After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way.  Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples.  Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.  Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.   Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.”  He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.  That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea.  But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.

Working without Christ yielded no catch.  Working as directed by Christ yielded over-abundance.  Often our endeavors in one area or another, whether it be in simple day to day tasks or in trying to win a soul, seem to be completely for nothing.  We labor all day or all night and nothing seems to come of it.  But then we recollect ourselves, listening for Christ's directing voice, and change our actions according to the calm discernment of his will, and everything changes.  We still must cast the net, we still must labor.  But whereas before it seemed to be in vain, this time our labor is fruitful, sometimes over-abundantly.  As a test for us the Lord permits us to fish all night and catch nothing so that we may truly know and understand that true fruitfulness comes only in and through the Son of Man, the vine.  We, like the apostles, recognize Christ in the over-abundance.  Jesus never gives in little amounts, whether in this life through his grace or in the next through his eternal reward to the long-suffering.