Empty Net Syndrome

“Catching anything?” It’s the question anglers love to answer when they’ve just landed the big one — but dread when they’re not having any luck.

It had been a rough night for the party of seasoned fishermen. “That night they caught nothing,” says John (v. 3). Nothing. Not a single fish.

It had to be especially humiliating for Peter, their leader. He was a professional fisherman — or had been, before he began following Jesus up and down the land. The repetitive motion of throwing a small, weighted net off one side of the boat and slowly pulling it in, hand over hand, was second nature to him. He could have done it in his sleep.

You can bet Peter knew all the prime fishing spots, too. The little fishing villages that hug the shore of the Sea of Galilee were his home turf. But this night? Nada.

It’s a bit of a mystery why Peter and the others decided to go back to fishing after they’d seen — and even touched — the risen Christ. In fairness to them, Jesus isn’t so easy to follow in these post-resurrection days. He’s with them one moment and gone the next. He’s a hard...