Abundant Catch, Abundant Grace (Easter 3)

 

We all have different tastes, so I expect some of you like my homilies and some of you don’t. But one thing’s for sure—you can all be glad that I am not a saint! Because if one of the ancient Church fathers or the great doctors of the Church came to preach at Christ the Redeemer most of us would be left scratching our heads.

The homilies of these saints are full of meaning and insight, but they sure weren’t easy listening.

Still, the heavy hitters of early centuries had some fun with today’s Gospel—because, like us, they were struck by that curious number 153 in the story of the miraculous catch of fish.

We are used to symbolic numbers in the Bible. Twelve apostles, twelve tribes of Israel, ten commandments, and so on. But 153? That’s an odd number, and not just mathematically.

Many centuries ago, three of the greatest Christian thinkers tried to figure out the meaning of the 153 fish.

St. Augustine had the most fun with the number. He wrote that the catch of fish represents salvation, which requires keeping the ten commandments. But, on account of original sin, we cannot keep the commandments without the help of grace and the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, the number seven signifies holiness, since God blessed the seventh day and made it holy (Gen 2:3).

But 10 plus 7 equals 17, and if all the numbers from 1 to 17 are added together (1+2+3…+17), they equal 153. Hence, the 153 fish signify that all the God’s chosen people are to be saved by the gift of grace (7) and the following of the commandments (10).

How’s that for holy arithmetic?

My patron saint, Pope Gregory the Great says: There are ten Commandments representing the Old Testament plus seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, which also represents the New Testament, which added together make seventeen. This, times three times three, for our faith in the Trinity makes 153.

Much simpler is the theory of St. Jerome: In his time, they thought that there were only 153 species of fish in all the world. So, the disciples caught 153 fish, signifying the salvation of all the world.

Did all these great saints get the meaning of the miracle wrong?

Or did they all get it right? Not in mathematical terms, but spiritually. Because their convoluted answers teach us to pay attention to details.

The famous modern architect Mies van der Rohe said “God is in the details.” He was talking about buildings, of course, but his words apply to our spiritual journey also: God speaks in the details of our daily life and invites us to find him there.

The French spiritual writer Jean Pierre de Caussade wrote of “the sacrament of the present moment”—the place where we find God at work in all things and respond to him there.

De Caussade taught that there is not a single moment in life when we can say: this is an instant God has forgotten, an empty moment.

We just need to look to find God in everyday life.

Today’s Gospel reminds us that God has more than one way of speaking with us. Certainly, he meets us in church. But he also meets us at breakfast.

At the afternoon Mass on Easter Sunday, we heard the beautiful story of Jesus meeting the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. He spoke with them by explaining Scripture and showed himself in the breaking of bread. That direct communication is important.

But it’s not the only way. In today’s Gospel Jesus communicates with the disciples while they are at work. The amazing catch of fish is not exactly an everyday occurrence, but it’s something the apostles could easily understand.

And then he meets them not at a eucharistic table but at breakfast on the beach. The Lord makes his presence known to us in all kinds of ways if we will look for him in the events of our lives.

For all we know, Jesus didn’t have any number in mind when he granted the apostles a miraculous catch. You can ask Father Lucio or any fisherman — if you want to describe a whale of a catch, 153 is as good number as any!

Perhaps it was St. John who recognized that 153 represented abundance, that in counting the fish the apostles were counting their blessings, which were beyond number.

Maybe we can do something of the sort. Having three slices of pizza on my plate has nothing to do with the Trinity, that’s for sure. But it’s a reminder of an abundance of food at a time when many are hungry.

I made seven trips to Toronto to see my brother as he began recovering from his stroke. The seven sacraments were not part of my planning—yet I found God present and at work during every visit, often through the Eucharist and the anointing of the sick, but also in small details like the consistent welcome at the hotel where I stayed.

Perhaps this week you can keep an eye out for God’s presence in your life, for the ways he calls you to be aware of his love. Let’s cast the net and find him in daily details.

At the same time, we can’t forget that 153 fish reminds us of the rich and abundant life offered us by the Risen Lord. Graces overflow in this joyful Easter season and God calls us to land that catch in our daily lives.