Jesus at the Barbecue

UV 1365/10,000 Jesus at the Barbecue
As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.
John 21 v 9

Jesus, the same Jesus who a few scenes earlier was betrayed, arrested, tried on false charges, tortured, flogged, beaten, spat on, mocked, nailed, crucified, mocked again, pierced , was waiting on the shore preparing a barbecue of heaven- provided fish and bread for the hungry and tired disciples who were dragging in their net, once empty but now miraculously filled with fish. The same Jesus who cried out “ Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani” or “ My God, My God why do You forsake Me?” He had apparently forgotten or set aside the greatest trauma in the history of heaven as of earth that He had been subjected to. He was now attending to the compulsions of hunger of his worn out disciples. This is the remarkable thing about Jesus that He was not other-worldly. He was sensitive to and attended to the present needs of His followers, of every believer in the present generation too. He is Eternal, spiritual and resurrected but very earthy and practical. He is here for our present help.

Jesus had appeared to the disciples not to feed them or to make them successful fishermen but to minister to them and complete their equipping and teaching to be apostles. Yet He did not delay even a second to prepare a meal to satisfy their hunger and thirst. Everything in the here and now is urgent. Everything in the hereafter and eternal is important. Like Jesus, we need to constantly and daily balance the compulsions of the urgent with the priorities of the eternal, spiritual and heavenly calling. Jesus while feeding spiritual truths to the multitude was concerned about their physical hunger and did not want to sent them away hungry since they had come from many places that were faraway. He multiplied the available. We too need to multiply the available or pray for the same.

We need to be practical and spiritual at one and the same time. Our spirituality should be practical. Our practicality should be spiritual. We need to be effective and excel in our professions even as we witness for the Lord. We need to balance the practical need of the people we mentor even as we build them up spiritually. We need to balance the compulsions of the immediate and urgent with the priorities of the eternal and important.
Prateep V Philip