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I’m going fishing!

Text: John 21:1-19

Those who go fishing regularly are very good at counting. If they tell you they’ve caught 153 fish, one doesn’t dispute it. I admire the patience of our fishing folk. The persistence, perseverance and patience they display is rare in today’s world, bugged as it is by road rage, impatience in queues and check-outs.

Peter is a man of action. He can’t stand waiting around for Pentecost to come. “I am going fishing”, Peter, the impulsive disciple of Jesus announces. Six others decide to join him. Seven is a symbolic number for completeness. These seven disciples represent what Jesus can do for His whole Church. They venture onto the lake without first seeking Jesus’ blessings on their endeavours. After trying all night, their fishing trip is a dismal failure. Every experienced fisherman can identify with their frustration. It seems Peter went fishing to suppress the memory of how he failed Jesus on the evening of Maundy Thursday.

No failure which results in a learning experience, need get us down. The glory isn’t in never failing, but in rising each time you fall. Before Thomas Edison successfully invented our light globe, someone taunted him with being a failure. “Ten thousand experiments and you haven’t learned a thing!” Edison replied: “You’re wrong. I’ve learned ten thousand ways not to invent the incandescent electric light.” Many people are greater at handling failure than they are at handling success. Jesus can often do more for us in our failures than in our successes. The preoccupation of these seven men on the lake with their failure hinders them from recognising Jesus’ presence nearby.

Now, experienced fishermen don’t normally take advice from a stranger. But these men detect a note of authority in this stranger’s voice. After confessing their failure to him, they find they’ve been fishing on the wrong side of the boat. Fishing from the wrong side of a boat represents making a decision or going ahead with some endeavour without involving our Lord. Don’t we, too, often embark on some course of action without first praying about it? Then the success that occurs is often short-lived or turns sour. We need to remember every day that great resurrection promise: “In the Lord your labour is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).”

The Lord can resurrect us from our failures just as He did for these fishermen. When we involve Jesus in what we do, unexpected blessings come our way. Jesus had surprises in store for those who obey Him. These seven disciples discover how fruitful obedience in Jesus can be. One can’t help but think that St. John himself, the writer of this Gospel, counted the 153 fish himself. St. John refers to himself as “the disciple who is loved by Jesus”. What a wonderful way for a Christian to describe himself or herself. John could never forget the fact that Jesus loves us despite our failures, our faults, our imperfections.

There’s something special and unique about Jesus’ love for us, a love that’s both human and divine. Jesus makes God’s love real, tangible and concrete for us. Nothing we can do can separate us from His transforming love. St. John is the first to recognise that the stranger on the shore is Jesus. Only Jesus could perform a miracle like that. John understands what Jesus does before Peter reaches understanding, while Peter is the first to act. John possesses the keener insight; Peter, the ability to show spontaneous enthusiasm. We have the comic picture of Peter getting fully dressed before he jumps into the water to be with Jesus as soon as he can.

They all come ashore now to a meal prepared for them solely by Jesus. Jesus reveals Himself in something as tangible as a meal, a meal of bread and fish. This is to remind them of the time He fed the five thousand with specially consecrated bread and fish. From that time on, fish quickly became a symbol in Christian art for both our Lord (ICHTHUS) and His Holy Supper (Holy Communion).

As Jesus invites them to eat, they now have not the slightest doubt that all this is the Lord’s doing. It is His gift of love to them. It is in Holy Communion that Jesus can be found. Holy Communion is His gift to us, His gift that strengthens and renews His relationship with us, and our relationship with Him. In Holy Communion, Jesus gives us His heaven-sent gifts of grace, acceptance, peace and encouragement. To His Sacred Supper, Jesus invites unfruitful failures, so that nothing that’s happened in the past will stop them serving Him in the present. First our Lord feeds us with the gifts of Holy Communion, before He sends us out to feed others with His life-giving Word.

After we’ve failed, or let our Lord down, He rehabilitates us by asking us: “Do you still love Me?” Our love for Jesus may not be as strong as we’d like it to be, and in need of regular support and nourishment, but it must be genuine. In today’s Gospel, repentance involves re-affirming our love for Jesus, because we need never doubt His love for each one of us. To know Jesus personally is to love Him with a deepening devotion and a growing desire to serve Him faithfully.

Finally, Jesus gives Peter opportunity to wipe out the memory of his threefold denial of Jesus, with a threefold public declaration of love. Just when Peter’s on “cloud nine” over the miraculous catch of 153 fish, Jesus challenges him to re-dedicate his life to his Lord. In one of the most celebrated dialogues in the Bible, instead of reproaching Peter, Jesus gives him a chance to renew His loyalty. “Do you love Me more than these?” Jesus uses the word for divine love (Agape); Peter replies with the Greek word for friendship-love (Philia): “Yes, Lord, You know I’m Your friend.” Jesus doesn’t ask Peter about his faith, courage or ability. Jesus doesn’t ask: “Do you trust Me?” We can trust someone without loving them.

What matters most, what’s all-important, is: “Do I love Jesus?” God will only entrust His lambs to the care of those who love Him.

In the third question, Jesus comes down to Peter’s level and uses His word for love: “Do you love Me as your Friend?” Peter lets everything depend on Jesus’ knowledge of him: “Lord, You know everything, You know I love You!” Jesus graciously honours Peter with the care of His lambs and sheep: “Show your love for Me by loving the members of My Church.” Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it. He now says to all of us: “If you love Me, keep My commandments”, the most important one of which is to love each other as Christ has loved us.

Christ’s love for us motivates us to no longer live for ourselves, but for Him and for those He loves so dearly. In our worship and in Holy Communion, we receive His love, so that our love will cause us to honour, praise and adore Him. When we love our Lord, we will go the second mile for Him. Love leads us to go beyond the call of duty for the One we love.

Jesus said that the woman who anointed His feet with perfume would be remembered forever because of her extravagant gesture of love for Him. May our Love for Christ lead us to respond generously to His unfailing love for each of us. “We love because He first loved us.”

“Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love (Ephesians 6:24).”

Amen.

23rd Sunday after Pentecost

Luke 21:18-19
But not a hair of your head will perish. Stand firm, and you will win your soul.

            Drought and fire, the worst I’ve ever seen. We don’t know when it will end or how many lives will be destroyed, but we know that it’s not over yet. More news updates everyday, fires here and fires over in the US, droughts and famines, civil conflicts and wars, this is the world we live in. We hear the words of Jesus, the letters of saints who have gone before and we wonder, what is this to me? How can this make sense of the world? Love and forgiveness don’t bring the rain, and even if they did, we don’t live in a forgiving world. We live in a world of sinners.

            This is why the world rejected Jesus and still does, He was not a sinner. His preaching of the truth in love lead to hatred of Him and his persecution, suffering and death. He knew the truth that sets free, the truth we confess with Him and all Christians in the Creed, the truth of God Almighty’s Word given to His people of old and preserved for us today. He was under no illusion to the true way of this world, not distracted by the amazing accomplishments achieved by humans, not seduced by the beauty even of this whole world. He stood firm in God’s way, of forgiveness, truth and love. His disciples as we heard today admired the great skill and beauty of the temple God had made in Jerusalem. This place dedicated to Almighty God of all, an image of where heaven and earth meet, of all creation, nations, sea, outer space and beyond the universe to the most holy place; this great wonder that pointed to the one true God. And Jesus responded, ‘this place will be destroyed.’

            Now it’s hard for you and me to really get our heads around this. Jesus is saying two things, one the temple will be destroyed similar to telling an American the white house would be nuked, and two this whole creation, what God’s temple was an image of, will be destroyed. Understandably the Jews wanted to know when. Jesus doesn’t really say, rather He tells them what life is going to be like before the end comes, wars and rumours of wars. Sounds familiar hey? And what does this life look like for those who follow and trust Father, Son, and Spirit? Persecution, arrest, and confrontation with those in power. And betrayal by those close to you, death and hatred. This is what Jesus promised your life before the end will be like. Not a very cheery image is it? How could we hope to survive this?

            Not a hair of your head will be destroyed, in enduring you will win your soul. You have been saved by Jesus, death is not the end, we wait for the resurrection of the dead in Christ to everlasting life in the new creation, the new temple is Jesus, the image of the new creation, sinless, joyful, glorified and untouchable by death or the devil. Here today He renews you in this new life in Him, forgiving you, teaching you and strengthening you; coming to be where He has promised to be for you, wherever two or three gather in His name, and in the bread and wine for your forgiveness. And He doesn’t abandon you when this time today ends, He has given you each other to support and encourage in this hard world. He has sent His Holy Spirit to be there for you, helping, guiding and supporting through your struggles. Even when you are asked, ‘why are you a Christian?’ He tells us not to worry about a script, but rather He will give you wisdom and the words. You have been placed in the kingdom of God, remain under His authority, hearing His word, receiving His forgiveness, and through all this He will stay with you and at the end we will together join the resurrection of Jesus to live together with God Almighty, our creator and Father, living with true peace, joy and love forever.

            We receive together God’s love and mercy now, we are not persecuted for Christ or in a famine, and more you are forgiven all your sins and helped through this life by God Himself. Yet still we wait for the world to come, just as we wait for the rain.

The peace of God which passes all understanding guard your hearts in Christ Jesus, now and into eternity. Amen.

Joseph Graham.

Through a Pastor’s eyes

panthersCongratulations to the Gilgandra Panthers players and supporters as you celebrate hearing that final whistle for the year blow while being on the right side of the ledger. It is a great and sometimes rare moment that can bring exhilaration, often relief, and always-fair and just celebrations.

Having lived most of my life in South Australian I can join in saying the words of a well know advertisement on the T.V. in that while “I don’t know how they take those big hits, but…”. But back in the day having played and coached the Aussie Rules senior footy team in a country town similar in size to Gilgandra I well remember the feeling of admiration I had, in win or loss for those sitting next to me in the sheds that had gone the distance during the year and that last game. A significant “one off” type of moment like finding the love of your life, the birth of your children and the many blessings we receive to rejoice in, celebrate and talk of in the years to come. Moments that we remember as so we do to the loss of loved ones, the hardships and the cruelty that life can dish up.

Our lives are ever changing and others opinions of us and indeed ours of ourselves can be very subjective as we lurch from enjoying a few drinks celebrating and remembering the highest of highs, to unfortunately looking to forget the lowest of lows through the bottom of the same glass.

Based on ourselves and our abilities alone we may occasionally fly high in success and happiness and if that’s where you are at the moment, graciously enjoy them because sooner or later we all hit a downdraft of varying magnitude.

Life can be as subjective as a seven tackle play and if I didn’t know otherwise I might line up with those whose rallying cry is to that of the “Christian hypocrites”. But I don’t because only after properly understanding Christianity later in life, I found it is the same collection of individuals as those of the many sporting clubs I have been a part of. Those of strength and those feeble. Those of courage and those fragile. Those who make right decision in the pressure of the game and those who don’t, and most certainly those who do not profess to be above anyone else in regards to worthiness or importance and that is why we don’t say look at us, but say look at Him who goes by the name of Jesus Christ. Because whether you are in the prime of your sporting years and taking all before you or tiring in age and speed over the paddock, you’re still a football player. Whether you are opening the batting or 12th man, you’re still a cricketer and whether I’m an O.K. preacher or not, I’m still a preacher.

As the years pass we deal with the cards dealt to us and be it a full house or a hand full of junk, Jesus Christ is not subjective and win, lose or draw, He will go the distance with you.

God bless you and if you like me were not as fortunate as the Panthers this year, take heart as its only 369 days until Port Power win next year’s AFL flag.

Pastor Steve Hibbard of the Gilgandra/Dubbo Lutheran Parish.

 

 

 

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