by Fr. Bill Garrison
Please note that the following sermon text was provided prior to the audio recording. The two versions may differ substantially.
John 21:1-19
Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon 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.
Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No." He 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. That 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. But 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.
When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." So 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. Jesus 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. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
When 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." A 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." He 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. Very 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." (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, "Follow me."
Our gospel is an interesting fishing story this morning so since we will be thinking about fishing, I thought I would share a humorous story with you before we began considering it.
Two men from Oklahoma were in Minnesota on business and wanted to try ice fishing. They stopped at a bait shop near a frozen lake and went to get some supplies. “We need an ice pick,” said the first man.
The clerk handed them their gear and wished them happy fishing. A couple of hours later, the second man came back and said, “We need another ice pick.”
The clerk sold him the pick, and the man wandered off. An hour later, both men walked into the shop again. They stormed up to the counter and said, “Ice fishing’s terrible. We want our money back!”
The clerk looked confused and asked them, “Are you not having any luck?”
Looking furious, the first man replied, “Of course not! We don’t even have the stupid boat in the water yet!”
The setting for today’s gospel is the Sea of Tiberius. This is another name for the Sea of Galilee, and is not far from the site of the feeding of the five thousand. The time is after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In attendance for the story were Peter and six other disciples. Peter announced he was going fishing. The others said they would go fishing with him.
Now let’s stop for a moment and be clear about something. The author tells us that this story is about Jesus appearing after his resurrection. When we examine the story however, we find that it is really about Peter and his feelings of loss and guilt after having betrayed Jesus by denying him three times.
Peter went fishing because when we are depressed and upset most of us usually end up going back to the familiar. It is a distraction from the pain, something we can lose ourselves within. Fishing is what Peter did before he began following Jesus. So, he decided to go back to the familiar, back to fishing. His friends joined him because fishing was familiar to some of them too, and they were good friends and didn’t want him to be alone in his grief.
Well, they fished all night and caught nothing at all. If you have every fished you have been there and know the feeling. Peter wanted a distraction from his pain but nothing happened, no fish were being caught. He was left alone with his thoughts.
A little after dawn, the story says, Jesus called out to them from the beach, although they did not recognize him. “Children, you haven’t caught anything have you?” The answer to the question of course was no. “Then put your net on the other side and see what happens.”
We know what happened. They caught a bunch of fish, so many it endangered the net. And it is at this point the disciples figured out that the person on the beach was Jesus. Peter, in his excitement pulls a strictly “Peter” act. He puts on his clothes, for apparently fishermen then fished naked, and jumped into the water. Perhaps he was trying to run on the water to Jesus and didn’t think he would get them wet, who knows?
Jesus had a charcoal fire burning when he got there. We remember that Peter stood by a charcoal fire when he denied knowing Jesus. Maybe the author is tying these events together? Jesus fed them breakfast, some bread and fish. We are reminded of Jesus feeding the five thousand.
After breakfast Jesus asked Peter virtually the same question three times. Now as we remember Peter’s denial perhaps what Jesus didn’t ask him was even more remarkable. Why did you deny me Peter? But Jesus doesn’t bring the issue up, the very issue that has driven Peter crazy.
Instead, Jesus asked Peter if he loved him. Three times Peter answered that he did. By answering Jesus three times that he loved him perhaps he wiped away his guilt and the three times he had denied him.
In any event Jesus told Peter to feed his sheep, a vote of confidence. Jesus never brought up Peter’s denial. Instead, he gave Peter a chance to restate his love, to cancel out his previous failure, and told him he believed in him by asking Peter to feed his sheep.
Isn’t that interesting? Have you ever been given a second chance? I know I have and I am sure most of you have too. Can you remember how grateful you were? I know second chances have made a huge difference in my life. I hope they have in yours too.
The gospel is another story illustrating the nature of God. The prodigal son comes home after wasting a fortune and is forgiven before he can say he is sorry. The gardener tells the owner of the vineyard to let him work with the tree, not cut it down. Jonah is angered toward God for forgiving the city of Nineveh when they repented after having Jonah tell the city if would be destroyed for its sins. Story after story in scripture illustrates the love and forgiveness of God.
So why is it so hard for us to comprehend and believe in the love and forgiveness with which God lavishes us? The answer naturally is that if we were God, we would run a tighter ship and we would demand justice. We don’t believe we are worth it. We haven’t earned it. The idea that God’s grace is free just doesn’t make any sense.
Well, sorry folks. God may be a lousy deal maker, and a too forgiving boss, but God is God and that is how God is and how God works. Deal with it.
God loves each of us just as Jesus loved Peter. Our discretions are forgiven even before we ask. God believes in us even when we fail. God helps us up, dusts us off, and asks us to feed the sheep. So, let’s get to work.