Easter
3 Homily By The Rev. Marcia McRae
St.
John’s Episcopal Church, Bainbridge, GA, 10 April 2016
RCL
Year C: Acts 9:1-6,
(7-20); Psalm 30; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19
Jesus
says: Throw
your net to the right side of the boat for fish.
Does he mean your
right or my right?
I
wonder if the disciples wonder, as
my favorite children's sermon website suggests1 What difference does it make which side of
the boat?2
If fish aren't in this area of water, we won't catch any.
On
this 3rd
Sunday of Easter we hear in John’s Gospel the 4th
& final appearance of the risen Jesus that happens after the
disciples have returned to their home town & the activities that
shaped their lives before Jesus called them to be fishers of people,
before all the recent difficulties, disaster & surprising
reversal of death's power they have witnessed.
This
morning we see them after a night of futile fishing. This stranger
calls to them using a parent's endearing term: "Children, you
have no fish?" They say, "No." Jesus gives a simple
instruction. They do what he suggests & suddenly everything
changes! This happens in our lives, too.
The
futile fishing suddenly transforms into a bounty. The
filled-to-overflowing nets are too heavy to heave on board. Although
the
significance of the 153-count of fish is unclear,
my sources note,
the
abundant catch points to the abundance of God's love that draws ALL
people into God's love, ALL people into the Body of Christ. God is
drawing some of this bounty to this happening community where we live
God’s Love.
Notice
Jesus invites the disciples to sit on the beach, around the fire he
has made, to share breakfast, to break bread together again. The last
time the disciples shared a meal with Jesus was the last supper,
after which Peter warmed himself by a fire & denied knowing
Jesus. Warming by this new fire, they share “Breakfast on the
Beach” as the sermons4kids calls it.3
After
this shared meal by this warm fire, Jesus has a fireside chat &
gives Peter the gift of a new start, a renewed relationship, a clean
heart & mind. I wonder if this new start around a fire reminds
Peter of his heritage as part of God’s people led by a pillar of fire in the wilderness, the fire of the covenant with Abraham, the fire Moses saw at the burning bush, & Peter's own experience of
fire’s holy significance: fire of incense in worship, fire for
burnt offerings.
I
wonder if Peter remembers that fire purifies. Jesus gives Peter the opportunity to purify, to burn away the ugliness in his memory of his
denying Jesus 3 times.
With
its several words for love, Greek speaks more precisely in this
scripture. In addition to “eros” for physical love, Greek has
“philia” for family or brotherly love, & “agape” for
God's overflowing, self-giving, unmerited love for us.4 What
kind of love do you have for Jesus?
Jesus
1st
says “agape”. Peter responds, “philia”: “Yes, I love you
like a brother.” Jesus says again: “agape” & Peter responds
“philia”.
The 3rd
time, Jesus graciously meets Peter where
he is & says: “Peter, do you love me/do you 'philia'?” Peter
responds not as I had hoped he would, saying “Yes, Lord, I agape
you.” Peter again replies “philia”.
During
our Holy Week Lunch that we co-hosted with 1st
Christian, their Minister Mark Jones, spoke of this encounter5 in his meditation, noting the difference in the words Jesus & Peter use for love,
not only giving me this new understanding of this encounter but also
noting how Jesus changes his word choice on his 3rd
question:
Jesus speaks to Peter at the level of love
to which Peter can commit.
Jesus meets us where we are &
walks with us so that we grow in
his agape/love.
Agape is the starting point, the center &
the
context in which Jesus invites us to live &
to work as his disciples
where we are.
What
kind of love do you have for Jesus?
Agape/love
transforms, goes beyond simple feelings to deep commitment like we
see in Jesus' life among us, as he dies for us on the cross & as
he rises to lift us from being mired in mere existence to live more &
more fully in God's agape/love, which we can do with the Holy Spirit
guiding us.
Today's
Gospel shows us the last appearance of Jesus in John's Gospel, yet
the
Rev. Jason Cox says this about today's Gospel:
“...this
is not Jesus’ last appearance. Look with the eyes of faith, &
we begin to see Jesus in the oddest places: on the seashore, in the
garden, on the street corner. Sometimes Jesus is hungry & cold &
asking us for money...other times he is inviting us to sit down for
an unexpected meal. But always, always, Jesus is challenging us to
live lives of kindness & compassion, of sharing & generosity,
of justice-making & peace.”6
What kind of love do you have for Jesus?
Brother
Mark Brown of the Society of St. John the Evangelist says in a recent
daily meditation:
“The resurrection appearances continue in us — we’re the risen
body of Christ. Each
of us, in a sense, & in a very flawed way, is a resurrection
appearance.
The
story continues — there is no ending to the gospel because
resurrection continues in us.”
Brown,
Brother Mark. “Body of Christ - Brother, Give Us A Word”. Daily
Meditation: Society
of Saint John the Evangelist..
http://ssje.org/ssje/2012/04/25/resurrection-appearances-this-morning-br-mark-brown/
Accessed:
8 April 2016.
Cox,
The Rev. Jason. “Jesus Will Meet Us, Easter 3 (C) – 2016.”
Accessed 8 April 2016.
http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw/2016/03/28/jesus-will-meet-us-easter-3-c-2016/
Harper’s
Bible Commentary.
General Ed.: Jams. L. Mays. San Francisco: Harper & Row
Publishers, 1988.
Harper’s
Bible Dictionary.
General Ed.: Paul J. Achtemeier. San Francisco: Harper & Row
Publishers. 1985.
2
Ibid.
3
Ibid.
4
Note: From several sources in Bibliography.
5
Note: Jones showed the video of this Gospel encounter of God's
amazing GRACE, titled “Grace” by skitguys.com. You can see it at
https://skitguys.com/videos/item/grace
6Ibid.
Cox.
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