I just finished An Alien at St Wilfred’s by Adrian Plass, the British humorist. I read his The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass, age 37 1/2 when it first came out in 1987. Unlike Alien…, Diary is still in print. Strongly recommend Diary and anything else by Adrian Plass. Brilliant. Insightful Dry sense of humor.
Alien was written in 1992 and is about an angel who appeared to a vicar at St Wilfred’s Anglican Church. The book ends with an insight into John 21, Jesus’ appearance to the disciples on the seashore, that’s too good not to pass on.
On page 188, in the last chapter, during a period of intense prayer, the Lord gave the vicar seven practical things to work on:
- Organization
- Diet
- Alcohol
- Exercise
- Rest
- Time with God
- Bible reading
The vicar was disappointed because these felt too practical, too ordinary to be of God. When he shared them with his small group who had been meeting with the angel, the angel asked him to think about Peter in John 21. Peter jumped into the water to see Jesus. (I wrote about Peter’s frenzy in January 2022.) They still had unfinished business between them. Why was Peter so anxious to see Jesus? Answer: because he loved him. And who was Jesus? Group members responded:
- The son of God
- The Savior of the world
- The one who made everything
And what was this Jesus, the Son of God, Savior of the world, the One who made everything, doing when Peter arrived on shore, dripping wet? Answer?
Fixing breakfast for his friends.
When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” (John 21.9 – 12, ESV)
Practical. Ordinary.