Game on
Commentary
Object:
When a baseball game is in danger of being canceled because of weather but then is allowed to proceed, the umpire announces: "Game on!" It may seem trivial to apply an expression like that to the things we will talk about today, but we will find them profoundly appropriate. (Please forgive me for dealing with the scriptures with last things first. You will see that there is a reason.)
Revelation 5:11-14
When we prepare to do any interpretation of any text from the book of Revelation, it is important to first make clear the assumptions that are being made about the book as a whole. I am assuming that it is a highly symbolic interpretation of the meaning of human history. It was written to encourage people who are living under oppression to remain faithful to their commitment regardless of the cost. It does this by assuring them that, even though they must endure suffering, the ultimate victory belongs to God and they will participate in it. (Anyone who undertakes an interpretation really must admit at the outset that his interpretation is highly subjective. It is like looking at a piece of abstract art and saying what we see in it.)
In this part of the book, the prophet John has been taken up into heaven so that he can be shown things that enable him to understand the true shape of reality. The understanding he is given is quite profound. On the one hand, he is shown that there is an unchanging reality to which all other things relate. That is represented by God, who is seated on a throne in royal splendor surrounded by representations of all powers. That is the one who ultimately rules all things. On the other hand, there is human history that is an open and ongoing drama that is being played out in the interaction of all of the forces God has set free on the earth. Even though the end of the drama (the telos) is in the hands of God, the processes by which it will be achieved will have to be worked out through the interaction of the forces of love and the forces of hate in the world. The history that is about to unfold is symbolized by the scroll with seven seals. As the book of Revelation progresses it will describe human history in terms of symbolic images, representing first oppression, then conflict, and finally victory for God's good purpose for humankind. (The book of Revelation is very realistic in its analysis of history.) But in order for this history to begin to unfold, someone must break the seals and open the scroll.
None of the powers present in "heaven" is found to be qualified or worthy to open the scroll. But there is one there who is like a lamb that has been slaughtered, one who represents the Christ, who has himself entered human history, offered the possibility of love, and endured the reaction of hate. He is found worthy to open the scroll and allow human history to unfold toward its end. In a sense, the opening of the scroll is like someone who is able saying "Game on" for the unfolding of human history. And all of the realities represented by the host of heaven join in a great cheer.
Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
This is the story of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, who became the apostle Paul, one of the greatest advocates of the Christian faith.
What do we know about Saul before his conversion? We know that he was a young man who grew up in an advantaged Jewish family in Tarsus, a city of political, economic, and intellectual prominence in Asia Minor. He had all of the advantages that his family could provide. He had inherited Roman citizenship, which was a very valuable advantage. He had a good education. He had studied under the famous rabbi Gamaliel. He had the financial resources to travel to Jerusalem, probably for the Passover, and then to stay for some time. He was evidently a very ambitious, upwardly mobile young man who was eager to win favor among the prominent and powerful of his people.
We have no evidence that he had ever seen or heard Jesus in person during his ministry. But when he arrived in Jerusalem, the radical new movement of the followers of the way was spreading. Everyone was talking about it. No doubt, the prominent and powerful people whom he wanted to impress had nothing but bad things to say about the movement and its founder. It was natural for Saul to join the opposition. It is amazing how rapidly hate can become the accepted attitude of the establishment.
Saul watched as an angry mob stoned Stephen to death for witnessing to the new faith. He was cheering the mob on and holding their coats. Then Saul got himself deputized to go to Damascus and arrest any followers of Jesus he could find there (Acts 7:54--8:3). He was anxious to do what he could to help to stamp out what he thought was a dangerous movement.
We learn these things about Saul from the story in the book of Acts. But we will eventually learn more about him from the things that he eventually wrote. He had a brilliant mind. He was capable of thinking for himself and questioning the things that "everyone is saying." He was capable of being open to new possibilities, capable of putting things together, capable of tolerating unanswered questions. He was also a person of deep and vital spiritual sensitivities. His religion was real and important to him. He worked at it. These things may well have been at work in Saul's mind as he traveled toward Damascus, remembering the sight of a man who was praying for the people who were stoning him to death.
It is hard to imagine just what happened to Saul on the road. The scriptures describe a miraculous epiphany in which the risen Christ purposefully confronts Saul and calls him to serve a special purpose. Jesus does not appear in person as he did to the disciples, but rather in a bright light that Saul would have recognized as a sign of the showing forth of God. Then the risen Christ spoke to Saul and identified himself as the very one whom Saul was persecuting. Saul was struck blind, shut up within himself so that he would have to deal with the things that were happening. In his blindness, Saul caught the vision of the new thing God was doing, a thing that would change the history of the world, and he realized that he would have a role to play in it. When Ananias came to witness to Saul and to enable him to regain his sight, Saul was ready for a new life and a new purpose.
John 21:1-19
"It's over now, the music of the night." When we hear these words from Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, it makes us sad. It makes us sad even though we know that the person who is singing them is the bad guy and that the "music of the night" about which he had sung so seductively was actually a diabolical plot. How much more sad it is to hear Peter saying, "I am going fishing," and to hear some of the other disciples saying, "We will go with you" (John 21:3). When they said that, it was as if they were saying the story of the saving work of God in which they had been involved for the past three years was over, a thing in the past. The story that began with Jesus calling them to follow him to the appearances of the risen Christ must have been a powerful memory, something they would never forget. But it was over. Now they could think of nothing better to do than to return to their lives as commercial fishermen.
But when the risen Christ met the disciples on the lakeshore, he came to make it clear that it was not over. The saving work God had begun through the earthly ministry of Jesus was something that would have to be carried on to completion through the rest of human history. The risen Christ was not gone. He was and would always be present and at work everywhere. Those who love him will always be called to participate in that work. It is significant that, near the end of this story, Jesus again addressed to Peter words he had first spoken to him three years earlier in a place not far from where they stood: "Follow me."
The rest of the New Testament, especially the book of Acts, tells us how that work began to be carried out through a fellowship of believers who eventually came to be called "the body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:27). We should pay special attention to the "chapter 29 of the book of Acts." That is the chapter that we are writing.
A more extensive analysis of the interaction described in this passage will be found in the "Alternate Application" below. Please look there for it.
Application
Revelation 5:11-14. The three lessons prescribed for this Sunday fit together in a way that could make possible the development of a powerful sermon. The main idea can be that God is at work in all of human life and history, moving things toward the accomplishment of God's good purpose for us. The purpose can call people into committed involvement in the work that God is doing.
The comment about a baseball umpire saying "Game on" can be used as an introduction. It can give many people an image that will help them deal with a very complex reality.
An interpretation of the lesson from the book of Revelation can provide people with a way of understanding the things that are going on in the history of the world -- and in their own lives -- today. This will need to be brought out of the realm of the abstract into the realm of the congregation's experience of present life. Call to attention the biggest things that are being reported in the nightly news and interpret them in terms of the working out of God's purpose -- or of the need for the working out of God's purpose. Make reference of things from the international level to the community level. Then invite the people to look into their own personal lives to see if any of the things happening there can be understood in those terms. This will have to be done with sensitivity.
Then the question can be asked, "What does God want us to do about that?" The two other scripture lessons tell the stories of what God told two people to do about it.
John 21:1-19. The risen Christ met some of his closest followers on the shore of the Sea of Galilee after they had spent a night fishing but not catching anything. Soon his conversation focused on Peter, the one who had been a leader of the disciples but whose relationship with Jesus had come to a bumpy end -- or so he thought. Peter had loved Jesus and he still did, but he thought the story of the mission he had shared with Jesus was over. He was ready to go back into the fishing business. He didn't know anything else to do. But Jesus told Peter that the story was not over. The work they had shared had only begun. Jesus was alive and at work in history and in the lives of people. The game was still on, and if Peter really loved Jesus, he would have an important role to play in it.
A short time later, the risen Christ appeared to another man. This man seemed to understand that the game was still on. But he was on the opposing team. He saw that the movement Jesus started was becoming an important movement among his people, but he had been convinced that it was a dangerous and destructive movement. Christ had thrown himself into the opposition to the movement. But the risen Christ had other plans for him. He appeared to him and made known to him that the movement he was opposing was God's movement and that God had an important role for him to play in it.
Then the preacher can ask the people what role they are playing in the ongoing work of God in life and history. Many will actually think that the game is over. They may have claimed some benefit of what they perceive to be a win that was won in the past, but they really live their lives as if the whole story of Jesus belongs to another time and place. There may be some who have an awareness that the game is still going on, but they choose to watch it from the sidelines, cheering for the good guys but not getting involved themselves. There may be some whose old prejudices, or personal ambitions, or hidden hostilities are causing them to play on the opponent's team, even while wearing the home team's colors. Help the people understand that God has a role for each of us to play in the working out of God's purpose. If we love Jesus -- or if we can come to love him -- there will be a purpose to which we are called to commit ourselves. It will be important for the pastor to help the people catch a vision of what that would look like for them and the importance of making a commitment to the purpose of God. If you use the image of a game, it will be important to bring the people back out into a realization that what we are talking about is an awesome drama that is shaping human life and history.
An Alternative Application
This passage lends itself to the kind of development in which the pastor enables the people to imagine themselves in the place of Peter so that they can experience a similar interaction with Christ -- who is always present with us.
You might start by helping the people imagine the situation, fishermen rowing their boat toward shore after a fruitless night of work, the sun rising over the Sea of Galilee, the smells of sweat and seawater, a gentle morning breeze cooling their skins. Help the people experience the surprise of seeing some unexpected person standing on the shore and shouting to them, and the even greater surprise of being able to fill the boat with fish from one last cast of the nets. Help the people feel the warmth of the invitation to breakfast and the smell of fish broiling over hot coals.
Then invite them to imagine themselves in the place of Peter in this story. There is much to be gained by doing that. How often have you heard someone talk about what they would do if they could actually meet Jesus? This is your chance. The risen Christ is a real presence wherever you are, and insofar as you share the situation of Peter, the things that Jesus will say will be meant for you as well.
In what ways might you share the experiences of Peter? We can imagine that Peter was feeling ill at ease in the presence of Jesus. After all, he had been one of Jesus' closest friends and a leader of the disciples. But in the final crisis, Peter had failed to stand by Jesus in his time of trial. He might still have been wrestling with some sense of guilt and alienation from Jesus and from the other disciples. When Peter recognized that the stranger on the lakeshore was Jesus, he jumped into the water and swam ashore, eager for an opportunity to renew his relationship.
Would you do that? How do you feel about your relationship with Jesus and with the church? Have there been any failures that have made you feel alienated from all of the good that they represent? If you feel any of those things, the things that Jesus said to Peter can mean a lot to you.
Jesus had always understood Peter's limitations but believed in him anyway. On the night before he died, Jesus said, "Simon, Simon, listen! Satan demands to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:31). Jesus did not say, "If you turn back." He said, "When you turn back." Jesus understands our limitations and accepts us in spite of them and believes in us. Can you imagine that Jesus communicated that acceptance to Peter when he came running, soaking wet, across the beach? Can't you imagine that there was a smile and an embrace with the invitation "Come and have breakfast"?
Can you believe that Jesus will receive you with that same warm acceptance, understanding your limitations, forgiving your failures, believing in you in spite of them? That is there for you as surely as it was there for Peter. "Come and have breakfast."
But Jesus came to the seashore to help the disciples understand something important. They had spent three years in a close relationship with Jesus, learning what Jesus came to teach, participating in the work that Jesus was doing. But now it seemed that they were thinking that adventure was all in the past. They were about to return to the life they had before Jesus came as if nothing had changed. Jesus wanted Peter and the others to understand that the work they had begun together had only begun. God had called them to carry on that work so that it could change the world. Jesus asked Peter, "Do you love me more than these?" (21:15). More than what? Could he have been referring to the boats and the nets and the fish and all of the things that went with the humdrum life in a little Jewish fishing village? Peter had to make a decision again between continuing to follow the calling he had accepted once before and the life to which he was tempted to return.
We have to make decisions like that too. It is all too easy for us to think of the story of Jesus and his ministry on earth as something in the past. Somehow we miss the meaning of the resurrection, that Jesus is not dead and gone but alive and present and at work in our world and in our lives. And the work that Jesus did among us is intended to help us recognize the work that God is still doing among us. Jesus came to lead us into an entirely new and different way of life.
If we recognize the presence of Jesus, we must know that we have a choice to make between the life that he offers and the life we have without him. He asks us, "Do you love me more than the other things that make up your life, things like jobs and bank accounts and country club memberships?" It may be harder for us to make that decision than it was for the first disciples. We may be called to live out our discipleship in the midst of jobs and bank accounts and the other every day things of life rather than leaving them behind as the disciples had to do. But we have to decide whether we love them more than we love Jesus. If we love Jesus most, then we can reorganize all of the other aspects of our life around a new center in him. Can you experience Jesus as a real presence in your life? Can you hear him asking, "Do you love me more than these?"
Peter answered "Yes." But then Jesus asked twice more. "Do you really love me?" Each time Peter answered yes, and each time Jesus responded, "If you love me, feed my sheep." Peter was getting a little frustrated, but it was apparent that Jesus was trying to show Peter -- and us -- something more. There is more to loving Jesus than just a good friendship or even a reverence for a teacher. To really love Jesus is to enter into a new, all-inclusive kind of love that also involves a loving commitment of self to others, to all others, and to everything and everyone that Jesus loves. Are you ready for that? "If you love me, feed my sheep." Are you ready for that kind of life of love? It is not only God's requirement of you. It is also God's best gift to you. Then the risen Christ who stands among us right now addresses to us the same invitation he addressed again for the second time to Peter: "Follow me." Can you understand what that invitation means? Can you accept that invitation?
Revelation 5:11-14
When we prepare to do any interpretation of any text from the book of Revelation, it is important to first make clear the assumptions that are being made about the book as a whole. I am assuming that it is a highly symbolic interpretation of the meaning of human history. It was written to encourage people who are living under oppression to remain faithful to their commitment regardless of the cost. It does this by assuring them that, even though they must endure suffering, the ultimate victory belongs to God and they will participate in it. (Anyone who undertakes an interpretation really must admit at the outset that his interpretation is highly subjective. It is like looking at a piece of abstract art and saying what we see in it.)
In this part of the book, the prophet John has been taken up into heaven so that he can be shown things that enable him to understand the true shape of reality. The understanding he is given is quite profound. On the one hand, he is shown that there is an unchanging reality to which all other things relate. That is represented by God, who is seated on a throne in royal splendor surrounded by representations of all powers. That is the one who ultimately rules all things. On the other hand, there is human history that is an open and ongoing drama that is being played out in the interaction of all of the forces God has set free on the earth. Even though the end of the drama (the telos) is in the hands of God, the processes by which it will be achieved will have to be worked out through the interaction of the forces of love and the forces of hate in the world. The history that is about to unfold is symbolized by the scroll with seven seals. As the book of Revelation progresses it will describe human history in terms of symbolic images, representing first oppression, then conflict, and finally victory for God's good purpose for humankind. (The book of Revelation is very realistic in its analysis of history.) But in order for this history to begin to unfold, someone must break the seals and open the scroll.
None of the powers present in "heaven" is found to be qualified or worthy to open the scroll. But there is one there who is like a lamb that has been slaughtered, one who represents the Christ, who has himself entered human history, offered the possibility of love, and endured the reaction of hate. He is found worthy to open the scroll and allow human history to unfold toward its end. In a sense, the opening of the scroll is like someone who is able saying "Game on" for the unfolding of human history. And all of the realities represented by the host of heaven join in a great cheer.
Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
This is the story of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, who became the apostle Paul, one of the greatest advocates of the Christian faith.
What do we know about Saul before his conversion? We know that he was a young man who grew up in an advantaged Jewish family in Tarsus, a city of political, economic, and intellectual prominence in Asia Minor. He had all of the advantages that his family could provide. He had inherited Roman citizenship, which was a very valuable advantage. He had a good education. He had studied under the famous rabbi Gamaliel. He had the financial resources to travel to Jerusalem, probably for the Passover, and then to stay for some time. He was evidently a very ambitious, upwardly mobile young man who was eager to win favor among the prominent and powerful of his people.
We have no evidence that he had ever seen or heard Jesus in person during his ministry. But when he arrived in Jerusalem, the radical new movement of the followers of the way was spreading. Everyone was talking about it. No doubt, the prominent and powerful people whom he wanted to impress had nothing but bad things to say about the movement and its founder. It was natural for Saul to join the opposition. It is amazing how rapidly hate can become the accepted attitude of the establishment.
Saul watched as an angry mob stoned Stephen to death for witnessing to the new faith. He was cheering the mob on and holding their coats. Then Saul got himself deputized to go to Damascus and arrest any followers of Jesus he could find there (Acts 7:54--8:3). He was anxious to do what he could to help to stamp out what he thought was a dangerous movement.
We learn these things about Saul from the story in the book of Acts. But we will eventually learn more about him from the things that he eventually wrote. He had a brilliant mind. He was capable of thinking for himself and questioning the things that "everyone is saying." He was capable of being open to new possibilities, capable of putting things together, capable of tolerating unanswered questions. He was also a person of deep and vital spiritual sensitivities. His religion was real and important to him. He worked at it. These things may well have been at work in Saul's mind as he traveled toward Damascus, remembering the sight of a man who was praying for the people who were stoning him to death.
It is hard to imagine just what happened to Saul on the road. The scriptures describe a miraculous epiphany in which the risen Christ purposefully confronts Saul and calls him to serve a special purpose. Jesus does not appear in person as he did to the disciples, but rather in a bright light that Saul would have recognized as a sign of the showing forth of God. Then the risen Christ spoke to Saul and identified himself as the very one whom Saul was persecuting. Saul was struck blind, shut up within himself so that he would have to deal with the things that were happening. In his blindness, Saul caught the vision of the new thing God was doing, a thing that would change the history of the world, and he realized that he would have a role to play in it. When Ananias came to witness to Saul and to enable him to regain his sight, Saul was ready for a new life and a new purpose.
John 21:1-19
"It's over now, the music of the night." When we hear these words from Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, it makes us sad. It makes us sad even though we know that the person who is singing them is the bad guy and that the "music of the night" about which he had sung so seductively was actually a diabolical plot. How much more sad it is to hear Peter saying, "I am going fishing," and to hear some of the other disciples saying, "We will go with you" (John 21:3). When they said that, it was as if they were saying the story of the saving work of God in which they had been involved for the past three years was over, a thing in the past. The story that began with Jesus calling them to follow him to the appearances of the risen Christ must have been a powerful memory, something they would never forget. But it was over. Now they could think of nothing better to do than to return to their lives as commercial fishermen.
But when the risen Christ met the disciples on the lakeshore, he came to make it clear that it was not over. The saving work God had begun through the earthly ministry of Jesus was something that would have to be carried on to completion through the rest of human history. The risen Christ was not gone. He was and would always be present and at work everywhere. Those who love him will always be called to participate in that work. It is significant that, near the end of this story, Jesus again addressed to Peter words he had first spoken to him three years earlier in a place not far from where they stood: "Follow me."
The rest of the New Testament, especially the book of Acts, tells us how that work began to be carried out through a fellowship of believers who eventually came to be called "the body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:27). We should pay special attention to the "chapter 29 of the book of Acts." That is the chapter that we are writing.
A more extensive analysis of the interaction described in this passage will be found in the "Alternate Application" below. Please look there for it.
Application
Revelation 5:11-14. The three lessons prescribed for this Sunday fit together in a way that could make possible the development of a powerful sermon. The main idea can be that God is at work in all of human life and history, moving things toward the accomplishment of God's good purpose for us. The purpose can call people into committed involvement in the work that God is doing.
The comment about a baseball umpire saying "Game on" can be used as an introduction. It can give many people an image that will help them deal with a very complex reality.
An interpretation of the lesson from the book of Revelation can provide people with a way of understanding the things that are going on in the history of the world -- and in their own lives -- today. This will need to be brought out of the realm of the abstract into the realm of the congregation's experience of present life. Call to attention the biggest things that are being reported in the nightly news and interpret them in terms of the working out of God's purpose -- or of the need for the working out of God's purpose. Make reference of things from the international level to the community level. Then invite the people to look into their own personal lives to see if any of the things happening there can be understood in those terms. This will have to be done with sensitivity.
Then the question can be asked, "What does God want us to do about that?" The two other scripture lessons tell the stories of what God told two people to do about it.
John 21:1-19. The risen Christ met some of his closest followers on the shore of the Sea of Galilee after they had spent a night fishing but not catching anything. Soon his conversation focused on Peter, the one who had been a leader of the disciples but whose relationship with Jesus had come to a bumpy end -- or so he thought. Peter had loved Jesus and he still did, but he thought the story of the mission he had shared with Jesus was over. He was ready to go back into the fishing business. He didn't know anything else to do. But Jesus told Peter that the story was not over. The work they had shared had only begun. Jesus was alive and at work in history and in the lives of people. The game was still on, and if Peter really loved Jesus, he would have an important role to play in it.
A short time later, the risen Christ appeared to another man. This man seemed to understand that the game was still on. But he was on the opposing team. He saw that the movement Jesus started was becoming an important movement among his people, but he had been convinced that it was a dangerous and destructive movement. Christ had thrown himself into the opposition to the movement. But the risen Christ had other plans for him. He appeared to him and made known to him that the movement he was opposing was God's movement and that God had an important role for him to play in it.
Then the preacher can ask the people what role they are playing in the ongoing work of God in life and history. Many will actually think that the game is over. They may have claimed some benefit of what they perceive to be a win that was won in the past, but they really live their lives as if the whole story of Jesus belongs to another time and place. There may be some who have an awareness that the game is still going on, but they choose to watch it from the sidelines, cheering for the good guys but not getting involved themselves. There may be some whose old prejudices, or personal ambitions, or hidden hostilities are causing them to play on the opponent's team, even while wearing the home team's colors. Help the people understand that God has a role for each of us to play in the working out of God's purpose. If we love Jesus -- or if we can come to love him -- there will be a purpose to which we are called to commit ourselves. It will be important for the pastor to help the people catch a vision of what that would look like for them and the importance of making a commitment to the purpose of God. If you use the image of a game, it will be important to bring the people back out into a realization that what we are talking about is an awesome drama that is shaping human life and history.
An Alternative Application
This passage lends itself to the kind of development in which the pastor enables the people to imagine themselves in the place of Peter so that they can experience a similar interaction with Christ -- who is always present with us.
You might start by helping the people imagine the situation, fishermen rowing their boat toward shore after a fruitless night of work, the sun rising over the Sea of Galilee, the smells of sweat and seawater, a gentle morning breeze cooling their skins. Help the people experience the surprise of seeing some unexpected person standing on the shore and shouting to them, and the even greater surprise of being able to fill the boat with fish from one last cast of the nets. Help the people feel the warmth of the invitation to breakfast and the smell of fish broiling over hot coals.
Then invite them to imagine themselves in the place of Peter in this story. There is much to be gained by doing that. How often have you heard someone talk about what they would do if they could actually meet Jesus? This is your chance. The risen Christ is a real presence wherever you are, and insofar as you share the situation of Peter, the things that Jesus will say will be meant for you as well.
In what ways might you share the experiences of Peter? We can imagine that Peter was feeling ill at ease in the presence of Jesus. After all, he had been one of Jesus' closest friends and a leader of the disciples. But in the final crisis, Peter had failed to stand by Jesus in his time of trial. He might still have been wrestling with some sense of guilt and alienation from Jesus and from the other disciples. When Peter recognized that the stranger on the lakeshore was Jesus, he jumped into the water and swam ashore, eager for an opportunity to renew his relationship.
Would you do that? How do you feel about your relationship with Jesus and with the church? Have there been any failures that have made you feel alienated from all of the good that they represent? If you feel any of those things, the things that Jesus said to Peter can mean a lot to you.
Jesus had always understood Peter's limitations but believed in him anyway. On the night before he died, Jesus said, "Simon, Simon, listen! Satan demands to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:31). Jesus did not say, "If you turn back." He said, "When you turn back." Jesus understands our limitations and accepts us in spite of them and believes in us. Can you imagine that Jesus communicated that acceptance to Peter when he came running, soaking wet, across the beach? Can't you imagine that there was a smile and an embrace with the invitation "Come and have breakfast"?
Can you believe that Jesus will receive you with that same warm acceptance, understanding your limitations, forgiving your failures, believing in you in spite of them? That is there for you as surely as it was there for Peter. "Come and have breakfast."
But Jesus came to the seashore to help the disciples understand something important. They had spent three years in a close relationship with Jesus, learning what Jesus came to teach, participating in the work that Jesus was doing. But now it seemed that they were thinking that adventure was all in the past. They were about to return to the life they had before Jesus came as if nothing had changed. Jesus wanted Peter and the others to understand that the work they had begun together had only begun. God had called them to carry on that work so that it could change the world. Jesus asked Peter, "Do you love me more than these?" (21:15). More than what? Could he have been referring to the boats and the nets and the fish and all of the things that went with the humdrum life in a little Jewish fishing village? Peter had to make a decision again between continuing to follow the calling he had accepted once before and the life to which he was tempted to return.
We have to make decisions like that too. It is all too easy for us to think of the story of Jesus and his ministry on earth as something in the past. Somehow we miss the meaning of the resurrection, that Jesus is not dead and gone but alive and present and at work in our world and in our lives. And the work that Jesus did among us is intended to help us recognize the work that God is still doing among us. Jesus came to lead us into an entirely new and different way of life.
If we recognize the presence of Jesus, we must know that we have a choice to make between the life that he offers and the life we have without him. He asks us, "Do you love me more than the other things that make up your life, things like jobs and bank accounts and country club memberships?" It may be harder for us to make that decision than it was for the first disciples. We may be called to live out our discipleship in the midst of jobs and bank accounts and the other every day things of life rather than leaving them behind as the disciples had to do. But we have to decide whether we love them more than we love Jesus. If we love Jesus most, then we can reorganize all of the other aspects of our life around a new center in him. Can you experience Jesus as a real presence in your life? Can you hear him asking, "Do you love me more than these?"
Peter answered "Yes." But then Jesus asked twice more. "Do you really love me?" Each time Peter answered yes, and each time Jesus responded, "If you love me, feed my sheep." Peter was getting a little frustrated, but it was apparent that Jesus was trying to show Peter -- and us -- something more. There is more to loving Jesus than just a good friendship or even a reverence for a teacher. To really love Jesus is to enter into a new, all-inclusive kind of love that also involves a loving commitment of self to others, to all others, and to everything and everyone that Jesus loves. Are you ready for that? "If you love me, feed my sheep." Are you ready for that kind of life of love? It is not only God's requirement of you. It is also God's best gift to you. Then the risen Christ who stands among us right now addresses to us the same invitation he addressed again for the second time to Peter: "Follow me." Can you understand what that invitation means? Can you accept that invitation?
