“It Is The Lord!”(Jn.21:1-14).
Stories float around that in some communities in Manyu division some people die, are buried and they come back to life. When they come back to life they take residence in locations where they cannot be identified.
One time while we were discussing the resurrection a student of theology told us that they are used to it. So some years back I encouraged a student of the Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Kumba who hails from Manyu to research and write on the belief of dieing and coming back to life. She did a field study through interviews and questionnaires.
In her conclusion she affirmed that the belief is actualized in real time. As her supervisor I didn’t agree with her. In as much as her interviewees and respondents claimed that the belief is actualized, none of them had been an eyewitness. Everything was hearsay. Her affirmative conclusion was predetermined by a belief that was ingrained in her through her cultural upbringing.
Maybe when we see the resurrection of Christ as the firstfruits of those who are raised from the dead, some others see it as one among many.
The post resurrection appearances of the risen Lord Jesus Christ is established by eyewitness accounts direct from the mouths of those who were closest to him during his earthly ministry.
Today we read from John about his third appearance to seven of the disciples by the sea of Tiberias. They were Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, the sons of Zebedee and two others. They fished all night without any catch. “Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus.” Jesus called out to them if they had caught any fish. They said, “No.”
“He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.’ When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish…Simon Peter…dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not thorn….None of the disciples dared ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord…This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.”
In this third appearance Jesus offered them a breakfast of bread and fish.
Unlike the kind of Manyu resurrection stories based on hearsay, Jesus actually appeared in physical form, prepared a breakfast of fish and bread which he shared with the seven disciples.
Apart from authenticating the resurrection we can strengthen our faith with these points from this story.
- We may toil for long without anything to show for our labour, but when the risen Lord shows himself, he puts a smile on our faces.
- The risen Lord puts smiles on our faces when we obey his instructions.
- Even when there’s so many large fish in our nets, the risen Lord makes sure the nets are not thorn. He knows that we still have many other days of fishing, so we need our nets to be intact.
- We need the eyes of faith to recognise the risen Lord even in our fruitless toil.
Prayer: Thank you dear Lord Jesus Christ for providing our needs in addition to our salvation. Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.
22/04/2025.