Jesus Charge to Peter and to Us

May 5, 2019 John 21:1-9 Jesus Charge to Peter and to us 3rd Sunday of Easter Year C 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. C.S.S. Publishing Co., CALL IN THE CLOWNS!, by Wesley T. Runk John 21:1-19 Common English Bible (CEB) Jesus appears again to the disciples 21 Later, Jesus himself appeared again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. This is how it happened: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus[a]), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two other disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter told them, “I’m going fishing.” They said, “We’ll go with you.” They set out in a boat, but throughout the night they caught nothing. 4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples didn’t realize it was Jesus. 5 Jesus called to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said, “Cast your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” So they did, and there were so many fish that they couldn’t haul in the net. 7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard it was the Lord, he wrapped his coat around himself (for he was naked) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they weren’t far from shore, only about one hundred yards. 9 When they landed, they saw a fire there, with fish on it, and some bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you’ve just caught.” 11 Simon Peter got up and pulled the net to shore. It was full of large fish, one hundred fifty-three of them. Yet the net hadn’t torn, even with so many fish. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.”None of the disciples could bring themselves to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread, and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. Jesus and Peter 15 When they finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” Simon replied, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 Jesus asked a second time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Simon replied, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Take care of my sheep.” 17 He asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was sad that Jesus asked him a third time, “Do you love me?” He replied, “Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 I assure you that when you were younger you tied your own belt and walked around wherever you wanted. When you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and another will tie your belt and lead you where you don’t want to go.” 19 He said this to show the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. After saying this, Jesus said to Peter, “Follow me.” Footnotes: a. John 21:2 Or the twin Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Bad Advice at graduation There is an important event coming up in the lives of many of our young people. At the end of the school year, many people will graduate from kindergarten, fifth grade, eighth grade, high school, college, and even grad school. There will be many ceremonies, and parties. There will be many cards and well wishes. Even in my own family, I have a niece who will be graduating from the eigth grade. At least this year we only have one, three years ago all three girls graduated from something or another. It is at these moments, that we try to give those who are graduating some words of wisdom. One popular word of wisdom that we like to pass down to those younger than us – “These are the best years of your life, enjoy them while you can”. These are the best times of your life, enjoy it while you can. Now that sounds like pretty good advice. But when you think about it what are your really saying? Life only gets worse from here, so you might as well wake up and enjoy it now. Because you have nothing to look forward to. That is not very encouraging to someone who is trying to start a new life. The good news for us is that the resurrection is our assurance that life always gets better. The best is always yet to come. Because Christ coming back to life and walking amongst us – opens infinite doors of possibility. And gives us not just a second chance at life, but a third and a fourth is we need it. The Sunday’s of Easter are my favorite sermons to preach. Because they are always about hope. Each of these Sunday’s we get to hear a story about how Jesus appeared to his disciples at the darkest time in their lives to give them hope. Jesus appears to them while they are still grieving his death. Today, is the last of those appearances to his disciples. First he appears to Mary, then to the disciples, then to the disciples with Thomas. And now to the disciples and Peter. When we experience a crisis in life, what is it that we usually do? We go back to whatever we were doing before the crisis happened. We try to get back to our routine, and go on with our lives. In this case, many of the disciples were fishermen. So they go back to catching fish. They aren’t having much luck, but they still need to keep busy. Until a complete stranger suggest that they put the net on the other side. And then they catch more than they know what to do with. The bible says that it is 153 fish to be exact. Some say that 153 is the number for completion - the net is the church, and the fish are all of the types of people in the world, all were caught in the net. Some say that was the number of the people in John’s congregation. For me, I will always remember that number because it was the combination to the church key box. There was a sign next to the box which asked how many fish did the disciples catch. And the scripture reference to John 21:11. So if a thief wanted to take the keys, at least they had to read the bible first. But perhaps it does not matter what the number represents – the point is that there were an abundant number of fish. The resurrection provides and abundance of hope, peace and love. One number that is significant in this story is the number of times that Jesus asks Peter do you love me. He asks him three times. Each time Peter says yes. But Peter denied Jesus three times before the crucifixion. Peter gets his second chance to redeem himself. Jesus forgives Peter, but he also challenges Peter and commissions him to feed my sheep. Peter becomes the first bishop of the church. In another chapter Jesus lays hands on Peter to commission him. Peter will later lay hands on others to commission them as bishops to carry on his work. Today, in the catholic church, the episcopal church and the Lutheran church, their bishops are a part of that sucession. John Wesley commissioned bishops of his new church – the Methodist church before returning to England. But unfortunately, John Wesley was not a bishop in the episcopal church. So Methodist bishops are not a part of the Peter sucession. That is one of the major sticking points of the Episcopal church, the Lutheran church and the Methodist church taking a common communion. The good news is that as the Methodist church is preparing to split apart, many of those dialogues around communion with other denominations are coming together. I haven’t gotten a chance to read the document yet, but I know that the episcopal and the Methodist have come to a common understanding that is ready to be presented to the general conference to be accepted. As we take communion today – we can consider the true spirit of a common meal. In those resurrection appearances – Jesus comes to the disciples while they are eating. They have no idea of who Jesus is, until after they have eaten together. And it all becomes clear. – the one thing that brings us together as Christians is really love. Jesus asks Peter do you love me – but Jesus asks each of us that same question today? Do you love Jesus – then feed my sheep. Oral Roberts, Robert Schuller, and Billy Graham all died at the same time and went to heaven. There wasn’t room for them for a few days, so they temporarily had to go to hell and wait until their place was ready. The devil soon called and asked Saint Peter to get them out of there because Roberts has healed everyone, Graham had saved everyone, and Schuller had raised enough money to air condition the place. Fun humor, but is it not our task as God’s disciples to do just that? To heal, to save, and to make conditions better for the less fortunate? The good news of Easter is the God loves all of us – just as we are. No matter what we have done, Jesus forgives us , challenges us and commissions us to give love. This love is what we are called to do and who we are called to be. Let us Pray…..