A sermon by Senior Minister John B. McCall, April 18, 2010
John 21:1-19
Do you ever imagine what would you would do if you had died and had a chance to return for just a while? What would you say? Whom would you meet? What would your legacy be?
Maybe you’d have a score to settle – seeking out someone you despise or resent, getting in the last cutting remark and then flying off into heaven.
Maybe you’d appear to your parents or child, partner or dear friend and ask for forgiveness for something you’ve done or failed to do – something you’ve harbored in your heart, something unsaid and therefore unresolved.
Or maybe you’d prepare a resume of your greatest achievements, your finest hours, your wisest choices; then return and make sure everyone remembered how much you had contributed.
At the end of each Gospel we get a glimpse of what Jesus did when he returned. After God raised Jesus on Easter Sunday, scripture tells us he spent forty days on earth and then ascended into heaven. There’s a little commentary available to us in the Gospels but it leaves much to our imagination.
Matthew ends his Gospel with the account of the eleven disciples going from Jerusalem to the Galilee and there encountering the risen Lord who said gave them what’s called the Great Commission: “go therefore into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit… I will be with you always, to the end of the age.”
Mark – the shortest and oldest Gospel – has two endings, both likely later additions. The shorter ending simply says Jesus sent his disciples out to the east and the west. The longer ending is a little jarring, with these words in chapter 16:16-20:
The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.
That’s interesting – snake handling and drinking poison would liven up coffee hour, wouldn’t it? Then there’s Luke with the beautiful account of two disciples walking on the Emmaus Road on a Sunday afternoon, encountering a stranger whom they finally recognize as the risen Christ. He then appeared to the other disciples and let them touch him. He even ate bread and fish showing this wasn’t an apparition but a person of flesh and blood. Finally he instructed them further on the meaning of the scriptures, and then he ascended into heaven. Luke continues his account in the Acts of the Apostles.
And then there’s John, as we just read, with its rich and beautiful account of the weary disciples casting their nets one more time and bringing in a great catch – 153 fish from the sea of Galilee.
Let’s note the common elements in these four post-resurrection accounts. The first thing I see is what’s missing: no parables, no healings, no confrontations with the authorities, no reprisals against the priests or Levites or Pilate or Herod, no plots and no schemes.
He apparently didn’t say “idolize me,” or “worship me,” or “build extravagant cathedrals to honor me,” or “craft fine liturgies,” or “write long and ponderous books about me.” What we do see is Jesus’ fixing breakfast for his disciples, his final exam for Peter the Apostle, and his final instructions: “feed my lambs; tend my sheep; follow me…”
We make following Jesus much too hard when we focus on rules and vocabulary and theology. His final words say it all. This is the legacy he wanted to leave. Matthew says Jesus’ legacy was the “Great Commission” telling his disciples to go into the world and preach and teach and baptize. John says Jesus’ legacy is a beautiful, pastoral scene of a breakfast there by the lake.
That word “pastoral” has a special meaning in our vocabulary. The Latin, of course, means shepherd, so we often speak of our ordained leaders as “pastors.” In our tradition we don’t speak of ordained clergy as priests meaning the one who officiates over the sacrifice at the altar. Or we speak of ministers which means one who administers and manages the affairs of the congregation. Fair enough. But for many of us the term that rings most true is “pastor”: one who accepts Jesus’ commission to feed the sheep, tend the lambs, and follow.
It took me a little while to own that for myself. In the early years of my ministry I spent a lot of money and time on reading books about parish ministry… Six Steps to a Vital Ministry; 20 Surefire Ideas to Make Your Church Grow; that kind of thing. I was looking for a plan to implement and a model to follow. After a while I figured out the secret to parish ministry is first to love God and then to love the people. Even when it’s hard to like them sometimes, love the people. “Feed my sheep, tend my lambs, follow me.”
His instructions apply to every one of us who wants to be a disciple. That is a great commission, and it’s pretty straight forward. But sometimes we still get tied up in knots trying to analyze Jesus and the Bible as though they’re quantum physics. We try to dissect the pieces, and scrutinize the word choices and evaluate the theology, make a plan… and we get all in a twist. Jesus wasn’t that complicated. He was what he said he was. He was fully open and transparent to the spirit of God in his life. He embodied the divine – a human vessel in which the Holy was present and overflowing.
This story in John tells is so well. Shortly after Easter the disciples had gone back to their fishing. The joy and exuber¬ance had left them. The huge drop in attendance on the Sundays after Easter tells us the problem is still with us.
They were working their nets as they always had, but this day they were catching nothing – another metaphor that strikes home. It was common then, even as it is today around the Sea of Galilee, to have a spotter standing on the hillside and signaling the fishers about where to guide their boat and where to toss their nets.
That’s how Jesus appeared – but they didn’t recognize him at first. “Throw the net over there…” They did as he suggested and the net was filled to overflowing with fish. Then one of the disciples thought he recognized Jesus and said so. Peter looked more carefully and knew instantly. Now it says Peter was naked, stripped for work. More likely he had a wrap around his waist… or a Speedo! In any case he jumped in the water and started toward the shore.
A little time passed as the other fishers came ashore. Then Jesus announced “breakfast is ready.” Just like that. Their master and teacher was also a servant and prepared a meal and was now inviting them to sit down and relax together. Consider this – especially if you’re one of those who skips a meal because there’s just not enough time to sit still and eat! Sure, there was good news to preach; injustices to address; sick to be healed and so much more. The disciples probably felt as pressured and stressed as this year’s scholarship recipients!
But Jesus, who had been the firebrand and the gadfly was now just sitting down and saying “let’s eat;” not “let’s get moving,” but rather “let’s sit down together and share a meal.” He could see how hungry and tired they were. They’d labored all night and hadn’t caught a thing. They had to eat before they could labor any more.
We, too, get hungry and thirsty and tired and can’t get the focus to do what needs to be done. For some that’s literally true: I read that only about 30% of Americans eat breakfast before they head out the door. No wonder our kids are struggling at school and our adults are grumpy and lethargic at work.
Jesus knew the disciples needed refreshment before they could press on. So do we. We have to keep connected and keep nourished if we’re going to do hard work: as fishers, or disciples, or church members today. We’re called to a life-transforming, world-changing faith but we can’t do it when we’re starving.
Jesus says: “breakfast is ready” and invites us to join him in tending and serving and loving. There are all sorts of ways we can do this through the church – through worship and study groups, through fellowship and service.
Whatever else we do, we need to be clear that we seek to make disciples and feed disciples so the disciples can go into the world and touch other lives – one at a time – and hopefully transform them into believers and doers and followers. That’s our common mission and our shared ministry.
There is much to do – but first, at least for a little while, let’s remember to breathe deeply and accept Jesus’ invitation to breakfast.
And then get on with it: “feed my sheep; tend my lambs; and follow me.” And so we do.