a hundred fifty three

What an odd detail to include in the Gospel Lesson today (John 21:1-19), that there were 153 fish in the net that the apostles pulled aboard. I mean, who bothered to count them? Maybe it was common for fishers to count their catch, so they would be compensated accordingly when dealing with the fish monger.
 
It might also be a symbolic number. It was a commonly held understanding that there were only 153 species of fish in all the world’s oceans. We know now that there are a lot more than that, but symbolism is what matters here, not accuracy.
 
So, this isn’t just a story about catching a lot of fish, it is a story about catching every fish. No fish, no matter how boney, slippery or stinky is unfit for this net.
 
It’s not uncommon, when traveling along a country road in PEI to see a sign reading, “Worms for Sale,” Perhaps it says, “live bait.” Never in need of worms I pass by these places. But, if the sign read, “Anglewitch for Sale,” I’d most definitely stop. I recently came across this now obsolete word, “anglewitch. It means the worms used in fishing.
 
Not only are we tasked with bringing all people into relationship with God, we need to think about the appropriate anglewitch (bait). A bait that will work.
 
To make things even more interesting, the Gospel uses three different words for fish—once to just mean fish, and twice it uses words that means a type of preparation for consuming the fish, like fried or pickled.
 
At this seaside breakfast we become the host, the guest and the meal itself. We are that which gets consumed. We are that which is offered to the ocean of fish. We are the bait and the meal. We are the Body of Christ.
 
How many times have I said it? We are the resurrection, we, the community of believers, are the risen Body of Christ.
 
This is an awesome responsibility that we have been given. It might even be overwhelming, if it weren’t for the presence of the Holy Spirit. God’s Holy Spirit accompanies us on this journey, a journey of being invited and doing the inviting: to be bait and meal, to be his Body and Blood in the world. To love as he loves, to forgive as he forgives, to show mercy as he shows mercy, to seek justice as he seeks justice.
 
The thing that fills me with hope everyday is that this is a journey that I do not walk alone. I have a community I trust to help discern God’s will and in turn we have God’s Holy Spirit to help figure this out together.