Waiting for Closure

Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing."
John 21:3

Men do not usually express their emotions. They hide their feelings behind words of "doings" like, "I am going for a walk" or "I think I'll take a nap. Is he upset and wanting to avoid an argument? Is he feeling stressed and needing to rest?

What is on Peter's mind when he says "I am going fishing"? He is back in Galilee, his home ground, after the tumultuous events in Jerusalem. He has witnessed the betrayal of Jesus by Judas, the arrest of his Master, and the late-night trial by the Jewish authority. He remembers his own denial of Jesus, and the cockcrow at dawn. The words still haunt him: "Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times." (John13:38)

He recalls the news from the women: first that Jesus had been crucified, and his body laid in a tomb, then that they had found the tomb empty and met the Lord alive! Not only that, the angels had given the women a message for the disciples and him to return to Galilee where Jesus would meet them.

Peter is back in Galilee but where is Jesus? When is the promised appointment going to take place?

Peter meets with six fellow disciples who are mulling over the same questions. He decides to go fishing, and they offer to join him. Perhaps, they sense from something in his voice that he needs company.

Going back to fishing is a turnaround. Three years ago, Peter left fishing to follow Jesus. Did he feel he had failed as Jesus' follower and could do better as a fisherman? We cannot be sure. But we know from subsequent events that Peter needed closure on what had taken place in Jerusalem. Likewise, we too may have a chapter in our troubled life we need to close.

Lord, is there a chapter of failure I need to close?

Are there feelings of regret, guilt, and shame I need to resolve?