John 1:1-19 has been the topic of two separate articles posted here at Otium Sanctum. The article on John 21:1-14 is found here while the one on John 21:15-19 is found here.
The idea that the narrative in John 21:1-14 speaks about the mission of the Church and the Lord being the one who commands the catch, gives the catch and offers the refreshment is the subject of commentaries. It is completed by the commissioning of Simon Peter who is the one who hauls in the nets and is, after the meal, commissioned to tend and feed the flock. The dragging in of the catch, on the one hand, is completed by the tending and feeding of those that have been drawn in. Two separate images, that of fishes on the one hand and a flock of sheep on the other are complementary images of how men and women are drawn into the Church and are nourished and fed within it. In this sense, the description of the centrality of the meal illustrates how in the mind of John, the eucharist is the refreshment after the work of drawing in but at the same time the source of energy for tending and feeding. In both the action of drawing in and tending the figure of Simon Peter stands out.
The reference to the eucharist has been pointed out before. The Greek text goes erchetai Iesous kai lambanei ton arton kai didosin autois kai to opsarion homoios -- And Jesus came and he took the bread and gave it to them; he did the same with the roasted fish.
The verb "erchetai" is the same one used in the previous appearance narratives while "lambanei ton arton kai didosin autois" echoes the actions in John 6, which is the Johanine chapter on the Eucharist. By this allussion, the meal celebrated at the beach is no ordinary "breakfast" but the Lord's meal which is offered not only as a refreshment after a job well done, but also the source of Peter's commissioning.
