Wadhams United Church of Christ
2569 County Route 10, Wadhams, NY 12993
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John 21:1-19
Betty and I spent some time with my parents last weekend in honor of Mother’s Day. While we were there, my dad got to talking about a fishing trip he had taken while he was down in Florida over the winter. He and several of his buddies from the condo complex they stayed at had decided to go out into the Gulf of Mexico on one of those half-day fishing excursions that you can find almost anywhere along the Gulf. This particular boat had a contract with a local drinking establishment that was trying to expand into the dining market by offering to clean and cook any fish you caught as part of the cost for going out fishing.
To my surprise, my father actually enjoyed himself. It was a surprise, because he usually has worse luck than I do when it comes to fishing. It was even more of a surprise, because he actually caught more fish than he ever has before while fishing out on the Gulf. “It was fun,” he said. “We were catching Groupers, and Redfish and all kinds of stuff. I even caught a Grunt Fish,” he told us. I was a bit curious, but I didn’t want to interrupt his story. A few minutes later, he said, “I’d heard about the Grunt Fish, but I’d never caught one before.” This time I couldn’t let it pass by. “What’s a Grunt Fish?” I wanted to know.
“It’s the strangest thing,” he replied. “I don’t know what its real name is, but they call it a Grunt Fish because it makes a grunting sound when you pull it up out of the water.” He made the appropriate grunting sound to give us an idea of what it sounded like: “Ugh. Ugh.” You have to understand that I inherited and developed my sense of humor in a family that is very witty, and very fast, so my thoughts were racing faster than I can describe them to you. But what I was picturing and imagining in that instant was the nightmare of anyone who likes to fish: encountering a fish that is capable of expressing its displeasure over being hooked and hauled out of the water.
So almost as soon as my father had finished making his grunting sounds, I replied with some grunts that had a touch of pain mixed in: “Ugh. Ugh. UGH!” This, of course, got us all to laughing, and trying to outdo each other with something more ridiculous. In a matter of seconds, the grunting fish developed the ability to speak, as well: “Ugh. I’m having a hard time breathing, here! Ugh. What’s with the hook? Would you hurry up? Ugh. What are you, some kind of sadist? Ugh! Ugh!”
Our gospel story doesn’t say anything about grunt fish, but it does tell us that several of the followers of Jesus who had been fishermen before Jesus came along decided that they were going to go back to business as usual. None of the people mentioned at the beginning of the narrative were particularly patient, laconic people who would enjoy being cooped up for very long. From the impulsive Simon Peter to the two guys who had earned the nicknames, “the sons of thunder,” these were movers and shakers who were quickly becoming impatient with their stated instructions from Jesus to wait for me in Galilee.
These guys are now facing a very real crisis of identity. Just a few weeks previously, their five year career plans involved serving as key leaders to help Jesus lead a revolt against the Roman Empire and establish God’s earthly kingdom. But now they weren’t sure what to do. And sitting around waiting for Jesus wasn’t helping their situation. Whatever the motivating factors might have been, it wasn’t that long before Peter got tired of waiting, or got to feeling a little pinched by their financial straits, or was simply hungry because their food supply was running low. But can’t you picture this happening? A bunch of guys are sitting around, bored out of their heads, and one of them stands up to say, “Well, boys, I don’t know about you, but I’m going fishing.” I can hear another one saying, “I’ll get the beer and soda,” while another one is saying, “I’ll have my wife fix us some sandwiches and snacks.” And off they go, back to business as usual.
Our story tells us that seven of them went out in the boat, fished all night long, and had the kind of luck that I usually have when I go out fishing: they didn’t catch a thing. I’ve never tried using one of those fish-finders that I hear about. Besides not having the money, I have to admit to being a little bit apprehensive about them. I’m pretty confident that if I were able to locate a school of fish using one of those devices, I would finally be able to hear them laughing at me, and I’m not sure I could stand the humiliation. Talk about frustration and humiliation: Peter and some of these other guys are professional fishermen. They used to do this for a living, and they come up completely empty. They try every trick they know of to bring the fish into the nets, and none of it works.
The sun finally comes up, and these guys are hungry, they’re tired, and in their business as usual, in true fisherman’s style, they’re probably blaming each other for the night’s failure. “I told you not to pour beer all over the nets.” “Yeah, well, your meat loaf sandwich didn’t work, either.” “Hey, it was your whining and yapping all night long that scared the fish away.” “We’ve still got time to throw you in as bait and see what happens.” Their philosophical reverie was broken by a friendly voice from shore, doing what fishermen do when someone is coming ashore, business as usual. “Catch anything?” The voice wants to know. “Nah,” says one of them. “Nothing,” says another, with everyone glumly shaking their heads.
But the stranger doesn’t seem to know when to drop the topic. “You should try throwing your nets out on the right side of the boat.” I used to think that I would have recognized Jesus right away, but now that I’m older and know myself better, I’m pretty sure that I would have been one of the curmudgeons in the boat. Being tired and hungry makes me grumpy, and my response most likely would have been, “Forget it. Let’s just go home.” But apparently somebody in the boat looked at the others and said something to the effect of, “What have we got to lose?” At that point, I might have stood up angrily and started whipping the stupid nets over the edge. “Fine, we’ll throw them out on the right side this time. There. Are you happy now?”
But then I would have been the one feeling humiliated and ashamed of my outburst when the nets were so full that we couldn’t pull them up over the edge of the boat. Could it be that God wants to meet us when we get to feeling all hot and bothered and irritable? Could it be that God wants to disturb our usual way of handling our irritability by meeting us right when it’s ready to boil over and scald someone? Could it be that God is calling us to pause when nothing is going right to see if God has any guidance for what to do next? Could it be that our old ways of doing things are just going to keep giving us empty nets? Could it be that the business as usual that isn’t working for us needs to be set aside in favor of a different way of approaching life and doing church?
It was just about this point in the story when the scene was far too reminiscent of an earlier fishing expedition for it to go unnoticed. “The disciple Jesus loved” was the first one to comment on this unusual coincidence. “It’s the Lord!” He announces to the tired crew. Simon Peter is so excited that he throws his clothes on (because he’s been working in his underwear, what with it just being the guys), jumps in, and swims the 300 feet to the shore. When we get to feeling tired and discouraged; when we get to feeling ashamed and humiliated by the smallness of our faith or the bigness of our temper; when our impatience tempts us sorely to make something happen, it’s then and there that God interrupts our business as usual to point us in a different direction. It’s then and there that God will find a way to remind us of a similar time of trial when God came to us in unexpected ways.
When everybody gets ashore, they can see and smell something wonderful: there’s some fish roasting over a fire. Mind you, they’re seeing the Resurrected Jesus for only the third time, and what do they notice but the fish roasting over the fire? Do you suppose they were hungry? There are times when God comes bursting into our lives in some wonderful way, but we’re so caught up in our neediness that we overlook God’s presence with us and focus in on what it is that we want or expect God to do for us. You’ll notice that no one said a thing to Jesus about being hungry. It was all about grace. It was all about God giving them that which they didn’t expect.
There’s nothing quite like fresh fish cooked over a fire when you’re hungry from being out working all night, and that tired, hungry, bewildered band of fishermen had a feast on the beach that morning. With the way they had all scattered and abandoned Jesus faster than a rooster’s crow, they had no right to expect or demand something kind and gracious from their crucified captain. Do you suppose their cowardly behavior played at all on their minds as they sat and ate the fish in silence, afraid to say anything to each other or to Jesus? Do you suppose that their joy in seeing Jesus might have been tempered with the painful memories of how they had responded when Jesus got into trouble?
After breakfast, Jesus had some business to tend to. Jesus looked Peter straight in the eye and took him to task. There was, after all, that business of Peter denying that he knew Jesus on three separate occasions. So three times Jesus asks Peter the same exact question: Simon, son of John, do you love me? The first time and the second time, Peter doesn’t react much except to respond in a puzzled fashion, Of course I love you. Each time, Jesus counters with the new thing that God is calling Peter to do: Then feed my lambs. It’s on the third repetition that Jesus finally penetrates Peter’s walls of shock and joy at sitting next to Jesus again. Simon, son of John, do you love me? This time around, the searching gaze and the soulful sound of his master’s voice cut deeper than a sword, or a spear piercing your side.
Peter, we’re told, was filled with sorrow, or sadness, or grief. It’s as if Jesus doesn’t believe what he’s being told. It’s as if Jesus is questioning the depth and reality of Peter’s devotion to Jesus. It’s as if Jesus doesn’t trust Peter. We’d like to believe that our meetings with God are going to bring us joy, and peace, and overflowing love. But in this case, Peter is not feeling all warm and happy inside. Instead, he’s feeling… betrayed by this line of questioning. In that split second, he gets to feel what Jesus felt when all his friends turned tail and ran. He gets to feel what God feels when people turn their backs on God.
Sometimes, in the midst of our business as usual, our lives are penetrated by sorrow, by sadness, by grief, or by unexpected turns in the road. When we get to questioning what we’ve been told down through the years, when we get to wondering if we really believe the depth and reality of God’s love, when we get those unpleasant thoughts rattling around inside us that leave us feeling abandoned or even betrayed… can it be that God is opening a door for us to feel what God feels when people blame God for their problems and setbacks? Can it be that God would grant us the same privilege that God granted to Peter and to all the other sheepish disciples on that sandy beach?
Now that he has Peter’s attention, he emphasizes his point about this fishing business by saying the same thing he said to Simon when he first called him: Follow me! This is so important to Jesus that he repeats the same words just a few minutes later: What happens to the other guy is his business, not yours. But you? Follow me! And I can’t help but think that the original call to follow is playing again in Peter’s mind, and that the rest of the call is hanging uncomfortably in the space between them: Follow me, and I’ll make you a fisher of men. Apparently, God had something bigger for Peter to be doing than going out fishing. God had something better for Peter to do than going back to business as usual. So did the other guys. For that matter, so do we.
Welcome, Announcements & Prayer Requests
A Candle for Peace NC #591 (vs. 1)
Call to Worship
Leader: Shepherd God, our needs bring us to your pasture. We come with our fears and doubts, and you promise to protect us.
People: We come with our hunger and thirst, and you promise to nourish our souls. We come with our hurts and wounds, and you anoint us with healing.
Leader: We come with our grief and sadness, and you wipe away our tears. We come with our joys and love, and you laugh with us and love us beyond anything we can imagine.
People: Shepherd God, we thank you for your care, for your guidance, and for your love.
Leader: As we worship this day, our hearts want to sing with the joy of being in your presence, all the days of our lives.
Hymn NC #423 Great Is Your Faithfulness
Responsive Prayer
Leader: Gentle Shepherd, some days we are as firm in our faith as the disciples at their finest hour, and sometimes we are like lost or stubborn sheep.
People: Even when we are uncertain about where this flock is headed, we want to believe that you are ahead of us, just beyond our gaze.
Leader: Thank you for your patience with us, God. When we panic easily, come to calm us. When we refuse to be pushed, gently lead us toward your future for us.
People: When we make decisions based on our fear, help us hear your whispered promise to be near. When we butt heads, help us to be patient with each other, reminding us that each of us belongs to this flock.
Leader: In the light of your infinite grace and mercy, help us to see ourselves and each other as people who need your shepherding presence in our lives.
People: Help us to hear ourselves and each other as you hear us, and give us the ability to recognize the groans of pain and the cries of anguish.
Leader: Teach us to listen for your distinctive voice, that together we may follow you, that together we may journey through life with the support of this sacred community.
People: Teach us to love one another as you have loved us, that we might find strength for the journey.
Pastoral Prayer, Lords Prayer
Hymn NC #407 How Firm a Foundation
Psalm 25:11-22, Ezekiel 34:11-16, John 21:1-19
Sermon Business as Usual
Offering, Doxology, Dedication
Hymn NC #451 Be Now My Vision
Benediction
Leader: As we leave this place, we remember that God wipes away every tear. We remember that Jesus leads us like a shepherd. We remember that the Holy Spirit empowers us with the possibilities of new life.
People: God of abundance, our cup overflows with your blessings. Take our gifts, take our service, take our very lives, and use them, so that others might know the goodness and mercy you so freely give.
Leader: May the blessings of Almighty God be with you now and always.
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