First Reading: Acts 9:1-22
1Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 10Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” 22But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.
Psalm 30
1I will exalt you, O Lord, because you have lifted me up and have not let my enemies triumph over me. 2O Lord my God, I cried out to you, and you restored me to health. 3You brought me up, O Lord, from the dead; you restored my life as I was going down to the grave. 4Sing to the Lord, you servants of his; give thanks for the remembrance of his holiness. 5For his wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye, his favor for a lifetime. 6Weeping may spend the night, but joy comes in the morning. 7While I felt secure, I said, “I shall never be disturbed. You, Lord, with your favor, made me as strong as the mountains.” 8Then you hid your face, and I was filled with fear. 9I cried to you, O Lord; I pleaded with the Lord, saying, 10“What profit is there in my blood, if I go down to the pit? will the dust praise you or declare your faithfulness? 11Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me; O Lord, be my helper.” 12You have turned my wailing into dancing; you have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy. 13Therefore my heart sings to you without ceasing; O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.
Second Reading: Revelation 5:1-14
1Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” 6And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” 11Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” 13And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
Gospel: John 21:1-19
1After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 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 as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6He said to them, “Cast the net on 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 of the quantity of fish. 7That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. 8The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. 9When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out 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, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. 12Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. 14This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed 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.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved 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. 18Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19(This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”
Gone Fishing
During my second assignment to Seymour Johnson AFB here in North Carolina, believe it or not, I got myself in trouble. I know, me, in trouble? I was the shift supervisor, and we were waiting on some big wigs to come through to look at our new maintenance building. These dog and pony shows, as we called them, meant that all maintenance stopped, the floors had to be polished, and everyone’s uniforms had to be sharp. It also meant being ready no matter what. The tour was running behind and I was tired of sitting at my desk, so I put a paper sign on the back of my chair that read, “Gone Fishing.” You can imagine what happened.
I was no more in the back of the building checking to make sure everything was in order when the Chief, my commander, the group commander, and a 3-star General walked through the door. My desk was the first thing they saw, and of course, the note I had pinned to the back of my chair. The good news is the group commander knew me personally from a previous assignment, and the 3-star General thought it was hilarious.
The tour and the briefings went smoothly, so other than a quick comment from my boss about appropriate behavior, all went well. The point I’m making is that there are slack times, times of waiting in life. However, that doesn’t mean we can become complacent and forget our Christian calling in life. We must always be ready, awake, and watching for the opportunity to witness and minister to our neighbors. There’s a second thing we must also consider, you never know who’s watching, or who’s listening in.
How many of us pray before we eat when we’re out at restaurants? I ask this because of two occasions in particular that Terry and I were part of. It’s been a couple of years, maybe more, that Terry and I were in Subway and we had just sat down to eat. As is our custom, we bowed our heads, and I asked for a blessing on our meal. As soon as I was done, a man came from across the restaurant and simply thanked us for setting the example for others. He concluded by saying he wished he and others would follow our example. After this he returned to his seat.
In the second instance, Terry and I were in El Rey for lunch. This time, unbeknownst to us, a member of Antioch was waiting to be seated. The individual came over to say hello and said it was nice to see a pastor praying before their meal. Ours is a tight and very connected community, you never know who is watching or listening in, and who will say what to others. We must be ready and about the business of God’s kingdom. We cannot get caught “asleep at the wheel” as it were.
This leads me to ask, do our words match what people see in our actions? My father frequently reminded us boys that actions speak louder than words. Jokingly, he would also remind us to do as he says, not as he does. Do others see our Christian beliefs, values, and witness in action when we’re out and about in public? Our gospel lesson reinforces both these themes this morning; the need to be ready at all times, and our actions must match our words. If they don’t, it’s possible that no one will believe us. Our witness could be seen as nothing more than a fish tale. Or worse, we could be seen as a hypocrite.
In our lesson from St. John’s gospel, the disciples, for whatever reason, decide to return to their old occupations. Now there are two things I want you to consider as we examine our lesson for today. First, keep in mind that our gospel story takes place on Lake Gennesaret, or the Sea of Galilee. This is important because in Luke chapter 5 (vss. 1-11) we read about the initial call of the disciples. In this story, Jesus gets into Simon Peter’s boat and teaches the people who were crowded on the shore of Lake Gennesaret. When Jesus was done, He commands the disciples to go out into the deep and let down their nets again; they had fished all night and caught nothing. The disciples obey and they catch a huge number of fish. After this Peter, James, and John answer Jesus’ call to follow Him and they leave everything.
The second thing I’d like you to keep in mind, as we examine our reading, comes in verse 14, “This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after He was raised from the dead.” Think about John’s statement here. They had seen the risen Jesus two times prior to this occasion. In last week’s gospel reading Jesus appeared to the disciples even though the doors of the house were locked. And to reassure them that it was indeed their risen Lord, He showed them His hands and side. On the first occasion, Thomas wasn’t with the other disciples.
A week later Jesus appeared again to the disciples and this time Thomas was in the gathering. Jesus again greets the disciples saying, “peace be with you” and then He addresses Thomas inviting him to see the nail marks in His hands and to reach out and place his hand into the wound of Jesus’ side. Jesus wanted to assuage Thomas’ doubts. Jesus then gives us that wonderful promise, “blessed are those have not seen and yet believe.” The disciples had been with the risen Lord, talked with Him and Jesus, as St. John records, “performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name (vss. 30-31).
The problem the disciples had wasn’t that this was the first time they had seen Jesus, nor was it a problem of believing that Jesus was really alive, Jesus had already taken care of those questions. The disciples’ problem was that they forgot what Jesus had commanded them to do. Again, in last week’s lesson we read, Jesus said, “As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you” (vs. 21b). Instead of going out and proclaiming the gospel as Jesus had sent them to do on other occasions, they decide that they would rather go back to the life they knew before and go fishing. Instead of going into the towns and proclaim that Jesus had been raised from the dead, they decide it would be better to go back to their lives as fishermen.
What do people see in us when we’re not in church? Do they see us in our old lives, or do they see the risen Lord in our words and deeds? And when we do go and proclaim that Christ is risen, can they see this fact in how we live? Do our words of proclamation seem like fish tales to others? It makes me wonder how people reacted when Simon Peter and the other disciples returned from their fishing trip with tales of seeing the risen Jesus? You have to wonder if folks just shook their heads and said, “Fishermen! Can’t believe a word they say!”
What do people see and say about us when we’re out and about, not paying attention to who is standing at the front door waiting to be seated, or, right behind us as we travel the roads, or in the next booth overhearing our conversations. Remember, the disciples were surprised to find Jesus calling to them from the shore. At first, they didn’t even recognize Him, even though they had been with Him the previous three years. Jesus was the last person they expected to see that night when they headed out to fish.
A visitor to a small town watched an old man fishing quietly in a shallow stream. For half an hour there was no sign of activity. Finally, the visitor walked over and said, “It doesn’t look as though there are any fish in this stream.” “Nope,” said the old fellow, “there ain’t.” “Then what’s the object of fishing here?” the visitor asked. “The object,” replied the old man, “is to show my wife I have no time to peel potatoes.”
What was the objective of the disciples going out fishing that night? Over the past three years, these fishermen had seen Jesus preach, teach, perform miracles, and turn the established order upside down. I’m sure that in their post crucifixion minds they asked themselves many times, “what are we going to do now?” Then, just as they were giving in to fear and confusion, Jesus appears to them, undeniably alive and full of power, and announces that He has conquered death! So, after this amazing turn of events, why are the disciples out fishing again? First, we need to acknowledge that when our worldview has been turned upside-down, when things seem completely out of control, our first reaction is to retreat into our comfort zone. It’s not unusual under such circumstances to want to return to the familiar.
Maybe the disciples needed time to clear their heads. The soothing rocking of the boat, the smells of the sea, the rough feel of the nets in their calloused hands–these things, I’m sure, were comforting to Simon Peter and the others. They needed this time, in their comfort zone, to sort out their thoughts and emotions. They needed to be in a situation where they were in control, so they could think and regain perspective. The problem is that it’s tempting to stay in that comfort zone. As someone said, “The most tiring exercise in the world is carrying yesterday on your back.”
That’s what the disciples were struggling with, carrying yesterday on their backs. Each of the disciples had turned their backs and abandoned Jesus when He was arrested. The only two disciples that are recorded to have witnessed Jesus’ trial and crucifixion was Peter and John. All had seemed to have doubted Jesus’ words. Each one had given up hope after Christ’s crucifixion. And Simon Peter had to deal with the biggest burden of all, he had denied Jesus repeatedly. So, it seems natural that Peter and his friends would retreat to their comfort zone. But, as the Bible tells us, they weren’t going to stay there for long. Jesus’ call is always a call to leave our old self-focused lives behind. Therefore, oftentimes, our call from God is a call for us to get out of our comfort zone.
It’s like those inspirational sayings found on motivational posters. Sayings like: “No pain, no gain.” And “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Recently I saw a list of slightly more humorous and yet honest sayings for office walls: “The beatings will continue until morale improves. Hang in there, retirement is only thirty years away! When the going gets tough, the tough take a coffee break. And one of my favorite sarcastic posters, Aim Low, Reach Your Goals, Avoid Disappointment.”
I think there are a lot of people who live their lives by this last motto, “Aim Low, Reach Your Goals, Avoid Disappointment.” But the truth is, when Jesus calls us, it’s to head out into deep waters, to get out of our comfort zone, to let down our nets on the other side of the boat, to trust that He’s leading us into something greater than the life we used to know. There’s a great story about a young man from Camden, Arkansas named David Pryor.
Pryor worked as a teenager in Washington, D.C. as a Congressional page. Pryor loved the job so much that he vowed to return to Washington someday as a member of Congress. In fact, David Pryor hid a dime in a crack behind a statue in the U.S. Capitol, with the intention of retrieving it when he achieved his dream. Fifteen years later, as a newly elected member of the House of Representatives, he did just that. Today, Senator Pryor said his experience proves two things. One, that dreams in youth should never be underestimated, and two, that they don’t clean the Capitol very well.
David Pryor had a dream–a dream that required him to give his best. You don’t achieve anything significant in life without leaving your comfort zone, without stretching toward high and lofty goals, without giving your all. What we need to acknowledge is, that in the waters of Baptism the old Adam was drown and we were raised anew in Christ. Our Christian Walk is a daily walk of dying to the self and living a life focused on Jesus and His call to Go, make disciples, teach and Baptize. We cannot go back to our old way of life. And this could very well be the reason many people aren’t finding joy in their walk with Christ.
The problem many face today, is that they’re trying to live like Jesus is still in the tomb, that the Resurrection never really happened. The truth is, it can’t be done. We are called to daily remember our baptism and remember again the call Jesus has placed on our lives. Yes, we can have times of rest and relaxation, but that doesn’t mean we can let our hair down as it were. You never know who might be standing just a few feet away watching, or overhearing the comment you just made. Remember, the disciples were surprised to find Jesus on the shore.
One of the things I like about this story is Jesus’ reaction to finding the disciples out on the water. Once the disciples were back on shore Jesus didn’t chastise the disciples for their lapse in judgement, instead He fed them. Jesus, I’m sure, knew they each regretted their decisions during Jesus’ passion and crucifixion, and of their desire to serve in God’s kingdom. Their time on the Lake was a reminder that you never know who might be standing close by watching and overhearing our conversation, and of the call of Jesus that they had willingly accepted. Today’s gospel lesson is also a reminder, that we too have been called to share the good news of the resurrection, and that call continues no matter if we’re away from home enjoying the beach, at home, or in our workplaces. Our identity is found in Christ, and that identity needs to be seen and heard by all, 24/7, 365.
Amen