Easter Friday
Acts 4:1-12 | Psalm 117(118):1-2,4,22-27 | John 21:1-14
Jesus called out, ‘Have you caught anything, friends?’ And when they answered, ‘No’, he said, ‘Throw the net out to starboard and you’ll find something.’ So they dropped the net, and there were so many fish that they could not haul it in. (John 21:5-6)
I was curious enough to look up the etymology (origins and history) of the word “starboard”. I’m glad I did, because it made me realize the rich symbolism of this passage.
Starboard comes from the Old English steorbord, literally “the side on which the ship is steered”. Since most people are right-handed, the steering oar is mounted on the right side of older ships. To avoid trapping the oar against a jetty or wharf, ships would be tied to their docks on their left side, which naturally came to be called port.
So how does all that relate to today’s scripture?
Most people spend their lives clinging to the familiar, metaphorically tied to port, bobbing gently in secular comfort. In doing so, we have actually left God and our fellow brethren out in the deep ocean, especially those who long for a kind word or a helping hand.
Jesus instead asks us to cast our nets out into the unknown, to evangelize to those who do not know Him, to help those in need, to be beacons of hope in the dark and turbulent waters of modern life. He asks us to go forth, secure in the knowledge that He is the oarsman of our lives, steering us in the way of righteousness. With Him at the helm, we need not fear.
We may not be as mindlessly excited as Peter, to leap naked into the sea at the name of the Lord.
We may also not be so “productive” as to fill our “conversion nets” to bursting.
But we have been filled with His radiant love, and He asks us to share with others.
Christ is risen! Let us go forth, bringing the Good News to the world!
Amen.