This little 10-year-old boy is in the backyard, 

Joey, digging a hole. 

The old man from next door comes over and says, 

“Joey, what are you doing?” 

And Joey says, “I’m digging a hole 

Because my goldfish died.” 

The elderly man said, “oh, Joey, my deepest sympathy, 

But why is the hole so big? Why is the hole so big?” 

And Joey says, “because my dead goldfish 

Is inside your dead cat.” 

[Laughter] 

Oh, i like that one. 

About 10 years ago, I was talking to a man in his 30s, 

Very successful, owned a beautiful home, 

Big salary, a man climbing up the ladder of success. 

But he was not happy. 

He was not at peace. 

He said something to me I will never forget. 

He said, “I’m chasing after achievements in my life 

Because I’m missing something, and that something is God.” 

There’s an important theme worth exploring in today’s gospel. 

It centers on the opening episode of the disciples at sea. 

They’re confused, they’re lost, and they’re empty. 

Life is missing something. 

They are still reeling from the death of their master, Jesus. 

They don’t know what to do with themselves, 

And so, in a kind of reflex action, 

They revert to their old trade, they go fishing. 

The unprofitable night indicates that both 

Figuratively and literally, they caught nothing. 

The voice asks, “have you caught anything?” 

The answer, “we’ve labored all night, 

And we have caught nothing.” 

And we pause on hearing this. 

Aren’t those frequently our words? 

How often have we, in one form or another, 

Spoken them after trying to pick up the pieces 

After the death of a loved one? 

A severe sickness, a setback, 

The loss of a job, depression, divorce, the empty nest? 

Nothing. We’ve caught nothing. 

We are discouraged. We are terribly saddened. 

Listen to the story that was given to me some years ago. 

I was driving home from work one day. 

I stopped to watch a local little league baseball game 

That was being played in a park near my home. 

As i sat down behind the bench on the first baseline, 

I asked one of the boys, “what was the score?” 

He said, “we’re behind 14-nothing.” With a giant smile. 

“Oh, really?” He said. 

I said, “i have to say that, when being down 14-zero, 

You don’t look discouraged.” 

The boy had a puzzled look on his face. 

“Why should we be discouraged? 

We have not been up to bat yet.” 

There was a reason to hope. 

Resurrection means new life, new hope. 

The Lord is with us, resurrection. 

Only the Lord can feel what we are truly looking for in life. 

If we really think about it, this evening, 

Before going to bed, turn all your worries over to God, 

Because God will be up all night anyway.