Feed my Sheep

April 10, 2016 John 21:1-19 Feed My Sheep 4th Sunday of Easter Year C SERMON ILLUSTRATION Fish Heaven Four-year-old Danny was fascinated with a dead fish floating in the river. After studying it for hours, he asked his mother, "Will the fish go to heaven?" Knowing she was out of her theological league, she said, "We'll ask Pastor Dave when we get to church." "Does he know lots about fish?" Well today I want to talk a little about fish, sheep, the resurrection and love. We are going to think about the lesson of John 21 –the last chapter of the gospel. This book is the lesson after the lesson. John 20 is the resurrection story. But in each of the gospels, an interesting thing happens, in each of the gospels, there is always one more chapter. In each of these chapters, Jesus returns as the resurrected Christ, in order to teach his disciples one more lesson. In each of the gospels, the disciples were not expecting Jesus and did not recognize who he was until after he had taught then a lesson. I would encourage you in this Easter season to expect Jesus to appear in some way in your life. Most likely when he appears, he will be a stranger to you- someone who you don’t recognize until after that fact. But once you have learned the lesson he is present to teach – you can be grateful for the blessing. The disciples had went fishing in order to deal with his death. That is what you do when in doubt and don’t know what to do – you go fishing. But they were not catching anything. Until this strange man told them to switch their nets from the left to the right. Then they caught all kinds of fish. Scripture says that Peter pulled the net to shore and there were 153 fish in the net. Now you need to bear in mind that there are no coincedences in John. Everything in John happens for a reason, and everything in John has a meaning. So it is no accident that they caught 153 fish that day. Cyril of Alexandria in the 5th century said that the 100 represented the fullness of the gentiles. Remember, 99 sheep means that the shepherd still has to look for one. The flock is not complete unless there are100 sheep. the 50 symbolized the remnant of Israel and the three of course was there for the Trinity. Augustine’s theory (5th century) was a little more complicated. He said, there are 10 commandments and 7 is the perfect number of grace and that’s 17 right? Now if you add all the numbers from 1 to 17 together, you know 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 all the way up to 17 you’ll get 153. And not only that but if you were to arrange them with 17 fish in the first row, and 16 in the next row, and 15 in the next row, all the way down to a row of 1 you get a perfect triangle which of course symbolizes the Trinity. Jerome, he also lived in the 5th century, suggested that there were 153 different types of fish in the sea and it was symbolic of the church reaching all the people in the world. This verse always stands out to me because that was the combination to our key box at a former church. When we would give out the combination, we wouldn’t say 153, we would ask how many fish did the disciples catch in John 21:11. That way if we were going to get robbed, at least the thief would have to pick up the bible first. But if you read the story in verse 11,you will notice that the disciples caught big fish, and the net was very heavy for Peter to pull to shore. But the net was first of all big enough to hold all of those fish, and second – the net did not break from the weight. The net is the church of Christ, and we are the fish. The church should be big enough in thought to catch and hold all kinds of fish- big fish, little fish, black fish, white fish, smooth fish, prickly fish, fish of all kinds. It takes all kinds to fill the net, it takes all kinds to make a church. The story continues and says that once the net was pulled to shore, a fire had already been made. Jesus was cooking breakfast for them. In those days, a meal was not complete unless you served someone fish and bread. You had to make sure that everyone had enough fish to eat. Even the servants were to be given fish. I remember on our trip to Israel, we went to the sea of Galilee, and whenever you go to the sea, your tour is not complete until you eat at this restaurant, and of course you have to have Peter’s fish. It is interesting that in each gospel story, in these stories of the appearance of the risen Christ, Jesus sits down to have a meal with the disciples, and then he teaches them a lesson. The lesson he teaches us as we prepare to take communion and to have a meal with Jesus. Is the lesson of love. I said that today I would talk about fish, sheep, the resurrection and love. I already talked about the fish. This is where sheep, love and the resurrection come in. Remember Peter denied Jesus three times. So three times Jesus asks Peter if he loves him. Jesus is giving Peter a chance to redeem himself and to be the person Jesus called him to be. Jesus had already declared that Peter was the rock upon which he would build his church. And yet time after time, Peter messed up. He fell into the water as he was trying to walk on water. He denied Jesus in his time of need. And yet Jesus still believes in Peter. He asks Peter – do you love me? And what does he tell Peter to do if he really loves Jesus? - he says feed my sheep. It is not about what you say – it is about what you do. People don’t care whether you love to preach, they want to know if you really love them. SERMON ILLUSTRATION How Much You Care Those to whom you minister may not always perfectly understand what you say, but they will soon know whether you love them or not. The secret of many a successful Christian worker is not that he is skilled, knowledged, and has endowments which are superior to others, but that those to whom he ministers know that he really cares about them, not in some abstract way, or from sense of duty, but wanting with all his heart the best that God wants for them. Love Isn't Love Till You Give It Away One night in New York, on Broadway, the great star Mary Martin was preparing to go on stage, as she had a 1000 times before, in Rodger & Hammerstain's South Pacific. Just before she took stage a note was handed her. The letter was signed by Oscar Hammerstein who was that evening on his death bed. The note was short. It simply said: “Dear Mary, A bell’s not a bell until you ring it. A song’s not a song until you sing it. Love in your heart is not put there to stay. Love isn’t love till you give it away.” When the play was over the cast rushed her backstage and asked, “What happened? We’ve never seen you perform that way before?” Mary read to them Hammerstein’s note and said, “Tonight, I gave my love away.” I can hear Jesus' words to Peter in that: Peter do you love me? Feed my sheep. Jesus was saying, Peter you know the song. Sing it! Peter you've got the bell. Ring it! "Peter, love isn't love till you give it away." Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com So there you have it – fish, sheep and love. And my final thought is on the resurrection. That is the point of this whole story – the power of the resurrected Christ. That is why John ended his gospel with chapter 21. The resurrection of Christ is just a fact, an event in history, until you are touched with love, and you know how important it is to touch someone else. Jesus is alive and well in the world today. Jesus is still traveling the world as a stranger, blessing people, making their lives easier, opening their awareness of the presence of God, teaching valuable lessons. Look for Jesus to appear to you in your life in some way. Listen as Jesus ask if you really love him. And when you answer, make sure that you do something about it! Feed his sheep! Amen Children’s Sermon…. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish lying on it, and bread. Object: Some charcoal and a loaf of bread. Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you ever thought about Jesus cooking breakfast? (Let them answer.) Did you think that Jesus could cook? (Let them answer.) You probably knew that he was a carpenter, but there are not many places in the Bible that tell you about Jesus as a cook. I don't know how often he cooked, but the Bible tells of one time that he did, and it was one of the most exciting events in the Bible. First of all, you have to know that Jesus had been dead and had come back to life. This story happened during one of the times that Jesus visited with his disciples after he was risen from the dead. As you can imagine, the disciples were lonely without him, and some of them had decided that they would go fishing rather than just sit around and think about the good times they used to have with Jesus. They fished all night and did not catch anything, but I guess they really did not care about catching fish. Then, as it became morning, they saw a man on the beach waving to them and asking them how they had done with their fishing. Some of them thought right away that it might be Jesus, but they were not sure. He told them to put their nets down on the other side of the boat to catch some fish. They told the man on the beach that they had fished all night, but that they would cast their nets once more the way he told them to. As you might guess, they caught more fish than the nets could hold. Peter knew by now that the man was Jesus. He jumped into the water and swam ashore. The others followed him in the boat, and when they got there, they saw that Jesus had already started a fire with some charcoal and had some bread ready for them to eat. (Show them the charcoal and the loaf of bread.) It may not have looked like my charcoal or my loaf of bread, but it cooked and tasted pretty much the same. I suppose you can imagine how glad they were to see Jesus. They were thrilled to share breakfast and tell stories about all of the good times they had spent together. Most of all they were glad because they knew once more that Jesus was alive and well, and that he remembered them as people whom he loved and cared for every day, whether he was eating or walking with them. Jesus is that way with us today. He doesn't have to cook for us to show us that he cares for us. We know it anyway, but for the disciples, who had spent so much time with him on earth, it was one of the best things that ever happened to them. Maybe the next time that you have a cookout and you put the charcoal on the fire, you will remember the day that Jesus cooked breakfast for his disciples, and shared some bread and fish with them. I hope you remember it, because it was one of the best moments in the disciples' lives. CALL IN THE CLOWNS! by WESLEY T. RUNK Additional illustrations…… Pulpit Helps. Leadership, Vol. 1, no. 4. SERMON ILLUSTRATION How Much You Care Those to whom you minister may not always perfectly understand what you say, but they will soon know whether you love them or not. The secret of many a successful Christian worker is not that he is skilled, knowledged, and has endowments which are superior to others, but that those to whom he ministers know that he really cares about them, not in some abstract way, or from sense of duty, but wanting with all his heart the best that God wants for them. Pulpit Helps. Leadership, Vol. 1, no. 4. Humor: 153 Fish It is so easy to get caught up in trivial interpretations of scripture and miss the point. Take a look at John 21:11: "Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn." Now, why in heaven's name was there 153 fish? Have you ever wondered about that? No? Well others have. . Personally I have my own theory, want to hear it? I think that it’s mentioned because there were 153 fish in the net. Here's another theory of mine: they had to divide them somehow, and so Peter being the Skipper he got 21% or 32 fish, and John being mate got 16% that’s 25 fish, and the other five got 10.5% each or 16 fish.... You see we can get so caught up in really trivial stuff and miss the point that we need to be obedient to Christ, today. Brett Blair, www.Sermons.com, Adapted from the sermon "Live for Today" by Denn Guptill. Missing Fish Children's books with names like One Fish, Two Fish; Red Fish, Blue Fish. Screen savers on our computers that pretend to be an aquarium. Long weekends in the north woods, on silent lakes waiting for the first nibble on the line, or sea stories about "the one that got away." It seems like fish turn up everywhere. Maybe that's because fish are such fascinating creatures. Fish come in an amazing variety of shapes, sizes and colors, and they move so gracefully through the water. Watching them can be soothing or entertaining. They can be eaten in any setting, from around a campfire to the finest restaurants. Fish just never seem to be boring. From early childhood to old age, fish seem to be a source of wonder and delight for so many people. Maybe that's why, in today's gospel passage, the words that really stand out are Jesus' first words to the disciples: "Children, you have no fish, have you?" Such sad words. After trying all night, the disciples still have no fish. The people Jesus loves like his own children have no source of wonder or delight. They can't even make a decent meal. In the ancient Middle East, for a meal to be considered complete, you had to have bread and fish. Fish weren't just part of a heart-healthy diet, fish were essential. No decent host would let even his guest's slaves go without fish; to do that was to treat them as less than human, and risk being thought of as a poor host. So, without fish the disciples weren't even human beings. No fish. A whole night's work, and nothing to show for it. Just an empty boat. No wonder, no delight, and no breakfast. Wendy Dackson Who Are The Sheep? Jonathan Kozol has written several books about the plight of children in blighted areas in the United States. An educator of international distinction, he speaks passionately about the grotesque inequities which exist in our society today, and which are especially evident in public schools, often in the same cities. Kozol speaks to all kinds of audiences but when he speaks to church leaders he asks for their support on behalf of children echoing the words of Christ saying, “When Jesus said to Simon Peter, "If you love me, feed my sheep," he didn’t say only the sheep who dwell in the green pastures. He didn’t say only the sheep whose mothers please us by acceptable behavior. He didn’t say only the sheep whose fathers have good jobs and mothers come to PTA. He didn’t say only the sheep whose parents make smart choices. He didn’t say only the sheep that have two parents in the pen. He just said, "If you love me, feed my sheep." Brent Porterfield, www.eSermons.com. We Are the Fish There is a classic story that comes out of humorist Robert Benchley's college days. For one of Benchley's final examinations, he was to write an essay on fish hatcheries. He hadn't cracked a book all semester. Undaunted, he started his final something like this: "Much wordage has been devoted to fish hatcheries. No one, however, has ever covered this subject from the point of view of the fish." And this he proceeded to do in what is probably the most entertaining final exam in Harvard's history. We've looked at this Bible passage from the perspective of the disciples. Now let's look at it from the point of view of the fish. Because that's who we are. That's right, we are the fish. The nets represent the unity of the disciples and of the church. And the fish represent all the souls who will be brought to salvation by the witness of the disciples. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.eSermons.com