Breakfast of Champions

One evening, a fisherman and his some of his friends decided they were going to go and catch some fish.  So they climbed into their boat and sailed away from the shore and found a place where they were confident to find schools of fish, waiting to be caught.  Casting their net until the water, the experienced fishermen waited for the catch of the night.  It never came.  But fishermen are patient, so they waited longer.  Still no fish. Not even a tug from the net.  Unwilling to be undone or discouraged, they waited all night long.  Much to their dismay, they caught absolutely nothing.  There was nothing to show for their patience, experience and perseverance as seasoned fishermen.  They were a sad illustration of irony: Fishermen without a fish.  No story of the “one that got away”, because they all got away!

 Then early the next morning, while sailing back home, they noticed a silhouette of a man standing on the shore.  He appeared to be waiting for them, for some reason.  The man called out and asked if they had caught any fish.  Perhaps too tired to make excuses or fabricate a tale, they simply said no and waited for the jokes and the shame that usually comes with exposed failure.  But no sarcasm came from this man  No rebuke. No insulting humor.  The man, with a straight face, simply told them, if they threw their nets on the right side of the boat, they would find some fish.  It must have been worth a try, because they never argued or questioned such a ridiculous proposal.  They simply followed his advice and lo and behold, their net was filled fish! Large fish! No guppies or minnows, but a hundred and fifty-three large fish!  (who’s hungry by the way?) 

It was not long after their huge catch when one of them recognized that the mysterious man on the shore was no other the resurrected Jesus! A half naked Peter wrapped his clothes around him and jumped into the water to meet Jesus on the shore, leaving his buddies in the boat to tow in the catch of a lifetime.

When the others finally landed, they noticed that Jesus had a already had fire going and some bread on the side.  “Chef” Jesus then tells the tired and hungry men to bring some fish from their catch and he invited them to have breakfast with Him.  Imagine that, breakfast with Jesus.  As they savored each bite of their grilled fish, none of them were confused about who Jesus was (or is for that matter).  They simply enjoyed their meal with the King as he broke the bread and fish, and served them, like he had countless times before.  And they ate like champions that morning, being served by the One who could not be served by human hands, as if he needed a single thing.  I wonder who belted out the first burp.