FEED MY SHEEP! A Sermon delivered by the Reverend Dr. Geoffrey G. Drutchas, St. Paul United Church of Christ, Taylor, April 30, 2017

Transcription

1 FEED MY SHEEP! A Sermon delivered by the Reverend Dr. Geoffrey G. Drutchas, St. Paul United Church of Christ, Taylor, April 30, 2017 In our morning gospel passage we have a remarkable Easter season story. Jesus empty tomb, as discovered on the first Easter, has put his apostles and disciples on notice that his ministry and mission didn t come to a crashing halt on Good Friday as they all first thought. But days later they are still struggling to grasp the deeper meaning of it all and, more importantly, the implication for their own lives. Very helpful are those moments when the apostles and disciples encounter the risen Christ whose lingering presence brings to mind so many of the things that Jesus taught to them amid his earthly ministry. Yet even more pivotal and transforming is the episode recounted by our gospel passage from John (John 21:1-19) The scene opens with the apostles on the water in their boat, resuming their old occupation before Jesus called them to ministry. However, just as they fall into their former routine, encountering some of their old bad luck, they suddenly spy on the shore some stranger shouting some advice to them. Instead of just doing what they were doing, the strangers tells them to cast their fishing nets on the right side of their boat. To the amazement of the apostles, as they follow the stranger s advice, their nets suddenly come up full. In fact, the number of fish is so large that they are unable to haul into their boat the full catch. It s not clear whether muscular strength simply fails the out-of-practice apostles or the size alone of their haul threatens to swamp their boat. Yet what really counts here is that in midst of their amazement over full nets they recognize that it is none other than their risen savior standing on the shore providing direction. Of course, when they return to shore and pull their boat up from the water they don t have the nerve to ask any questions. They just know in their heart that this is one with whom they walked all the way to that fateful day in Jerusalem that had seemed so final. In this surreal moment, Jesus does the most natural thing. He invites the apostles to have breakfast with him. It turns out that Jesus has been roasting fish over an open fire for them. And there is bread as well. Jesus proceeds to share 1 P a g e

2 both fish and bread with all of them. Does Jesus eat too? Our scripture passage is not clear about that but the suggestion is there. Next, Jesus pulls Simon Peter aside. This is the apostle who in an earlier time Jesus designated as the rock or foundation stone for his church. Yes, Peter is the one whom Jesus called to be the first among equals. Yet, sadly, even pathetically, Peter is also the apostle who denied Christ three times, just as Jesus prophesized he would at their last supper in an upper Jerusalem room. (John 13:37-38) Indeed, in the courtyard of the Praetorium, that Jerusalem jail, where Jesus was being scourged and beaten by guards, Peter disavows even knowing Jesus, let alone following him--all to save his own skin. (John 18: 15-19, 25-27) Now Jesus begins questioning Simon Peter. Simon, Son of John, he asks, do you love me more than these other apostles? Without any hesitation in his response, Peter says: Yes, Lord, you know I love you. Jesus then retorts: Then feed my lambs. But the conversation between risen savior and apostle doesn t stop there. Twice more, Jesus asks Peter the same question about the depth of his love, following it up with the essentially the same command: Then feed my sheep. All well and good. Except by the second and third time, Peter, a guy given to impetuosity and flashes of temper, is getting a little peeved, which expresses itself through offense and hurt. Lord, he finally says to Jesus, you know all things; you know that I love you. But Jesus just reiterates his already stated command about feeding his sheep. Then, after predicting a long life ahead for Peter, Jesus emphatically invites Peter all over again to Follow me! If you have read the Book of Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament, you already know that Peter truly lives out Jesus command. With great courage, Peter goes on to help build up the church across the ancient world. With only the Apostle Paul excepted, Peter does more to spread the faith of Jesus Christ than anyone else. (Acts 2:14-41; 3:1-31; 15:6-11) Legend informs us that he is eventually martyred in Rome for standing up for Christ and in a perverse from of torture was crucified upside down. Yet in our morning passage, Peter is still more dull than brilliant; more naïve than wise, about himself, about the risen Christ, and about the road that awaits him and his fellow apostles. 2 P a g e

3 This whole gospel lesson from John can be read literally. Many Christians do read it that way and only that way. Yet I think that there s much more to appreciate within it and through it if we recognize it as a passage that is also deeply symbolic. Yes, it pays dividends to put on a biblical psychologist s hat in order to plumb and decipher some of the deeper emotional reaches and spiritual resonances of this encounter between the risen Christ and his apostles on the shores of the Galilean Sea. Take, for instance, Jesus advice to the apostles to start fishing on the right side of the boat. In the traditions of both Judaism and Christianity, the right side of things is always special. Hebrew priests were always anointed on their right ear, right thumb, and right toe. It s the right side of God where Jesus sits and where we all want to join him. When Jesus talks metaphorically about Judgment Day for us all he describes a God who will dispatch unfaithful goats to the left and direct faithful sheep to the right. (Matthew 25:32-33) It s the right hand of fellowship extended between men and women of faith that is the best means to spread and share the Holy Spirit. (Genesis 48:14; Exodus 15: 2, 6; Isaiah 41:10, 13; Mark 10:37-40, 16:19) In short, the right side of things is associated with authority, sovereignty, blessing, purity, and strength. For us as humans it can be deemed our most spiritual side. Consequently, it s not too far-fetched to interpret Jesus admonition to fish on the right side of the boat as a call to apostles to start dipping deeply into their more spiritual selves. The rewards of such spiritual dipping and delving, as represented by their amazing catch of fish, are great. Ordinary fishing is a perfectly honorable profession. But the life of the spirit, which the apostles have dropped and run away from, is greater and more amazing. I think Jesus is trying to remind the apostles that they need to continue to be heirs of his spirit and fishers of men, just as he originally invited them to be at the beginning of the gospel story. No less symbolically rich is the breakfast on the beach that Jesus and the apostles share. Consider the menu fish and bread. Because of the Old Testament story of Jonah who gets swallowed by a giant fish and then coughed up safe and sound after three days in the belly of the aquatic beast, fish almost from the get-go of Christianity have been revered as a symbol of Christ s 3 P a g e

4 resurrection. Members of the early Christian church actually preferred to make a sign of the fish, rather than a sign of a cross, to designate their sacred spaces and secret places of meeting. Churches, including our own, have treated fish as the most spiritual of foods, particularly appropriate for a season like Lent when we are supposed to be spiritually focusing ourselves more intently than at any other time. And here in our gospel passage from John we see Jesus inviting the apostles to sink their teeth into roasted fish, further purified by fire. I count this as Jesus way of saying to the apostles: Dearly beloved, take a bite of the resurrection; chew on it; believe in it; be nourished and fortified by it so that you can proclaim it to others with stamina. The bread that Jesus offers them completes this beach-side communion meal. As Jesus explained at the Last Supper, the loaf is the symbol of his body given in sacrifice. In this case, alongside the roasted fish, the presence of the bread underscores the continuing power of his crucifixion to also spiritually encourage and sustain us. Traditional evangelical Christian theology holds that Jesus bodily sacrifice actually ransoms and liberates us from the tentacles of sin. At very least, Jesus bodily sacrifice, symbolized by the bread that we as his followers break and share together, affirms that we are never alone amid the struggle and hardship that can beset us in everyday life. Any suffering we encounter has already been experienced to the nth degree by Jesus on the cross who didn t deserve any of the brutal treatment meted out to him. If Jesus suffered, why should we expect to be exempt from anguish and pain? Yes, the bread broken and shared nourishes us in this higher understanding of things. Significantly, Jesus is still talking spiritual food as he pulls the Apostle Peter aside. He wants Peter to spiritually feed others in his name to fulfill his calling as an evangelist and as the great rock for the church. But Jesus, who knows Peter better than Peter knows himself, is aware that there may be a big impediment to any effective evangelism on Peter s part. Namely, Peter s own sense of guilt in the aftermath of Calvary, which has driven him to abandon ministry and return to his original trade as a fisherman. Remember how Peter in a pinch denied Jesus three times over? Now Jesus asks Peter to re-affirm his love and loyalty three times over, spiritually exorcising every denial. 4 P a g e

5 At one moment, Peter objects, saying to Jesus: You know I love you, which is no doubt true. Yet this whole exercise is for Peter s sake, helping the apostle realize anew that his love for Jesus really is deeper than his cowardice and that his few moments of betrayal are forgiven by the one he betrayed. Feed my lambs. Feed my sheep! Follow me! By these simple declarations, Jesus makes clear to Peter that God is not through with him yet and that there is a vital ministry ahead for him. There s good news for all of us in our morning gospel passage from John. Let me summarize it this way. God wants all of us to go spiritually deeper with our faith, reaching out from the right side of our own boats, so-to-speak. Meanwhile, God also feeds us with what we need to live well in faith. Jesus resurrection on that first Easter holds the promise of eternal life for all who abide in faith. Likewise, the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross stands as a forever reminder that we have a savior who is willing to share our now-time sorrows so that we never have to feel as if we are suffering alone. Finally, as Jesus forgiveness towards Peter demonstrates, God s forgiveness for all of us is great where we are ready and willing to renew our love for him and rededicate our lives to serve his purposes. We, who have been nourished and sustained by God s love in Jesus Christ, are called yes, expected to nurture others in the faith that can spiritually redeem and save lives. Feed my sheep! That s a stirring message that we all need to take to heart. As followers of Jesus Christ, let us rejoice in everything that God has done for us as we reach out to share this faith with others. Amen! 5 P a g e

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