Follow Me
Listen now to the Word of our God found in the Gospel of John, Chapter 21, verses 1 through 19. "Later, Jesus himself appeared again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. This is how it happened: Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathaniel from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee's sons, and two other disciples were together. Simon Peter told them, "I'm going fishing." They said, "We'll go with you." They set out in a boat, but throughout the night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples didn't realize it was Jesus. Jesus called to them, "Children, have you caught anything to eat?" They answered him, "No." He said, "Cast your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." So they did, and there were so many fish that they couldn't haul in the net. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It's the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard it was the Lord, he wrapped his coat around himself (for he was naked) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they weren't far from shore, only about one hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have caught." Simon Peter got up and pulled the net to shore. It was full of large fish, 153 of them. Yet the net hadn't torn, even with so many fish. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples could bring themselves to ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. When they finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" Simon replied, "Yes, Lord, you know I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." Jesus asked a second time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Simon replied, "Yes, Lord, you know I love you." Jesus said to him, "Take care of my sheep." He asked a third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was sad that Jesus asked him a third time, "Do you love me?" He replied, "Lord, you know everything; you know I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. I assure you that when you were younger you tied your own belt and walked around wherever you wanted. When you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and another will tie your belt and lead you where you don't want to go." He said this to show the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. After saying this, Jesus said to Peter, "Follow me."" This is the Word of God for the People of God.
So today's Gospel passage is really kind of two different stories that are closely connected. First, we had this passage in which the disciples decide to go fishing. So it's been some time now since Jesus first originally appeared to the disciples and then again to Thomas and the disciples.
Did you catch the fact that John said this is the third time Jesus appeared? It's the fourth, but they didn't count Mary. I am hoping that is because Mary was the only one who saw Jesus and not because Mary was a woman. We'll give the writer the benefit of the doubt.
It's going to take a while to break that habit. The choir's been up there for a while. Where was I? So yeah, I'm hoping it's because Mary was the only one. So this passage is very similar to an account that's found in the Gospel of Luke in chapter 5. Now in the Gospel of Luke it's the beginning of Jesus's ministry. And there are two boats. Jesus actually gets on one of the boats and teaches from the boat. And then he tells the disciples to throw their nets out to catch some fish and they say we've been working all day, all night, and we haven't caught any.
And in Luke's account, they caught so many fish that the net began to split.
So there are some slight differences here, which kind of makes me wonder what are they trying to get at?
I'm hoping that, you know, John did know about Luke's gospel and about Luke's account. And so he found this passage, this story interesting enough maybe to recraft it, maybe combine it with a resurrection story of Christ. Because it is a second call narrative. It's Jesus calling his disciples again, but this time he's not with them. But still he calls. Just follow me.
One of the things I like about John's narrative is that the nets don't [split].
Despite catching so many fish. 153 fish.
The nets did not begin to break.
If we are the body of Christ, or the Fishers of Men? Perhaps the net is the church in a sense and John is saying that there is room in the church. For more than we could ever imagine. For 153 fish. The number is interesting. We can ask questions about that. What did 153 signify? It's oddly precise.
I mentioned Rachel Held Evans earlier and her last book is a book called "Inspired." And she has a chapter in here called "Fish Stories." So I looked it up yesterday and she does have a story that she shares about this particular narrative that I wanted to share with you.
She said she found herself at an Episcopal Church at a buffet table asking random strangers who had gathered about their favorite Bible stories. "The one where Jesus meets his disciples on the beach," said a young mother referring to a story from John's gospel. Early one morning, shortly after Jesus has risen from the dead, the disciples are out fishing once again when they spot a mysterious figure on the shore. "Friends, have you any fish?" The Stranger asks. When they answered "No," he told them to try casting on the other side of the boat. Sure enough, the net gets so heavy with fish, it nearly sinks the boat. The disciples immediately recognized the man as Jesus and Peter is so overcome with emotion he jumps out of the boat to swim to his teacher and friend. Ol' Pete spends a lot of time jumping out of boats. When the rest of the disciples catch up, lugging their catch behind them, they see Jesus has made a charcoal fire over which he is cooking some fish. He has bread too and invites the disciple to join him for a meal. The text notes they catch a total of 153 fish and, although there were so many, the net was not torn. "I like that one, too," I said to the mother and then posited the theory that the number 153 in rabbinic numerology signifies completion. And perhaps corresponds to a specific prophecy in Ezekiel that describes a great river full of all kinds of fish flowing out of a restored temple. It's worth noting, I added, that John emphasized that the net was full, but not torn which means that the net might symbolize the church holding a great diversity of fish together in unity. Early Christian art depicts Peter and John holding a net on either side of a stream flowing from a temple suggesting they made that connection too. "Oh, I wasn't thinking about all that," the woman said with a smile. "I just like the idea of God frying up fish for breakfast."
[It might be a surprise,] Rachel Held Evans actually did not go to seminary. She just read a lot. She talked to a lot of people. She blogged about her faith. She wrote very well.
I like that narrative cuz it's a reminder that sometimes it's not about all the details. Sometimes the image of God frying up some fish is comforting one.
It is interesting that Christ so often appears with his disciples and eats with them. There's something community building about food. Anybody disagree with that? No?
One of the most popular places to hang out in a house is the kitchen. I remember, in high school, my friends would come over to visit me in theory, but they would be hanging out in the kitchen with my mom. Getting food.
Just sitting at the table with one another, sharing stories, talking about, maybe what our favorite Scripture passage is.
Sharing each other's histories, walking alongside one another, getting to know one another and journeying in our faith together because we were never called to follow Christ alone.
We were never intended to isolate ourselves from others. While it is important to spend time with God in person, just the fellowship, just to be with God, not to ask for anything. But just to be in God's presence. Just to be grateful for all that we have been given.
But it's so important for us to be in a community of faith because when we read the Scriptures all by ourselves, when we don't have conversations with other people about what we're finding a scripture. We can get some pretty dangerous ideas.
And if we're not careful we can get so far off the path that we begin to deviate from what the life, the best life that God intends for us. We can get this mistaken idea that violence in the name of God is a good thing.
Our passage in Revelation this morning contradicts that idea. It calls us out on this impulse that we have towards control, towards domination, towards forcing people to agree with us.
The lead-up to this section in Revelation
is informative because John is watching this vision. And there's a scroll that no one can open. No one is worthy to open the scroll. One of the Elders says not to worry, the Lion of Judah will come and will be worthy to open the scroll, but then it is the Lamb that was slain that walks up and opens the scroll.
This passage in Revelation calls us out on this assumption that we make that the Lion of Judah, the warrior, the strong...
will be the Messiah. Will be the way in which God brings about God's kingdom here on Earth.
But then we discover... Worthy is the slaughtered lamb.
To receive power, wealth, wisdom and light and honor, glory, and blessing.
Worthy is the Lamb to receive the worship from every creature in heaven and on Earth and under the sea. In the sea, rather.
For everything everywhere to say blessing, honor, glory and power belong to the one seated on the throne and to the lamb forever and always.
Revelation is
a violent book and if you read it you can't avoid the violence.
But this passage, this chapter, this narrative... I think is a critical one that we forget.
It's a reminder that God does not invite us into God's kingdom through force, through the sword, through power or domination,
But through the peaceful lamb,
the lamb that was slain,
the lamb that paid the price so that we wouldn't have to.
God invites us to participate in the kingdom of God. God created us as creatures with free will. We have the power to say no. We have the power to refuse.
But still God is always working to draw us near.
One of the things I admired about Rachel Held Evans was her her ability to be honest. To talk about the struggles that she faced in her faith. To talk about the fact that she doubt, she had doubts every day.
Who doesn't? Maybe it's just a fleeting thought.
Maybe it's the struggle when we only see something so tragic happen. We wonder where is God in that.
What she said was that
she realizes she might be wrong about this story of Jesus. But it is the story of Jesus that is so compelling,
that invites her to live is as though it is true.
And that it is the story so compelling that she is willing to risk being wrong about it. I don't know if that makes sense. She says it better than I can.
But we as the church, we're invited to live as though all that we see in Scripture is true. That God is capable of incredible and amazing things.
God is capable of healing.
She also made the distinction healing is not the same thing as curing.
There is a healing that doesn't take place on this side of eternity, but rather is in the promise that we have through Christ, through Christ's triumph over death.
That there will come a day when indeed we are all healed, all is restored and made right, and there will no longer be any pain.
Amen?