The Charcoal Fire

I grew up in a family filled with men who loved to fish.  My memories of my Father are few, but many of them are about fishing.  A boat, a river, a washtub full of fish which I am sure were counted by him and the uncles who joined him that day are but a few.  One thing I have learned about fishing stories over the years is that there is always a number.  While some might say, "we got a mess of fish," and while others might hold up the fish laden stringer, the real fish stories always include the number of fish brought home.  If a fish story is told without the number of fish caught, the story might be suspect!   

 

The litmus test of fishing stories is in the number which is why we know the story told in the 21st chapter of John is true.  After the resurrected Jesus showed Himself to the disciples, Simon Peter announced not a church meeting, but a fishing trip.  After the cross and resurrection, who can fault Peter for wanting to wrap his hands around something which was comfortable and familiar.  "I am going fishing," (John 21:3), Peter said to six of the other disciples who joined him in the boat that morning.  It was a fishing trip which netted "...large fish...a hundred fifty-three of them..." (John 21:11).  It was quite a catch, but the real news of the morning was the appearance of Jesus on the beach.   For those disciples who were looking for the touch of something real, Jesus cooked breakfast on a charcoal fire on the beach. 

 

The crackling fire and the smell of charcoal was not lost on Peter.  We must not let the power of what was subtle be lost on us.  It was the sight of the low burning flames and the smell of the smoke from a charcoal fire which filled the eyes and nostrils of Peter in that moment of betrayal.  The same Greek word for the charcoal fire is used in both places.  When Peter was invited for a walk on the beach with Jesus, the smell of that fire surely brought back memories of the sin of betrayal.  Jesus did not chastise him, nor speak words of judgment, but forgave him and entrusted to him the work of the Kingdom.  He continues doing this even today with folks like you and me.