Friends of a young mother, who had just given birth to her third child, were surprised when they received the following 'Thank you' note: "Many thanks for the play pen. It is being used every day. From 2-3 p.m. I get in to read and the children can't get near me."
What do you do when you're frustrated, when the stress gets to you or just the hecticness and angst of life catches up to you? We all fall back on something. Some people bake or cook, some people do crafts, some people yell and scream, some folks watch movies, some people eat. What do you do? The Apostle Peter went fishing.
The passage for today takes places after the resurrection.
John 21:1-19 (NRSV)
[1] After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way.
[2] 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.
[3] 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.
[4] Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
[5] Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No."
[6] 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.
[7] 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.
[8] 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.
[9] When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread.
[10] Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught."
[11] So 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.
[12] Jesus 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.
[13] Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.
[14] This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
[15] When 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."
[16] A 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."
[17] He 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.
[18] Very 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."
Jesus had instructed them to go to Galilee and wait. And they did. But sometimes waiting can be very taxing, so in his frustration and anxiety Peter had to do something, so he did what came naturally. One morning or evening he said, "Look, I've got to do something. This sitting and waiting, this doing nothing, is driving me crazy. I'm going fishing." And everybody came along.
And that was when they encountered the risen Jesus for the third time. They encountered Him through FISH, FORGIVENESS AND THE CHALLENGE FOLLOW ME.
I. Fish
A. I'm convinced that the events of that morning were designed to remind the disciples of all that Jesus had taught them. The events are very similar to the time Jesus asked Peter to push out from the shore in his boat so Jesus could use it as a floating podium. That day they had come in with empty nets and as both a reward for the use of the boat and a sign of who Jesus really was, they pushed out to deeper water and caught the miraculous catch of fish.
Afterwards Jesus told them he would make them fishers of people and they dropped their nets and followed him.
B. Here it is, three years later, they followed. They witnessed everything up to the crucifixion and even the resurrection. Now they were waiting. For what, they didn't know. But they were waiting.
Again, the night's fishing had been fruitless. As they are coming in, they encounter a stranger on the beach, who asks how the fishing was and then tells them "Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some."
They do and another miraculous load of fish. That's the FISH part.
II. Forgiveness
A. But there's also the FORGIVENESS part. John was the first one to realize who Jesus was. And when he told Peter, "It's the Lord!" Peter dove in and swam to shore to be with Jesus.
And it was there, at a charcoal fire, the same kind of fire over which Peter had denied Christ three times; it was with grilled fish and bread, that Peter experienced FORGIVENESS.
After breakfast, Peter and Jesus are talking and Jesus asks Peter, "Do you love me?" Not once but three times. "Do you love me?"
Three times, Peter answers, "Lord, you know I love you." The third time he's asked, Peter is hurt that Jesus keeps asking the same question, as if there were ever any doubt. I think that the breeze shifted a bit and Peter got a good whiff of the charcoal fire and his mind shifted to that other charcoal fire, the charcoal fire of denial. And that's when it struck him what Jesus was doing. Three denials, three questions, "Do you love me?" Three opportunities to receive and experience FORGIVENESS.
And the resurrection is what made that FORGIVENESS possible. Because of the cross and the empty tomb, Jesus was able to offer and give Peter FORGIVENESS, thus insuring Peter's own Resurrection of faith and service.
What profound change that must have been for Peter. Can you imagine the load of guilt he had carried around with him? Especially after that bold boast that he would lay down his life for Jesus. I can't imagine carrying that load. It trapped and entombed him. But like Lazarus being called forth from the tomb, Peter is called forth from his tomb of guilt into a new resurrected life of faith with a simple question: "DO YOU LOVE ME?" Accompanied by a side order of Bread and Fish.
That offer empowered his life and faith to end of time.
B. Let me tell you about a friend of mine, Levi. When Levi was 14 he ran away from home. He stuck his thumb out and hitchhiked to another community. He was picked up by a trucker who took him to El Paso. There he got a day job picking cotton. After one day in the field picking cotton he realized he didn't want to do that for the rest of his life. So, he collected his pay and stuck out his thumb again.
This time he was picked up by a couple of marines headed to Los Angeles. They dropped him off and he checked into a flea bag motel. He stayed there two nights, that's all the time he had the money for.
The guy at the counter told him he should check out the YMCA. So, he did. He went to the Y and they asked him all kinds of questions. They said they'd take him in but the rooms weren't open yet. So, Levi went to a little diner across the way and spent his last few cents on a cheese sandwich and a cup of coffee. Then he headed back to the Y.
When he got there, the police were waiting for him. The Y had reported him as a juvenile runaway. The police took him into custody and put him in the Youth Authority facility. The police then told Levi that they would call his parents and if they would send them plane fare, he would be sent home. If not, he would remain in the L.A. Youth facility until he was 18.
Levi said he was worried that his parents wouldn't want him back or that they couldn't raise the money for a plane ticket. For seven long days, he sat in the room at the Youth Facility wondering what would happen. Late that 7th night, on officer came and got him. Without saying a word, they loaded him into a car and took him to the airport and put him on a plane to El Paso.
When the plane landed, Levi was afraid to get off. His folks had driven over 250 miles to get there. He was afraid of the reception he faced, so he just stayed in his seat. The stewardess finally told him he HAD to get off. This was back in the days when you walked down a set of metal steps and then across the tarmac to get into the airport.
Levi was slowly walking down those stairs. Somehow his folks had gotten out of the building and before he knew it they were running across the tarmac. His father came bounding up the steps and engulfed him in a hug. With his arms wrapped around him, he welcomed him home.
Levi father forgave and restored Levi to his rightful place by wrapping him in his arms. Jesus forgave and restored Peter with Bread and Grilled Fish across a charcoal fire.
III. Follow Me
A. That FRESH GRILLED FORGIVENESS continued with a single command, the same one given so many years before. One that you and I are called to answer as well. Jesus looked at Peter and said: FOLLOW ME.
FISH LEAD TO FORGIVENESS, FORGIVENESS LEAD TO RESTORATION AND RESTORATION LEAD TO A CALL. FOLLOW ME.
Today, I want you to experience that same FRESH GRILLED FORGIVENESS which Peter experienced. But the first thing we have to do to experience forgiveness is to come to Christ with a repentant and contrite heart. I want us to do that this morning through a Prayer of Confession and then through actually partaking of FISH AND BREAD.
Conclusion
We have all had those Peter moments in our lives. We've all had those moments when we have denied Christ or denied being a Disciple of Christ. We've all had those same selfish moments. But the Good News is that, like Peter, we too can experience FORGIVENESS. In the Name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.
The next time you smell a charcoal fire, the next time you have a piece of bread, the next time you eat fish remember your FRESH GRILLED FORGIVENESS. You have been FORGIVEN and you have been CALLED TO FOLLOW HIM.
1. The Pastor's Story File (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651; 970-785-2990), May 1986