Divine Angler

I was in the shower when JJ arrived home last night with her mommy. Usually, the first thing she would do upon her arrival at home would be to switch on one of the tons of cartoon movies she has in her collection. It's either Winnie The Pooh or the Barbie series, but this very night JJ was in the mood to give daddy a lecture!

Between her school hours, compulsory afternoon naps, tuition classes, homework, and cartoon movies, JJ hasn't very much more time left to have lengthy discussions with daddy. The last time JJ gave daddy a lecture was a few years ago, so I really did not see it coming this time, especially since I was still in the shower!

"Dad," she said from outside the bathroom door, "why don't you go to church?"

I said, "Church? Did you just say church, Jay? Where did that come from? Can this wait for a minute—there's shampoo in dad's eyes right now, and I can't hear you all too well with this water running, Jay."

But the lecture was obviously a very urgent matter, and could not be delayed even for a minute.

"Y'know, dad," JJ continued, totally ignoring dad's request for a minute's wait, "if only you had been going to church, you would've caught more fish at sea!"

"Oh is that so, Jay?" I replied, "And how would going to church help in catching more fish?"

"Well, dad, God will tell you where to throw your fishing net, and then you can catch plenty of fish!"

"Wow! Really, Jay? I didn't know that! Fine, the next time I go fishing, I will ask God where to throw my net, OK?"

"OK, dad, I think you will catch lots of fish on your next trip!"

Later on, I asked Mia discreetly what that was all about. God goes fishing too? Mia explained that JJ picked that up from church, and then directed me to John:21.1-21.11.

After this, Jesus appeared once more to his disciples at Lake Tiberias. This is how it happened. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael (the one from Cana in Galilee), the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples of Jesus were all together. 3 Simon Peter said to the others, "I am going fishing."

"We will come with you," they told him. So they went out in a boat, but all that night they did not catch a thing. 4 As the sun was rising, Jesus stood at the water's edge, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Then he asked them, "Young men, haven't you caught anything?"

"Not a thing," they answered.

6 He said to them, "Throw your net out on the right side of the boat, and you will catch some." So they threw the net out and could not pull it back in, because they had caught so many fish.

7 The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Peter heard that it was the Lord, he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken his clothes off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples came to shore in the boat, pulling the net full of fish. They were not very far from land, about a hundred yards away. 9 When they stepped ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there with fish on it and some bread. 10 Then Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught."

11 Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net ashore full of big fish, a hundred and fifty-three in all; even though there were so many, still the net did not tear.

So the next time I go fishing at sea again, I shall try to secure a seat on the right side of the boat. Who knows I can catch a hundred and fifty-three fish there. But I hope there won't be a naked man standing on the surface of the water, instructing me what to do. I think I would faint or even get a heart attack. I think JJ is gonna be disappointed when I tell her that God did not show up at sea when dad's fishing.