Psychology teaches us that our memories can sometimes be very much connected to our senses. A smell, a sound, even the texture of something that we touch can suddenly unlock a long-forgotten memory. Sometimes those memories can be comforting and sometimes they’re a little bit more painful. The smell of freshly cut grass might take you back to playing in the yard as a kid. A certain perfume might bring the memory of the grandmother you loved. The taste of a certain food might bring up a moment of joy shared with friends or family. Our brains are wired this way – our senses are doorways to memory. And God, the designer of that very wiring, sometimes uses those doorways to bring us healing.

In today’s Gospel, there’s a small detail tucked into the story that ends up being quite significant: when the disciples come ashore after that miraculous catch of fish, they find Jesus waiting for them… standing next to a charcoal fire.

Now, a charcoal fire might not seem like such an important detail at first — but in the Gospel of John, it’s only mentioned twice. Once here, and once on the night Peter denied Jesus.

If we go back to John 18, we read that Peter stood around a charcoal fire in the courtyard of the high priest, trying to keep warm as Jesus was being questioned inside. It was there that Peter, fearful and confused, denied even knowing Jesus – not once, but three times. And the Gospel is very clear about the setting: it was a charcoal fire.

So when Peter comes ashore and sees Jesus by another charcoal fire, you can imagine what memory must have come rushing back. The smell of burning charcoal, the crackling of the fire — it probably brought him instantly back to that awful night when he betrayed the Lord. But here’s the thing, Jesus wasn’t trying to avoid Peter’s failure. He was stepping right into it.

That’s exactly what the Lord does with us…it’s how He operates. He doesn’t pretend our past didn’t happen. He doesn’t sweep our failures under the rug. Instead, He meets us there – He meets us in the place of our greatest shame, our greatest moment of failure, the one thing we desperately want to forget! And He does it because He wants to transform it into a moment of healing.

The first charcoal fire had been the scene of Peter’s betrayal, his greatest moment of weakness. This second one became the scene of Peter’s restoration, his greatest moment of encounter with the Lord. The smell was the same. The crackle of the fire was the same. But the meaning was entirely different – because Jesus was there with mercy.

And notice what Jesus doesn’t do; He doesn’t rush Peter through this moment. He doesn’t say, “Let’s just move on and forget about it,” like it never happened. Instead, He invites Peter to face it…but not alone. That’s the key! Jesus went through it with Peter.  Three times Jesus asks him: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Three questions — one for each denial. And after each answer, Jesus gives Peter a mission: “Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep.”

What Jesus is doing here, if we really think about it and reflect on it, is actually really quite beautiful. He is not just forgiving Peter. He’s restoring him; He’s redeeming this experience; He’s transforming it to become something that will change not only Peter’s heart, but the hearts of others. Jesus is entrusting Peter once again with leadership. He is showing him – and us – that our failures, when we bring them to the Lord, can be transformed into our greatest callings.

Peter’s leadership would not come from a place of pride or strength. It would come from humility – from knowing firsthand what mercy feels like. And isn’t that often how God works in our lives, as well?

Every one of us has a “charcoal fire” moment – a time when we denied Christ in some way, maybe not with words, but with our actions, our silence, our compromises. A time when we let fear or pride or anger get the best of us. And like Peter, we might carry the shame of those moments hidden somewhere deep in our hearts, hoping that no one – not even God – will ever bring them up again.

But He does…He does bring them up…not to shame us, but to heal us. He invites us to meet Him at the fire, not to simply relive our worst moments, but to rewrite them with His mercy. Peter’s past wasn’t erased. It was redeemed. Our pasts can be as well.

This week, let’s take some time in prayer, asking Jesus to meet us at our own “charcoal fire.” Think about the moments we regret. Be honest about them. But most importantly, invite Jesus into those memories. Ask Him, “Lord, how do You want to heal this? How do You want to use this?” Because so often where the world sees failure, Jesus sees the foundation for something new and beautiful.

Peter became the rock on which the Church was built – not because he was perfect, but because he knew how deeply he needed grace. And that is what makes a saint.

Jesus isn’t sitting around the charcoal fire looking to shame us or even scold us. He’s waiting to cook us breakfast. He’s waiting to speak to our hearts. He’s waiting to love us. He’s waiting to restore us. So, over the next few days: let’s not be afraid to meet Him at the fire.

Image: Charcoal fire, Mitchell Luo. Used under Unsplash license.