Today’s gospel reading reveals an intimate interaction between the risen Jesus Christ and his disciples. Jesus observes his disciples fishing from the shore in the early morning but they do not recognize him (v. 4). Unique to this pericope in John’s gospel, Jesus addresses his disciples as παιδία, “children,” (v. 5) which is the key for reading this episode. We see that Jesus is emphasizing the disciples’ intimate kinship relationship to him. Of course, Jesus and the disciples do not share a blood relationship but this story highlights how Jesus performs kinship by providing food for them. Jesus’ intervention is the sole reason the disciples miraculously caught any fish (v. 6), he prepares their food (v. 9), and he requests they break bread with him (v. 12). The breakfast they end up having together is not unlike the countless they had before Jesus established a new normal by conquering death. Jesus calls his disciples back to community.
One of the few things getting me through this time is my community disparately spread out over Yale, New Haven, the US, and even the world. I look forward to Thursday nights with my SCC even more than before the lockdown as a respite from classwork and reading the news. I take comfort in catching up with my friends and family on the west coast and roasting our terrible self-inflicted haircuts. I am even heartened when my friends in France and Canada suggest their favorite shows, movies, and music for me to binge. They all remind me of the beauty of Jesus’ affirmation that our communities are important.
As we move through this Eastertide, I am challenged by Jesus’ emphasis on community – how and to whom we perform kinship relationships. The abovementioned relationships provide me with relief from my exasperation of how much the coronavirus has already taken from me. But I am deeply aggrieved by how much more it has taken from those on the frontlines of the crisis and those who are on the margins of our community. Let us remember to draw our circles of communities wider to care and advocate for those whom this crisis hits hardest. Jesus is risen but the work of establishing the new normal of justice provoked by his resurrection is never ending.
