Happy Easter! I truly missed being with you all on Easter Sunday although I have heard that both the Sunrise Service and the 10am Service were wonderful gatherings and so I am happy that many of you were able to gather and celebrate Easter together.
This morning our Scripture readings are drawn from John’s Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles as we continue in this Easter Season. These stories speak of events that occurred after the Resurrection of Jesus, stories that help expand our understanding about the early followers of Christ. In John’s Gospel, we are told of Jesus’ appearance to his disciples as they are out fishing once again, likely having returned to the work they had known before they began their travels with him. The story in Acts is of the conversion of Saul, later called Paul, and the important moment in his life that leads to his many years of travel to share the story of Christ with people far beyond where Jesus himself journeyed as well as to his important outreach to the Gentiles. Let us pray, Everloving God, you accompany us on the paths of our lives and sometimes, you inspire and yes, challenge us to reimagine how we might best live in relationship with you and as followers of Christ. Help us to be open to the signs, to the sound of your voice, and to the times when you beckon us forward in faith and hope. Amen.
We are in this wonderful Easter Season of hope and joy and new life and we are reminded every day of the gift of new life as we spend time outdoors and see everything blooming around us. We know for those early followers of Jesus that the days leading up to Easter were filled with fear, anxiety and then sorrow as they saw their dear Rabbi and friend arrested, scorned, and put to death. It is no wonder that when he comes to them after the resurrection that they are still confused and find it all very hard to believe. And, even though they have a few encounters with him, the reality that he shared with them is that he will no longer be part of their lives in the future. Yes, he will send the Spirit to give them courage and hope, but he will not be accompanying them as they journey forth to preach his message. So, it is a time of very mixed emotions, I am sure.
When we lose someone close to us, it is often the small day to day moments when we miss them the most, I think. The big occasions are important, but it’s the simple daily moments that were once shared when their presence is greatly missed. We can only imagine how sorrowful his disciples felt in the aftermath of his death, how confused they were in encountering him, and how lost they were in trying to move forward with their lives. In our reading this morning, in one of the few appearances he makes to them, what do they do but share a simple breakfast together.
Our passage from John’s Gospel is a special one. John’s Gospel has two parts to it: the first part is called The Book of Signs and it has these long and wonderful stories of the Woman at the Well, The Man Born Blind, The Raising of Lazarus and the Loaves and Fishes. They are called ‘signs’ and not ‘miracles’ in John’s writing. And the last part of the book, the second part is the story of Upper Room and Jesus speaking with his disciples at the Last Supper and then the Crucifixion. And then there’s a part about the resurrection found in Chapter 21.
What’s interesting about our reading today is that it portrays Jesus in this very special way as the story of his ministry draws to an end. It’s not a dramatic finish where he ultimately takes on the role of the Messiah everyone had imagined; no, he makes breakfast with his friends; he helps provide the fish and he serves them.
The passage which precedes Chapter 21 seems to be the obvious conclusion of the Gospel. It reads this way, “Jesus performed many other signs as well, signs not recorded here, in the presence of his disciples. But these have been recorded to help you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, so that through this faith you may live/have life? In his name.” But then Chapter 21 adds a new story and Scripture scholars have often wondered about this. Did someone new add this story; was it a different writer who felt it needed to be included? And why?
What we read in this final chapter seems to be a desire to remind us about the kind of person Jesus was and what his whole life was about. In the end, he’s serving breakfast to his dearest companions and providing consolation as well as inspiration to them at a time when they seemed a bit lost with all that has unfolded recently. He’s trying to help guide them and remind them of why they had been chosen and what he is hoping they will do going forward.
Once again, we see Jesus as a very different kind of leader, a gentle servant, someone who shows up when we feel lost and alone. The point he has been trying to make all along comes down to this; leadership is about serving. You’ve got to make breakfast. You’ve got to light the fire. You have to provide the bread and cook the fish. All the details of caring and loving; that’s what it is all about. (Rev. Bill Kenneally)
When there’s been a death in the family, we often find ourselves sleep walking through our days, unsure of how to continue, trying to find our direction once again. Even with the joy of the resurrection, Jesus has let them know that he will not be continuing the journey with them. He’s done the best he could to teach and preach and heal and be present to them and to those he’s met along the way. His greatest hope is that they were paying attention, and that they can dig deep and find the courage and the inspiration to go forth and spread his word, to do as he did the best they can, to teach and preach and heal and inspire.
It is at the end of the breakfast that Jesus speaks directly to Peter and asks him, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” And Peter responds, , “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus says to him, “Feed my lambs.” Jesus asks him a second time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” And Peter again responds, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” And Jesus says, “Tend my sheep.” Finally, a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” And we hear that Peter feels hurt, because he’s asked him three times but we understand that this is perhaps an opportunity to find healing after he had previously denied Jesus three times on the night of his arrest. Peter then says to Jesus, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” And Jesus says, “Feed my sheep. Jesus is making it abundantly clear to Peter the role he has asked him to play once Jesus is no longer with him. Peter will take up the mantle to tend and feed his lambs and sheep: Peter is being called to take on that important leadership role for all of the followers who are out there waiting to know how to proceed after having been touched by the message of Jesus, both those who were among his closest followers as well as the many others who have come to see his signs and hear his message are themselves feeling lost, waiting to hear how they might live out what they have learned from Jesus. Jesus is clear to Peter and to all of his friends. Their work has just begun. People are still waiting for the message of hope and love to change their worlds…and in the end, Jesus reminds them again of exactly what he said when he first met them… “Follow me.”
And so if we perhaps find ourselves wondering what we are to make of this inspiring Easter message at this time in our lives and in the world; if we are feeling a little lost and confused these days, saddened and distraught by the pain and division and brokenness that continues to unfold; if we are wondering if hope is lost, we can count ourselves among the many with whom Jesus shared his important final message…Can we hear his voice? He’s speaking to us too: “feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep…he’s saying, and “Follow Me.”