8th April 2015

When they opened their doors at 3.30am on Good Friday at the Sydney Fish Markets, there was already a queue of people waiting to buy their Easter supplies. I must admit that I still don’t get the deal with eating fish on Friday. “Because Jesus died, and therefore you shouldn’t eat red meat,” is the usual reply. But apparently to stuff your face with two dozen oysters and a gigantic fillet of Atlantic salmon is an acceptable way to remember the Saviour.

Admittedly there is a connection between fish and Easter, but it’s a Sunday thing. When Jesus appeared to his disciples on the night of his resurrection, and in response to their looks of disbelief, he asked if there was anything to eat. They produced a piece of broiled fish, which he ate in their presence. It immediately ruled out the ghost theory, and left remaining the only conclusion that was possible. He had come back to life, and physically.

In fact there’s another Easter story involving fish that shows something more: that not only had Jesus been physically raised, but that his death had neither changed his personality nor his character. The apostle John records in the final chapter of his Gospel, that Jesus gathered his disciples at the Sea of Galilee, and served them breakfast on the beach. And not a hasty one, but fish roasted over coals, and warm bread, and all served with love. The conclusion was unmistakable. The same one who washed their feet before his crucifixion, was the same one who now served them in his resurrection glory.

DM 8^th April 2015