Sermon
The writer of the gospel of John, would not have gotten good marks for his last few chapters, from my seminary preaching professor. He told me at first that my sermons were Beethoven sermons – because they ended several times. Ta-dum-dum-dummm. Ta-dum. Ta-dum-dum. Ta-dummmm.
Our scripture for today is preceded by and followed by concluding lines. First, coming right before today's text, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”
Good. End. Ta-dum-dum-dummmmm.
Oops, one more thing…Ta-dum. Ta-dum-dum. Today's text.
Then, “This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” The real ending: Ta-dummmm!
There are many interesting things actually in today's scripture, but I think the most interesting is its location between these two endings.
The gospel of John does not include some of the other appearances that we might be familiar with – appearing to the three women at the tomb, the road to Emmaus, meeting with the apostles and sharing meals with them and expounding on his words to them. In the gospel of John, we get three – appearing to Mary as a gardener, appearing in the upper room, and by the sea of Galilee in today's text. John's gospel doesn't even narrate the ascension text that we will read in a few weeks.
The scene here at the Sea of Tiberius is reminiscent of the original call of these same apostles. We don't know how long it has been since Jesus appeared in the upper room and showed his wounds to Thomas and the others. Lost and disappointed and frightened after the drama of Jesus' death, first they locked themselves away. Overwhelmed, at the return of Jesus, probably more confused but maybe less afraid, perhaps unsure of how to move forward and what to do next, they do the only thing they can think of. They go back to what they know. They're fishermen. So they fish. Once again, they have been out all night and have not caught anything. At daybreak they return to the shore and a man they don't know tells them to put out their nets on the other side of the boat. Ah, the beloved disciple thinks, this is familiar – “It is the Lord!” he says to Simon Peter! Like Mary who believed she saw the gardener, the disciple who Jesus loved didn't recognize Jesus at first. Also like Mary who believed when she heard Jesus address her by her name, the disciple recognized Jesus by his familiar command to fish on the other side of the boat – to fish in a new way. Imagine Simon Peter's surprise. Jesus, who Peter denied three times is here again. I kind of imagine a comedic scene where Peter doesn't put his clothes on and jump into the water, but rather clumsily tries to dress and falls into the sea in a kind of shock. However it happened, this text is a second call story for the disciples. Here is a call to follow me, again. What kind of disciple will they be this time? The first time they followed Jesus he died a disappointing and humiliating death. A lot has happened since then.
Imagine the courage it must have took to believe that Jesus would not disappoint them this time too. The courage to remember some of the things Jesus told them before he died and recognize him again by the sea in today's text. How many of us would have gone by that old adage, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Ha ha, clever me, I'm not going to fall for that “follow me” act one more time! But the disciples do follow Jesus again, still. Because they loved him. Not in a hurry, Jesus says, come on, have some breakfast. Bring your fish, I have some bread, I've already started a fire. There's no hurry implied in the scene described for us today. Sharing a meal is for bodily nourishment and spiritual nourishment when it is with Jesus.
Take a minute to remember a time when you've been shocked into re-thinking your daily lives and future plans. I can't help but look at our pandemic experience as a time like that for all of us. For everyone. Think back to the beginning of the end of the before times. We took it all in and felt the global horror and shock of our new reality. We found and then lost answers and adapted again and again and again. We lived with the exhaustion trying to find little places to do something familiar and joyful. When life turns us upside down we need to find our feet again, find a new place to stand, stay with what we know. Fishermen keep fishing. Jesus will come back for us. Jesus will show us a better way to fish. Put the nets down on this side of the boat. Thinking about Bethany, I want to remind us of how much has happened to us in just the last few years. I think of three things mainly – our losses of beloved personalities and saints of Bethany, the relatively large number of us have retired and have entered a new place as families and individuals and therefore as a collective community, and third, the complete upending of everything we were planning, because of covid. The New Normal is upon us and calling us ever forward into something no one has done before. Covid is not gone, our struggles are not over, but there is no precedent for what to do next. There is no template. We can't go research the past and find solutions. But we can look around now, look to others now who are sharing in this come-back struggle and share notes, compare results and then shift expectations again and find our way. There is an opportunity for a great reset.
The text for today is a perfect reminder the end is never the whole story. Jesus overcame death to return and encourage his disciples. And he met them at the seashore again to encourage them more. He had a meal with them, shared fellowship. He didn't go away and say, well I've taught you everything so good luck. Jesus is persistent, Jesus doesn't give up. This recurring Jesus is a gift we can have every day over and over. Whether it's covid halting the entire community, or an illness stalling an individual, or a life change affecting a family, God is right there helping us find our way to the next thing.
Feeling stalled? Take a deep breath. Look around, listen deeply and you will discover Jesus saying try putting the nets down on the other side of the boat. Where are you stuck? Where might Jesus be appearing to you in that situation? Keep looking, keep listening, don't give up. Because Jesus won't.
Let's pray…