By the Shore of the Sea – April 25, 2021

Old Testament, John 21:1-19
April 25, 2021

“Here at last, dear friends, by the shore of sea comes the end of our fellowship.”  Those words were the inspiration for the title of this sermon.  “By the Shore of the Sea.”  Who can tell me which Gospel that comes from?  It was a trick question.  Those are the words of Gandalf at the end of “The Lord of the Rings.”

Besides, this wasn’t the end of the fellowship for Jesus and his disciples, except maybe on earth, I suppose.  Because I believe that there, by the shore of the sea, Jesus was giving them their call – their “commission” – to be Apostles.  Their work was only just beginning! 

As I’ve thought about this recently, it seems to me that this scene took place at the very same location as the scene three years prior, when these fishermen were first called by Jesus to be disciples!  Think about it.  The story today starts out with them saying they’re going fishing.  And I think we have to assume that if they said they were going fishing, then they were using their fishing boats.  And I think we can also assume their boats were still there at the place of their fishing “business.”  And that’s where Jesus found them the first time.

And, as I said, here in this story, I believe they were being “called” again.  This time they were being called to be Apostles.  And that’s a word that means “ones who are sent.”  From this time on, they were being sent out into the world to continue his ministry of love and reconciliation.  And I am sure they remembered that previous time, and they knew something important was happening!

So this location was the same.  I also believe the events of the day were also similar.  Here again, they had a demonstration of Jesus’ power.  And I love this story.  The previous time, they had fished all night and caught nothing.  If you want to read it again, that story is found in Luke 5.  That’s where we find Luke’s version of Jesus calling these fishermen to be his disciples.  But Luke fills out the story for us,  In Matthew and Mark, Jesus meets these fishermen and simply says, “Follow me.”  The focus of that story for them is the obedience these men showed in leaving everything and following Jesus at his word.

But Luke tells us more.  Luke has Jesus using their fishing boat to push out from the shore a little way, so he could teach the crowds.  Then, after he was done teaching – or as part of his lesson – he tells them to let down their nets into the deep.  And Peter, who is always the one to blurt out what the others may have been thinking, said, “But Lord, we toiled all night long and caught nothing.”  But of course, they did as he said.  And they caught so many fish they filled both boats to the point of sinking.  That’s when Peter says, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”  Do you remember that?  And Jesus says, “Do not be afraid, henceforth you will be catching men.  And that’s when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything, and followed him.” (Luke 5:1-11)

Now, here we are at the end of Jesus’ ministry – three years later – and we have a similar miracle.  And that would not have been lost on those disciples, either!  They would certainly have remembered what happened that day, not so long ago!  This time they cast their nets on the other side of the boat, and they caught so many fish, they were not able to haul the net into the boat!  In Greek they caught a “plethos” of fish!  They caught a plethora of fish!  That’s one of my favorite words!

So they’re struggling with this net that was so full of fish they couldn’t pull it in!  And then John, who Luke refers to as “that disciple whom Jesus loved,” said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”  And Peter dives into the water and swims ashore.  He is so anxious to be to get to Jesus, he doesn’t wait to help with the boats or help the others with the nets!  And we all love this whole scene, don’t we?

And I have to wonder what the disciples were thinking.  They knew that something else was coming!  They had seen so much!  And now they were being reminded of a great turning point in their lives. And I have to think there was a sense of anticipation in them.  As they had breakfast with Jesus, I think they understood that they were not going back to fishing, they were not going back to life as it was before.  They were being called to something greater.  As we know, they were being called to be the Apostles.

That’s all well and good.  But then, Jesus turned to what was a big part of this scene.  He turned to Peter, and he asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”  And this became what I believe was Peter’s three-fold redemption, which corresponded to his three-fold denial.  Now, some have said that was just “coincidental.”  But I say “nonsense.”  This was not that many days since that terrible night in the garden.  And I’m sure Peter’s denial had to have been weighing heavily on his mind – still!  And I think the others too.  Remember, they too had abandoned Jesus in his hour of crisis.  Peter’s failure was a verbal one, but they had all bolted!  They had all high-tailed it out of there!  So Peter’s redemptive moment was theirs as well!

Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?”  And Luke tells us that Peter was grieved when Jesus asked him that the third time.  And notice, he was not grieved because Jesus asked him “three times,” but because he asked him “the third time.”  Jesus hit the magic number, three.  Up until that moment, Peter may have suspected that Jesus was confronting him about his denial.  But when he asked that third time, he knew for sure!  And so did the others!  And I think in that redemptive moment, they knew!  They knew that the reconciliation that was happening was not just about forgiving them. It was about them moving forward.  It was about them being the ones to continue his ministry! 

So this all started with the disciples saying they were “going fishing.”  And as I said before, that was tantamount to them saying, “This chapter of our lives is over, it’s time to go back to life as it was before.”  Now, it ends with the same words it began with, three years prior.  “Follow me!”

But I wonder if it shows us even more than that.  I keep wondering how deeply Peter felt his failure.  And I include all of them in this.  Again, their denial was not verbal, but it was just as deep a failure.  And I wonder if just a part of the thought of “going fishing” – going back life as it was before – had to do with Peter’s feeling of failure.  Did he feel as though he was so weak and flawed as to be useless in God’s kingdom?  And maybe that’s where we fit in.  Maybe there are times we don’t feel worthy of service in God’s kingdom, either.  Maybe, like Peter, there is in us a hint of, “I might as well not bother.”  “I might as well just leave the work of the kingdom to someone else.” 

As we think about that, I want us to contrast the magnitude of Peter’s failure with the magnitude of Jesus’ forgiveness in this moment of redemption.  Yes, his question, “Do you love me?” was three-fold.  But his grace was many times more than three-fold.  Notice, he didn’t wait until the third answer of Peter.  He didn’t wait until the “score was settled” with him, until the three affirmations cancelled out the three denials.  No, from the very first question, “Do you love me?” came the response, “Feed my sheep.”  Jesus’ call to redemption and to service was not contingent on Peter’s atonement, but on his atonement!

I am so grateful that’s how God deals with us!  We don’t have to “measure up” to God’s kingdom!  We don’t have to “keep score!”  In fact, we can’t “measure up!”  But in comparison, that doesn’t matter.  Because God’s forgiveness is not contingent on the measure of our atoning for our mistakes, but on the measure of the infinity of God’s love and Grace!  And I am so glad that’s the way it works!

As we think of this story for today, as we picture Jesus and his disciples by the shore of the sea, may we take some time, sit in silence, and perhaps hear Jesus asking us by name, “Do you love me.”  Do we know the answer?  And do we know his love and Grace?

Prayer

Eternal God, we know your steadfast love endures forever, and your faithfulness is to all generations.  We don’t always feel that way, though, and we ask that you touch us our hearts with your Spirit, that we may know that you are truly with us always, and that your Grace is sufficient for our lives.  Fill us with your peace and your joy, for we ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.