Sunday Brunch with Jesus

We who are NYC dwellers know the joys of Sunday Brunch! How lovely is it to go to Sunday Mass with your friends and family, then head off to one of the many great local restaurants to continue to celebration.

I once heard this gospel referred to as 'Jesus' bbq on the beach'! Who wouldn't love that!! Jesus is so aware of what the disciples need in this story, I am so touched by his care for them.

The story starts with Peter saying: "I'm going fishing"...I can only imagine in the confusion after Easter, and his trying to process his feelings of guilt over his three fold denial, that some time on the water, fishing, is the thing he thinks will sooth his soul. Then there is the frustration of catching absolutely nothing. There is Jesus telling him how to do his job again, 'throw the net over the OTHER side...' like that should really make a difference...and then, oh nuts, tons of fish...more than they can haul in...what do you do with all these emotions-the sorrow, the guilt, the joy the fear and frustration, the doubt, the hope the longing...oh, it is all so very human.

Then Jesus cooks for them. Feeds them. How absolutely lovely. (said this Italian woman!!) How better to express his love for them then to prepare a hot meal? At the end of the meal he gives Peter the opportunity to begin again, to walk into the future with a clean heart. Yes Lord, you know that I love you.

What do I do, what do we do when we are overwhelmed with the emotions and the real demand on our time. How do we breath in the midst of all the multitasking our society is demanding of us? How is Jesus looking to feed us in spite of all the craziness in our lives? Do we even notice when God is trying to touch us?

The Easter stories are great reminders to us to look for Gods' presence in our everyday lives. We say He is everywhere. Do we believe that he is with us in the midst of that unexpected root canal? The car accident? The springtime hail storm? The unexpected death of a loved one? Both the traffic jam and the forsythia blooms give us an opportunity to be grateful for the love of God in our lives.

AA has the great treasure of "One Day At A Time". When life gets too hectic, I try to live by 'one moment at a time', trying to slow down and pay attention to each person, each event as best I can because I know that the potential to find God is present in each interaction.

I hope for you, in the midst of this never ending winter...and as we await our second springtime, you can slow down and look for God in whatever happens today. When summer finally comes and I go to that first bbq, I'm going to remember Jesus loved his friends enough to grill some fish for them. How cool is that?

Happy Sunday!