The other disciples came in their little ship, dragging the net full of over one
hundred and fifty large fish, and although there were so many fish, to their
amazement, the net was not torn. Jesus told them to bring some of the fish that
they had just caught and come for lunch. No one dared to ask Him who He was, as
the circumstances were obvious. Again, the sea helped them. They knew that He is
the Lord. He was displaying the same care for them, as He had had every day, in
three and a half years, when they had not suffered from hunger or thirst and had
no care.
After lunch, the time came to discipline Peter, in love, and to release him from the
burden that he had been carrying in his soul since Jesus’s condemnation and
crucifixion on the cross of Calvary. Aside from the other disciples, in a more
favorable background, the Savior asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me
more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” replied Peter, “You know that I love You”. Then
Jesus said, “Feed My lambs”. The second time, the Lord asked the same question and
the answer was the same. But it seems that Peter made a step forward on the path of
service, as the Lord told him: “Sheperd My sheep!” When Jesus asked him the third
time: “Do you love me?”, Peter was grieved and his response was this time more
emphatic: “Lord, thou knowest all things; know I love you”. This time Peter’s
reward was higher, receiving the “mandate of mature servant”, in the mission that
he would have to achieve. The Lord said: “Feed My sheep!” From that moment on,
Peter was not a fisherman anymore. Jesus made him a “fisher of men”. He entrusted
him with His herd, with His sheep, in order to take them to “green pastures and still
waters and, there he shall lack nothing” (C.S. Lewis 2013: 135).
37
Although some theologues argue that the event at the Sea of Tiberias represents
a rebuke to Peter that he had returned to his old profession, we do not agree. He had
chosen Peter earlier to be the “Rock” upon which the Lord would build His church
and, despide any obstacle, His prophecy would be fulfilled.
Jesus provides us with a great, touching and divine example, using the story of
the Sea of Tiberias. Jesus’s generosity blends, this time, with the sea that offers an
appropriate expression of His infinite love. We believe that Apostle Paul inspired
himself from this event when he wrote the Epic of perfect love in his “Epistle to the
Corinthians”, ch.13, verses 4–8 (The Bible, The New Testament, “The First Epistle
to the Corinthians”, ch. 13, verse 1–13): “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not
envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not selfseeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight
in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes,
always perseveres. Love never fails. . .”.
The sea, which honored and is still honoring its Divine Creator, gentle and
generous, provides the human being with its unsuspected resources. The sea
embellishes life, nourishes and heals miraculously. Yet, in its love, it is whimsical
37 In “Psalm 23”, “The Lord is my shepherd” (Dominus regit me), our Saviour identified Himself.
“Basically, the allegorical method of reading of the Psalms may require the highest authority
possible”.
1 The Sea, Cradle of Divine Spirituality
25
hundred and fifty large fish, and although there were so many fish, to their
amazement, the net was not torn. Jesus told them to bring some of the fish that
they had just caught and come for lunch. No one dared to ask Him who He was, as
the circumstances were obvious. Again, the sea helped them. They knew that He is
the Lord. He was displaying the same care for them, as He had had every day, in
three and a half years, when they had not suffered from hunger or thirst and had
no care.
After lunch, the time came to discipline Peter, in love, and to release him from the
burden that he had been carrying in his soul since Jesus’s condemnation and
crucifixion on the cross of Calvary. Aside from the other disciples, in a more
favorable background, the Savior asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me
more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” replied Peter, “You know that I love You”. Then
Jesus said, “Feed My lambs”. The second time, the Lord asked the same question and
the answer was the same. But it seems that Peter made a step forward on the path of
service, as the Lord told him: “Sheperd My sheep!” When Jesus asked him the third
time: “Do you love me?”, Peter was grieved and his response was this time more
emphatic: “Lord, thou knowest all things; know I love you”. This time Peter’s
reward was higher, receiving the “mandate of mature servant”, in the mission that
he would have to achieve. The Lord said: “Feed My sheep!” From that moment on,
Peter was not a fisherman anymore. Jesus made him a “fisher of men”. He entrusted
him with His herd, with His sheep, in order to take them to “green pastures and still
waters and, there he shall lack nothing” (C.S. Lewis 2013: 135).
37
Although some theologues argue that the event at the Sea of Tiberias represents
a rebuke to Peter that he had returned to his old profession, we do not agree. He had
chosen Peter earlier to be the “Rock” upon which the Lord would build His church
and, despide any obstacle, His prophecy would be fulfilled.
Jesus provides us with a great, touching and divine example, using the story of
the Sea of Tiberias. Jesus’s generosity blends, this time, with the sea that offers an
appropriate expression of His infinite love. We believe that Apostle Paul inspired
himself from this event when he wrote the Epic of perfect love in his “Epistle to the
Corinthians”, ch.13, verses 4–8 (The Bible, The New Testament, “The First Epistle
to the Corinthians”, ch. 13, verse 1–13): “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not
envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not selfseeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight
in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes,
always perseveres. Love never fails. . .”.
The sea, which honored and is still honoring its Divine Creator, gentle and
generous, provides the human being with its unsuspected resources. The sea
embellishes life, nourishes and heals miraculously. Yet, in its love, it is whimsical
37 In “Psalm 23”, “The Lord is my shepherd” (Dominus regit me), our Saviour identified Himself.
“Basically, the allegorical method of reading of the Psalms may require the highest authority
possible”.
1 The Sea, Cradle of Divine Spirituality
25