Acts 9:1-6
Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

John 21:1-17
After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he had taken it off, and jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.
When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them, and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

Cast Your Nets on the Other Side
This morning in our readings we hear the story of Paul on the road to Damascus, and the story of Jesus appearing to seven disciples. These are stories about faith, abundance, and devotion.

Faith: Paul’s conversion
Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus is a dramatic experience. In a flash of light, Paul sees his error. In a flash of blinding light, his life completely changes. Blinded by the light, Paul asks, “Who are you, Lord? And the reply comes back, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”
The moment of conversion is only the beginning of the spiritual life. Conversion can be an incredibly powerful moment, as many of us have experienced. And yet, like all moments, it fades. We cannot hang onto it. The exciting experience comes to an end, just as every experience comes to an end. And then what? This is an important question. Then what?
For Paul, it was simply, “Get up, start walking, go into the city.” That was it. Just get up. Go on. Do the next thing. Keep on going. Don’t look back. Don’t hang onto your flashing light experience. Go on. Go into the city, and you will know what to do. Something in your heart will speak to you, and you will know. This is the faith life.

Cast your net on the other side
Our second reading is from the very last chapter of John, and this is one of my favorite stories about Jesus. “Cast your net on the other side of the boat.” There are seven disciples gathered together in this story.

The Last Supper painting in Milan, Italy.
As a side note, it’s interesting to think about how our impression of the disciples is formed. For example, I would guess that most of our mental images of the Last Supper actually come from the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo painted The Last Supper between 1494 and 1498. It’s a mural, painted directly on the wall of the dining hall of the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. It is probably one of the most famous paintings in the world. Christ is seated at the center of a long table with his disciples on either side.
Years ago, I was in Milano, and I had an opportunity to see this painting. So, I went the monastery and stood in line to buy my ticket. I was the next person in line, ready to buy my ticket, when the clock struck twelve noon. Immediately, the ticket booth closed, and the guards put up a sign that read, “sciopero.” At that point, I had been in Italy long enough to understand that word. It means, “Strike.” The union of ticket takers all over the city had decided to go on strike, beginning at that very moment. So, I never saw the painting. Not only that, since all the trains, buses, and taxis were also striking, I had a very long walk back to my hotel that afternoon!

So back to the disciples.
The disciples have decided to go out fishing. They were out all night long and did not catch anything. Then, as the sun is coming up on the lake, they look over to the shore and they see a figure. They don’t know who it is, but he calls out to them, “You haven’t caught any fish, have you?” he says. And they answer, “No. No fish.” And the message comes back to them: “You have to do something different. What you’re doing is not working for you. Something needs to change. You need to change. Try something else. Cast your nets on the other side of the boat.”

Abundance: the nets are full of fish
The disciples cast their nets on the other side of the boat, and of course, they catch an overflowing abundance of fish. Faith life is a spiritually abundant life. We are reminded that Jesus, in John 10, says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Spiritual abundance is described in Galatians 5 as the “fruit of the spirit.” The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These qualities are the abundance of the spiritual life.

A word about joy.
Now, let’s pause here because I want to say a word about joy. The quality of joy is very important. We can test ourselves here. Am I joyful? I’m not talking about a poly-anna, jumping up and down, everything is roses kind of joy. It’s more like a quiet joy. An inner joy. It’s a joy that is easily accessed. A smile comes easily to our face. The simplest beautiful thing can bring a smile because it touches the joy that is already present in us.

Joy is not in things.
I think I told you about my experience in the Albuquerque airport many years ago. I was waiting for a flight, and I had a couple hours, so I walked into the airport gift shop. There were all the usual trinkets, coffee cups and key chains. But something jumped out at me. It was a sign, like the kind you put on your refrigerator. It read, “Joy is not in things. It is in us.” Those words rang so true to me that I bought the sign and took it home. “Joy is not in things. It is in us.”
But when joy is not in us, it’s possible that we have fallen into depression. You know, a person can be depressed for so long that they don’t even know it. Depression has become their normal state, their normal way of being. But God’s abundance is not depressed abundance! If there is no joy, then that might be something to take a look at. Perhaps you are depressed, and you don’t even know it. God wants you to have life and have it abundantly. And that includes joy.

Tipping Point
What is the meaning of this story, when Jesus tells the disciples to cast their nets on the other side of the boat? Research in social psychology could offer us a clue.
Twenty-five years ago, Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book called, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. In the book, Gladwell analyses what happens in human groups when sweeping changes occur, changes in beliefs or trends. Often, there is a “tipping point” that initiates the change. To understand “tipping point,” take, for example, the boiling point of water. At sea level, water boils at a temperature of 212 degrees Fahrenheit. But at 211 degrees, just one degree less, it won’t boil. So the tipping point, the difference between boiling and not boiling, is only this one degree. A tipping point is a small change that has big results.
When Jesus says, “Cast your nets on the other side of the boat” he asks the disciples to make a seemingly insignificant change, and yet, it is a change that yields major improvement. In this story, we are asked to take a look at what is not working and consider what might be done about it. In our family, or in our daily habits, perhaps only a small change is needed. A tipping point is only a small change, a small improvement. And yet, a small change in the way we do things could be a tipping point that has significant consequences.

Feed my sheep.
Finally, in the last section of our reading, Jesus instructs Peter to “Feed my sheep.” He says this three times. “Peter, do you love me? Then feed my sheep.” We could see this moment as the beginning of the church. The church begins with this instruction to Peter. The church is built on this instruction. “Feed my sheep.” This is why Christianity is a devotional path. In our devotion to the Lord, we love others and feed them. And so, the invitation is to keep on doing this: to make everything we do here in our church an act of devotion. Even the most mundane things can be acts of devotion. “Feed my sheep” means making the coffee, balancing the finances, attending music rehearsals, organizing church activities like the yard sale or the lasagna dinner. These are acts of devotion and ways that we follow Christ’s instructions.
May we continue to find inspiration in these stories of the Easter Season. Amen? Amen.