Back To Fishin'?

I didn't make it to church yesterday. In fact, I barely made it out of bed these last few days. I'm sick with allergy-type symptoms that make me even sicker to type out. But I am relieved I thought ahead: I bought a Honey-Baked Ham, au gratin potatoes, and made a pound cake and sweet potato salad earlier in the week. I was, I guess, preparing that I wouldn't be any better by Easter Sunday, and I was correct. The few hours I had with my family around the table was great, but it wasn't too long that I just hit the couch and never moved until it was bed time (again). I did have a burst of energy to clean up the kitchen in the aftermath of the ham celebration, but that didn't last too long either. It was then I started to think, "What happens AFTER Easter?" (And I know that I shouldn't, but I pop a yellow Peep into my mouth, and shout "HE IS RISEN!", but it sounds more like "HEESH IS RISBSESN!")
How do we go from easter-egg hunting and Reeses Peanut Butter Egg-eatin to the everyday reality of the resurrection of Christ? And how does this affect the rest of our days after - with Him?
Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
John 21:2-3
Nothing strange about this, right? I mean, most people who have just celebrated Easter, get right back to doing the normal things they've always done, right? True. But what really startles me in this passage is THIS is what happened after the VERY FIRST EASTER, literally hours after the Resurrection, after the events of the first day of the week! The men who actually witnessed it all, decide to go back to business as usual. Ugh.
They decide to go fishing right after Mary comes running to them with the news that she just saw the risen Lord. It was also after Jesus came to them in their apartment. It was after Thomas was told to touch the wounds in Jesus’ hands, feet, and side. Sit on that for a minute...
I guess I could understand it if they hadn't known about the resurrection. But at this point, trust me -  they were well acquainted with the risen Lord. Why did they go back to the same old routine? Especially since fishing (and not being really good at it) is what they did before they had even met Jesus.
As I load the dirty dishes into the dishwasher I say to myself, "Where am I today? Am I stuck doing the same old stuff I've always done?" I mean, I'm thinking - these were men who actually witnessed the Divine; saw Him, touched Him, ate with Him, cried with Him, yet they go back to doing what they've always done. Is there ANY hope for me?
Something clicks. The disciples have another encounter with the risen Lord. This time He breaks into their everyday world and turns it upside down. They realize that they can't even go fishing without the help of the Lord. Jesus, now, the Risen Lord, says something that will forever change how we view life on the other side of the cross. He says to Peter, “Feed My sheep.”
Everything changes. Peter knows there's no going back. He'll never be able to "fish" in the same way again.
So, while many will storm Wal-Mart today to get left-over half-priced Easter Candy, I ask you this question: Is it back to normal again, just doing what you've always done? Or are you so greatly affected by your Risen Lord, that you're ready and willing to "Feed His Sheep?" I hope so. And it isn't just feeding the sheep fish. (Do sheep even eat fish? LOL!) It's feeding His sheep the truth of His resurrection. This gives me hope... and that's not just on Easter Sunday.


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