Article December 23, 2013 Issue

Cast the net on the right side

Jorge Díaz Rosales

Originally written in Spanish and published in the June 2013 Spanish, French, German, and Portuguese editions of The Herald of Christian Science.

Many of the decisions we make on a daily basis are the result of our own analysis of our situations. But sometimes we’re wrong, and these mistakes can afflict us, causing stress or depression. So what would happen if we turned to God whenever we had decisions to make?

This was what happened to the disciples after Jesus’ resurrection while they were fishing in a boat on the Galilean sea. The Bible says, “That night they caught nothing” (John 21:3). In spite of the fact that Jesus had appeared to them twice since his resurrection, perhaps they still felt abandoned and dejected because their Master wasn’t with them anymore. Perhaps they still didn’t realize that the Christ, the divine message from God, was always at hand to reveal the truth to each one of them. So, when Christ Jesus appeared to them on the beach, at first they didn’t recognize him.

Having caught nothing after working all night, they were asked by the Master, “Children, have ye any meat?” When they answered in the negative, he told them: “Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes” (John 21:3, 5, 6). Being humbled, they accepted the presence and spiritual guidance of the Christ, the incorporeal, spiritual idea of God that Jesus presented. They changed their methods and dropped their fishing careers, and when they did, they put aside their impulse to do things according to their own judgment. They realized their need to have their minds attuned to God, just as Christ Jesus did. They realized the healing mission they had ahead, and devoted themselves to be “fishers of men,” healers and preachers.