Easter Friday
Acts 4:1-12
Jn 21:1-14
…the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus.
Sometimes, I wonder how many moments pass me by because I am too busy fishing. I’m caught up in the everyday familiar things — my routines, getting assignments done, going for classes, seeing clients, squeezing in exercise, planning what I need to cover for the day, worrying about people and situations. Even prayer, or writing this reflection, can feel like work. It becomes another item to tick off the list. ‘Pass up the homework’ seems to be my current mode of operation.
Yet in the midst of all this motion, Jesus may already be right there — walking beside me, waiting across the street, sitting quietly with me — and I don’t notice Him.
In today’s Gospel, the disciples were out on the water: tired, disappointed, and empty-hearted after a whole night of catching nothing. Then at dawn, someone stood on the shore — familiar, and yet unrecognised.
It reminds me of mornings when I wake up already exhausted, or evenings when I look back on a busy day and feel like I accomplished nothing of real meaning. How often do I miss the presence of Christ simply because I’m caught up in my own ‘nets’ — my efforts, anxieties, and expectations?
But Jesus is right there, asking me — and you — “Have you caught anything, friends?”
The disciples didn’t recognise Him immediately. It took a simple invitation: cast the net again, trust His word, and share a meal. Only then did their eyes open. What had been an ordinary task suddenly became an extraordinary moment of encounter.
I think of how many times there has been a quiet stirring in my heart to do something that didn’t make sense. How often I’ve brushed it aside with, “This is ridiculous.” And yet, that whisper could have been Him.
Because Jesus often reveals Himself quietly: not in dramatic flashes or forceful commands, but in gentle nudges — a small suggestion, a simple meal, a timely word that arrives exactly when we need it.
In today’s first reading, Peter and John speak with such boldness — not because they were naturally fearless, but because they had encountered the Risen Lord. Their confidence was not about themselves; it was about the One who had changed their lives. The healing they spoke of was not only physical; it was life-giving and transformative.
And maybe we think we have not encountered the Lord the way they did. Or perhaps we feel we don’t have that kind of conviction. But boldness doesn’t begin with grand gestures. It begins in the small, everyday recognitions — noticing God in the ordinary, trusting His guidance when we feel stuck, allowing Him to meet us exactly where we are.
Maybe today the Lord is standing on your shore in the simplest things; in a conversation you didn’t expect, in a task you thought was routine or in a moment of unexpected peace.
The question is not whether He is present. The real question is whether we are attentive enough to recognise Him.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Geraldine Nah)
Prayer: Open my eyes, Lord
Help me to see your face.
Open my eyes, Lord
Help me to see.
Open my ears, Lord
Help me to hear your voice.
Open my ears, Lord
Help me to hear.
Open my heart, Lord
Help me to love like you.
Open my heart, Lord
Help me to love.
Thanksgiving: Thank You, Jesus, for Your constant invitation —
to come and see,
to come and listen,
to come and experience life with You.
Thank You for standing on the shore of my everyday life,
waiting for me to recognise You.
OXYGEN 
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