“After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias.” John 21:1

“Surprise is no more than a beginning of that fullness we call gratefulness.  But a beginning it is.”  Brother David Steindl-Rast

Life is full of surprises. Some of those are little surprises that we might take for granted or overlook;  like the site of the first blades of green grass peeking through the winter snow, or a robin trying to pluck a worm out of the ground after a soft spring rain, or the familiar site of a rainbow reflecting the colors of the suns rays.  Some surprises might be much bigger, like the good news of an expectant birth, or a windfall that brings good fortune, or the bad news of illness or the death of a loved one.  Whether big or little, good or bad, life is full of surprises.

Easter is a time filled with surprises.  It is a time filled with bunnies and chicks and flowers and painted eggs and baskets and candy.  As we grow older and experience more Easters it’s possible that the magic might get stale and the miracles lose their luster.  If so, we need only seek out the presence of a child to have the surprise of the season restored.

This year I experienced the unbridled joy of my grandchildren as they discovered their easter baskets filled with candy early on Sunday morning.  Exuberance, squeals of excitement, and exclamations of pure delight rang out through the house.  Their expressions of joy at these surprises were unbridled, unfiltered and unfettered! Not so different, I imagine, from that exhibited by the disciples on the Sea of Tiberias when they recognized Jesus standing on the shore. 

Directionless after the crushing disappointment of the death of their master, they had returned to their previous occupation of fishing.  Sitting in that boat symbolized the directionless doldrums they were in as they attempted to sort through the events of the previous days.  Suddenly, surprisingly, someone was standing on the shore.  They may have been a bit startled, as we have been when someone suddenly appears, seemingly out of nowhere.  Perhaps due to the unexpected nature of His appearance they didn’t recognize Jesus.  Or maybe it was due to the dimness of the early morning light, or maybe because He looked so regular, so normal, so human. 

And then Jesus called to them, softly I imagine. “Children”, Jesus said.  Note the significance in that gracious and loving greeting.  He calls them by who they really are, children of God.  He uses the same term of endearment for us.  There is nothing more that we could ever aspire to in life than this.  He then guides them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat, and when they do they are surprised to catch so many fish.  This simple miracle opens the heart as well as the eyes of John, who exclaims “It is the Lord”.  I imagine him doing so with the same type of delight expressed by children on Easter morning.  When Peter realizes this, he also releases his inner child and throws himself over the side of the boat.

Can you picture it?  Can you see Peter swimming wildly, arms flailing, almost frantic in his desire to get to shore?  Can you picture his feet touching the rocky bottom and then running and splashing through the water, throwing himself onto the bank and stumbling up to Jesus standing beside the fire that he had kindled.  What a scene! And imagine the delight Jesus must’ve felt in surprising His disciples like this!

It has been said that God comes to us disguised as our lives.  Certainly God comes to us disguised IN our lives, surprising us in such small yet oh so significant ways.  Unfortunately, we forget that we are and will always remain God’s children.  And so we are compelled to grow up and outgrow the simple truth and subtle surprises visited upon us daily by the Divine.  Sad, isn’t it? It doesn’t have to be that way.

Our new life in Christ means that we awaken each day to a new day, an eternal day, in which God greets us in the most surprising of ways.  We might have seen or experienced something a hundred times before, but with eyes of faith opened and hearts fully alive we can fully experience it as if for the first time. We can be filled with awe and joy and wonder!

Wonder-Full surprises.  When was the last time you wondered at one of life’s surprises?  What surprises are waiting for you today?  How and where will you see God hidden in them, anxious to reveal Himself to you in the most simple, yet miraculous, of ways?