SERMON
The Third Sunday of Easter
April 10, 2016
Christ Church, St. Michaels Parish
Today’s gospel reading from John is incredibly rich in detail, and
absolutely central to our lives as Christians.
It is so rich and so relevant that I have decided not to follow
the usual formula of beginning with a personal story, or lead-in anecdote – the
so-called “hook.” Instead, I am just going to drive right into the gospel
narrative.
In today’s passage Jesus makes his third resurrection appearance,
this time by the Sea of Tiberias, or as it is more commonly known to us, the
Sea of Galilee. He appears quite suddenly and ever so silently – it is just
after daybreak. His arrival is so unobtrusive that, initially, as he stands
quietly on the beach looking out at their small boat, the disciples do not recognize
him.
As Jesus
stands silently on the shore and watches his beloved disciples in their small
fishing boat he sees that their nets are empty. The disciples have been on the
water all night – they have caught nothing - they are tired and discouraged.
Jesus calls
out to them saying, “Children, you have
caught no fish, have you?” When they respond by affirming his observation,
he calls to them saying, “Cast the net to
the right side of the boat and you will find some.”
Following
his advice the disciples re- cast their net, this time on the right side of the
boat; and, miraculously, fish appear. Very quickly their net is filled to overflowing
and the disciples begin to haul the catch towards the shoreline.
As they
slowly sail towards the shore, Jesus is building a charcoal fire and grilling
fish. Miraculously, bread also appears. A breakfast feast, prepared by their Lord, is
ready and waiting for the disciples as they tie up their boat and hurry towards
the warm fire and the waiting feast.
Jesus invites
the disciples to, “Come and have
breakfast.” And, as they sit down around the fire, “Jesus took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the
fish.”
In this
wonderful mélange of sights and sounds - sunrise over a shimmering sea; Jesus
standing silently at the shoreline; a
fishing boat hauling a fish-filled net; the sandy seashore with its charcoal
fire; the rich aroma of roasting fish; and the rush of hungry men, exhausted
after a long night of fishing finding a place to sit around the fire and eagerly
receiving the roast fish and the bread handed to them by their Lord – in this
incredibly complex and rich array of sights and sounds the risen Lord, the
Christ, is portrayed as the true shepherd, tending to, caring for and feeding his
flock. Christ offering his incredible love and compassion to those whom he has
left behind to carry forward his Word. Christ caring for – loving – his
beloved.
And
then, John’s gospel jumps quite suddenly to yet another powerful passage. - A
passage that focuses on Peter, placing him very much on the hot seat. John writes, “When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon,
son of John, do you love me more than these?’”
Peter,
who seems to have forgotten that just prior to Jesus’ crucifixion, he denied knowing
Jesus three consecutive times, appears hurt as he replies, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”
But,
Jesus persists in his questioning, asking Peter three times “Do you love me.” After each affirmation
by Peter Jesus countered with a command. First, “Feed my lambs.” Then, “Tend
my sheep.” And finally, “Feed my
sheep.”
And
then, after giving Peter these commands, Jesus goes on to inform Peter that by
doing these things he also will be sentenced to death. Jesus says to Peter, “…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.”
And finally,
after disclosing this grim reality, and in spite of it, Jesus commands Peter to,
“Follow me.”
What a
powerful set of resurrection stories – Jesus standing on the shore tending and
feeding his flock; Jesus drawing Peter aside and charging him to
watch
over and feed his flock; Jesus looking Peter square in the eye and commanding
him to, “Follow me.” Follow me and in doing so know that you will be crucified.
A whole
lot going on in a very brief period of time. What are we to make of it?
I
believe that this powerfully moving commissioning of Peter is very much related
to the earlier narrative in which Jesus watched over his disciples as they
struggled, miserable after a long and unsuccessful night of fishing, and then
fed them a warm and filling meal.
In this
first segment of the gospel reading Jesus saw that his disciples after an
entire night at sea had failed to catch any fish. He was troubled. His beloved
– his children – his lambs - were struggling. Calling out, he directed them to
a place where fish flowed plentifully into their net. And then, still concerned for their well-being
Jesus prepared a fire and began to roast fish that would feed, would nourish
the disciples once they had reached shore.
The
crucified Jesus, now resurrected, appeared in love – agape love; the love of God
for man - to watch over, to tend to, and to feed his
flock.
And
then, Jesus who knows that he will soon ascend, turns from his disciples to
Peter and commands him to feed the lambs, the smallest and the most
vulnerable
of all the flock; then, he commands Peter to tend to, to watch over, the sheep,
his entire flock, keeping them safely in the fold; and finally, he commands Peter
to feed his flock, ensuring that they flourish physically and spiritually as
they continue their journey into the world as Disciples of Jesus.
Jesus
is commanding Peter to be the “Rock,” the foundation upon which the church can
grow; can flourish; can endure. Jesus is commanding Peter to follow him, with
the full knowledge that in doing so Peter will experience death by crucifixion
– “someone else will fasten a belt around
you and take you where you do not wish to go.” Jesus is commanding Peter to
carry forward the light of God’s love, not only among the small group of
disciples, but throughout all Israel and throughout all nations.
In this
passage John provides both the model for loving our neighbor – Christ at the
seashore - and the command to do so – the commissioning of Peter.
This
powerful resurrection story presents in these two very brief scenarios Jesus’
entire message. If we knew nothing else about him, we would understand without
a doubt the centrality of love in Jesus’ message to us. We watch him tend to
and feed his flock; we hear him commission his disciple Peter to do the same;
we watch and hear him as he appears one last time, in love, to ensure the
legacy of his incarnation.
As we
celebrate this, the third Sunday of Easter have you experienced your own
resurrection story? Has the Risen Christ appeared silently on your shoreline?
Have you
felt his watchful encouragement, his agape
love, as you struggle with your individual challenges?
Have you
heard his command to love an agape
love that sets your course as a Disciple of Christ and shepherd of your flock for
this next segment of your life? Are you prepared to be a “rock,” a foundation
for those who follow you?
Have you
taken the time to sit in prayer and to listen to the resurrected Jesus as he
commands, “Follow me.” If so, are you following blindly, or are you taking the
time to discern which of the many paths that are available to you is the path
that Jesus has called you to follow? To follow in courage, your heart filled
with agape love.
