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3 Easter, Year
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Acts 9:1-19a New Day Dawning
Jesus
said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Today we get an intimate glimpse of a meeting of Jesus and seven of his disciples. We can almost smell charcoal, bread and fish, and crisp sea air. This meal has overtones of the feeding of the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. It has shades of the Passover supper at which Jesus took bread and gave it to his disciples. But there is something new and different about it. There is something new and different about Jesus. It’s the dawning of a whole new day. I think it is remarkable that seven of the disciples were all in one place. The angel at Jesus’ empty tomb had sent the disciples a message. They were to go to Galilee. Jesus would meet them there. They did not know when or where. We never know when or where we will encounter the risen Christ. We have to look for him in the faces of strangers. The disciples did as they were told and went to the Galilee. It was the next thing to do. Obedience keeps us connected to Jesus so that we recognize what we should do next. The disciples waited and waited some more. Peter’s patience apparently wore a little thin. He had been told he would be fishing for people, but he had also been told to wait. It’s tough to wait. They needed something more to do than twiddle their thumbs. They knew that sea so well. They had grown up there, having come from Capernaum. But on this fishing expedition, the sea mysteriously withheld from them that which they were seeking. They had given it their very best professional efforts. They had tried to be good disciples of Jesus, too. But now they were in a state between the now and the not yet. What they needed was a miracle. This is when Jesus called to them from the shore and gave them fishing instructions. It took faith to let down the nets again when they were already tired, but when they did the catch of fish was overwhelming. We might be able to explain that away and say it was not a miracle, but then we are left to explain the empty tomb. Another mystery here is that they thought it was Jesus, but no one would press him with the question, “who are you?” Jesus had appeared to them a couple of other times and had eaten with them. They had been invited to touch his hands and his side to prove to themselves that Jesus was risen and alive. This mysterious part of John’s Gospel bespeaks a new day of Creation – the ongoing creativity of God in our everyday lives. God was making all things new and Jesus looked different to them. The Holy Spirit of God is still renewing the face of the earth. It’s hard to recognize Jesus in all of that. It’s hard to see Jesus in the horrendous events of the last week, but he is there as comforter to those who mourn. We could say this story is a parable, that it is a framework within which to tell the story of Pentecost, when Peter the fisherman would become a fisher of men for sure. The net they hauled in had 153 large fish – all keepers. The net Peter would haul in on the Day of Pentecost would add more than 3,000 new believers to the church – all keepers. But in telling this story as a parable we might lose some of the mystery. Who was that mysterious stranger on the shore of the Sea of Galilee? It was hard to see through the morning fog. Had this stranger been there all night watching them thrash about, fishing as hard as they could? And if he had fish on the fire, where did he get them? Was fishing better closer to shore? These seasoned fisher people knew better than that. Once they had established that it was Jesus, Jesus had some private business with Peter. If you read a few verses beyond where our scripture ends this morning, you will find Jesus taking Peter for a walk on the shore. It went something like this: Peter had denied Jesus three times during Jesus' trial. Jesus asked Peter three times if Peter loved Jesus. Of course the answer was "Lord, you know that I love you." I think that is more than a simple yes, but if you read this story in the Greek language is not quite so simple. Two separate Greek words for love are used in this story. One is agape, which in practice means that we place the other first in our affections. This would be the kind of love expressed in John 15:12-13: "This is my commandment, that you love (agape) one another as I have loved (agape) you. No one has greater love (agape) than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." The other word used in this story is phileo, which means to have a deep feeling for; to love, or like (to do or be something). So, if you put forms of phileo (love) and Sophia (wisdom) together you get philosopher, a lover of wisdom. Phileo can also mean to kiss. Judas had betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Peter had betrayed Jesus with his denial. Peter was probably feeling pretty low. Let's revisit this scene where Jesus is testing Peter's loyalty: The first two times, Jesus asks Peter if he loves Jesus with Agape love. The third time, Jesus asks if Peter loves him with Phileo love. Amazingly, Peter never professes Agape love for Jesus – only Phileo love. Jesus:
Do you love (agape) me more than these? Jesus:
Do you love (agape) me? Jesus:
Do you love (phileo) me? The Greek form of Jesus' last word to Peter, "Follow me," is not an invitation. It is a command. It leans toward: “Follow me, Peter, and do it now.” So Peter did the next thing. To our knowledge, he never went fishing for fish again. Jesus can also take our less-than-perfect love for him and grow it into what it needs to be. This sermon would not be complete without the words of the classic hymn by William Alexander Percy:
They cast their nets in Galilee
Contented, peaceful fishermen,
Young John who trimmed the flapping sail,
The peace of God, it is no peace, The first disciples of Jesus were going about their everyday business when Jesus broke in again and again. This can happen to us, too, if we are willing to hear once more the call of Christ. Amen.
On the grounds of Honey Creek
The Rev. Linda McCloud, Pastor |
