s lives and trying to figure out what went wrong with them to reach this point. His reaction was virtually always immediate: “You are forgiven! You are healed! Now get on with your life…”

There are a myriad reasons why we can look at our lives and feel despondent and depressed and wounded and limited. But there are more reasons why we can draw a line behind the past and move on with our lives. We don’t have to forget—but we don’t have to be bogged down by the past either. That is not God’s way. That is not what Jesus taught us.

This fishing trip of the disciples is one of the most inspiring stories for those among us who tend to remain caught up in our own circumstances. For those of us who tend to become weighed down by our experiences—cast your net on the other side. For those who fear what is happening in the world—let’s cast our nets on the other side. For those whose painful memories hold us down—let’s cast our nets on the other side. For those who fear the future of Faith Church—let’s cast our nets on the other side.

Jesus’ disciples did that and the net came up teeming with fish. God awaits our cast to see our surprise as we change our attitudes and transform our values and when our lives take on a totally new meaning filled with hope and promise.

That fishing trip changed the lives of these beaten disciples and they became an unstoppable force of good that rocked the world. What can God not do with you and me? What does God have in store for us? Join me friends, as we continue this faith adventure together. But let’s remember to casts those nets on the other side and imagine Jesus waving us on encouraging us to not get stuck in the past or even the present but to take the chance of casting our nets on the other side, even when it appears to be futile. May you life be enriched with the love of God and the inspiration of Jesus, our guiding light—our hope and our Redeemer. Amen.

Based on”

John 21:1-13 The Message
Fishing
1-3After this, Jesus appeared again to the disciples, this time at the Tiberias Sea (the Sea of Galilee). This is how he did it: Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed “Twin”), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the brothers Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. Simon Peter announced, “I’m going fishing.”
3-4The rest of them replied, “We’re going with you.” They went out and got in the boat. They caught nothing that night. When the sun came up, Jesus was standing on the beach, but they didn’t recognize him.
5Jesus spoke to them: “Good morning! Did you catch anything for breakfast?”
They answered, “No.”
6He said, “Throw the net off the right side of the boat and see what happens.”
They did what he said. All of a sudden there were so many fish in it, they weren’t strong enough to pull it in.
7-9Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Master!”
When Simon Peter realized that it was the Master, he threw on some clothes, for he was stripped for work, and dove into the sea. The other disciples came in by boat for they weren’t far from land, a hundred yards or so, pulling along the net full of fish. When they got out of the boat, they saw a fire laid, with fish and bread cooking on it.
10-11Jesus said, “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught.” Simon Peter joined them and pulled the net to shore—153 big fish! And even with all those fish, the net didn’t rip.
12Jesus said, “Breakfast is ready.” Not one of the disciples dared ask, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Master.
13-14Jesus then took the bread and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus had shown himself alive to the disciples since being raised from the dead.