I love eating breakfast out at restaurants. Perhaps it’s because I rarely do it, but when I do, it’s always a vacation feel – a sense of the unexpected.
So it was with new eyes that I read the line “Come have breakfast” in the gospel of John.
The verse comes after Jesus has been crucified and has risen, appearing to different people. First he is seen by Mary, then by the disciples and finally by others. He’s on the banks of the Sea of Galilee watching the disciples fishing in a boat on the sea. They have fished the entire night and they’ve caught nothing. Their nets and stomachs are empty. But this man on the banks of the sea tells them “Just try it one more time.”
Just one more time.
So they do it. Weary, frustrated, hungry – they still try one more time. And the result does not disappoint. They catch so many fish that they can’t even bring the full net in. It’s too heavy. You can picture it – fish jumping around in the net, strong men trying with all their muscles to hold the net but they have to throw some back.
And that piece is amazing – this picture of trying one more time and filling a net.
But the compelling piece is on shore where Jesus takes the fish and fixes it for them – those hungry, weary humans. Those men who he has eaten with, walked with, stayed with for three years. He knows them. He knows their frame, he hears their hearts – and he invites them to breakfast.
“Come and have breakfast!”*
Said with full knowledge of all that the invitation means. Come rest. Come sit. Come and be filled. Come – have breakfast!
It’s an early morning here in Boston. The quiet of the city morning is broken by a raucous group of homeless who are waking to the day. Except for coffee shops and a brand new Walgreens that boasts a 24-hour day, all businesses are still closed, their steel barriers down from the day before.
And I have an invitation to breakfast from One who will give rest on a weary Monday.
Maybe you haven’t fished all night – but maybe it’s something else. Maybe your worries have kept you up to the wee hours, your mind occupied with so much that concerns. Maybe something else has kept you up all night – tears flowing because it’s safe when no one can see them. No matter – you have an invitation to breakfast from One who gives rest.
*John 21:12
Marilyn R. Gardner 
This reminds me of a little chorus we sang as young people: “Come and dine the Master calls us; Come and dine. You may feast at Jesus’ table anytime. He who fed the multitudes, turned the water into wine, to the hungry now he calls us, Come and dine.” Good thoughts, Marilyn.
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We still sing that song when we have a bunch of grandkids together with my folks! All those songs have great messages but I didn’t even think about this one when I was writing the post. Thank you.
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My breakfasts do vary, but I always have the following (from the “benedictus”, Zechariah’s song)
He The Lord) swore to Abraham our father to grant us that, free from fear,, we might serve Him in holiness and justice all the days of our life in His presence.
These words impact on my life each day!
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Wilma – I’ve never heard that. So this is your daily prayer? I love it. Thank you for sharing.
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Reblogged this on Like Mendicant Monks… and commented:
Reminds me of a quote from G.K. Chesterton, also about having breakfast (tangentially about the resurrection and a living church):
“Plato has told you a truth; but Plato is dead. Shakespeare has startled you with an image; but Shakespeare will not startle you with any more. But imagine what it would be to live with such men still living, to know that Plato might break out with an original lecture to-morrow, or that at any moment Shakespeare might shatter everything with a single song. The man who lives in contact with what he believes to be a living Church is a man always expecting to meet Plato and Shakespeare to-morrow at breakfast.”
– From “Authority and the Adventurer” in Orthodoxy the Romance of Faith
CHRIST IS RISEN!!
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Thank you for reblogging and adding to it with this quote.
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Reminds me of a quote from G.K. Chesterton, also about having breakfast (tangentially about the resurrection and a living church):
“Plato has told you a truth; but Plato is dead. Shakespeare has startled you with an image; but Shakespeare will not startle you with any more. But imagine what it would be to live with such men still living, to know that Plato might break out with an original lecture to-morrow, or that at any moment Shakespeare might shatter everything with a single song. The man who lives in contact with what he believes to be a living Church is a man always expecting to meet Plato and Shakespeare to-morrow at breakfast.”
— From “Authority and the Adventurer” in Orthodoxy the Romance of Faith
CHRIST IS RISEN!!
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I love this quote! Going to find it as soon as I get home. Thank you.
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I had never realized that this was an invitation to breakfast. So good…
And by the way, I would like to have breakfast with you. :) Can I join you sometime?
Happiness and joy to you today…
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Yes to breakfast! As I said I love having breakfast out!
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The best breakfast ever!
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Right?! Who knew fish could taste SO.GOOD!?
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This is a wonderful invitation, Marilyn … from you, and, through you, from Him. Thank you! Just what I needed this morning.
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Thank you Simon – I needed it as well!
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This is one of my all-time favorite passages…have written a song about it, considered painting a phrase of the story on my wall near our dining room/kitchen area. I just LOVE that Jesus is the kind of God/Man that he would make breakfast for his friends on a quiet sandy morning on the beach, after a night of exhausting labor. Everything about that image says, Come and rest.
I’ve been enjoying your blog. We have several friends whose kids have studied at Murree and my husband has been there to perform the gospel of Mark for the students. We have lived overseas as a family for a short stint and out of country for several years, moving many times. Your writings, while reflections on a somewhat different experience than mine, have resonated with me on several levels. Thank you for sharing your journey.
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I love that you know about Murree! Wonderful. I have wonderful memories of Murree. I would love to hear more about where you have lived, moved etc. One of my favorite authors – Paul Tournier speaks to the importance of place, particularly in relationship to our faith journey. I’m amazed at how God uses place to bring us into relationship. And in this case the place is the Sea of Galilee and breakfast. I would love to hear your song – is it recorded? Thanks so much for coming by.
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