John 20:19-21; 21:1-8
When it was evening, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.....
Later, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon 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.
Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He 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. That 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. But 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.
Last week we discussed the story of the disciples seeing Jesus for the first time after his death and burial as it is told in the Book of Acts. This week, we hear much the same story – as well as a final meeting – as it appears in John’s Gospel.
In both books the disciples see the risen Jesus for the first time when he appears in the locked room where they were hiding from the authorities. But from this point the two accounts diverge, reflecting two different communities who were affected in two different ways by the resurrection and return of Jesus.
To backtrack a bit from the Acts story and place it in context we need to go to the ending of the Gospel according to Luke, since Luke is the assumed author of Acts, and Luke/Acts is considered to be one continuous story. Both books tell the same story of Jesus appearing in the locked room, but in Luke they are told to wait for Jesus to come around again when they witness his ascension into heaven. It was only after this that the disciples moved out into the world and began telling anyone who would listen the story of their resurrected Lord.
In John’s version, after appearing to the gathered disciples, Jesus appeared a second time because Thomas had been missing the first time and wished to see proof that it was indeed, Jesus.
In both books, there are very few instances of Jesus appearing to anyone after the first big appearance – except that both books have tantalizing one-liners that say basically that Jesus “appeared many times and did many wonders, but we didn’t write them down.”
And then we come to today’s story which is the resurrected Jesus’ last appearance in John’s Gospel. There is no ascension story to follow, no anything else, because John’s Gospel stops right here.
I know I’ve told you many times – and I’ll say it again – this is my favorite post-Easter story of Jesus. Many of the post-Easter stories are basically just recitations of facts. But two of them stand out, in my mind. My second favorite is Luke’s brief story of Mary Magdalene meeting her risen lord in the garden. This is much more than “and she said this, and then he did this.” This is a meeting of two people who loved each other after what should have been a forever-loss. Jesus – even in the midst of the cataclysmic thing that is happening to him – recognizes and cares about the deep grief he knows Mary is suffering. There is recognition and there is joy and there is tenderness all wrapped into this brief meeting.
In the same way, this meeting at the Sea of Tiberias in our John reading is a very personalized meeting. There are no angels to announce Jesus’ arrival – he’s just there. And he doesn’t seem to expect the disciples to drop everything and run to him. These are working men and they are hard at work. Instead, Jesus, unknown at the moment, helps them find fish, and then as they come ashore, he offers them breakfast. He meets them where they are.
I love that part of this story – that he meets them where they are. They are tired and discouraged and hungry and he is right there with them. This story always reminds me that Jesus always meets us where we are, and this is Good News in capital letters. There is no demand that we perfect ourselves before meeting Jesus. Jesus loves us even with all our warts and lumps. Jesus comes where we are.
And I love the part the follows even more when, after they had all eaten, Jesus took Peter aside, and asked him three times, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” And then handed the future leadership responsibility of this movement into Peter’s hands. Peter – who, in his fear of being arrested like Jesus, had three times denied ever even knowing him. Peter, who must have wished he could die from his shame in the hours and days immediately after the crucifixion.
Three times, to wash out the shame of those three denials. Three times to make it clear that Peter absolutely was forgiven – and that he was trusted. That he was loved. And that he had always been loved.
The beauty of this short pericope is that there was never any need for forgiveness – because there had never been any blame, only deep understanding.
Some of the most important teachings about Jesus and us come in these post-resurrection stories. There is so much going on in a short time period that we can miss hearing just what these stories tell us. Let’s review a few events:
That’s a lot of Good News. A lot of hope and caring. And it’s all for us. Don’t get so caught up in the whole exciting story that we miss hearing that all of this was done for us. That we are loved – always and forever.
Christ is risen. Thanks be to God.
In both books the disciples see the risen Jesus for the first time when he appears in the locked room where they were hiding from the authorities. But from this point the two accounts diverge, reflecting two different communities who were affected in two different ways by the resurrection and return of Jesus.
To backtrack a bit from the Acts story and place it in context we need to go to the ending of the Gospel according to Luke, since Luke is the assumed author of Acts, and Luke/Acts is considered to be one continuous story. Both books tell the same story of Jesus appearing in the locked room, but in Luke they are told to wait for Jesus to come around again when they witness his ascension into heaven. It was only after this that the disciples moved out into the world and began telling anyone who would listen the story of their resurrected Lord.
In John’s version, after appearing to the gathered disciples, Jesus appeared a second time because Thomas had been missing the first time and wished to see proof that it was indeed, Jesus.
In both books, there are very few instances of Jesus appearing to anyone after the first big appearance – except that both books have tantalizing one-liners that say basically that Jesus “appeared many times and did many wonders, but we didn’t write them down.”
And then we come to today’s story which is the resurrected Jesus’ last appearance in John’s Gospel. There is no ascension story to follow, no anything else, because John’s Gospel stops right here.
I know I’ve told you many times – and I’ll say it again – this is my favorite post-Easter story of Jesus. Many of the post-Easter stories are basically just recitations of facts. But two of them stand out, in my mind. My second favorite is Luke’s brief story of Mary Magdalene meeting her risen lord in the garden. This is much more than “and she said this, and then he did this.” This is a meeting of two people who loved each other after what should have been a forever-loss. Jesus – even in the midst of the cataclysmic thing that is happening to him – recognizes and cares about the deep grief he knows Mary is suffering. There is recognition and there is joy and there is tenderness all wrapped into this brief meeting.
In the same way, this meeting at the Sea of Tiberias in our John reading is a very personalized meeting. There are no angels to announce Jesus’ arrival – he’s just there. And he doesn’t seem to expect the disciples to drop everything and run to him. These are working men and they are hard at work. Instead, Jesus, unknown at the moment, helps them find fish, and then as they come ashore, he offers them breakfast. He meets them where they are.
I love that part of this story – that he meets them where they are. They are tired and discouraged and hungry and he is right there with them. This story always reminds me that Jesus always meets us where we are, and this is Good News in capital letters. There is no demand that we perfect ourselves before meeting Jesus. Jesus loves us even with all our warts and lumps. Jesus comes where we are.
And I love the part the follows even more when, after they had all eaten, Jesus took Peter aside, and asked him three times, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” And then handed the future leadership responsibility of this movement into Peter’s hands. Peter – who, in his fear of being arrested like Jesus, had three times denied ever even knowing him. Peter, who must have wished he could die from his shame in the hours and days immediately after the crucifixion.
Three times, to wash out the shame of those three denials. Three times to make it clear that Peter absolutely was forgiven – and that he was trusted. That he was loved. And that he had always been loved.
The beauty of this short pericope is that there was never any need for forgiveness – because there had never been any blame, only deep understanding.
Some of the most important teachings about Jesus and us come in these post-resurrection stories. There is so much going on in a short time period that we can miss hearing just what these stories tell us. Let’s review a few events:
- In the Emmaus Road story two anonymous disciples who only appear for this brief little story are witness to Jesus still with us. He isn’t lost, he isn’t gone, he’s not dead and buried, he’s right here.
- Mary Magdalene’s pure grief is recognized and comforted as Jesus’ first act when risen from the tomb. Our grief matters – even when there is a whole world to save.
- When Jesus appears to the disciples in their locked room, his first word are “Peace.” And then again, “Peace I leave with you.” Be at peace. Stop letting your fear run your life.
- Jesus didn’t sit in church or temple waiting for us to come to him. He will always come where we are.
- And finally – although I’m certain not completely – We are not judged for being human and occasionally weak. Human is what we are – not gods or super-heroes. We are just humans, beloved by God.
That’s a lot of Good News. A lot of hope and caring. And it’s all for us. Don’t get so caught up in the whole exciting story that we miss hearing that all of this was done for us. That we are loved – always and forever.
Christ is risen. Thanks be to God.
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