Sermon and Scripture John 21:1-19
Our passage from the Gospel according to John is a long one, and a rich one, filled with so much that ties the entire gospel together. But it’s long, so long, that I’m going to take it in bits. So: A broken-up reading, from the gospel according to John beginning at chapter 21, verse 1.
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.
Let’s think of chapter 21 as the surprise extra chapter in the gospel of John, kind of like the baby that’s born ten or so years after the one who thought they’d always be the youngest. I say that, because, if you look at the ending of chapter 20, it really sounds like the end of the gospel. It reads,
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.
~John 20:30-31
That is an ending. It has everything but an “Amen.” And yet, we turn the page, and behold! A whole ‘nother chapter, just as if that nice summary had never been written.
This chapter finds seven of the disciples, and Peter most particularly, in a kind of mood. Hard to say what mood, exactly. But scripture and tradition tell us that Jesus was with the disciples—as many as 500 of them at one time—for almost fifty days following the resurrection. We are still within that timeframe. It is the first Easter season. But here are the disciples. They’re not in Jerusalem anymore, they’re in Galilee. And it’s a beautiful day on the Sea of Tiberius, also known as the Sea of Galilee. The sun is shining. The air smells of salt and ropes and probably fish. So Peter announces, apropos of nothing in particular, “I’m going fishing.”
On the surface, this feels odd. It feels like there is a restlessness in Peter, one the others join in. It feels like they’re not sure what to do next, so they go back to the thing they still know best: fishing.
But here’s the thing: The other three gospels all mention Galilee in their resurrection stories—and in two of them, angels tell the women, tell everyone to go to Galilee—there you will see Jesus. In other words, go back to the beginning. That is where it all started. That is where you saw him first. That is where you will see him again. That how all of this will, ultimately, make sense. So they go to Galilee, and they do exactly what they were doing the first time they met Jesus. They go fishing. But it doesn’t go well. Now, picking up at verse 4:
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.
There are number of resurrections stories in which the disciples don’t, at first, recognize Jesus. This is one of them. The men are tired. They’ve been fishing all night, and it’s dawn, and now there’s somebody, a man, on the beach. But they don’t know who it is. He calls them “Children,” and notices they haven’t caught anything. Is this starting to sound familiar? Way back in the beginning of Lent, way back at the beginning of Peter’s story with Jesus, they are in a boat together and the fishing is similarly unscuccessful. And then, Jesus makes a suggestion, and, behold! An amazing catch. A huge haul. Jesus is here.
This is a story about going back to the beginning. The disciples have all been through so much with Jesus, including the whiplash-inducing event of God raising Jesus from the dead.
And now, the disciple whom Jesus loves says, “It is the Lord!” and Peter jumps right off the boat.
There is a scene in the move “Forrest Gump” in which Forrest is in his shrimp-boat, steering it down the river, and he suddenly sees his very best friend, Lieutenant Dan, on the dock, sitting in his wheelchair. And Forrest jumps out of the boat, paddles himself to the dock as quickly as he can, and shakes Lieutenant Dan’s hand hard—which, for Forrest, is the equivalent of a great big hug. This is a moment of sheer joy, pure love and devotion. Peter jumping off that boat is a moment of sheer joy, and pure love and devotion. It could be nothing less.
Returning to the gospel passage, now beginning at verse 9:
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.
And now, another familiar scene. It’s as if this one long passage is revisiting the entire trajectory of the discipleship of Peter and everyone else. Jesus has a charcoal fire going, with bread and fish cooking, and he asks the men to bring some more fish, which he grills for them. Come, he says. Eat. And he takes bread, and gives it to them. And he takes fish and gives it to them. They eat it in silence, knowing they are in Jesus’ presence, and yet, somehow, unable to speak. They are, no doubt, remembering the times when Jesus fed the multitudes with this very food. But in another way, this is a familiar moment to all of us—the moment when the dinner conversation silences, because everyone’s eating, and the food is so satisfying and we’re all just happy to be together.
And now, the final part of our passage, which begins at verse 15.
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 [Peter] would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”
Response Holy Wisdom, Holy Word:
Thanks be to God!
After the meal has been eaten, the lens narrows, as if everyone else in the scene is in the background, somewhat blurry, but the camera is focused on Jesus and Peter only. Jesus speaks: he is asking a question. Peter, do you love me? And without a moment’s hesitation Peter answers in the affirmative. To which Jesus replies: Feed my lambs. And then again. The same question, asked by Jesus. The same answer given by Peter. And the same command issued by Jesus. And finally, a third time. The question. The answer, this time, somewhat different, because Peter is stung, now, to be asked again and again. “You know all things, Lord. You know that I love you.” And then, the same command: Feed my lambs.
What has just happened, as the rest of the disciples have leaned back to digest their meals, and the charcoal fire has burned down to glowing coals? What has happened was a ritual re-enactment of the night of Jesus’ arrest, when Peter stood by a charcoal fire warming himself and answered three questions. But on that night, instead of declaring his love and loyalty to Jesus, Peter had declared that he knew no Jesus, that he was no disciple. He declared that three times.
Jesus has accomplished three things here. First, he has allowed Peter, in a strange way, to go back in time and give the answer he wishes with all his might he had given that night—one affirmation for each denial. And second, Jesus has reiterated, in the strongest of terms, his confidence in his original choice of Simon, son of John, as the one to take up the mantle of leading this Jesus movement after he, Jesus, has returned to become one with God once again. And third, this episode has been revealed as another “call story.” Just as Jesus invited Peter and the other fishermen to follow him early in the gospels, calling them away from their boats and their nets and their kin, once again he calls all of them to renew their commitment to the gospel of love and care of one another. Follow me.
All this is spelled out in the symbols contained in the image on the front of your bulletin. First, you can see two sheep—Jesus and Peter, side by side, because of course, Jesus is both Lamb of God and Good Shepherd. Each sheep bears a symbol on his chest, the West African Agyin Dawuru (‘a-gin-day-ru’), a sign of faithfulness, willingness to carry out one’s duty. Each of their faces is stylized with the Kokuromotie, a symbol of cooperation, teamwork, and harmony. And finally, the symbol we would recognize as a heart, the West African, Akoma. In addition to signifying love, it also calls to mind endurance and patience.
Peter has jumped out of the boat, the first sign of his love. Next, he has partaken of the meal Jesus has shared, a sign of grace and hospitality on Jesus’ part. And finally, he has said to Jesus, “Here’s my heart,” declaring his love, faithfulness, and willingness to work alongside the other disciples by sharing, not just food with them, but spiritual nurture as well. “Tend my sheep,” Jesus has said. Peter is all in.
Friends, we are like Peter. We too can renew our commitment to following Jesus, whatever that means in our lives. We can return from times when we were prone to wander, and say, “Here’s my heart: take and seal it, Lord, for whatever purpose you have in mind for me.” We too can gather around Jesus’ table and receive the bread of life and the cup of salvation, food to nurture our souls on this journey. We too can commit to “feeding his sheep,” whether that is the nurture of our own disciples of all ages in this community, the nurture of our neighbors through the Food Pantry and other ways of helping locally, and the nurture of God’s people around the world.
What have you learned from Peter’s faith journey? I believe Peter’s story is our story, and I’m so, so grateful for it. I hope you are too.
Thanks be to God. Amen.