Scripture John 21:1-17
After these things 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 his outer garment, for he had taken it off, 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.”
Sermon
As many of you know, I grew up on the Monopoly Board. I hail from a town called Ventnor, New Jersey right next to Atlantic City. I haven’t lived at the Jersey Shore since summer after I graduated college, but, except for the first year of the pandemic, I have managed to return at least once every year.
For years, the most exciting moment of the trip was when I rolled down my window to pay the last toll on the Atlantic City Expressway. We were still about five miles from the ocean, but the marshes and reeds of the Atlantic- infused inland waterway were on either side of the highway. The smell of the salt air—the smell of the ocean—was unfailingly intoxicating. There is nothing like it. There’s nothing like going home.
Seven of Jesus’ disciples have gone home. They, too, have returned to the sea—the Sea of Tiberias (another name for the Sea of Galilee). These are the days, probably the weeks after the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. In two of the gospels, Jesus has given word to the disciples that he will meet them in Galilee. So, as this story begins, the seven are gathered there.
It's not entirely clear what the mood is among the disciples. In John’s gospel, Peter and most of the inner circle have already encountered the risen Jesus at least twice. But the feeling of this passage is that some time has passed, and they have not yet met up with Jesus here, back home, and what do you do when you’ve gone home again, but now, everything is weird? Everything is strange and different? A lot of us, we return to something familiar. Personally, I jump in the ocean. For Peter, that means, fishing. For fish. Not for people.
We last saw Peter in Jerusalem, by the charcoal fire where he denied Jesus three times. Now, he announces: I am going fishing. His friends, at least half of whom were not fishermen before Jesus, announce, “We’ll go with you,” in that way good friends stay close when they can see you are struggling. Jesus is nowhere in sight.
They’re out all night, but they have no luck. As morning dawns Jesus arrives and stands on the beach, but… they don’t know who he is. They may be a little too far out. This may be that risen Christ phenomenon, wherein Jesus is hard to recognize at first. But he calls to them, calling them, “children.” Children, you have no fish? No, they respond. Why don’t you try something else? he suggests, telling them to cast the net to the other side of the boat. They try this, and they find themselves hauling in a huge catch, 153 fish.
Over the years I’ve heard a lot of different ideas about that number 153. Why such a specific number? It must symbolize something, right? The most frequently mentioned idea is that it stands for the number of kinds of fish in the Sea of Galilee, which would, by extension, might symbolize, the number of different kinds of people who were being welcomed into the ranks of Jesus’ followers. This week I discovered all kinds of mathematic symbolism, most of which sounded kind of far-fetched to me. But here are my two favorite theories: Maybe that was the known number of people who were disciples of Jesus at that time. Or, maybe, there were really simply 153 fish—the kind of detail that an eye-witness would remember, that and the fact that the nets didn’t tear.
Let’s not miss one thing the gospel really seems to want us to know. It has to do with listening to Jesus, and doing as he tells you to. Peter, on his own, wasn’t doing well fishing. But once he has taken Jesus’ advice, or, followed his instructions…Peter succeeds.
And can we ever really escape the “fishing for men” or “fishing for people” symbolism? I’m not sure we can. Suddenly it might seem that the purpose of this encounter with Jesus, this entire story, has to do with how well Peter will do as Jesus wants him to do, maybe even commands him to do. More on that later.
And now, suddenly, Peter sees that it is Jesus, and he promptly hops overboard to swim ashore and greet his Lord, leaving the rest of the disciples bring in the big haul. As they arrive, the friends see that Jesus has built a charcoal fire on the beach, on which there are already fish and bread. He invites them to add some of their catch to the fire, and they do. Jesus shares with them the bread and the fish, and together they are sharing the same meal that Jesus distributed to the multitudes over and over in the gospels, that other communion meal Jesus presides over.
At this point the focus of our story narrows. Now, we are only seeing and hearing the conversation between Jesus and Peter. Jesus begins, using Peter’s given name. Simon:
Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?
Yes, Lord, you know that I love you, Peter replies.
Feed my lambs, Jesus says.
This exchange is repeated two more times, with slightly different wording (tend, shepherd, sheep) on Jesus’s side, and, finally, with a frustrated outburst on Simon Peter’s side:
Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.
Feed my sheep, Jesus says.
Here, next to a charcoal fire that has been the source of nourishment and hospitality, Simon Peter is given the opportunity to unsay what he said on that cold and terror-filled night by the charcoal fire in the High Priest’s courtyard. Peter’s three denials are met and mended by his three declarations of love.
And each time he declares his love, Jesus shows him what that will mean going forward, what kind of leader he will be for the early church. Loving Jesus means loving all Jesus’ people. Loving God means loving all God’s people. Just as you do to the least of these, Jesus says elsewhere, you do to me.
There is another aspect, though, to what Jesus asks and what Peter answers here. Yes, Peter has a chance to deny his denials, to say what he wishes he had said before. He has a chance to show his sorrow about what he said before, and to firmly state his faithfulness to Jesus now. But he is also given an opportunity to return to himself—to be, again, and going forward, the person he wants to be, the person Jesus has called him to be, and the person he knows he is meant to be. The worst betrayals are betrayals of the self. In this beautiful seaside setting, the smell of the sea all around and the smell of the meal still in the air, Peter has come home, not only to Galilee, but to himself. The best homecoming of all.
Another thing I learned this week was that the phrase, “go to Galilee,” in some circles, is about returning to our spiritual home, returning to our original experience of inspiration, and call, and faith. In that spirit, I want to wonder with you: How have we found God in the flames this summer?
In the passage from Exodus, Moses found God’s words of Call and Assurance in the flames—God enlisted Moses, saying “Let my people go,” and assured Moses that he would not be alone in the task. God would be with him.
In the passage from Leviticus, we met God while encountering the Eternal Flame in the Holy of Holies, a reminder of God’s Love and Presence through a fire tended day and night.
In a passage from John’s gospel, we met God in the charcoal fire, offering Peter a sense of Warmth and Comfort in the wake of his shocking denials of Jesus.
In our passage from the prophet Daniel, we witnessed the miracle of God’s and Protection to the three young men who were thrown into the fiery furnace, fulfillments of God’s Promise to be with them.
And today, in another passage from John’s gospel, we have met God in yet another charcoal fire, now a part of Jesus’ offering of Nourishment and Hospitality to Peter and the other disciples at a time of confusion and worry. The Rev. Carol Holbrook Prickett, whose Deep Well resources inspired this sermon series, wrote, “From the burning bush to the breakfast on the beach, each story reveals a bit more of the live-giving light (and heat) of God.” Through Call and Assurance, to Love and Presence, Warmth and Comfort, Protection and Promise, and Nourishment and Hospitality, God meets the faithful people in these stories—and us—in all the many seasons of our lives, from the most challenging to the most joy-filled.
Maybe you will kindle a flame tonight and grill some fish and bread over it. (Maybe you’ll toast marshmallows.) Maybe you will light a candle to enhance whatever meal you are enjoying. May every flame you encounter remind you of the love of God that never fails, that carries you through the wilderness, walks with you through the fire, and brings you home.
Thanks be to God. Amen.