Biblical Reading:
21After these things Jesus
showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he
showed himself in this way. 2Gathered there together were
Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the
sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. 3Simon
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. 4Just after daybreak, Jesus
stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was
Jesus. 5Jesus said to them, Children, you
have no fish, have you?
They answered
him, No.
6He 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. 7That 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. 8But 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.
9When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there,
with fish on it, and bread. 10Jesus said to
them, Bring some of the fish that you have just
caught.
11So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net
ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though
there were so many, the net was not torn. 12Jesus said to
them, Come and have breakfast.
Now none of the
disciples dared to ask him, Who are you?
because they knew it
was the Lord. 13Jesus came and took the bread and gave it
to them, and did the same with the fish. 14This was now the
third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised
from the dead.
15When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon
Peter, Simon son of John, do you love me more than
these?
He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.
Jesus said to him, Feed my lambs.
16A second time he said to him, Simon son of
John, do you love me?
He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that
I love you.
Jesus said to him, Tend my
sheep.
17He said to him the third
time, Simon son of John, do you love me?
Peter felt
hurt because he said to him the third time, Do you love
me?
And he said to him, Lord, you know everything; you know
that I love you.
Jesus said to him, Feed my
sheep. 18Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you
used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when
you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will
fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to
go.
19(He said this to indicate the kind of death by
which he would glorify God.) After this he said to
him, Follow me.
I was a biology major in college and in one of my classes on human
development, there was a whole week that was dedicated to what happens
with a baby's first breath. It really is amazing, all the things that
have to happen as the new little one switches from relying on the
mother for oxygen: to being able to breathe on its own… within
moments, the heart changes, the lungs change, the circulation pattern
changes and a whole host of other things go on all because of that
baby's first breath… I knew this… I studied it in
school… I took tests on it, I even wrote a paper about it at
one point in time… And then last Friday, I saw it from a new
perspective and it entirely changed my understanding. Little baby Ben
is 10 days old today. He's my third child. I didn't catch the
miracle of the first breath with the other two like I did with him,
maybe I was distracted by all the other stuff that happens as a baby's
born, maybe I was caught up in the emotion of the moment, maybe the
doctors held the other two children in a position that I wasn't able
to see, I don't know. But with Ben's birth, I was acutely aware of
the miracle that was going on as I watched him change before my eyes.
He inhaled and his body started to turn pink… No matter how
much I knew the physiology of what was going on, there is an entirely
different kind of understanding and a different way of being that
comes with participating in something incredible unfolding right
before my eyes. It only took a moment but I was participating, hoping
and praying and waiting for that breath that marked my baby's
transition to life on the outside. And as the nurses were rubbing him
with towels and he let out his first cry I heard the doctor
say there it is
and I knew that for those few minutes that the
doctor was there he joined in along with me and Rebecca as
participants, for that moment he was invested in our journey doing
what he could to make sure that everything went right…and I
thank God that it did.
Later as I reflected on the whole experience I realized that it's
always that way… participation and investment bring a different
kind of understanding and a different way of being into the equation.
It was only a few minutes later, as I gave thanks to God for a new
little baby who didn't even have a name yet, I held him and made the
same promise I made to my other two children at the same point in
their lives… I'm going to love you every day of my life.
I'm still learning what it means to live that promise. I didn't
understand what I was saying the first time… and even though I
have 4 more years of experience and now a few children to practice on,
I still have to believe I only have a slightly better understanding
this time around.
You see, by definition, that promise is something that's still unfolding: sometimes it unfolds in weird ways, sometimes it unfolds in incredible ways and sometimes it unfolds in mundane ways. But you know, the important part about a promise like that isn't that everything's all figured out… it isn't that you know the ramifications of what you're saying before you say it, the important part is that you're committed to the person on the other side of the promise and you're committed to journey with them wherever that journey may lead.
That's what the whole conversation between Jesus and Simon Peter was
about while they were on the lake shore in the second half of our
scripture text… In one of the most famous stories of Holy week,
Jesus predicted that Simon Peter would deny him… and then,
while Jesus was being unfairly tried and condemned, he did. Three
times that night Peter said, I am not a disciple of Jesus. But in
case anyone thought that what we should remember about Peter was his
infidelity, we're given this story toward the end of the gospel of
John to show that denial may have been a part of his journey but it
wasn't the last word. After the empty tomb and after Jesus had
appeared to the disciples; Peter was given another chance. Simon
son of John, do you love me?
Yes, Lord; you know that I love
you.
Simon son of John, do you love me?
Yes, Lord; you
know that I love you.
Simon son of John, do you love me?
He
felt hurt because Jesus asked him a third time; and he said to
him, Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.
Three times he was asked and three times when he said yes, Jesus told
him, Feed my sheep.
This was Peter's mission, his purpose, his
calling. And after the final time he's told to feed the sheep, our
passage has a sort of cryptic saying about belts and how Peter would
be killed, and as I read it, it sounds an awful lot like, even though
you may not know where this journey ends, say yes anyway…
follow me.
I've had quite a few people over the years I've been doing ministry say to me, well if I knew that God was calling me to do this or that, or whatever; of course I'd do it… but how can I be sure. And it's a good question… there are lots of reasons that we do or don't do just about everything. I think for the most part it's safe to say that we are creatures of mixed motives. But most of the time when the question is asked, it seems to me that it's a delaying tactic or a way to avoid the responsibility of action… There are very few things we can be absolutely sure about… and if we need to be sure before we act, it's a pretty safe bet that we won't do much in this lifetime.
And the first half of our passage today presents a different picture,
one that says certainty isn't the end goal… The disciples had
gone out fishing and after a long night with no catch, Jesus stood on
the shore… The scripture tells us that the disciples didn't
know it was Jesus when he told them to cast the net to the right side
of the boat… and frankly their response is surprising…
maybe things are just that much different now than they were then. It
seems like there would have been a million reasons to say, no.
In fact I think you would've been hard pressed to find a good reason
to actually do what the stranger said… But that didn't stop
them. They threw the nets overboard and something incredible began to
unfold before their eyes… Fish…lots of them. The
beloved disciple was the first one who seemed to understand what was
going on… He said, It is the Lord.
And as quickly as he
could, Peter jumped out of the boat to get to Jesus standing on the
shore. And the thing I want to highlight is that they didn't wait for
assurance… they didn't wait till they were 100% positive it was
Jesus standing on the shore… they obeyed. They didn't wait
till they were sure there was going to be some sort of benefit for
them, they acted. They followed the suggestion of a stranger and
because they did - because they tossed their nets overboard when it
would have been easier to just keep going home - they recognized
Christ. Albert Schweitzer, who was a theologian, a musician, a
physician and a Nobel peace prize winner, wrote this about
Jesus…
He comes to us as one unknown, without a name, as once by the lake
side he came to those men who did not know him. He speaks to us the
same word: 'Follow me' and sets us to the tasks which he has to
fulfill for our time. He commands. And to those who obey, whether
they are wise or simple, he will reveal himself in the work, the
conflicts, the sufferings which they take on in his fellowship, and as
an indescribable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience who
he is.
(modified slightly for clarity)
Experience brings an entirely new understanding. Participating brings
an entirely different outlook than simply knowing about
something…
and there's no place where that's more true than
in our journey of faith. What Mr. Schweitzer had to say in the
paraphrase I read really boils down to the idea that if you want to
know who God is, do what God would have you do and see what happens.
If you aren't sure enough of what God would have you do, ask…
Ask God in prayer, spend time reading the scriptures, come have a
conversation with me or someone else you trust. Take some time to
listen for a response in prayer… be open to hearing something
that may be a stretch for you and may require something from
you… and then respond by saying
Yes.
Do that which you feel called to do. There may be a
million reasons to say no. It always seems like there's not enough
time, not enough energy, not enough money, not enough whatever. But
don't let that stop you. Even if the results aren't what you
anticipated, I have to believe that efforts made in good faith are
taken and used by God. Sometimes the best thing that comes from our
attempts is that we learn what doesn't work… but even if that's
all that we see, the grace of God is and has been and always will be
at work… we can see it in a child's first breath, we can see it
in the reinstatement of someone who has failed in one way or another
and when we watch and wait, when we are aware and attentive, when
we're invested and when we participate, we can see it in the mundane
and the incredible ways life unfolds as we say yes to God and as God
says yes to us! Thanks be to God. Amen
The foregoing sermon was given by Rev. Dan Holland at the United Parish of Bowie on the Second Sunday after Easter, April 18, 2010.
© 2010 Daniel Holland
