“This is the Lord’s breakfast with his disciples, with which John concluded his Gospel with a great contemplation about great things.” (St. Augustine of Hippo Tractate 123, 2 on the Gospel of John) When we come to contemplate this scene and wonder why it is even in the Gospel, we need to remember that the last Supper in the Fourth Gospel really has no eating and drinking. Though it was a meal and there was food on the table, John never speaks about eating bread or drinking wine. Instead, the entire account is dominated by the farewell address in which Jesus outlines his mission and his expectations. There is a long section on the washing of the feet. The fact that John’s Gospel has no institution narrative at the Last Supper does not mean that John does not have Eucharistic narratives. But through out the last two thousand years, Christian scholars and preachers have seen in John 21:9-14 the deliberate inclusion of a meal at which the Church and the Risen Christ share food and companionship. In fact, some, especially St. Augustine have conjectured that this breakfast on the shore of the Sea of Galilee is a foretaste of the eschatological banquet. At which we shall sup in heaven. I think we can all gain from reading this beautiful Gospel scene with the eyes of the great African bishop. a. The number of the disciples on the shore. • Seven disciples are present. By this number, Augustine detects John’s intention to show that all the Church is present at this breakfast. This number is a sign of fullness or completeness. “By that number of disciples, seven, by which in this place our universality can be understood to have been represented.” The number seven represents all time, “for indeed all time is contained in the seven days.” Therefore the apparition is a presage of the end-times. This meal on the lake shore is a prefiguration of the heavenly banquet. • The number seven is considered the sign of fullness. The Lord sanctified the seventh day on which he rested from His works.” The seventh day was the rest day of the Lord. Seven represents the sanctification of God’s work by the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit is signified by the number seven.’ The Father’s rest makes the work he had completed holy, because in his rest the Holy Spirit comes into the fruit of his work. • Why does this end-time meal take place on a seashore. The Fathers of the Church have traditionally seen this detail as signifying the connection to the meal in heaven. Jesus is about to leave and go back to his Father. The shore as the end of the sea signifies the end of time, the Eschaton. Therefore the seven disciples standing on the seashore may signify the whole body of Christians standing with Christ at the end of time when we feast with him on the eschatological banquet. b. The fact that Jesus does the cooking, but the disciples add to the food. • The food is provided firstly by Jesus; “When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish lying on it, and bread.” The initial food is then added to by the offerings of the disciples. Their fishing had yielded nothing until Jesus was the master of the enterprise. Then they caught plenty of fish. These fish were then to be their offering at the meal. But it is essential that the first food is provided by Jesus. The rich symbol of the bread is Eucharistic. Jesus provided the Bread of Life for those who labor at fishing under his direction. The analogy here is that the disciples will be provided for by the bread of the Eucharist so that they can do the ministry assigned to them in teaching the gospel. But they must always seek nourishment in Christ’s food first and not in the fruits of their own labor. • “ And Jesus came and took some bread and gave it to them and fish also in the same way.” ( John 21;13.) This detail, added to the detail that Jesus provided the first food, provides an insight into Augustine’s commitment to the Catholic doctrine of Grace. Jesus is the source of the food needed for survival. Everything depends on the Lord. Augustine may well be pointing out to the ministers of the Church that the work of feeding the flock is the Lord’s. He feeds us with His eternal food. All salvation is grace and depends completely on Christ’s will. • But we can cooperate in salvation. We can contribute by our faith and by our prayer and good deeds in bringing about our salvation. “Bring here some of the fish that you have caught.” (John 21;10) We are to be active members of the Church, contributing with our work and prayers to the bringing about of the Kingdom of God. This beautiful story of friends seeing each other for the last time, of sharing a meal at the ends of the earth and of being fed by Christ should make us realize that Christ truly loves his friends – that he truly loves the Church.
Breakfast with Jesus
Fr. Tim Kelly