PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Bless to me, O God,
Each thing mine eye sees;
Bless to me, O God,
Each sound mine ear hears;
Bless to me, O God,
Each odour that goes to my nostrils
Bless to me, O God,
Each taste that goes to my lips;
Each note that goes to my song,
Each ray that guides my way,
Each thing that I pursue.
Each lure that tempts my will,
The zeal that seeks my living soul.
The Three that seek my heart,
The zeal that seeks my living soul,
The Three that seek my heart.

– Ancient Prayers – The Carmina Gadelica

“I am a hole in a flute that the Christ’s breath moves through.” – Hafiz

John 21:1-19

Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples

21 After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. ² 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.³ 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. 

⁴ Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. ⁵ Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” ⁶ 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.⁷ 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. ⁸ 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.

⁹ When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. ¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” ¹¹ 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. ¹² 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. ¹³ Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. ¹⁴ This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Jesus and Peter

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.”¹⁶ 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.” ¹⁷ 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. ¹⁸ 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.” ¹⁹ (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Moxie, it’s a great word to describe someone.  I thought of that word this week as I was reading this gospel lesson.  Here’s a definition:  

One’s steadiness and courage in a demanding situation

Mental or physical vitality or strength

The knowledge and skill to be able to do something correctly or proficiently

As this is our Kirking of the Tartans Sunday, I also thought of my Clan, the MacGregors.  Growing up with my grandfather on my mom’s side, I heard great stories of one MacGregor in particular.  Rob Roy.  He lived in the late 1600’s and early 1700’s.  Was a rebel with the Jacobite uprising fighting for Scotland’s independence.  And, he was kind of like Robin Hood.  He took care of his family and friends, usually by “borrowing” cattle from other clans.  Now, before you think he’s a thief, one should understand that it was common practice in those days by clans to take one another’s cattle.  He was particularly good at it and had some ups and downs in his life, but he did live a long life and died of natural causes!  

But, I believe that he may have had a deep trust in himself and in others…a trust that was in something deeper than circumstances.  He seemed to face life with heart, with courage, and with some moxie.  Even in times when he may have felt a bit lost or unsure…and even made decisions that may have not turned out as he had expected.

Our gospel lesson this morning finds the disciples after Jesus’ death and resurrection.  They are near the Sea of Tiberius, they have heard rumors about Jesus’ resurrection, Peter has even seen evidence as have others, but the new reality is still sinking in.  They have been living under a perception of what faith meant, they had put their hopes and dreams in a visible earthly kingdom, and the Jesus that they followed would bring about that earthly kingdom.  They were stuck thinking about some sort of nationalist ambitions and not about God’s Presence that permeates all of life…and even though Jesus may have risen, the images of him being crucified, and their shame in deserting Jesus was almost too much for them to process….they were lost.

So, what do they do.  They go fishing.  They grew up around it, it gave them fellowship, a source of income, and they were good at it.  

The fished all night.  They knew the right places, they had the right technique, they had the correct bait to attract fish, yet, they caught nothing.  All night, nothing.  

The next morning, they see this guy on the beach yelling something to them.  It’s interesting that our text says “children”.  Some texts use the word friends, but children could apply.  They had not reached a point of change or growth in their understanding.  Their faith was still maturing.  But, I also like friends.  Both work here.  Calling the disciples children wasn’t saying anything about their character, I think it was a term of endearment and empathy, as well as a desire for growth.

What else does Jesus tell them?  Throw your nets on the other side!  I’m sure they are thinking, how would that help?  We know these waters, we know how to fish…moving our nets a few feet won’t do anything.  Yet, they had fished all night with no results.  They were doing what they always did which got them something in times past, but nothing on this day.

So, they take a risk, trusted this guy on the beach, and threw their nets on the other side.  What did they have to lose?  And, what happens?  We all know, they caught more fish than they could pull in!  153 to be exact!  Now, here’s a thing about biblical numbers, this says nothing about goals.  I used to be on staff at a church that said we wanted to go out and “net 50” new families in the church during a fall.  It didn’t happen, nor was that biblical.  We can read too much into numbers, but essentially it a reporting of something that happens out of a deep trust, not a blind trust, but a donated trust that moves beyond circumstance… and deep, loving, honoring and unashamed relationships.

We see that happening here in this gospel lesson.  When Peter realizes that it’s Jesus, when his eyes are opened to his friend, he puts on his clothes and jumps into the sea to swim to Jesus.  Now, I’m not sure of the custom at that time about fishing without clothes, and I’ve read a lot of commentaries on this passage, and I’m still not sure on why you’d put on clothes to swim even…yet, that’s in the passage…and it shows Peter being Peter, impulsive and passionate…and showing some moxie…and a future leader that others would follow very soon.  

Which they do, they follow Peter and row back to the shore and Jesus invites them to cook breakfast together.  He doesn’t just hand them the food, they pull in their haul, start a fire, and cook together.  

After breakfast, Peter and Jesus have this wonderfully awkward and hard dialogue.  Jesus asking Peter 3x if he loves Jesus.  I believe that Jesus is restoring Peter.  Peter denied him 3x on the night before he was crucified, so he asks Jesus 3x.  It must’ve been somewhat hard for Peter as evidenced in the passage.  Yet, he eventually catches on, and Jesus gives him the charge to build up the church.

Friends, this passage can speak to us in our personal lives and in lives together as Westwood First Presbyterian.  There may be things that we’ve done for a long time in our lives that simply are not working anymore, we need a fresh perspective, a resurrection even, maybe we need to put our nets somewhere else, maybe even right outside our church doors.  We certainly need to slow down, and listen to the voice of God calling us to jump out of whatever boat we are in and swim towards this Jesus who continues to beckon us towards deeper relationship with him, ourselves, and others…and to continue to have that deeper, donated trust in one another and this God that our Celtic ancestors reminds us is in all things and all people…and that we we will move into a new future together that is good for us and for all of those who are around us.  And, as my friend Cormac Russel would say, we will move as an organization as fast as the speed of trust…good wisdom from an Irishman even!  

This church, our lives, all of us, myself included, are moving towards new chapters in our lives.  And we have some moxie don’t we?!  We may not be literally fishing, and we certainly are not stealing cattle, but we are moving forward with courage, trust, and authenticity!  That’s certainly good news for me, for us, and for all of those around us as we live in Christ!