John 21:1-19
After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. 2Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples.3Simon 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. 4Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” 6He 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. 7That 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. 8But 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. 9When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. 10Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11So 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. 12Jesus 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. 13Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
15When 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.” 16A 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.” 17He 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. 18Very 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.” 19(He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”
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This sermon was originally preached by me, Sarah Locke, on May 5, 2019 at Redeemer Episcopal Church. You can listen to the sermon (with infusions from the Spirit) at this link.
Grace and peace to you from the risen Christ who encounters us, changes us, and commands us to follow him. Amen.
My husband first introduced to me the phrase “mountaintop experience” when we were in seminary and he was describing his time as a church camp counselor and program director. The camp was in the mountains of North Carolina, so I figured it was just camp language. I had never attended church camp in my life, so there was a lot of that culture that I didn’t understand.
But eventually I came to realize that a mountaintop experience was a time when we encounter God. Like Moses on the mountain, coming face to face with God, the disciples encountering the transfigured Christ on the mountaintop in all his glory…
When God encounters God’s people, when God encounters us, things change. Our lives, our priorities, and our faith change.
Different for everyone. God can and does meet us everywhere.
Receive a vision from God
Mission trip
Holding your baby for the first time
It could be a weekend of faith formation at camp
In the midst of great pain or sorrow
You can have them all throughout your life— for some of us, it is what brought us to church in the first place. Or maybe brought us back to church.
I’ve had many mountaintop experiences, but my most profound was when I was in Honduras my first year of seminary. We were literally on the side of a mountain in a tiny village.
God feels so close.
You know you’re walking on holy ground.
The existence of God and the love of Christ are undeniable.
And somehow, in some way, you know your whole life has change and your identity has shifted, your goals and mission have been shifted.
All of that happened to me in Honduras. Everything changed and I knew I wanted to do international mission work for the rest of my life. I was ready and passionate about it. So much so that my husband, who was then my boyfriend, was worried that I would drop out of seminary and move back to Honduras immediately.
But when I got back to the United States, I went back to class, work, everyday drudgery, and I began to forget about those powerful moments. The fire started to diminish and burn out.
That’s exactly where we meet the disciples in the passage this morning.
Following Jesus for 3 years
Changed lives, turned upside down
Adrenaline of the trial and a fire was lit with the idea of carrying on Jesus’ mission
But then Jesus dies and there are rumors that he has been raised, but they hadn’t seen him… and isn’t that exactly where we are? Two weeks ago we came together and shouted hallelujah and greeted everyone with joy.
Now we are back to the old routine— how quickly we forget that it is still Easter!
SO they come down from this mountaintop experience, and they know everything has changed. They themselves have been changed. But they had a choice to make— move forward and into the hard, terrifying work of God’s mission, or go back to what they had known before being changed by God incarnate.
And, like many of us to every day, they decided to go back to what they knew before Jesus entered their lives and changed them forever.
They went fishing.
They fell back into the drudgery of everyday life. They did what they needed to do to provide for themselves and their families.
But I imagine the reason they didn’t catch any fish was because they could feel deep within their bones that something had changed and they couldn’t just go back to the way things were. We recognize that too, sometimes, don’t we? That itch or bubbling feeling that what we went back to is not quite right anymore?
So Jesus, persistent as he is, comes to them and shakes them up again— providing for them, nourishing them. Reminding them of who he is, reminding them who they are and what the last three years were all about. And finally, reminding them of his mission— their own mission— now that the had encountered God incarnate.
And this is the beautiful, terrifying part. Jesus doesn’t just give the disciples a new job or remind them of their job description. He says, “feed my lambs” and “feed my sheep.”
Shepherds did not just throw some sheep food into a trough a few times a day. Being a shepherd was a new way of life. Jesus was giving the disciples a new lifestyle, reminded them that as shepherds, they would have a new identity, a new mission. That is what it means to be baptized into the mission of our incredible God— to be given a new name and a new life.
And that is why we come to the table every week— to be fed and nourished, to be reminded that Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again. We come to be reminded that we are given new life and a new mission every time we eat the body and blood of Christ Jesus. We come to be reminded of those mountaintop experiences and relive them once again. Because God incarnate is alive, and he is encountering us at every turn. We must be ready to recognize him. So that we may be ready to do as he instructed: feed my lambs, and follow me. Amen.
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