Casting on the Right Side

Meditation on John 21:1–19

First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown, NY

Rev. Karen Crawford

May 4, 2025

Art by Stushie, used with permission.

Listen to the devotion here:

     That happened to me yesterday at the presbytery meeting in Mattituck. The Rev. Kate Jones-Calone, our Executive Presbyter, was sharing an inspiring message about living as Easter people.  Looking at her, I was suddenly propelled back to my seminary years with Kate, more than 15 years ago. I was remembering my student self, so uncertain about my gifts for preaching and ministry, in general. I hadn’t yet had the opportunity to shepherd a flock and use the gifts that God had given me. I was filled with fear and anxiety.

    Yesterday, with this flash of memory, a grateful thought came to mind, “Look at what God has done with Kate and me.” We are both in ministries that God has called us to. What a surprise that we would be serving together in the same presbytery—and that I would be living on Long Island.

     These flashes of memory are important. You have them, too, right? God is reminding us of the Risen Christ’s promise at the end of Matthew, when he commissions the disciples to go out into the world, teaching and baptizing, assuring them and us that he is with us, till the end of the age. God was with us in the past, in these flashes of memory. And the Lord is with us at this very moment. The Lord hasn’t changed, but we aren’t the same people we used to be. We are so much more than that. This journey of faith is transforming us.

    In today’s reading in the 21st chapter of John, it’s as if the Risen Christ is reluctant to leave his disciples when he appears on the shore of the Sea of Tiberius (another name for the Sea of Galilee). Without a doubt, he returns when they need direction and reassurance that they aren’t the people they used to be. They are so much more than that. They have changed and their lives have changed. And there’s no going back.

    Seven of them are out on a boat on the sea fishing again. The scene reminds us of when Jesus calls the fishermen, three years before, in Matthew 4:18-22, walking by the Sea of Galilee and calling to Peter and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. Then he saw two other fishermen—two brothers, James and John—in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called to them and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

   This time, in John 21, it’s Simon Peter’s idea to go fishing at night. The others invite themselves to go with him. It’s as if they don’t want to be alone. I used to think that they were returning to their former occupations, but now I think it is more like therapy for them. Perhaps they can’t sleep. They don’t know where to go or what to do. They have lost their Shepherd. Their Teacher. Their Friend. With his death and resurrection, the world has been turned upside down. Everything has changed. So, what now?

    They return to a place they have been countless times—on the sea—doing what is familiar—fishing—looking for the peace and sense of purpose they had when Jesus was with them in the flesh. They fish all night and catch nothing. At daybreak, Jesus is standing on the beach, calling to them, affectionately calling them “Children,” knowing they have caught nothing and are hungry. He is a shadowy figure, a stranger, telling them to cast their net to the right side of the boat. Mysteriously, they do what he says without question. They cast the net on the right side and are unable to haul it in because there are so many fish!

It’s in the miraculous catch, the abundance, that stirs the disciples to recognize Jesus. They have a flash of a memory of Jesus multiplying a few loaves and fish and feeding a hungry multitude. They remember when Jesus says to them, when they are tired and want to send the crowd away, “YOU give them something to eat.”

 “It is the Lord!” says the disciple whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter hears this and puts on his outer garment, removed for fishing, and jumps into the sea. He can’t wait for the boat to bring them ashore.

Can you imagine this comforting scene? The hungry, weary disciples coming up to the shore to meet their Risen Savior, dragging a net full of fish, which miraculously doesn’t break. The smell of the charcoal fire and grilled fish and bread reaches them. Jesus invites them to breakfast, but it’s a potluck. He asks them to bring some of the large fish—some of the 153—that he has helped them catch, just to remind them that with Christ, all things are possible.

No one asks, “Who are you?” Everyone knows he is Jesus!

The Lord serves each one of them bread and fish. This is when John tells us that this is the third time Jesus has appeared to them after he is raised from the dead. The pattern of three is significant. Three times are needed for the disciples to be equipped to live into their callings. Three times are needed for us to hear and believe and through believing, have life in Christ’s name.

Three times Jesus asks Simon Peter if he loves him. Three times Simon Peter says, “Yes!” It builds to an emotional climax, when Peter final bursts out, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” And Peter has a flash of memory. How could he possibly forget denying Jesus, after he is arrested, three times before the cock crows, just as Jesus had said?

The Lord has a plan for Peter. He meets him right where he is. He meets him fishing, and catching nothing, telling him to cast the net on the right side. He meets him in the abundance of the catch and in his joy at seeing the Risen Savior, once again. And he meets him in his sadness and guilt, recalling how he let Jesus down, betrayed him when Christ needed him. Then Jesus graciously removes the burden of his sin and shame and commissions him to be Shepherd of his flock—to tend his lambs, feed his sheep, and care for his followers.

Do this, he says, because you love me.

I find myself almost at a loss for words when I think about how the Lord has been with me all these years, guiding and strengthening me through so many hard things in my journey of faith. In a few weeks, I am preparing to return to Austin, TX, to graduate with a doctor of ministry degree. I know that I will have flashes of memories as the day of commencement draws near. And I know these flashes are to remind me that the Lord is always with me, as the Risen Christ promises all of us, to the end of the age. That there is nothing too hard for God. And that we are saved for a purpose—to love and serve the Lord by loving and serving the Church. Feeding and tending the lambs and sheep. We need no other reason except love for the Lord.

One thing that is key to this message today is that we have to seek the will of God for our ministry, continually, if we want to experience the abundance that the first disciples experienced with the miraculous catch and the feeding of the multitude. Today, I hear the Lord saying, “Cast your net on the right side.” Sometimes, the Lord will lead us in a way that doesn’t seem logical. It might be different from the way we used to fish for people. Why should the right side of the boat be any better than the left? The only difference was that the right side was God’s will. The right side was in God’s plan. This, my friends, is what we need to know—what is God’s plan for this flock that Christ has faithfully shepherded for 350 years?

Dear friends, God was with us in the past and the Lord who knows our future is with us in this present moment. The Lord hasn’t changed, but we aren’t the same people we used to be. The journey of faith is changing us. Seeking God’s will for the decisions that we make is transforming us into the people God has ordained for us to be. Remember, there’s no room in our resurrected lives for fear or anxiety. And there’s nothing too hard for God.

Brothers and sisters, do you hear the Lord calling us today, as he called his first disciples, after feeding them a hearty breakfast on the beach? Mistakes won’t be held against us. Peter denying Jesus was part of his formation. It humbled him and prepared him for servant leadership. What matters is that we trust in Christ, our Messiah, the Son of God, because through our believing, we have life in his name.

Do you hear our Risen Lord saying to us all, “Follow me”?

Good Shepherd, we give you thanks for the way you nurture and care for us, your flock, as we seek your wisdom and will. We love you and thank you for giving your life to rescue us when we were perishing and the promise of life in your name. Remove all fear and anxiety from us. Humble and restore us with your mercy, like you did for Simon Peter. Equip and empower us to obey you as you lead us, tending your lambs and feeding your sheep. Reveal your presence through your abundant blessings for our community of faith, as you revealed yourself to your disciples long ago with a miracle catch when they cast their net on the right side of a boat on the Sea of Galilee. In your name we pray. Amen.