Sunday, April 10, 2016

The Barbecue on the Beach


Easter 3C – RCL


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 some clothes, for he was naked, 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. 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 he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, "Follow me."

Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!

This is one of my favorite post resurrection stories.  Scholars contend that it is an epilogue – an add on – to the original Gospel of John.  But all of the scholarly comments aside I really don’t care.  I love this story.  There is so much going on here and folks usually focus in on the story line between Simon Peter and Jesus.  It is the part of the story that lends its name to the holy site on the Sea of Galilee where tradition says this story took place.  The holy site is called Peter’s Primacy. 

The site of Peter’s Primacy is a lovely site today.  There is a wonderful little chapel built around the rock where it is said Jesus barbecued the fish.  And there is a very nice sculpture depicting Jesus telling Peter to “feed my sheep”. 

But to be honest I don’t like the name Peter’s Primacy.  The focus on Peter three times expressing his love for Jesus completes a story in John.  Without this story we are left with our last real experience of Peter denying Jesus in the courtyard of the High Priest.  And there is certainly much sermon fodder in the second half of our story – the Peter centric part.

But really I like to call this story “The barbecue on the Beach”!

In this story the disciples are finally out of the locked room.  But they are not off making new disciples. They are back to someplace familiar.  They are back to the sea of Galilee where Jesus found Peter.  Perhaps they are looking for some comfort in the familiar.  They are back to their boats.  And Peter says “Lets go fishing!”

There is comfort in the familiar.  I know when my world is rocked I go to the familiar.  I find a spot or an activity that is familiar and comforting.  For me it frequently involves music.  Certain musical numbers have the ability to comfort me.  And certain places have the ability to comfort me.

So we find the disciples heading out to fish.  Heading out onto the Sea of Galilee - which they know so well.  They know every shallow spot. They know the places where the fish like to hang out.  It is familiar and comforting.  But they catch nothing.  They fish all night and the nets are empty.  As my fisher friends like to say that is why it’s called fishing and not catching.

So at dawn they head back in.  Empty.  Empty nets like their empty hearts.  This going back to the familiar didn’t seem to help.  And they see a stranger in the distance.  Standing on the beach.  Jesus asks them – well really he tells them – that they have no fish and they should put the net down on the other side of the boat.

Really!  Just put the net from one side of the boat to the other.  That won’t work.  I am sure that is what the disciples thought.  They know how to fish and it just doesn’t work that way.  But they do. They trust this stranger for some reason.  And the result is so many fish.  153 fish.  The nets are so full that they have trouble getting them to shore.

And when they get to shore they find Jesus had been having a better time fishing than they had up to that point!  Jesus already has fish cooking over the fire.  And bread.  Jesus invites them to breakfast.  “Come and have some breakfast!”  No rebukes.  No scolding.  Just come warm yourselves on the fire.  Come eat. 

Jesus is like that.  Grace is like that.  Resurrection is like that.  The invitation is out there to us.  The invitation to eat.  To warm our souls at the fire.  It just keeps coming. 

That is what I like about this story.  God’s grace is not always where we expect to find it.  We can go looking all day long and think we know best.  We are in church so of course we know where God’s Grace is!  Its right here – right?

Unfortunately so many people think that God’s grace only can happen in certain ways in certain places.   God’s grace only happens in a box on Sunday morning.  And we tend to think that God’s grace is limited.  Or we act that way!  People act that way because it is too scary otherwise.  And because we don’t act that way we imagine that God won’t act that way.

We create laws that put limits on grace.  We think in the terms of three strikes and you are out.  You are to be put away.  Our society wants to limit the amount of time someone can be on assistance – because otherwise they are milking the system.  We hear on the news that whole states cannot imagine LGBTQ persons having equal rights – so instead of recognizing the grace that is built up all when we build up one – instead of that state’s are passing discrimination laws wrapped in the flag of religious freedom. 

To think that God’s grace is so super abundant that it will come to us on the banks of our despair over and over and over again – runs counter to our way of thinking!  But it does.  God’s grace does not set a three strikes limit.  God grace does not say when or where it is available.  It just requires us to open our hearts.  To turn away from whatever activity that we are doing that separates us and accept God’s grace.

That is what is happening in John’s Gospel.  Jesus is offering an abundance of grace so large that we cannot imagine it – if we keep thinking in terms of limitation. 

Jesus gives God’s grace when he asks Peter if he loves him.  Peter is given the chance to say yes after saying no.  And Jesus keeps after him – Peter – do you love me – over and over again – to the point of annoyance.  Jesus is showing us that God’s grace is offered again and again. And there is only one payment for that grace.

The payment is to say yes.  And the payment is to feed God’s sheep.  All of Gods sheep.  Not just he ones we like.  Not just the ones like us.  Not just the ones who come to church. 

Feed my sheep.  Everywhere and everyone is worthy of being fed and offered God’s grace.  And we as the crazy Jesus people that we are are called to be examples.  We  are called to feed God’s sheep.  We are called to show that God’s grace is available.  Its available over and over and over again.  God does not limit God’s grace and neither should we.

Jesus said to Peter and says to us “Feed my sheep!”

Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Church is for asking questions!


Sermon for the second Sunday of Easter 2016 


When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!

Today is the second Sunday of Easter!  Unlike in our secular world where Easter starts sometime after valentines day with Easter candy and cute stuffed bunnies with colorful eggs to tempt the child in all of us -  and then goes to 50% off on Easter Monday – if not before.  Our Easter is a season.  A season of 50 days where we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.  50 days where we omit the confession in our corporate worship.  50 days of feast that follows our Lenten fast.  And best of all – for me – 50 days to proclaim Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!.

Today is also known as doubting Thomas Sunday.  Because we always read this section from John’s gospel for Easter two.  So it was also very tempting for me to look back at prior year sermons and see if some solid recycling was in order!  But I resisted.  Although today may have some similarities to other years! 

I am not fond of the label “Doubting Thomas”.  Especially because it is said with a negative connotation by many people.  Also how would I like to be known as “Doubting Rik”?  I would rather be known as “Hopelessly optimistic Rik” – although a suspect others might call my optimism something else!

A better name for Thomas might be scientific method Thomas, or rational Thomas.  Or maybe lets just stick with Thomas.  The setting of this gospel starts with all of the disciples – except Thomas – locked in a room in fear.  They fear for their lives that those who crucified Jesus might come after them.  They are locked in their grief even after Mary Magdalene told them that Christ was risen.  They are locked inside.  And into that locked room Jesus comes to greet them.  “Peace be with you”

Jesus enters into the tombs of the disciples and offers peace.  And then does a remarkable thing.  He gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit.  He gives them the gift that will ultimately drive them out of the locked room to proclaim a radical peace. A radical Love.   It will drive them to the very place where Jesus got in trouble – as we read about in our first lesson from the Acts of the Apostles – or as I like to call it the Gospel of Luke part two!  Jesus is lifting them out of their tombs with the word Peace!

Jesus did not rebuke them for not really believing Mary’s proclamation that he was risen.  Jesus did not ask them why they where still locked in the room – he didn’t ask them why they didn’t believe.  He offered Peace and gave them the radical gift of the Holy Spirit. 

But poor Thomas.  He wasn’t there.  He was off doing something else – and I always wonder why he wasn’t in the locked room.  And Thomas also is not going to believe the first hand testimony of the others.  He wants proof.  Thomas is so like us!  He wants solid proof that this crazy, irrational thing called resurrection happened.  That the incarnate Lord who he saw killed on the cross was walking about again.  And why not?

How many of you have said – or at least thought – I won’t believe that unless I see it with my own eyes?  In this day of Photoshop and computers how many of us look at a picture with disbelief – and rightly so!  We want proof that it is not yet another spoof or scam. 

And how many of us have sat in our churches – or in the privacy of our own minds and thought – I really don’t know if I believe all of the stuff in the creed.  I don’t know if I believe that Jesus – that God – will forgive my sins.  How many of us have said we want proof too.  That we want to stick our hands into the holes left by the nails. 

The radical gift of the incarnation and the radical gift of resurrection is too much to believe some days.  It is easier to believe in the Easter Bunny!  The radical gift of forgiveness of sins and unconditional love is too much.  It is easier to believe an internet spoof that if you like a post you might win a new car – or a million dollars! 

Like Thomas we want some proof.

And so in our gospel story Jesus does show up again – making sure that Thomas was in the room this time.  He offers for Thomas to put his fingers in the wounds.  To make sure that he could believe.  And Thomas responds with the strongest affirmation of faith.  “My Lord and my God!”  This time Jesus also addresses all of our belief in the midst of our unbelief.  “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe!”

The truth be told we can see the risen Christ all around us – if we but look. All you have to do is look into the eyes of the person trapped in addiction or grief to see the wounds of Jesus.  The wounds are still all around us.  And if we look into the eyes of the hungry and the wounded – not with pity but with love you might just be surprised to find Jesus looking back at you. 

The gift of the Holy Spirit is given to each one of us.  And that gift is a radical gift when we let it loose in our lives.  For it allows us not only to see the wounds of Christ but to see the love of Christ as well.  And to exercise that Love to bind up the wounds of the wounded.  The Holy Spirit coursing through each of us will lead us to do crazy things – like let people sleep in our sanctuary.  Like listening to those who have no voice.

And it is ok to say we have doubts.  Doubts that we are doing the right thing.  Doubts that we are believing the right thing.  As another preacher put it so well “Thomas comes to faith because he first has the chance to voice his doubt and questions and then experiences Jesus for himself.”[1]  Church is not meant to be a place for the perfect.  It is not meant to be a place where only those with perfect faith gather.

Church is for the doubters.  Church is for asking questions.  Why?  Why did Jesus die?  Does God really forgive my sins?  And if you want trite easy answers don’t ask me!  For me faith and belief is a journey.  A journey shared in relationship with others dancing around this thing we call faith. 

Church is also a place where I can affirm “My Lord and My God”… not because I have perfect faith but because I see God all around me and even in my doubts I find God sitting with me.  Waiting to lift me out of the locked room and to drive me on in community to be the hearts, hands and feet of the resurrected Jesus.  To bind up the wounds.  To feed the hungry.  And to provide healing for this hurting and hurt-filled world.

Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!


[1] http://www.davidlose.net/2016/03/easter-2-c-blessed-doubt/