It has long been the custom of the church to set aside one Sunday in the year to give particular thanks to God for his word to us contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Whenever we choose to mark this occasion, it should be seen as an opportunity to give thanks for the gift of God's Word and to rededicate ourselves to giving it a central place in our lives. As we look at the book on our shelves or beside our bed perhaps we tend to think of it as a single volume rather than a library of many books containing theology, history, biography, poetry, romance and myth.

Our reading comes from the Gospel according to St. John ch.21 v. 1-14 and the fourth Gospel always repays particularly close attention for its profound insight into the life and work of Christ. If we read carefully we will see that nothing is quite what it appears and that John's writing has great depth of meaning.

At first this passage seems to be a strange addition to the John's account of Jesus life which effectively ended at Ch. 20 v. 30-31.... It may be that the author had two thoughts in mind when he came to pen this last chapter –

1) Firstly, he wanted to stress the reality of the resurrection; following the tumultuous events of Holy Week, seven of the disciples, led by Peter, decided to go home to Galilee. Like countless others who have known the pain of bereavement they found comfort in a familiar routine and were glad to return to their old trade of fishermen. It was at the end of a fruitless night that a familiar figure appeared on the lakeside, Jesus, their companion still, but no longer limited by time or space.

2) When John tells us that following Jesus' instructions the disciples/fishermen caught 153 fish in their net we should open our eyes and ears. Numbers almost always have a special significance in the Bible and those who first heard this account of Jesus appearance by the Sea of Galilee would have understood the importance of this immediately for 2000 years ago in that part of the world men and women believed that there were 153 species of fish in the sea. In other words every breed of fish was represented in this great catch.

Now we can see the second reason John had for adding this wonderful story to the end of the Gospel - at the very beginning of his ministry Jesus had called the disciples saying "Follow me and I will make you fish for people" (Matt.4:21) - now in the presence of the Risen Christ it was clear to them that they were to take the Gospel (Good News) not just to their own people, the Jews, but to women and men of every nation, race and language. Note, too, that amazingly the net containing every variety of fish in the sea did not burst. The net, of course, represents the Christian church, which has room for all who respond to the Good News.

It was in the power of the Risen Christ that Peter, Thomas and the others made the great catch of fish. Toiling all night they caught nothing until they recognized his presence and followed his directions. When they reached the shore he fed them, being their companion, one who shares bread. Almost 2000 years later we can hardly understand what happened that night but we can see the consequences. Those frightened confused fisherman were so transformed and inspired by their experience that they took the Good News of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth throughout the known world; Peter we know travelled to Rome, and tradition tells us that Thomas sailed to India where there is indeed a very ancient branch of the Christian church.

Christians today still have a responsibility to share the Gospel with their sisters and brothers around the world. For 196 years the Bible Societies in Ireland have shared in that mission, seeking to make the Word “open for all”. However, there are still many people in the world for whom the Scriptures are not available in their own language, who cannot read of the events which changed for ever the lives of Peter, Thomas, James, John and the others. Sadly it is also true that there are still women and men living under totalitarian regimes that make it difficult or even prohibit the distribution of Bibles and other Christian literature (for example, many Muslim countries).

As we thank God for the freedom to worship and to be nurtured by his word to us in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments let us work and pray for the day when God's word IS open for all.

Finally, let us commit ourselves to:
• Inform ourselves of the spiritual needs of others;
• Share God’s Word around this world;
• Pray that the work of the Bible Societies, both here in Ireland and throughout the world will be blessed by God