Transcript
This is now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. Please be seated.
I think one of the hardest parts about sermon writing is trying to pick what theme to go with. Sometimes it’s very easy, like last week with Doubting Thomas. There’s only so much you can say about poor doubting Thomas and his unsureness around the resurrected Christ. And sometimes, like today, we get a bunch of stories crammed into one passage. Granted, one could argue that I’m not the one who has to come up with the theme. One could argue that instead, I’m just the vessel for the Holy Spirit to come through and speak to everyone. And that is correct. And still, sometimes the Holy Spirit can’t make up her mind either. In seminary, a little anecdote I was told. Prepare a sermon like there’s no Holy Spirit. Preach a sermon like there’s nothing but the Holy Spirit.
And this passage from John’s Gospel is filled with opportunity, filled with themes and ideas and theological points and counterpoints and Holy Spirit inspiration. In fact, one could argue that this passage is too full. Like what was John trying to do here with all these little bits of facts and quotes? To be fair, most scholars consider this passage something kind of like an epilog, you know, at the end of a good book to close up all the loose ends from earlier. After all, it’s the last verse of the previous chapter goes like this. But these signs are written so that you can come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. Kind of sounds like the really good last line of a story, right? Especially a story about Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, performer of signs, forgiver of sin, Son of God. So it’s such a lovely last line. We turn the page expecting something like a note from the author or acknowledgments, and instead we get this passage or passages in a story about the disciples trying to figure out what they will do now that they are not following Jesus around anymore.
A story about Jesus appearing for the third time to these seven disciples. A story about the disciples recognizing Jesus, and also not completely sure that it actually is Jesus. A story about poor Simon Peter, who for whatever reason, was fishing naked and had to put his clothes back on. A story about abundance, especially when Jesus is involved. A story about breaking bread and sharing another meal with Jesus. A story about loving Jesus and turning that love into tangible and actionable work for the sheep and the lambs. A story about being young and being old and who decides where we go in life, all wrapped up in a liturgical calendar that is two weeks after Easter and about a month before Pentecost, give or take, and also all wrapped up in this passage of Saul’s conversion from persecutor of Christians to Paul, the leading Christian of his and our time. And this passage from the Psalms praising a God whose wrath endures for the twinkle of an eye, his favor for a lifetime. And this passage from revelation, with every creature in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth and in the sea, singing praise to God and to the lamb.
See, there’s a plethora of opportunity here, a plethora of inspiration, and as a result, a plethora of sermons. Perhaps that’s the point. Perhaps during Easter season, we are invited to focus on the plethora, the abundance, the riches of a Christ who is resurrected and wants among us and shares meals with us. A Jesus who doesn’t just tell us to love one another as he has loved us, but explicitly explains that that love means feeding and tending to a sheep and his lambs. A Jesus who knows where all the good fishing spots are and tells us where to go to get some good fish. A Jesus who loves us even in our folly, even in our absurdity, even in our insecurity and our unwillingness to fully hand over ourselves to him.
Yes, this passage from John’s Gospel acts as a nice cleaning up of the story that is Jesus Christ. Gives us a hint at what the disciples do after Jesus leaves. Although there’s a point I want to make if you go through all the Gospels, I’m sorry to say, but the disciples are really bad fishermen. I mean, they never catch any fish until Jesus tells them where to go. This passage also resolves the fact that on the night of Jesus’s arrest, Peter denies our Messiah three times and clearly is forgiven and tasked with becoming a pastor himself, as seen with the three questions about love and responses to care for the flock.
And this passage reminds us, even when we think we know that it is Jesus whom we see, with whom we are talking, whom we are serving. Sometimes it’s hard to realize it’s him. Sometimes we are distracted by what we see with our eyes and not with our hearts. After all, the disciples knew it was Jesus, but also maybe, perhaps weren’t really, truly ready to reconcile the fact that this is Jesus, the same man who died on a cross, the same man who overcame death by leaving an empty tomb. The same man who was mistaken for a gardener, mistaken for a stranger on the road to Emmaus, is mistaken for a kind fisherman who knew all those good spots for fishing. But the disciples knew it was the Lord, even if they were hesitant and didn’t want to ask, they still knew. And we can too. We can know it is Jesus our Lord and God. When we turn our faith, our thoughts and our prayers into action, into an act of love for one another, and to care for one another and to have faith that isn’t just in our hearts, it’s also in our hands and our feet.
Obviously, Saul or excuse me, I should say Paul. Got it. After all, look at his legacy. Letters upon letters preserved as Scripture. And this is a man who originally thought to persecute Jesus, his followers. Imagine what we could do. Having started as followers to begin with. Imagine what we could do with our faith as action.
I believe if we all work hard enough in each of our own perspective, ministries, calls, and ways of serving ways of living our life. If we all work hard enough, we too could hear the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders. We, in fact, could even join in with every creature in heaven and on earth, and under the earth and in the sea. Sing praises to God and to the lamb.
Saint Francis, you know the saint we honor by blessing our pets in October. We will be doing it again this fall so I can pet all the puppies. Saint Francis is credited with saying, preach the gospel at all times. Use words only when necessary. And I say, don’t just preach the gospel. Live into your faith. Brag about a God who loves not just those who we think should be loved, but every single one of God’s creations humans and animals and plants and everything else. Just don’t do it with only words. Show the world the plethora of God’s grace and the abundance of God’s mercy, the riches of God’s love. Through the actions we take with our hands and our feet.
The Holy Spirit is here to inspire us. Jesus tells us to love and care for. Tend those around us. Now it’s our turn to go out and make it happen. Amen.