Saugatuck Congregational Church, UCC
©Rev. Alison J. Buttrick Patton
April 3, 2016 – Second Sunday of Easter
Scripture: John 21:1-19
Have you ever eaten grilled fish cooked outdoors, preferably after you’ve caught it yourself, or at least prepared it over an open fire? If you’ve ever been camping, hiking or fishing, maybe you’ve noticed the way the open air wets your appetite, and makes food taste better? Maybe you know how good it feels to stretch out in front of a charcoal fire after a hard but satisfying day and eat those tender chunks of fish right off the grill so they burn your finger tips and melt in your mouth?
Grief, on the other hand, kills the appetite, has a way of dulling all the senses. Colors fade; sounds become muddied and distant; food tastes like sand.
The disciples were still weighed down by grief. They had fallen in love with this man who was unlike anyone they’d ever met: this strong, compassionate, witty, fierce, miracle-working man who made God’s love seem somehow real, tangible. They’d become convinced that he was invincible – until the Establishment had yanked it all away, ripped the rug out from under their feet, killed this courageous/compassionate son of God – and left his followers completely bereft.
Yes, Peter and the Beloved Disciple had seen the empty tomb, but remember: they “didn’t understand.” And later, Jesus appeared to them in an upper room. “My peace I leave you,” he said. But after the surprise of that encounter wore off, they still seemed unsure what to do next.
They looked around for guidance, but saw no one but themselves. “I guess I’ll go fishing,” said Peter. In other words: “I guess there’s nothing to do now but go back to the beginning, back to what we were doing before he turned up and convinced us that we were called to fish for people. Collectively at a loss, those erstwhile fishermen reverted to their old ways of being and working, back to the boat and the nets. All night they drifted (literally and figuratively), lowering and lifting those water-logged nets over and over…without any luck. The nets remained empty. As empty as their hearts. And although their stomachs must have been hollowed out, they were too numb to notice.
Then, as the sky turned from black to blue to gray to orange, a man appeared on the beach and asked, “How’s that working out for you?” I don’t think he was mocking them; he was just trying to shake them awake, as it were, to expose the fruitlessness of retreating to old habits. And maybe he knew that the best way to reach a fisherman is through the fish, so he conjured up one more miracle, the kind of miracle they would surely have recognized, because Jesus was always turning a little of something into an overflow: an overflow of wine, or bread, or healing or hope. Now, they had an overflow of fish, so they could barely lift the nets.
The sons of Zebedee gaped; the Beloved Disciple perceived; and Peter leaped into the sea (I love this reminder that the disciples came in every kind of personality – exuberant, like Peter; intuitive like the Beloved Disciple; hesitant and rash… Which one are you? Where do you see yourself in this scene? Are you the one who sits back and assesses the situation, or the one who leaps in without hesitation? Or somewhere in between? It’s an important question, and one that we’ll come back to, because this isn’t just the disciples’ story – it is our story, too.)
Anyway, all those disciples made it back to shore, and there was the risen Christ, cooking breakfast for them on the beach. Imagine how confusing that must have been. After all, if you had just risen from the dead, isn’t it more likely that you’d be doing something spectacular involving trumpets and angels and taking out Roman soldiers at the knees, rather than moonlighting as a short-order cook? The text notes that no one dared to ask who he was, which of course means that they all wanted to ask. But they didn’t want to look foolish. Because, there he was, right? Except, how could that be? But then, he was cooking fish, so obviously he was alive…
I suspect the Risen Christ knew that he had to cut through the haze of their grief and confusion, so he laid a fire and grilled up some fish, warmed some bread. He stirred up a tantalizing aroma and let it waft down the beach, until the hesitant disciples drew close and accepted the food from his hand. And after that long and desolate night, I’m guessing that the fish tasted divine, like heaven on earth, like a brand new day. I’m guessing it was the first thing they had truly tasted in three whole days. I’m guessing it began the long process of restoring the disciples to life, one sense at a time – like the taste of homemade chicken soup when you’ve had the flu; the feel of a foot massage when you are numbed by depression; or the smell of damp, green earth after a fierce winter.
It reminds me of the moment in every hero film when the hero has just called it quits – hung up the uniform, gone home to the farm, resolutely locked the drawer with all her tools stashed inside. But then something happens to call her back, to stop her from feeling sorry for herself and reignite her sense of purpose – new evidence comes to light, a puzzle piece falls into place, a crisis erupts or someone she loves gives her a good talking to. In this case, the something was the appearance of the Risen Christ – and the taste of fish. There on the beach, Jesus shook them awake and reminded them that they had a job to do. “Do you love me? Feed my sheep.”
Jesus had that sidebar conversation with Peter, because Peter carried a particular weight on his shoulders. The last time he had sat by a charcoal fire, Peter had denied that he’d ever known Jesus, three times over. “No, I don’t know him. No, I’ve never met the guy. No, I tell you, he’s no one to me.” So when Jesus asked, “Do you love me?” It wasn’t because he needed to be convinced, but rather because Peter needed the chance to wipe away that earlier failure: Three declarations of love to completely overwrite three denials. “Yes, I love you. Yes, I love you. Yes, you know that I love you.” “See?” Jesus was saying. “I haven’t given up on you. I’m still here. Try again.”
In the end, that message was intended for all of them.
In the end, the grilled fish wasn’t just food to fill their stomachs, it was courage on a grill, love baked into flaky fish, a promise conveyed in the smoky aroma; it was relationships mended; holy communion. It was Christ’s way of saying: “I still care about you, body and spirit; I am here to nourish you and then to send you out. I forgive whatever has gone before. I have confidence in all that you will yet accomplish. Just keep doing what we’ve been doing together. If ever you loved me, if truly the love of God became real for you as we traveled together, then you know how to make that love come alive for others. That is your task now.” In other words, at the end as at the beginning: “Follow me.”
We speak of “believing” in the resurrection: whether the disciples believed; whether we believe. But I wonder whether this scene wasn’t added to the Gospel of John as a way of conveying the Good News that the Risen Christ believes in us? Believes that we have what it takes to usher in God’s Beloved Community?
Have any of you seen the film Romero, about the Salvadoran Archbishop who preached against poverty and violence in El Salvador during the dictatorship of the 1970’s? He started out as a quiet man, a bookish priest, but as he listened to the people tell stories of torture and oppression, he began to speak out against the military. Eventually, he was assassinated, while celebrating mass. But days before his death, he spoke these words in a radio broadcast:
“I have often been threatened with death. I must tell you, as a Christian, I do not believe in a death without resurrection. If I am killed, I shall arise again in the Salvadoran people…You may say, if they succeed in killing me, that I pardon and bless those who do it. Would, indeed, that they might be convinced that they will waste their time. A bishop will die, but God´s church, which is the people, will never perish.”
“God´s church, which is the people, will never perish.” This may be the most potent Easter proclamation: That we ARE the resurrection, the Body of Christ, heirs to the mission first laid out for the disciples. Like the disciples, we come in all kinds: intuitive and exuberant; fanciful and pragmatic. We are mathematicians, vendors, parents and artists, directors and designers, teachers and strategists. Our vocations are as varied as we are. On the other hand, our vocation is one, and it is this: To help make God’s love tangible in the world.
Has it occurred to you that this is your vocation – not just on Sunday mornings, but every day of the week? Easter is not just a day, it’s a season, 50 days, in fact. Perhaps, this Easter season, you might take some time to prayerfully ask how God is inviting you to fulfill that vocation in each arena of your life. In the words of the Rev. David Lose, “As parents or friends, employees or volunteers, citizens or neighbors, [we] are called to look for opportunities to care for the people and world God loves so much.”
The work is rarely easy, and we will surely stumble along the way. No matter: for just as surely, we will be nourished back to life by the Risen Christ, every time: welcomed, forgiven, fed… then sent out to do the same for all those we meet. That’s what it means to be Easter People. Thanks be to God!
Scripture
John 21:1-19 New Revised Standard Version
21After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. 2Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. 3Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” 6He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. 7That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. 8But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. 9When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. 10Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. 12Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. 13Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
15When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, 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.” 19(He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”