Easter Tuesday: On the beach


Easter Tuesday: On the beach

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 some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the lake. 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.
[John 21.1-8]



Reading the Gospel of John is like unpeeling an onion, for every layer you uncover, another appears underneath. It is particularly true with this reading, where as St Simon and the other disciples approach the shore, rather than get underdressed in order to enter the water, Peter puts a garment on, as though he is afraid that his naked flesh might displease Jesus.

This element of this story strongly reminds me of the incident in Genesis (3.6-13), where Adam and Eve discover for the first time that they are naked, and so hide themselves away from God. It is a moment of profound loss: loss of innocence; but also, a loss of being unafraid, unabashed in the presence of God. (It is something that all children grow into, a sense of their own self, and how parts of that self, by necessity have to be hidden away.) Once again it is a reminder of the theme of Creation and New Creation that runs through the Gospel of John, as the word Brighton runs through a stick of rock.


Peter, knowingly or not, is entering into the presence of God, the one through whom he and we are created, and self-aware of his nakedness (his sin) he hides himself from the God who would unclothe him of his old self, and put upon his the new garment of righteousness.

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