Wandering Heart: “Here’s My Heart”

040724 2nd Sunday of Eastertide - Another Lap Around the Mountain

Gospel Reading: John 21:1-19

21 Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened.2 Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.

3 Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”

“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.

4 At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. 5 He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?”

“No,” they replied.

6 Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.

7 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. 8 The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore. 9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.

10 “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.

12 “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.

15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”

“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.

16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”

“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.

17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.

18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and otherswill dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.”

Message from Susan Houston

Well here we go.  When I was in college, my Old Testament professor had a favorite saying about the children of Israel as they journeyed to the Promised Land.  He called it “another lap around the mountain.”  The children of Israel could have gone directly to the promised land, but they kept messing up and having to relearn the things that God was trying to teach them.  Another lap around the mountain again and again. They would learn the lessons of God, and then they would forget, or maybe they needed to learn the lesson a little deeper. God was patient, but It took them 40 years to get there, 

I feel like my professor would say the same thing about Peter and me.  Another lap around the mountain - you haven’t learned all the lessons yet or you don’t have them down pat.

We are going to go around the mountain one more time today with Peter. What a couple of weeks it had been for Peter. Their friend Lazarus had been raised from the dead.  Then the arrival in Jerusalem, complete with cloaks for Jesus’s donkey to walk on and palm branches and shouts of Hosanna. The disciples had gathered in the upper room to share a meal. Jesus had removed his robe and filled a basin with water, acted as the servant and began to wash the disciples’ feet.  Remember Peter said no way are you going to wash my feet and Jesus told Peter that if he didn’t wash Peter’s feet then Peter would not belong to Christ’s kingdom. Peter, being Peter, immediately jumped in and said, “Oh if you put it like that, then wash my hands and head too.” Peter, Peter, Peter. I’m sure Jesus smiled at his eagerness. Then Jesus told them again that he would be betrayed. Peter said they wouldn’t let that happen, that Jesus shouldn’t talk that way. Jesus said, “Get behind me Satan.” Bad day for Peter, like we talked about a few weeks ago. Then things turned from bad to worse. Jesus was arrested and crucified and laid in a tomb. Mary Magdelene and several other women rushed into the room where they were hiding out on Sunday morning and said Jesus was alive. Like Pastor Robin talked about last week, Peter ran off to the tomb and sure enough it was empty.  What are they thinking?What would you be thinking?

Later Easter evening, Jesus appeared in the room with them. They were in awe and excited to see him. I think, though, it probably added to their confusion. The doors and windows were locked because they were afraid, afraid they were going to be arrested too, yet Jesus appeared in the room with them. He was there a week later so Thomas could see his hands and feet and believe. But now that had been several days ago. We don’t know what they did in the mean time. Were they sitting around waiting for Jesus to come back again?. Wondering “What are we going to do now? Should we take a break from ministry, should we go back to our old homes, how are we going to live? What are we going to do with ourselves?”

So what do you do when your life is on the trash heap? You go back to the familiar. You go back to a place of comfort. Peter said, “I can’t sit around any more. I’m going fishing.” The others said, “That’s a good idea, we’ll come too.” So they went fishing. They fished all night and came up empty. Has that happened to them before? Yes, the passage that Ilene read is the one we read of the first Sunday of this series, when Jesus first called the disciples. They were at the Sea of Galilee, just like before. They had come back to where the story began, another lap around the mountain.

In the Luke passage that Ilene read, they had fished all night and caught nothing, as Simon Peter said, “We worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear!

In the John passage I just read this guy on the bank hollered, “Fellows, did you catch anything?”  They said no.The guy told them to try the right-hand side of the boat, and they did and then couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish. Another lap around the mountain. I’m sure Peter remembered as told in the Luke passage “from now on you will fish for people.”

Who was this fellow hollering from the shore? At first, they couldn’t see. John finally realized who it was and said, “It is the Lord!” What did Peter do? He jumped into the water and waded to shore. Sound familiar? Remember a few weeks ago, when the disciples were out on the lake and a storm came up? Jesus came walking on the water and they thought he was a ghost. What did Peter do then? Yes, he jumped out of the boat to go to him. He got scared and started to sink, and the Lord lifted him up. Another lap around the mountain. That time Jesus calmed the storm.  I’m sure they were ready for that comfort again. 

This was the 3rd time Jesus had appeared to his disciples.  Here was Jesus with a campfire and bread and some fish cooking for breakfast. Jesus was always feeding people. Remember that time there was a crowd of over 5,000 listening to him teach. A little boy shared his lunch of 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread, and Jesus fed the whole crowd.  Another lap around the mountain.

Friends, we don’t know the discussion that Peter had had with Jesus when he had seen him before, but this time, Jesus asked him three times, “Do you love me?” This repetition was not because Jesus doubted Peter’s word. This repetition was Jesus offering Peter grace.

You see, the last time Jesus and Peter were together before the crucifixion, Peter had denied Jesus three times, “I do not know that man.” … “I do not know that man” …“I do not know that man!” So when Jesus returned, he asked Peter, “Do you love me?” And in that moment, he allowed Peter to turn his denials into love.

Oooh, and the last time Peter was at a charcoal fire was in the courtyard of the High Priest. Don’t you think the smell of the fire on the shore burned his nostrils as it reminded him of what he had done?  Peter had denied Christ not once but 3 times. It was bad enough that he denied his Master, but Jesus had told Peter that he would betray him and Peter, being Peter, said “Not me, I wouldn’t do that.” What feelings of shame and blame must have come upon Peter.  We don’t know what had gone on between Peter and Jesus at the other two encounters, but Peter had eagerly jumped out of the boat. He must have felt that their relationship was ok.

By coming to the beach Jesus was keeping his promise to not abandon them. Do you think the disciples remembered these events and the things that Christ had been teaching them? Another “they remembered and they understood” moment that we’ve talked about all this season?

Then, after breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these? ” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. 3 times Jesus asked him and got the same answer.

In the Greek, there are two different words for love that are used here.  One is agape, which means unconditional, sacrificial, divine love  - considered the highest form of love. The other is philo which is brotherly love and refers to the love shared between close friends. The first 2 times Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me” he asks, “Do you agape (Unconditionally, sacrificially love) me? Peter responds You know I philo (brotherly love)you. The 3rd time Jesus switches to  Do you philo me? And Peter responds, “You know I philo you.”  How does this distinction affect how you read this conversation? What kind of love did Peter promise – philo, brotherly love, the love of close friends.  What kind of love did Jesus want? Agape love, unconditional, sacrificial, divine love.

Jesus commanded Peter to “feed his lambs, take care of his sheep, and feed his sheep.”  The Greek word for feed Jesus uses means to nourish spiritually. The word for to take care or tend is to act as a shepherd, guarding and guiding a flock. We know that this imagery continued to change Peter’s ministry. Another lap around the mountain.

Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.” Just like in the Luke passage Ilene read. Peter had experienced so much between those “follow mes.”  God does the same with us - teaches us and then brings us around to see those old experiences in new light and teaches again and again as the teaching digs deeper, drawing us closer to God. Peter went on to be a prominent leader of the early church. He fished for people. In the same way, God takes us another lap around the mountain as we are drawn closer to the path God has chosen for us.

So what have you learned from Peter?

“Feed My Sheep” by Nicolette Peñaranda Inspired by John 21:1-19
Yarn and paper collage on canvas

What do you see in this picture? How does it make you feel?

This post-resurrection story concludes the wandering for Peter, so the subject of this piece sits in front of the Adinkra symbol, Nkyinkyim (pronounced un chin chee), for life’s twisted journey. We have seen the ins and outs of his ministry as he accompanied Jesus, which brings us to this dialogue between the two that we have just talked about. In this piece, the two of them are portrayed as sheep, Peter being at the right hand of Jesus.

The sheep are branded with Agyinduwura(aaa gin duwra) at the center of their chests. They carry with them a symbol of loyalty and faithfulness. They are loyal to Jesus, faithful to the promise of salvation, and accepting of their duty to carry the Good News with them to the people of Christ. The face of each sheep is the symbol Kokuromotie to represent cooperation and harmony. Jesus asking Peter to feed his sheep demonstrates the faith that Jesus has in Peter to do this work. This value of cooperation is also present in the Mpatapo-shaped flowers in the field. They are symbols of peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Remember, Peter denied his relationship with Jesus several times before Jesus was executed. Above the sheep sits the symbol for God. God has traditionally been represented as the sun in various cultures, which brings us to this omnipresent symbol operating as such in this piece. And to the left we see or hearts. While we interpret the heart as love, it is also a symbol for endurance and patience. Peter gets to this point by maintaining goodwill and faith in the message of Jesus. He stumbled through the journey and at times caused more harm than good, but Christ was also patient with him.

Pray with me.
Lord, as we have made this journey with Peter, we have seen so much of ourselves in him.  Help us to grow has Peter grew. Help us to know you better, day by day. Amen.

Jesus says Here’s my heart. Here are the things I care about so deeply. And you—someone who makes mistakes, doesn’t follow directions, and sometimes even betrays me—you are so loved and trusted enough to keep this good work going even after I’m gone.

This is a message to all of us. It doesn’t matter how poorly you may think of yourself or how others may view you. To Christ, you are beautifully and fearfully made. And Christ believes in you in spite of it all. Will you give him your heart for the first time or give it to him again as Peter did. Please know that at any time Pastor Robin or I would be happy to talk to you.