THE YEAR OF HEALING

PHYSICAL HEALTH: RECREATION

“After [his resurrection], Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias in this way…Simon Peter said to the other disciples, ‘I am going fishing.’ They said to him, ‘We also will come with you.’ So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize it was Jesus. He said to them, ‘Children, have you caught anything to eat?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ So he said to them, ‘Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.’ So they cast it and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord.’ When Simon Peter heard it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea” (John 21:1, 3-7).

 

Lakes and seas always had a special place in Jesus’s ministry. Several of his miracles took place on or near bodies of water, like the great catch of fish above. He was baptized in the Jordan River. He called the first disciples, who were fishermen, on the shore of the sea. Fish were part of his feeding of the multitudes, and one of the earliest symbols for Christ was a fish, in Greek, “ichthys”, which first century Christians turned into an acrostic, “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.”

 

When we recall the crucial role of water in God’s plan for creation and salvation - from the first creation story of Genesis, to the flood of Noah, to the crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus and the crossing of the Jordan in Joshua, to the river of life flowing from the temple in Ezekiel - it makes perfect sense that Jesus would employ bodies of water in his saving mission to re-create the world according to God’s plan. Water means life, and life is exactly what Jesus came to give us.

 

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we here in Erie happen to live next to a pretty impressive body of water ourselves, one of the natural wonders of the world, part of the largest fresh water system on earth, the great lakes - Lake Erie. Yet how often do we take advantage of it? Whether swimming, boating, fishing, or just walking along the shore watching the waves roll in, we have such a blessed opportunity to enjoy the wonder of God’s creation and to travel back in our minds and hearts to those great moments in salvation history with God.

 

Through the mind, body, spirit connection, Lake Erie also offers us a great opportunity for recreation that can positively affect our physical health and wellbeing. The physical exercise lake activities involve provides an obvious source of fun, physical health, but the mental and spiritual renewal we can experience from simply being in the awesome presence of God in and through such an amazing part of his creation cannot help but improve our physical health too. There is still plenty of summer left. Take advantage of it to get out and enjoy God’s gift of Lake Erie, and may your time at, on, and in this great lake renew you in mind, spirit, and body.