Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas(also known as 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. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them,“Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. (John 21:1-14)

 

 

     At some point you've probably all heard of what are called “mountain top experiences.” These are the powerful spiritual experiences that we have when something dramatic happens that makes us have no doubt about the presence of God in our midst. They can be different things for different people (there's no single definition of what a “mountain top experience” would be) but they can happen to anyone and everyone and they simply bring us into the presence of God and they usually change us in some meaningful way when they happen – because how can you not be changed when you realize that you've had some sort of encounter with the divine. Sometimes we want to talk about these experiences because they are so powerful and so meaningful to us; sometimes we're a little embarrassed by them and we decide to keep it to ourselves. But somehow people usually notice. 

 

     I guess the classic biblical example of a mountain top experience would have been the experience of Moses on Mount Sinai with God, who appeared in the form of a burning bush. The experience transformed Moses from a frightened and uncertain shepherd looking after his father in law's sheep into the leader of God's people. Or you could consider Paul's experience on the Road to Damascus. Paul was on his way from Jerusalem to Damascus in order to engage in persecution against the followers of Jesus in that city, when he had an experience that he could only describe as a blinding light that transformed him into the leader of the church's mission to the Gentile world. And there was Peter, who was suddenly confronted by the sight of Jesus standing on a mountain top with Moses and Elijah on either side of him. Moses – the giver of the law, and Elijah – the greatest of Israel's prophets; an experience that convinced Peter that here, in Jesus, was God's final and perfect revelation: Jesus, who held together the law and the prophets, and Jesus, who went beyond the law and the prophets. And, of course, who can forget the story of Mary Magdalene, standing distraught at the empty tomb on the first Easter morning, in tears because she couldn't find the body of Jesus, only to be lifted to a mountain top experience when the risen Jesus suddenly revealed himself to her, and she realized that the cross hadn't been an end – it had been a new beginning. There are more – but those are four wonderful examples of mountain top experiences that had a dramatic effect on those who had them.

 

     But mountain top experiences can also create problems. Sometimes, people become so fixated on their own version of the mountain top experience that they think everyone else should have the same experience, and they can begin to think that anyone who doesn't have the same experience has a problem, or isn't as good as they are. There are more than a few biblical examples of that too. What greater mountain top experience could there have been than to have been one of the disciples of Jesus? To have walked with him, to have talked with him, to have learned from him – to have literally seen God in him? And yet, at times at least, it seems that the experience had exactly the opposite effect on them than Jesus would have liked. Jesus welcomed people, and his goal was that the will of God would be done through those whom he called. But then there's the story of the people bringing their children to Jesus to be blessed. There's no suggestion in the story that Jesus was bothered by this, but the disciples seemed to have been jealous. Indeed, they “rebuked those who brought them” - as if time with Jesus was an experience that children weren't worthy of having. They were themselves, of course, rebuked by Jesus. “Let the little children come to me,” he said. But the mountain top experience of spending time with Jesus made the disciples judgemental and jealous. And there's the example of the church at Corinth. The Corinthian church was a strong church, with many people who had received the mountain top experience of being specially gifted by God, but some (especially those who had received the gift of speaking in tongues) started to believe themselves better than others, because they had received a very obvious gift that others hadn't received and so, surely they thought, those others were lacking in something; they weren't as good. Powerful, mountain top, spiritual experiences don't always have a positive effect.

 

     So I started thinking – as wonderful as mountain top experiences are, maybe we need to celebrate other ways of experiencing God's presence. Maybe it isn't all about being on top of the mountain with something dramatic and exciting happening. Maybe it isn't about all the “signs and wonders” that some churches and some Christians seem fixated on. Maybe it's time for people to start to concentrate on seeing and experiencing God in the every day things of life. Maybe God is just as present in the mundane as in the dramatic; in the ordinary as much or more than in the extraordinary. Take, for example, the experience we read about in John's Gospel a few minutes ago.

 

     We tend to focus on the catch of fish described in the passage – and that's all well and good. It was a seemingly miraculous event that certainly deserves the attention it gets. But the story goes from dramatically miraculous to strangely mundane in a few short minutes. How did the disciples in the passage really experience Jesus most powerfully? They shared a meal with him. “Come and have breakfast,” Jesus said. Is there anything more “every-day” than having breakfast with someone? But that was Jesus' invitation. “Come and have breakfast.” That was literally how the disciples came into Jesus' presence on that day. That little part of the story makes me wonder: how many times do we miss the presence of God in the every day things of life because we expect that God is always going to appear in the dramatic and powerful events that happen? Even the great prophet Elijah had to learn that lesson. There's a story in the Old Testament, in the First Book of Kings, about Elijah looking for God's presence. “The Lord said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.' Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'” Elijah expected to see God in the dramatic; he found God in a gentle whisper. The disciples thought the miraculous catch of fish was what revealed Jesus to them; but they really encountered him over an early morning breakfast.

 

     So it seems to me that while mountain top experiences of God are fantastic, maybe we should spend less time worrying about them and thinking that's the only way to experience God, and perhaps we should spend more time looking for God in the everyday things of life. After all, we spend most of our time engaged in the everyday things of life, so it seems to me that's where we'd be most likely to find God. But if we become convinced that God is only in the extraordinary things, then when our lives get filled with the ordinary (as probably all of our lives are) then perhaps we can easily start to think that God isn't with us; that God doesn't care. But God is with us – and in the everyday things of life we see God perhaps most clearly. While looking at a sunrise or a sunset. While laughing at a good joke. While crying at a graveside. Maybe – who knows - even while attending a church service. Or maybe – most importantly – while looking at the face of the next person you cross paths with and seeing the image of God being reflected in it. These are the every day things in life. Here's where we really encounter God. So don't overlook them. Don't think that because something is ordinary and everyday, it's also devoid of God. Tomorrow morning, when you wake up, it's very possible that Jesus might be speaking to you in the most ordinary, everyday way. Just maybe he's say to you - “come and have breakfast.” Because he'll be there at the table with you!