Who And How Do We Follow?
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For May 4, 2025:
Who And How Do We Follow?
by Dean Feldmeyer
John 21:1-19
The Roman Catholic church is now in an official period of mourning, the “novendiali,” which lasts for nine days following the pope’s funeral on Saturday, April 26. During this time, 135 cardinals under the age of 80 (cardinal electors) from across the globe are making their way to Rome where they will be sequestered, presumably out of touch with any outside interference or influence to choose a new pope.
Vatican rules stipulate that the conclave must begin 15-20 days after the “sede vacante” (vacant seat) is declared usually immediately after the death of the pope is confirmed. However, if all eligible cardinals arrive in Rome earlier, they may decide to begin the conclave sooner by unanimous agreement.
How, we wonder, do those 135 electors prepare for the task that is now before them? With meditation and prayer, certainly, but one imagines that there is also some politicking and lobbying going on as well. However the cardinals are preparing for the election, many of us are preparing by watching the recent Academy Award nominated film, Conclave. Variety reports that viewership of the film has increased nearly 300% since the passing of Pope Francis.
Whether we are Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, or none-of-the-above, it cannot be denied that the Pope is more than a person, he is a symbol, and the man who is chosen to fill that august chair will have a great deal of influence on the direction of Christendom for the next several years.
What is the state of the church he will be chosen to lead? What is the state of the world in which he will endeavor to lead it? And how will he shape his leadership to account for these two realities? Those are questions not just for the pope but for all who are called to leadership roles in the body of Christ.
In the World/News
The King is dead. Long live the King.
So, what is the state of the world and the church, not just the Catholic church but the Christian church, the body of Christ, as a new pope is consecrated in the end of the first quarter of the 21st century?
Sociologist and author, Christian Smith, in his recent book, Why Religion Went Obsolete (Oxford University Press, 2025) makes a convincing case that we are living in a “postmodern,” “post-Christian” era.
Postmodernism challenges traditional narratives, embraces pluralism, and promotes skepticism toward absolute truths. It shapes discussions on identity, power structures, and social norms, encouraging a more fragmented and diverse cultural landscape.
It has had a profound impact on American Christianity, reshaping how faith is understood and practiced. It has encouraged a shift away from rigid doctrines toward a more relational and experiential approach to spirituality. Many postmodern Christians prioritize personal faith journeys over institutional traditions, emphasizing authenticity and lived experiences rather than absolute theological certainty.
This movement has also led to a greater openness to diverse perspectives, fostering interfaith dialogue and a reconsideration of traditional Christian teachings. However, some critics argue that postmodernism has contributed to a decline in biblical authority, as it challenges objective truth and promotes relativism.
Some have suggested that Francis was the first postmodern pope. His pontificate resonated with postmodern themes — like decentralizing authority, embracing pluralism, and encouraging dialogue over rigid dogma. His openness to revisiting traditional teachings and prioritizing individual conscience in moral decisions separated him from previous popes. But his was not a full embrace of postmodernism, the foundational structure to his leadership and theology kept him within a more modern framework.
At any rate, postmodernism has opened the door for many who were less than fully committed to an organized religion, Christianity in particular, to slip quietly out and away. Americans need not be hostile to Christianity to find themselves becoming less and less committed to it. Postmodern perspectives have saturated the cultural air. They are like what scientists call particulate matter, microscopic bits of this and that, which we breathe in without ever realizing it.
When the particulate matter is tar and nicotine, the result is often lung cancer. When it is asbestos, the result is mesothelioma. When the particulate matter that Christians are breathing in is postmodernism, the result is obsolescence. Organized religion, the church becomes obsolete, and the evidence is found in the results of scientific research.
Surveys show the number of Americans with no religious affiliation is growing fast. Regular church-going Christians are now a minority, and membership in all denominations is declining, including conservative evangelical and fundamentalist churches. People, especially the post boomer generations, are rejecting the “organized” aspect of organized religion, not the “religion” part. As they reject the authority of secular institutions it is no surprise that they reject the religious ones, too. They want to see Jesus, they say, but they aren’t seeing him in the church.
Finally, we find that the exodus from organized religion has not led to a secular culture. Post boomers have not become enamored of secularism, naturalism, scientism, and atheism. They are still interested in transcendence and things of the spirit. More and more, they are seeking to find those things not by adopting but dabbling in spiritualism, Native American religions, Hindu pantheism, Buddhism, and what Smith calls a “raft of paranormal, magical, occultic, and New Age ideas.” And the dabbling is always separate, not corporate, and personal, not public. They describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious.”
The cultural era we are living in is a postmodern, post-Christian era and it is probably not going to change, at least in a profound and radical way, any time in the foreseeable future.
So, what are we, the minority, the practicing, worshiping, Christ-following Christians supposed to do with this information. How are we supposed to live in this new, alien and unfamiliar world? Well, first, we turn, as always, to scripture.
In the Scripture
The gospel text for this week is what my friends and I, when we were young, used to call “The Last Brunch.”
Seven of the disciples are hanging out, probably at or near Peter’s home in Capernaum near the Sea of Galilee (aka the Lake of Gennesaret, Lake Kinneret, and the Sea of Tiberias), not quite sure what to do next. Peter suggests that maybe they should start thinking about earning a living again while they’re trying to figure it out. No more following Jesus around, relying on the kindness of strangers, after all. The others agree so they climb in some boats and head out onto the lake to fish but luck isn’t with them that night. They catch nothing.
Around dawn when they are about to give up, Jesus appears on the shore and calls out to them, “Hey, guys. Having any luck?” (What people always ask people who are fishing.) They, not recognizing Jesus, grumble that they are not and Jesus suggests that they throw their nets on the other side of the boat. Like they’ve been fishing all night without catching anything and haven’t thought of that, themselves. But they’ve got nothing to lose so they throw the nets on the other side and what do you know, the nets are so full they can’t haul them into the boat.
John ventures to Peter that he thinks the guy on the beach is Jesus. Peter, ever the compulsive, dives in and swims to the shore, leaving the others to haul the fish net to shore behind the boat.
They all have a delightful breakfast of bread and grilled fish (What did he feed the 5,000?) and, when they’re all full, Jesus asks Peter three questions. Well, actually, it’s the same question three times. (How many times did Peter deny Jesus on the night before his execution?) “Peter, do you love me?” Peter answers that indeed, he does love Jesus and, every time, Jesus gives what is basically the same response: “Feed/take care of my sheep.”
John then concludes this scene with Jesus describing Peter’s martyrdom in some vague and elliptical language and one final commandment: Follow me. We presume that Jesus means even unto the cross.
And with that, we have the answer to the question with which we closed the above section. What are we, the minority, the practicing, worshiping, Christ-following Christians supposed to do with this information. How are we supposed to live in this new, alien, and unfamiliar world?
In the Sermon
Follow me.
We are called to follow Jesus.
Generally, we want to do everything except follow him. We want to wait for him to save us from our sins. We want to have a close, personal relationship with him, to have coffee with him. We want to learn about him, think about him, worship him, sing songs about him, hang pictures of him in our churches and homes, celebrate his birth, remember his death, plus look for colored eggs and eat chocolate on the anniversary of his resurrection.
Anything but actually following him and doing what he did.
And what, exactly, did he do?
He loved those who were unlovable. He accepted those who were unacceptable. He healed those who were sick and broken. He embraced and gave hope to those who were hopeless.
He called out hypocrites and bullies. He forgave sinners. He fed those who were hungry and taught those who were ignorant. He celebrated with those who celebrated, and he ate with outcasts.
And he calls us, his followers, to do the same, sometimes literally, sometimes metaphorically. He calls us to heal the sick, restore sight to the blind, calm storms, walk on water, and even raise the dead.
He calls us to teach, as he taught, lessons that emphasize love, forgiveness, humility, and faith. He calls us to confront hypocrisy and challenge cruelty, to reject violence and eschew inhumanity. He leads us, his followers, to walk among outcasts, sinners, and the marginalized, offering them hope and acceptance.
And he bids us to follow him in these things all the way to the cross if necessary — the cross of ridicule and rejection, the cross of hate and derision, the cross of prejudice and persecution, and even the cross of Christ, himself, the cross of death.
That is how we will live in the postmodern, post-Christian world that surrounds us. We will witness to the better way, the authentic way, the way of Christ by how we live and maybe, just maybe, our witness will be heard, and others will see in us the living Christ, crucified and risen.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Praising God
by Katy Stenta
Revelation 5:11-14
The Revelation text this week promises that all will bow to the glory of God. What does this promise mean in an era of rising Christian nationalism? In an interview with former Christian nationalist and religion professor, Bradley Onishi, states that Christian nationalism has the belief that Christians should have special privileges.
This is a colonizer’s view of Christianity, where it is not God’s job to carry out God’s mission, but the conquerors. However, the promise in Revelation is not to conquer or win in God’s name, but to praise God’s name. This means that people will not claim power in the name of God but instead kneel to God. Not just humanity, but all creation. Does this include Donald Trump and Elon Musk? How about Vladimir Putin? What does this mean for animals? How do plants kneel anyway? Speaking of which, where do the fungi go? You know, the weird sort of creations that are between animals and plants? Then there is AI, how does AI glorify God as it continues to wreak havoc on the environment? Experts say that it wastes water, releases carbon dioxide into the environment, and infringes on creativity and copyright.
Where, then, is the good news? The good news is that God’s glory is revealed. It shines through — there is no avenging God, who conquers. Because when Saul tries to subdue people with violence, God blinds him and baptizes him into a new life of nonviolent resistance as Paul. There is not a quest to overcome the enemy here. The battle over greed and death is won. Instead, the compassion and might in God’s voice will be so powerful, we will fall on our knees. Or, conversely, when Jesus returns, serving on his knees, we will all kneel to get next to him.
Jesus is Lord, and that will be enough. We will not need stocks, portfolios, or golden statues to prove it. It is not our job to subdue others — as the Westminster shorter confession states, “to glorify God and enjoy [God] forever,” which sounds more like keeping sabbath and sanctuary and embracing the diversity and joy of those who were created in the image of God. This is the exact opposite of being a Christian nationalist.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:
John 21:1-19
Jesus is a Good Coach
When Jesus and Peter meet on the beach, Jesus has no words of condemnation for Peter, only instructions for the future. Noted UCLA basketball coach John Wooden seldom complimented or rebuked his players. Instead, as a former high school English teacher, Wooden did just that: He taught. He instructed. He informed. He told you what to do and how to do it: “Pass the ball to someone short!” “Don’t walk.” “Take lots of shots in areas where you might get them in games.” “Pass from the chest!” Swen Nater, who went on to play professionally, noted, “It was the information that promoted change. Had the majority of Coach Wooden’s corrective strategies been positive (‘Good job’) or negative (‘No, that’s not the way’), I would have been left with an evaluation, not a solution.”
Jesus does the same thing when he tells Peter, “Feed my sheep.” He repeats it three times, so the message is clear. [Researchers] noted that a highly successful contemporaneous football coach used instructional comments 36% of the time. Another revered basketball coach reached 55%. Wooden bested them all at 75%. A full three-quarters of his statements were focused on the task, not the player. (from How to be Enough, by Dr. Ellen Hendriksen)
Hendriksen adds, “Take it from UCLA basketball: turn your attention spotlight from the global self to the specific behavior. Take the stance of a sculptor eyeing a block of marble; look at the task as an entity separate from you: What to do to make this thing better? What would be effective for the work?” Or, for us as followers of Jesus, simply feed the sheep.
* * *
John 21:1-19
Hearing that God Loves You
In John’s post-resurrection story set on the beach, the fishing, the fire, and the breakfast all feel like a prelude to the conversation between Jesus and Peter. The two reconnect and Jesus puts Peter’s mind and heart at ease. In John’s story, Peter is affirming his love for Jesus, and it’s also clear that Jesus loves Peter, too.
In her book Accidental Saints, Nadia Bolz-Weber tells about her former parishioner, Stephen, whom she says “looks like an aging movie star, is the VP at a Fortune 500 company, is a statewide elected official, lives in a loft downtown.” With all of those accomplishments, she says, he is “still a hot mess of low self-esteem issues.” As they sat together talking in a coffee shop, he wondered aloud what his life would be like if he really believed that God loved him. “How would my life be different,” he wondered, “if I really believed this? How would my life be different if I was not scared, if I really believed that I am fully and totally loved by God?” Then he added: “No wonder we have church every week. I have to hear this at least that often.”
In this Easter season, Jesus reminds us again and again how much he loves us.
* * *
John 21:1-19
Seeing With Joy
Author Rachel Macy Stafford tells a story about a mom and son who had drifted apart. “The parent decided to follow a piece of guidance from one of my books, which was to make a conscious effort to look up and smile every single time her son came into the room, returned home, or crossed paths with her in the house. No matter what she was in the middle of, the parent consistently greeted her son in a way that let him know she hadn’t rejected him.” After just three days, the mom got an “I love you” when her son left for school.
Stafford adds, “Our lives contain so many things that keep us from truly seeing each other, but we have the power to remove the barriers between us. Looking up is one way. Expressing joy at the mere sight of another human being — consistently and repeatedly — can offer more healing than any words we could ever say.”
The risen Jesus brings that same healing gift to Peter when they meet on the beach.
* * *
Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
Light Show
The Acts version of Saul / Paul’s conversion says that he’s blinded by a light from heaven, and falls to the ground. The light is a physical manifestation of God’s presence and ends up changing his whole life. Author Melody Beattie says that a friend of hers keeps track of such experiences in his own life. Her friend Darren keeps “Light Show in his computer. It’s a program of his own making. In this file, he records all incidences of Divine Guidance, Divine Intervention, answered prayers, and serendipitous events in his life. Whenever he begins to doubt the presence of a Benevolent Force, whenever he stops trusting life, whenever he feels abandoned or wonders exactly how wise it is to trust God, he turns to his own light show to remind himself how powerful and wise it really is to let go.” (from More Language of Letting Go)
Paul didn’t have a computer, and yet his story has turned into a light show for all of us who hear it.
* * *
Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
Strange Beginning
The encounter on the Damascus road is a new beginning for Paul, and yet he ends up using all the material from his former life in his new life, building on what he knows as an educated Jewish person. The beginning of his work as an evangelist for Jesus is also a continuation.
John O’Donohue writes, “We seem to think that beginning is setting out from a lonely point along some line of direction into the unknown. This is not the case. Shelter and energy come alive when a beginning is embraced. Goethe says that once the commitment is made, destiny conspires with us to support and realize it. We are never as alone in our beginnings as it might seem at the time. A beginning is ultimately an invitation to open toward the gifts and growth that are stored up for us. To refuse to begin can be an act of great self-neglect.” O’Donohue continues, “Beginning precedes us, creates us, and constantly takes us to new levels and places and people. There is nothing to fear in the act of beginning.”
In a parallel to Paul’s experience, O’Donohue muses, “Perhaps the art of harvesting the secret riches of our lives is best achieved when we place profound trust in the act of beginning. Risk might be our greatest ally. To live a truly creative life, we always need to cast a critical look at where we presently are, attempting always to discern where we have become stagnant and where a new beginning might be ripening. There can be no growth if we do not remain open and vulnerable to what is new and different. I have never seen anyone take a risk for growth that was not rewarded a thousand times over.” (To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings)
* * *
Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
The Holy in the Darkness
Author Mirabai Starr says that the “start of wonder is not-knowing.” When he’s blinded on the road, Saul / Paul enters three days of physical darkness, days that mirror his spiritual blindness. Mirabai Starr summons us to a similar journey, writing, “I invite you to dismantle your preconceptions, to pull on the loose thread of your belief systems and let them unravel. Allow yourself to be like a child, seeing the world through fresh eyes. Instead of trying to control life by making sense of it, embrace ambiguity and paradox as being the domain of the truest things. The holy lives in mystery, in darkness, in liminal space. Not knowing isn’t a problem to be solved but rather a reality to be celebrated. In Zen Buddhism, this open stance is called “beginner’s mind.” Cultivate it.”
Like Paul, if we’re willing to rest in not knowing, we can draw closer to God. Starr explains, “Mysticism is about union and communion with the source of all being, which is love. This fountain bubbles up from where you stand and reveals itself in the midst of your regular life. Unlike what traditional religious institutions have taught, spirituality is not about transcending the senses. To be a mystic is to say yes to your embodied experience. Find the holy in a basket of fresh-picked raspberries, in your body’s capacity to deliver the almost unbearable pleasure of an orgasm, in sand or mud or long grass between your toes. Maybe you have felt the presence of the sacred mystery in moonlight on snow, while feeding goats or folding laundry, in rising before the sun and watching the world wake up. Good. This is a gateway to the realm of the ordinary mystic.” (from Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred Ground)
Like Paul, we’re invited to take a journey toward God.
* * * * * *
From team member Chris Keating:
Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
The “Logic” of Transforming Encounters
Luke reminds us that the furthest thing from Saul’s mind was an encounter with Christ. Instead, as the Common English Bible says, he was “still spewing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.” That is, of course, until he found himself on a road headed to Damascus.
In a moment, Saul’s life was changed — a transformation so profound it led him to change his name.
Until his untimely death in 2001, James Loder taught the philosophy of Christian Education at Princeton Theological Seminary. He was particularly interested in the influences of transforming moments in the spiritual lives of individuals. He called these encounters “convictional experiences,” and often used stories from his own life as illustrations of transformation. Loder articulated a five-step “logic of transformation,” which he believed is foundational to all moments of true discovery. Among the steps of his model include a moment when “the person achieves an insight felt with intuitive force, that is, a surprising ‘key’ is found to unlock the phenomenon she was trying to open — a moment of discovery.” (Quoted in Rutledge, James Loder’s Redemptive Transformation in Practical Theology.) Loder developed his theories to help pastors and churches discover the importance of transformational moments.
* * *
Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
Jorge Bergoglio’s Transforming Moment
In 1953, a young Argentinian man’s plan to head to a party was interrupted by what he later came to understand as a transformational encounter. Not quite the conversion experienced by Paul, but still one of tremendous spiritual insight.
On his way to a party that night, Jorge Bergoglio walked past a church that he had been attending. Although he did not know the priest who was hearing confessions that evening, Bergoglio felt compelled to make his confession. The experience led Bergoglio to become a priest who would later become a Cardinal — and eventually Pope Francis.
In 2013, Pope Francis described that evening:
This was an experience of encounter for me: I found that someone was waiting for me. But I don't know what happened, I don't remember, I don't really know why it was that priest there, whom I didn't know, why I felt this urge to go to confession, but the truth is that someone was waiting for me. He had been waiting for me for a long time. After confession, I felt that something had changed. I was not the same. I had heard just like a voice, a call: I was convinced that I had to become a priest. This experience in faith is important.
* * *
Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
A conversion of the heart
For many of us, talk of “conversion” evokes religious experiences cloaked in emotional manipulation. As Samuel Wells points out in an article for The Christian Century, church people can be pretty coy about speaking of conversion, while also being “plenty articulate about why it’s not such a great idea.” Wells maintains that there are many good reasons why more progressive Christians ought to reconsider their understanding of conversion.
Consider the story of Pastor Bill White. White was serving as the pastor of an evangelical “mega church” when his teenage son Timothy came out as gay. While continuing to love his son, White was instantly plunged into a time of rethinking his theological understandings. In a journal at the time, White confided:
I think down deep, I hate homosexuality. I hate it more than just about anything else in the world. I hate it because it seems sometimes to be stronger than you, God. Yes, that’s what I said. It seems that way. I am sure there is plenty of good in the gay community, but my experience tells me otherwise — I see the isolation, the craving, the insecurity. Father, you have to spare Timothy from that. You have to.
Will homosexuality take him over; will it lead him away from you? Or might he repress it long enough to get married and have kids, and then walk out on it all to “find” his “real self” in the gay community?
Still, White loved his son. God, as it turned out, was not quite done helping Bill White unpack the spiritual dilemma of accepting his son’s homosexuality. White experienced a transformation of his understanding of LGBTQ persons through years of prayer and conversation. Eventually, he would lead his congregation to become publicly affirming of LGBTQ people. In another blog post, White recounted part of his “Damascus” experience:
Like turning 50, the past few years of conversation around LGBTQ questions have surprised me with the gift they have been to me. I find myself so much less afraid, less anxious. When Timothy came out, I was wracked with insecurities and questions, doubts and fears. But now, I’m just in a different spot. What’s changed for me is that by stepping into the deep waters of hard conversations within the church, I’ve been forced on the inward journey of facing questions about what I believe, about what is wrong and right. What grounds my faith? What will happen to me if I break from the tradition of the church? Will I love those whom God has called me to love — and what if that includes people I disagree with?
It’s as if God wanted to grow me through this process! Sure, questions about embracing LGBTQ people in the church are very important. Yet as I reflect on the past few years, I see now what I’ve been tempted to miss — that God’s primary work for me has been his work in me. We try to push discomfort away from us, to think about questions in the abstract, to pretend that we could remain unaffected, to guard ourselves from having to do the uncomfortable work of changing. Yet God is always, relentlessly, after our own hearts. I entered this journey unwillingly, but as it draws to a close for me I find myself flooded with gratitude. I’m grateful for God loving me along the way, changing me along the way. And although it’s uncomfortable, I am grateful for the call to become radically welcoming — not just of those with whom I agree but welcoming of those with whom I disagree.
* * *
John 21:1-9
Testing the waters
As the successor to Peter, all popes of the Roman Catholic Church wear what is known as the “Ring of the Fisherman” (more formally called the “Piscatory Ring.”) Selecting a new fisherman comes at a time when the Catholic church is beset by conflicts between progressive-leaning forces and more traditional factions. These changing waters will have impacts on non-Catholic Christians, as well, notes The New York Times.
Francis stood apart from a growing wave of Christianity that mixes nationalism with faith. According to Sean Rowe, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, “This moment is critical now. For those of us who want to embody the Sermon on the Mount, and the Beatitudes, and the love Jesus showed in the world, this is more important than ever.”
Rowe notes that politics has seeped into a brand of Christianity that has co-opted the Christian story. Perhaps the question for all to consider is the very one Jesus asked of Peter: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” (John 21:16).
* * *
John 21:1-9
Casting our nets in new directions
Perhaps Peter had a case of “ants in the pants.” Or maybe he was still working through the implications of Jesus’ resurrection. Or maybe he just didn’t know what else to do. He turned to the others and says crisply, “I am going fishing.”
Peter is like many of us. Confused by the changed circumstances, he chooses to return to the tried and true. He goes back to work, perhaps like a recently bereaved widow or widower who seeks to find meaning following a tragic loss. Peter is also a bit like many of our congregations. The world has so drastically changed, attendance has so quickly dwindled, that we think that the only answer is casting our nets in the familiar seas of what we have always done.
But doing the same thing isn’t working — not for Peter and the disciples, and not for our congregations. We are exhausted and worn thin, as evidenced by the lack of volunteers to help plan this summer’s Vacation Bible School.
Along comes Jesus. He calls out to the disciples to try letting down their nets on the other side. No doubt they shake their heads at this stranger’s rather presumptive offering of advice — until it works beyond their wildest dreams. Innovation is a hot topic in denominational gatherings, although as theologian Andy Root has noted, innovation by itself is never quite as satisfying, faithful, or even productive as it may appear.
Too often, says Root, church leaders pursue innovation in response to a crisis such as lack of funds or dwindling membership. He notes that innovation is not a morally neutral concept. Our understandings are shaped by our capitalistic culture, which Roote says “seems to reveal that we think our issues are about lost resources and relevance, not lost visions for the living God. I want pastors and congregations to concern themselves not with lost market share, but the loss of transcendence. I’m not sure innovation can do the latter.” Notice that at the heart of Jesus’ call to the disciples is his appearance on the beach, where he has already prepared everything that they will need to be nourished.
* * *
John 21:1-9
Where can innovation help us?
Innovation must be more than installing a pickleball court or slapping a rock wall on the side of the church building. Innovation involves discerning our deeper purposes as a congregation. Faithful innovation in congregations, write Dwight Zscheile, Michael Binder, and Tessa Pinkstaff, goes deeper than changing the signs or renaming the church. It’s more than simply slapping new labels on last year’s programs. They write that the work of faithful innovation includes “listening to God, one another, and our neighbors; trying experiments that lead us in new ways of thinking; and reflecting on what we’ve learned as we tell stories of God’s movement in our congregations and communities.” (See Leading Faithful Innovation: Following God into a Hopeful Future.) Perhaps we start discovering the next faithful step we should take by listening to the voice of the stranger yelling from the beach.
* * * * * *
From team member Nazish Naseem:
Psalm 30
Imagine a sun-drenched village near the Indian border, where fields shimmer with golden rice plants swaying gently in the breeze. As dawn breaks, the sunlight bathes the landscape in warmth, awakening farmers who begin their daily tasks with bright smiles and a shared sense of purpose. In the center of the village, a majestic old tree stands tall, its sprawling branches symbolizing hope and renewal. Underneath its lush canopy, men gather to exchange stories and laughter, strengthening their unbreakable community bond. The air is filled with sounds of camaraderie, a reminder of the strength found in unity during both good and challenging times.
However, the village has faced trials, notably a devastating flood in 1988 that transformed the once-vibrant landscape into a scene of chaos. Families lost everything, and cries for help filled the air, echoing through the valleys. Yet, even in that darkest moment, warmth and compassion crossed borders. Neighbors from afar extended their hands, offering aid and kindness to those in need. The resilient and united villagers faced the challenge head-on, their strength and determination inspiring all who witnessed their struggle.
As the waters finally receded, the resilient villagers gathered in church, arms raised in gratitude to the heavens. Joy radiated from their faces, a testament to their unwavering spirit. Laughter erupted from the children playing among wildflowers, embodying the promise of new beginnings and the sentiment that “joy comes in the morning.” This scene of joy and unity, emerging from the depths of despair, serves as a beacon of hope for all who witness it.
* * *
John 21:1-9
Trust /Follow Me
A wise, steadfast elder, a beacon of wisdom and guidance, gathered the younger villagers close. He shared tales of past struggles intertwined with threads of hope and divine favor. His voice, a comforting presence in the midst of turmoil, danced through the air, echoing the lesson that there is always a path toward light and joy, even in times of despair. Above them, the sky blazed with a vibrant display, serving as a reminder of the transformation that follows sorrow, where hope shines brighter than ever. This echoes the powerful message of Psalm 30 — a testament to resilience, faith, and the unwavering promise of joy.
A cozy and welcoming living room resonates with the joyous sounds of laughter and the inviting scent of a home-cooked meal. In one corner, a grandfather’s old rocking chair stands as a cherished symbol of wisdom and guidance. The room is alive with the energetic presence of siblings, both young and old, all united by their deep love for one another as they play and chat. A father and his nurturing wife have raised four children, and during their playful moments, the children often turn to their parents for guidance and reassurance. This reliance is a testament to the unwavering trust they place in their parents, which serves as the cornerstone of their family bond — a precious and irreplaceable connection built on mutual support and care.
A touching moment occurs when a child, with complete trust in their mother, says, “Mom, we can wait for new shoes after your next paycheck; let’s help Grandpa first.” This simple act beautifully illustrates the values of selflessness and the prioritization of family needs over individual desires, reinforcing the strength and importance of family bonds.
Now, let’s shift our focus to a peaceful beach at dawn, providing a stark contrast to the bustling family home. Here, a group of weary fishermen, having spent a long night at sea, stand by their boat. The air is filled with anticipation as they hear a figure calling out, instructing them to throw their nets on the “right side of the boat.” I wonder if desperation led these fishermen to believe in this guidance, ultimately resulting in a miraculous catch and their later response when Jesus asked them, “Follow me.” This contrast between the lively family home and the tranquil beach highlights the different forms of guidance we encounter in our lives, whether from family or spiritual figures.
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship
One: Let us glorify our God who raises us up.
All: We praise you, O God, for you never desert us.
One: Sing praises to God and give thanks for his goodness.
All: Your favor, O God, is for ever and ever.
One: Call to our God who is gracious and our true helper.
All: You have removed our sackcloth and clothed us with joy.
OR
One: Let us praise the God who calls us to life abundant.
All: We sing God’ praises and great glory.
One: God sends the Spirit to draw us closer.
All: We open our hearts and minds to God’s leading.
One: God sends us leaders to bring us to life.
All: We will follow only those who lead us to God.
Hymns and Songs
Thine Be the Glory
UMH: 308
PH: 122
GTG: 238
NCH: 253
CH: 218
LBW: 145
ELW: 376
W&P: 310
AMEC: 157
Ye Servants of God
UMH: 181
H82: 635
PH: 477
GTG: 299
NCH: 305
CH: 110
LBW: 252
W&P: 112
Come, Christians, Join to Sing
UMH: 158
PH: 150
GTG: 267
CH: 90
W&P: 87
Renew: 50
Alleluia, Alleluia
UMH: 162178
H82: 106
PH: 240
CH: 40
W&P: 291
Renew: 271
Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
UMH: 381
H82: 708
PH: 387
GTG: 187
AAHH: 424
NNBH: 54
NCH: 252
CH: 558
LBW: 481
ELW: 789
W&P: 440
AMEC: 379
O Jesus, I Have Promised
UMH: 396
H82: 655
PH: 388/389
GTG: 724/725
NCH: 493
CH: 612
LBW: 503
ELW: 810
W&P: 458
AMEC: 280
Jesus Calls Us
UMH: 398
H82: 549/550
GTG: 720
NNBH: 183
NCH: 171/172
CH: 337
LBW: 494
ELW: 696
W&P: 345
AMEC: 238
I Am Thine, O Lord
UMH: 419
AAHH: 387
NNBH: 202
NCH: 455
CH: 601
W&P: 408
AMEC: 283
O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee
UMH: 430
H82: 659/660
PH: 357
GTG: 738
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELW: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
Be Thou My Vision
UMH: 451
H82: 488
PH: 339
GTG: 450
NCH: 451
CH: 595
ELW: 793
W&P: 502
AMEC: 281
STLT: 20
Renew: 151
Walk with Me
CCB: 88
Through It All
CCB: 61
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who calls all creation to life:
Grant us the wisdom to heed your call
and to lead others to life full and abundant;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you are the one who calls all your creatures to life. As we hear and heed your call, help us to be leaders who others can follow to find you and to find life abundant. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially when we choose to follow those who take us away from you.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have heard the call of self interest and we blindly follow those who promise it. We claim to be disciples of Jesus but we are more likely to be following the path to wealth, power, and privilege. We like the promise of life eternal when we leave this life but here and now we are more interested in boosting ourselves. Forgive our shameless wanted spirits and fill us again with the Spirit of the Christ that we may be true disciples. Amen.
One: God does desire for us all to have a full life and God knows it does not consist in material goods. Allow the Spirit to fill you and to open your eyes to what is truly important as you receive God’s grace and forgiveness.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory are you, O God of Life. You are the one who creates us and is ever calling us to your new creation. Blessed is your Name now and forever.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have heard the call of self-interest and we blindly follow those who promise it. We claim to be disciples of Jesus, but we are more likely to be following the path to wealth, power, and privilege. We like the promise of life eternal when we leave this life but here and now we are more interested in boosting ourselves. Forgive our shameless wanted spirits and fill us again with the Spirit of the Christ that we may be true disciples.
We give you thanks for the opportunity to praise you and to be filled with your Spirit. We are blessed to be surrounded by your presence. We thank you for those who lead us to you and in your ways. We are thankful for those who do not give up on us when we take another path.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We lift into your care those who are in need. We pray for our leaders, lay and clergy, who help us find your path. We lift up to you those who find it difficult to follow your path because of the pain they have experienced. We pray for those who seem to have lost their way.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
Hear us as we pray for others: (Time for silent or spoken prayer.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN’S SERMON
Another Chance
by Tom Willadsen
John 21:1-19
After the little ones gather, ask them what they know about Peter in the Bible.
They might know that he was one of Jesus’ followers/disciples.
They might know that Jesus changed his name from “Simon” to “Peter.” “Peter” means “Rock,” so you can think of Jesus giving Simon the nickname “Rocky.”
They might know that Peter was the first one who recognized that Jesus is God’s son. He was the first one to call Jesus “Christ.” (This may be a good time to point out to everyone in worship that “Christ” isn’t Jesus’ last name. It means Jesus is the Messiah, sent from God.)
Ask the kids if they’ve ever been afraid to tell the truth. Maybe because the truth would get them in trouble. I have! When I was in kindergarten, I yelled something when it wasn’t my turn to talk. The teacher asked who had yelled, because she didn’t see me, she just knew what side of the room the yell came from. I didn’t admit that I had been the one who yelled. And the teacher punished the boy next to me. I kept quiet, even though I was the one who should get in trouble. The boy next to me did. It wasn’t fair, and it wasn’t right. But I was afraid.
The night when Jesus was arrested, all of his disciples were afraid. They were afraid to admit to other people that they even knew Jesus. Three different times people asked Peter if he knew Jesus, or if he followed Jesus, and every time he said “no.” Jesus was all alone. All his closest friends ran away.
Even though Peter had said he would never leave Jesus alone, he did. Jesus predicted that Peter would deny knowing him three times before the rooster crowed at dawn the next day. When it turned out that Peter had denied knowing Jesus, and when Peter heard the rooster crow, he was sad and disappointed, and he cried.
Remember what happened after Jesus died? Everyone was surprised and so happy when Jesus rose from the dead on Easter!
A few days after that, Jesus’ friends had gone back to work, fishing. They were on the water fishing, when Jesus called to them from the shore. They were super happy to see him again, and he made breakfast for them. Would you like to eat fish and bread for breakfast?
Anyway, after they finished eating, Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?” And every time Peter said he did!
Jesus gave Peter another chance! Even though Peter disappointed Jesus, and disappointed himself, Jesus still cared about Peter and let him be his friend again.
It’s really important to forgive people when they disappoint you. And it’s really, really good when they forgive us when we disappoint them!
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, May 4, 2025 issue.
Copyright 2025 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
- Who And How Do We Follow? by Dean Feldmeyer based on John 21:1-19
- Second Thoughts: Praising God by Katy Stenta based on Revelation 5:11-14.
- Sermon illustrations by Mary Austin, Chris Keating, and Nazish Naseem.
- Worship resources by George Reed.
- Children’s sermon: Another Chance by Tom Willadsen based on John 21:1-19.
Who And How Do We Follow?by Dean Feldmeyer
John 21:1-19
The Roman Catholic church is now in an official period of mourning, the “novendiali,” which lasts for nine days following the pope’s funeral on Saturday, April 26. During this time, 135 cardinals under the age of 80 (cardinal electors) from across the globe are making their way to Rome where they will be sequestered, presumably out of touch with any outside interference or influence to choose a new pope.
Vatican rules stipulate that the conclave must begin 15-20 days after the “sede vacante” (vacant seat) is declared usually immediately after the death of the pope is confirmed. However, if all eligible cardinals arrive in Rome earlier, they may decide to begin the conclave sooner by unanimous agreement.
How, we wonder, do those 135 electors prepare for the task that is now before them? With meditation and prayer, certainly, but one imagines that there is also some politicking and lobbying going on as well. However the cardinals are preparing for the election, many of us are preparing by watching the recent Academy Award nominated film, Conclave. Variety reports that viewership of the film has increased nearly 300% since the passing of Pope Francis.
Whether we are Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, or none-of-the-above, it cannot be denied that the Pope is more than a person, he is a symbol, and the man who is chosen to fill that august chair will have a great deal of influence on the direction of Christendom for the next several years.
What is the state of the church he will be chosen to lead? What is the state of the world in which he will endeavor to lead it? And how will he shape his leadership to account for these two realities? Those are questions not just for the pope but for all who are called to leadership roles in the body of Christ.
In the World/News
The King is dead. Long live the King.
So, what is the state of the world and the church, not just the Catholic church but the Christian church, the body of Christ, as a new pope is consecrated in the end of the first quarter of the 21st century?
Sociologist and author, Christian Smith, in his recent book, Why Religion Went Obsolete (Oxford University Press, 2025) makes a convincing case that we are living in a “postmodern,” “post-Christian” era.
Postmodernism challenges traditional narratives, embraces pluralism, and promotes skepticism toward absolute truths. It shapes discussions on identity, power structures, and social norms, encouraging a more fragmented and diverse cultural landscape.
It has had a profound impact on American Christianity, reshaping how faith is understood and practiced. It has encouraged a shift away from rigid doctrines toward a more relational and experiential approach to spirituality. Many postmodern Christians prioritize personal faith journeys over institutional traditions, emphasizing authenticity and lived experiences rather than absolute theological certainty.
This movement has also led to a greater openness to diverse perspectives, fostering interfaith dialogue and a reconsideration of traditional Christian teachings. However, some critics argue that postmodernism has contributed to a decline in biblical authority, as it challenges objective truth and promotes relativism.
Some have suggested that Francis was the first postmodern pope. His pontificate resonated with postmodern themes — like decentralizing authority, embracing pluralism, and encouraging dialogue over rigid dogma. His openness to revisiting traditional teachings and prioritizing individual conscience in moral decisions separated him from previous popes. But his was not a full embrace of postmodernism, the foundational structure to his leadership and theology kept him within a more modern framework.
At any rate, postmodernism has opened the door for many who were less than fully committed to an organized religion, Christianity in particular, to slip quietly out and away. Americans need not be hostile to Christianity to find themselves becoming less and less committed to it. Postmodern perspectives have saturated the cultural air. They are like what scientists call particulate matter, microscopic bits of this and that, which we breathe in without ever realizing it.
When the particulate matter is tar and nicotine, the result is often lung cancer. When it is asbestos, the result is mesothelioma. When the particulate matter that Christians are breathing in is postmodernism, the result is obsolescence. Organized religion, the church becomes obsolete, and the evidence is found in the results of scientific research.
Surveys show the number of Americans with no religious affiliation is growing fast. Regular church-going Christians are now a minority, and membership in all denominations is declining, including conservative evangelical and fundamentalist churches. People, especially the post boomer generations, are rejecting the “organized” aspect of organized religion, not the “religion” part. As they reject the authority of secular institutions it is no surprise that they reject the religious ones, too. They want to see Jesus, they say, but they aren’t seeing him in the church.
Finally, we find that the exodus from organized religion has not led to a secular culture. Post boomers have not become enamored of secularism, naturalism, scientism, and atheism. They are still interested in transcendence and things of the spirit. More and more, they are seeking to find those things not by adopting but dabbling in spiritualism, Native American religions, Hindu pantheism, Buddhism, and what Smith calls a “raft of paranormal, magical, occultic, and New Age ideas.” And the dabbling is always separate, not corporate, and personal, not public. They describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious.”
The cultural era we are living in is a postmodern, post-Christian era and it is probably not going to change, at least in a profound and radical way, any time in the foreseeable future.
So, what are we, the minority, the practicing, worshiping, Christ-following Christians supposed to do with this information. How are we supposed to live in this new, alien and unfamiliar world? Well, first, we turn, as always, to scripture.
In the Scripture
The gospel text for this week is what my friends and I, when we were young, used to call “The Last Brunch.”
Seven of the disciples are hanging out, probably at or near Peter’s home in Capernaum near the Sea of Galilee (aka the Lake of Gennesaret, Lake Kinneret, and the Sea of Tiberias), not quite sure what to do next. Peter suggests that maybe they should start thinking about earning a living again while they’re trying to figure it out. No more following Jesus around, relying on the kindness of strangers, after all. The others agree so they climb in some boats and head out onto the lake to fish but luck isn’t with them that night. They catch nothing.
Around dawn when they are about to give up, Jesus appears on the shore and calls out to them, “Hey, guys. Having any luck?” (What people always ask people who are fishing.) They, not recognizing Jesus, grumble that they are not and Jesus suggests that they throw their nets on the other side of the boat. Like they’ve been fishing all night without catching anything and haven’t thought of that, themselves. But they’ve got nothing to lose so they throw the nets on the other side and what do you know, the nets are so full they can’t haul them into the boat.
John ventures to Peter that he thinks the guy on the beach is Jesus. Peter, ever the compulsive, dives in and swims to the shore, leaving the others to haul the fish net to shore behind the boat.
They all have a delightful breakfast of bread and grilled fish (What did he feed the 5,000?) and, when they’re all full, Jesus asks Peter three questions. Well, actually, it’s the same question three times. (How many times did Peter deny Jesus on the night before his execution?) “Peter, do you love me?” Peter answers that indeed, he does love Jesus and, every time, Jesus gives what is basically the same response: “Feed/take care of my sheep.”
John then concludes this scene with Jesus describing Peter’s martyrdom in some vague and elliptical language and one final commandment: Follow me. We presume that Jesus means even unto the cross.
And with that, we have the answer to the question with which we closed the above section. What are we, the minority, the practicing, worshiping, Christ-following Christians supposed to do with this information. How are we supposed to live in this new, alien, and unfamiliar world?
In the Sermon
Follow me.
We are called to follow Jesus.
Generally, we want to do everything except follow him. We want to wait for him to save us from our sins. We want to have a close, personal relationship with him, to have coffee with him. We want to learn about him, think about him, worship him, sing songs about him, hang pictures of him in our churches and homes, celebrate his birth, remember his death, plus look for colored eggs and eat chocolate on the anniversary of his resurrection.
Anything but actually following him and doing what he did.
And what, exactly, did he do?
He loved those who were unlovable. He accepted those who were unacceptable. He healed those who were sick and broken. He embraced and gave hope to those who were hopeless.
He called out hypocrites and bullies. He forgave sinners. He fed those who were hungry and taught those who were ignorant. He celebrated with those who celebrated, and he ate with outcasts.
And he calls us, his followers, to do the same, sometimes literally, sometimes metaphorically. He calls us to heal the sick, restore sight to the blind, calm storms, walk on water, and even raise the dead.
He calls us to teach, as he taught, lessons that emphasize love, forgiveness, humility, and faith. He calls us to confront hypocrisy and challenge cruelty, to reject violence and eschew inhumanity. He leads us, his followers, to walk among outcasts, sinners, and the marginalized, offering them hope and acceptance.
And he bids us to follow him in these things all the way to the cross if necessary — the cross of ridicule and rejection, the cross of hate and derision, the cross of prejudice and persecution, and even the cross of Christ, himself, the cross of death.
That is how we will live in the postmodern, post-Christian world that surrounds us. We will witness to the better way, the authentic way, the way of Christ by how we live and maybe, just maybe, our witness will be heard, and others will see in us the living Christ, crucified and risen.
SECOND THOUGHTSPraising God
by Katy Stenta
Revelation 5:11-14
The Revelation text this week promises that all will bow to the glory of God. What does this promise mean in an era of rising Christian nationalism? In an interview with former Christian nationalist and religion professor, Bradley Onishi, states that Christian nationalism has the belief that Christians should have special privileges.
This is a colonizer’s view of Christianity, where it is not God’s job to carry out God’s mission, but the conquerors. However, the promise in Revelation is not to conquer or win in God’s name, but to praise God’s name. This means that people will not claim power in the name of God but instead kneel to God. Not just humanity, but all creation. Does this include Donald Trump and Elon Musk? How about Vladimir Putin? What does this mean for animals? How do plants kneel anyway? Speaking of which, where do the fungi go? You know, the weird sort of creations that are between animals and plants? Then there is AI, how does AI glorify God as it continues to wreak havoc on the environment? Experts say that it wastes water, releases carbon dioxide into the environment, and infringes on creativity and copyright.
Where, then, is the good news? The good news is that God’s glory is revealed. It shines through — there is no avenging God, who conquers. Because when Saul tries to subdue people with violence, God blinds him and baptizes him into a new life of nonviolent resistance as Paul. There is not a quest to overcome the enemy here. The battle over greed and death is won. Instead, the compassion and might in God’s voice will be so powerful, we will fall on our knees. Or, conversely, when Jesus returns, serving on his knees, we will all kneel to get next to him.
Jesus is Lord, and that will be enough. We will not need stocks, portfolios, or golden statues to prove it. It is not our job to subdue others — as the Westminster shorter confession states, “to glorify God and enjoy [God] forever,” which sounds more like keeping sabbath and sanctuary and embracing the diversity and joy of those who were created in the image of God. This is the exact opposite of being a Christian nationalist.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:John 21:1-19
Jesus is a Good Coach
When Jesus and Peter meet on the beach, Jesus has no words of condemnation for Peter, only instructions for the future. Noted UCLA basketball coach John Wooden seldom complimented or rebuked his players. Instead, as a former high school English teacher, Wooden did just that: He taught. He instructed. He informed. He told you what to do and how to do it: “Pass the ball to someone short!” “Don’t walk.” “Take lots of shots in areas where you might get them in games.” “Pass from the chest!” Swen Nater, who went on to play professionally, noted, “It was the information that promoted change. Had the majority of Coach Wooden’s corrective strategies been positive (‘Good job’) or negative (‘No, that’s not the way’), I would have been left with an evaluation, not a solution.”
Jesus does the same thing when he tells Peter, “Feed my sheep.” He repeats it three times, so the message is clear. [Researchers] noted that a highly successful contemporaneous football coach used instructional comments 36% of the time. Another revered basketball coach reached 55%. Wooden bested them all at 75%. A full three-quarters of his statements were focused on the task, not the player. (from How to be Enough, by Dr. Ellen Hendriksen)
Hendriksen adds, “Take it from UCLA basketball: turn your attention spotlight from the global self to the specific behavior. Take the stance of a sculptor eyeing a block of marble; look at the task as an entity separate from you: What to do to make this thing better? What would be effective for the work?” Or, for us as followers of Jesus, simply feed the sheep.
* * *
John 21:1-19
Hearing that God Loves You
In John’s post-resurrection story set on the beach, the fishing, the fire, and the breakfast all feel like a prelude to the conversation between Jesus and Peter. The two reconnect and Jesus puts Peter’s mind and heart at ease. In John’s story, Peter is affirming his love for Jesus, and it’s also clear that Jesus loves Peter, too.
In her book Accidental Saints, Nadia Bolz-Weber tells about her former parishioner, Stephen, whom she says “looks like an aging movie star, is the VP at a Fortune 500 company, is a statewide elected official, lives in a loft downtown.” With all of those accomplishments, she says, he is “still a hot mess of low self-esteem issues.” As they sat together talking in a coffee shop, he wondered aloud what his life would be like if he really believed that God loved him. “How would my life be different,” he wondered, “if I really believed this? How would my life be different if I was not scared, if I really believed that I am fully and totally loved by God?” Then he added: “No wonder we have church every week. I have to hear this at least that often.”
In this Easter season, Jesus reminds us again and again how much he loves us.
* * *
John 21:1-19
Seeing With Joy
Author Rachel Macy Stafford tells a story about a mom and son who had drifted apart. “The parent decided to follow a piece of guidance from one of my books, which was to make a conscious effort to look up and smile every single time her son came into the room, returned home, or crossed paths with her in the house. No matter what she was in the middle of, the parent consistently greeted her son in a way that let him know she hadn’t rejected him.” After just three days, the mom got an “I love you” when her son left for school.
Stafford adds, “Our lives contain so many things that keep us from truly seeing each other, but we have the power to remove the barriers between us. Looking up is one way. Expressing joy at the mere sight of another human being — consistently and repeatedly — can offer more healing than any words we could ever say.”
The risen Jesus brings that same healing gift to Peter when they meet on the beach.
* * *
Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
Light Show
The Acts version of Saul / Paul’s conversion says that he’s blinded by a light from heaven, and falls to the ground. The light is a physical manifestation of God’s presence and ends up changing his whole life. Author Melody Beattie says that a friend of hers keeps track of such experiences in his own life. Her friend Darren keeps “Light Show in his computer. It’s a program of his own making. In this file, he records all incidences of Divine Guidance, Divine Intervention, answered prayers, and serendipitous events in his life. Whenever he begins to doubt the presence of a Benevolent Force, whenever he stops trusting life, whenever he feels abandoned or wonders exactly how wise it is to trust God, he turns to his own light show to remind himself how powerful and wise it really is to let go.” (from More Language of Letting Go)
Paul didn’t have a computer, and yet his story has turned into a light show for all of us who hear it.
* * *
Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
Strange Beginning
The encounter on the Damascus road is a new beginning for Paul, and yet he ends up using all the material from his former life in his new life, building on what he knows as an educated Jewish person. The beginning of his work as an evangelist for Jesus is also a continuation.
John O’Donohue writes, “We seem to think that beginning is setting out from a lonely point along some line of direction into the unknown. This is not the case. Shelter and energy come alive when a beginning is embraced. Goethe says that once the commitment is made, destiny conspires with us to support and realize it. We are never as alone in our beginnings as it might seem at the time. A beginning is ultimately an invitation to open toward the gifts and growth that are stored up for us. To refuse to begin can be an act of great self-neglect.” O’Donohue continues, “Beginning precedes us, creates us, and constantly takes us to new levels and places and people. There is nothing to fear in the act of beginning.”
In a parallel to Paul’s experience, O’Donohue muses, “Perhaps the art of harvesting the secret riches of our lives is best achieved when we place profound trust in the act of beginning. Risk might be our greatest ally. To live a truly creative life, we always need to cast a critical look at where we presently are, attempting always to discern where we have become stagnant and where a new beginning might be ripening. There can be no growth if we do not remain open and vulnerable to what is new and different. I have never seen anyone take a risk for growth that was not rewarded a thousand times over.” (To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings)
* * *
Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
The Holy in the Darkness
Author Mirabai Starr says that the “start of wonder is not-knowing.” When he’s blinded on the road, Saul / Paul enters three days of physical darkness, days that mirror his spiritual blindness. Mirabai Starr summons us to a similar journey, writing, “I invite you to dismantle your preconceptions, to pull on the loose thread of your belief systems and let them unravel. Allow yourself to be like a child, seeing the world through fresh eyes. Instead of trying to control life by making sense of it, embrace ambiguity and paradox as being the domain of the truest things. The holy lives in mystery, in darkness, in liminal space. Not knowing isn’t a problem to be solved but rather a reality to be celebrated. In Zen Buddhism, this open stance is called “beginner’s mind.” Cultivate it.”
Like Paul, if we’re willing to rest in not knowing, we can draw closer to God. Starr explains, “Mysticism is about union and communion with the source of all being, which is love. This fountain bubbles up from where you stand and reveals itself in the midst of your regular life. Unlike what traditional religious institutions have taught, spirituality is not about transcending the senses. To be a mystic is to say yes to your embodied experience. Find the holy in a basket of fresh-picked raspberries, in your body’s capacity to deliver the almost unbearable pleasure of an orgasm, in sand or mud or long grass between your toes. Maybe you have felt the presence of the sacred mystery in moonlight on snow, while feeding goats or folding laundry, in rising before the sun and watching the world wake up. Good. This is a gateway to the realm of the ordinary mystic.” (from Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred Ground)
Like Paul, we’re invited to take a journey toward God.
* * * * * *
From team member Chris Keating:Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
The “Logic” of Transforming Encounters
Luke reminds us that the furthest thing from Saul’s mind was an encounter with Christ. Instead, as the Common English Bible says, he was “still spewing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.” That is, of course, until he found himself on a road headed to Damascus.
In a moment, Saul’s life was changed — a transformation so profound it led him to change his name.
Until his untimely death in 2001, James Loder taught the philosophy of Christian Education at Princeton Theological Seminary. He was particularly interested in the influences of transforming moments in the spiritual lives of individuals. He called these encounters “convictional experiences,” and often used stories from his own life as illustrations of transformation. Loder articulated a five-step “logic of transformation,” which he believed is foundational to all moments of true discovery. Among the steps of his model include a moment when “the person achieves an insight felt with intuitive force, that is, a surprising ‘key’ is found to unlock the phenomenon she was trying to open — a moment of discovery.” (Quoted in Rutledge, James Loder’s Redemptive Transformation in Practical Theology.) Loder developed his theories to help pastors and churches discover the importance of transformational moments.
* * *
Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
Jorge Bergoglio’s Transforming Moment
In 1953, a young Argentinian man’s plan to head to a party was interrupted by what he later came to understand as a transformational encounter. Not quite the conversion experienced by Paul, but still one of tremendous spiritual insight.
On his way to a party that night, Jorge Bergoglio walked past a church that he had been attending. Although he did not know the priest who was hearing confessions that evening, Bergoglio felt compelled to make his confession. The experience led Bergoglio to become a priest who would later become a Cardinal — and eventually Pope Francis.
In 2013, Pope Francis described that evening:
This was an experience of encounter for me: I found that someone was waiting for me. But I don't know what happened, I don't remember, I don't really know why it was that priest there, whom I didn't know, why I felt this urge to go to confession, but the truth is that someone was waiting for me. He had been waiting for me for a long time. After confession, I felt that something had changed. I was not the same. I had heard just like a voice, a call: I was convinced that I had to become a priest. This experience in faith is important.
* * *
Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
A conversion of the heart
For many of us, talk of “conversion” evokes religious experiences cloaked in emotional manipulation. As Samuel Wells points out in an article for The Christian Century, church people can be pretty coy about speaking of conversion, while also being “plenty articulate about why it’s not such a great idea.” Wells maintains that there are many good reasons why more progressive Christians ought to reconsider their understanding of conversion.
Consider the story of Pastor Bill White. White was serving as the pastor of an evangelical “mega church” when his teenage son Timothy came out as gay. While continuing to love his son, White was instantly plunged into a time of rethinking his theological understandings. In a journal at the time, White confided:
I think down deep, I hate homosexuality. I hate it more than just about anything else in the world. I hate it because it seems sometimes to be stronger than you, God. Yes, that’s what I said. It seems that way. I am sure there is plenty of good in the gay community, but my experience tells me otherwise — I see the isolation, the craving, the insecurity. Father, you have to spare Timothy from that. You have to.
Will homosexuality take him over; will it lead him away from you? Or might he repress it long enough to get married and have kids, and then walk out on it all to “find” his “real self” in the gay community?
Still, White loved his son. God, as it turned out, was not quite done helping Bill White unpack the spiritual dilemma of accepting his son’s homosexuality. White experienced a transformation of his understanding of LGBTQ persons through years of prayer and conversation. Eventually, he would lead his congregation to become publicly affirming of LGBTQ people. In another blog post, White recounted part of his “Damascus” experience:
Like turning 50, the past few years of conversation around LGBTQ questions have surprised me with the gift they have been to me. I find myself so much less afraid, less anxious. When Timothy came out, I was wracked with insecurities and questions, doubts and fears. But now, I’m just in a different spot. What’s changed for me is that by stepping into the deep waters of hard conversations within the church, I’ve been forced on the inward journey of facing questions about what I believe, about what is wrong and right. What grounds my faith? What will happen to me if I break from the tradition of the church? Will I love those whom God has called me to love — and what if that includes people I disagree with?
It’s as if God wanted to grow me through this process! Sure, questions about embracing LGBTQ people in the church are very important. Yet as I reflect on the past few years, I see now what I’ve been tempted to miss — that God’s primary work for me has been his work in me. We try to push discomfort away from us, to think about questions in the abstract, to pretend that we could remain unaffected, to guard ourselves from having to do the uncomfortable work of changing. Yet God is always, relentlessly, after our own hearts. I entered this journey unwillingly, but as it draws to a close for me I find myself flooded with gratitude. I’m grateful for God loving me along the way, changing me along the way. And although it’s uncomfortable, I am grateful for the call to become radically welcoming — not just of those with whom I agree but welcoming of those with whom I disagree.
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John 21:1-9
Testing the waters
As the successor to Peter, all popes of the Roman Catholic Church wear what is known as the “Ring of the Fisherman” (more formally called the “Piscatory Ring.”) Selecting a new fisherman comes at a time when the Catholic church is beset by conflicts between progressive-leaning forces and more traditional factions. These changing waters will have impacts on non-Catholic Christians, as well, notes The New York Times.
Francis stood apart from a growing wave of Christianity that mixes nationalism with faith. According to Sean Rowe, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, “This moment is critical now. For those of us who want to embody the Sermon on the Mount, and the Beatitudes, and the love Jesus showed in the world, this is more important than ever.”
Rowe notes that politics has seeped into a brand of Christianity that has co-opted the Christian story. Perhaps the question for all to consider is the very one Jesus asked of Peter: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” (John 21:16).
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John 21:1-9
Casting our nets in new directions
Perhaps Peter had a case of “ants in the pants.” Or maybe he was still working through the implications of Jesus’ resurrection. Or maybe he just didn’t know what else to do. He turned to the others and says crisply, “I am going fishing.”
Peter is like many of us. Confused by the changed circumstances, he chooses to return to the tried and true. He goes back to work, perhaps like a recently bereaved widow or widower who seeks to find meaning following a tragic loss. Peter is also a bit like many of our congregations. The world has so drastically changed, attendance has so quickly dwindled, that we think that the only answer is casting our nets in the familiar seas of what we have always done.
But doing the same thing isn’t working — not for Peter and the disciples, and not for our congregations. We are exhausted and worn thin, as evidenced by the lack of volunteers to help plan this summer’s Vacation Bible School.
Along comes Jesus. He calls out to the disciples to try letting down their nets on the other side. No doubt they shake their heads at this stranger’s rather presumptive offering of advice — until it works beyond their wildest dreams. Innovation is a hot topic in denominational gatherings, although as theologian Andy Root has noted, innovation by itself is never quite as satisfying, faithful, or even productive as it may appear.
Too often, says Root, church leaders pursue innovation in response to a crisis such as lack of funds or dwindling membership. He notes that innovation is not a morally neutral concept. Our understandings are shaped by our capitalistic culture, which Roote says “seems to reveal that we think our issues are about lost resources and relevance, not lost visions for the living God. I want pastors and congregations to concern themselves not with lost market share, but the loss of transcendence. I’m not sure innovation can do the latter.” Notice that at the heart of Jesus’ call to the disciples is his appearance on the beach, where he has already prepared everything that they will need to be nourished.
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John 21:1-9
Where can innovation help us?
Innovation must be more than installing a pickleball court or slapping a rock wall on the side of the church building. Innovation involves discerning our deeper purposes as a congregation. Faithful innovation in congregations, write Dwight Zscheile, Michael Binder, and Tessa Pinkstaff, goes deeper than changing the signs or renaming the church. It’s more than simply slapping new labels on last year’s programs. They write that the work of faithful innovation includes “listening to God, one another, and our neighbors; trying experiments that lead us in new ways of thinking; and reflecting on what we’ve learned as we tell stories of God’s movement in our congregations and communities.” (See Leading Faithful Innovation: Following God into a Hopeful Future.) Perhaps we start discovering the next faithful step we should take by listening to the voice of the stranger yelling from the beach.
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From team member Nazish Naseem:
Psalm 30
Imagine a sun-drenched village near the Indian border, where fields shimmer with golden rice plants swaying gently in the breeze. As dawn breaks, the sunlight bathes the landscape in warmth, awakening farmers who begin their daily tasks with bright smiles and a shared sense of purpose. In the center of the village, a majestic old tree stands tall, its sprawling branches symbolizing hope and renewal. Underneath its lush canopy, men gather to exchange stories and laughter, strengthening their unbreakable community bond. The air is filled with sounds of camaraderie, a reminder of the strength found in unity during both good and challenging times.
However, the village has faced trials, notably a devastating flood in 1988 that transformed the once-vibrant landscape into a scene of chaos. Families lost everything, and cries for help filled the air, echoing through the valleys. Yet, even in that darkest moment, warmth and compassion crossed borders. Neighbors from afar extended their hands, offering aid and kindness to those in need. The resilient and united villagers faced the challenge head-on, their strength and determination inspiring all who witnessed their struggle.
As the waters finally receded, the resilient villagers gathered in church, arms raised in gratitude to the heavens. Joy radiated from their faces, a testament to their unwavering spirit. Laughter erupted from the children playing among wildflowers, embodying the promise of new beginnings and the sentiment that “joy comes in the morning.” This scene of joy and unity, emerging from the depths of despair, serves as a beacon of hope for all who witness it.
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John 21:1-9
Trust /Follow Me
A wise, steadfast elder, a beacon of wisdom and guidance, gathered the younger villagers close. He shared tales of past struggles intertwined with threads of hope and divine favor. His voice, a comforting presence in the midst of turmoil, danced through the air, echoing the lesson that there is always a path toward light and joy, even in times of despair. Above them, the sky blazed with a vibrant display, serving as a reminder of the transformation that follows sorrow, where hope shines brighter than ever. This echoes the powerful message of Psalm 30 — a testament to resilience, faith, and the unwavering promise of joy.
A cozy and welcoming living room resonates with the joyous sounds of laughter and the inviting scent of a home-cooked meal. In one corner, a grandfather’s old rocking chair stands as a cherished symbol of wisdom and guidance. The room is alive with the energetic presence of siblings, both young and old, all united by their deep love for one another as they play and chat. A father and his nurturing wife have raised four children, and during their playful moments, the children often turn to their parents for guidance and reassurance. This reliance is a testament to the unwavering trust they place in their parents, which serves as the cornerstone of their family bond — a precious and irreplaceable connection built on mutual support and care.
A touching moment occurs when a child, with complete trust in their mother, says, “Mom, we can wait for new shoes after your next paycheck; let’s help Grandpa first.” This simple act beautifully illustrates the values of selflessness and the prioritization of family needs over individual desires, reinforcing the strength and importance of family bonds.
Now, let’s shift our focus to a peaceful beach at dawn, providing a stark contrast to the bustling family home. Here, a group of weary fishermen, having spent a long night at sea, stand by their boat. The air is filled with anticipation as they hear a figure calling out, instructing them to throw their nets on the “right side of the boat.” I wonder if desperation led these fishermen to believe in this guidance, ultimately resulting in a miraculous catch and their later response when Jesus asked them, “Follow me.” This contrast between the lively family home and the tranquil beach highlights the different forms of guidance we encounter in our lives, whether from family or spiritual figures.
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WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship
One: Let us glorify our God who raises us up.
All: We praise you, O God, for you never desert us.
One: Sing praises to God and give thanks for his goodness.
All: Your favor, O God, is for ever and ever.
One: Call to our God who is gracious and our true helper.
All: You have removed our sackcloth and clothed us with joy.
OR
One: Let us praise the God who calls us to life abundant.
All: We sing God’ praises and great glory.
One: God sends the Spirit to draw us closer.
All: We open our hearts and minds to God’s leading.
One: God sends us leaders to bring us to life.
All: We will follow only those who lead us to God.
Hymns and Songs
Thine Be the Glory
UMH: 308
PH: 122
GTG: 238
NCH: 253
CH: 218
LBW: 145
ELW: 376
W&P: 310
AMEC: 157
Ye Servants of God
UMH: 181
H82: 635
PH: 477
GTG: 299
NCH: 305
CH: 110
LBW: 252
W&P: 112
Come, Christians, Join to Sing
UMH: 158
PH: 150
GTG: 267
CH: 90
W&P: 87
Renew: 50
Alleluia, Alleluia
UMH: 162178
H82: 106
PH: 240
CH: 40
W&P: 291
Renew: 271
Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
UMH: 381
H82: 708
PH: 387
GTG: 187
AAHH: 424
NNBH: 54
NCH: 252
CH: 558
LBW: 481
ELW: 789
W&P: 440
AMEC: 379
O Jesus, I Have Promised
UMH: 396
H82: 655
PH: 388/389
GTG: 724/725
NCH: 493
CH: 612
LBW: 503
ELW: 810
W&P: 458
AMEC: 280
Jesus Calls Us
UMH: 398
H82: 549/550
GTG: 720
NNBH: 183
NCH: 171/172
CH: 337
LBW: 494
ELW: 696
W&P: 345
AMEC: 238
I Am Thine, O Lord
UMH: 419
AAHH: 387
NNBH: 202
NCH: 455
CH: 601
W&P: 408
AMEC: 283
O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee
UMH: 430
H82: 659/660
PH: 357
GTG: 738
NNBH: 445
NCH: 503
CH: 602
LBW: 492
ELW: 818
W&P: 589
AMEC: 299
Be Thou My Vision
UMH: 451
H82: 488
PH: 339
GTG: 450
NCH: 451
CH: 595
ELW: 793
W&P: 502
AMEC: 281
STLT: 20
Renew: 151
Walk with Me
CCB: 88
Through It All
CCB: 61
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who calls all creation to life:
Grant us the wisdom to heed your call
and to lead others to life full and abundant;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you are the one who calls all your creatures to life. As we hear and heed your call, help us to be leaders who others can follow to find you and to find life abundant. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially when we choose to follow those who take us away from you.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have heard the call of self interest and we blindly follow those who promise it. We claim to be disciples of Jesus but we are more likely to be following the path to wealth, power, and privilege. We like the promise of life eternal when we leave this life but here and now we are more interested in boosting ourselves. Forgive our shameless wanted spirits and fill us again with the Spirit of the Christ that we may be true disciples. Amen.
One: God does desire for us all to have a full life and God knows it does not consist in material goods. Allow the Spirit to fill you and to open your eyes to what is truly important as you receive God’s grace and forgiveness.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory are you, O God of Life. You are the one who creates us and is ever calling us to your new creation. Blessed is your Name now and forever.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have heard the call of self-interest and we blindly follow those who promise it. We claim to be disciples of Jesus, but we are more likely to be following the path to wealth, power, and privilege. We like the promise of life eternal when we leave this life but here and now we are more interested in boosting ourselves. Forgive our shameless wanted spirits and fill us again with the Spirit of the Christ that we may be true disciples.
We give you thanks for the opportunity to praise you and to be filled with your Spirit. We are blessed to be surrounded by your presence. We thank you for those who lead us to you and in your ways. We are thankful for those who do not give up on us when we take another path.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We lift into your care those who are in need. We pray for our leaders, lay and clergy, who help us find your path. We lift up to you those who find it difficult to follow your path because of the pain they have experienced. We pray for those who seem to have lost their way.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
Hear us as we pray for others: (Time for silent or spoken prayer.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN’S SERMONAnother Chance
by Tom Willadsen
John 21:1-19
After the little ones gather, ask them what they know about Peter in the Bible.
They might know that he was one of Jesus’ followers/disciples.
They might know that Jesus changed his name from “Simon” to “Peter.” “Peter” means “Rock,” so you can think of Jesus giving Simon the nickname “Rocky.”
They might know that Peter was the first one who recognized that Jesus is God’s son. He was the first one to call Jesus “Christ.” (This may be a good time to point out to everyone in worship that “Christ” isn’t Jesus’ last name. It means Jesus is the Messiah, sent from God.)
Ask the kids if they’ve ever been afraid to tell the truth. Maybe because the truth would get them in trouble. I have! When I was in kindergarten, I yelled something when it wasn’t my turn to talk. The teacher asked who had yelled, because she didn’t see me, she just knew what side of the room the yell came from. I didn’t admit that I had been the one who yelled. And the teacher punished the boy next to me. I kept quiet, even though I was the one who should get in trouble. The boy next to me did. It wasn’t fair, and it wasn’t right. But I was afraid.
The night when Jesus was arrested, all of his disciples were afraid. They were afraid to admit to other people that they even knew Jesus. Three different times people asked Peter if he knew Jesus, or if he followed Jesus, and every time he said “no.” Jesus was all alone. All his closest friends ran away.
Even though Peter had said he would never leave Jesus alone, he did. Jesus predicted that Peter would deny knowing him three times before the rooster crowed at dawn the next day. When it turned out that Peter had denied knowing Jesus, and when Peter heard the rooster crow, he was sad and disappointed, and he cried.
Remember what happened after Jesus died? Everyone was surprised and so happy when Jesus rose from the dead on Easter!
A few days after that, Jesus’ friends had gone back to work, fishing. They were on the water fishing, when Jesus called to them from the shore. They were super happy to see him again, and he made breakfast for them. Would you like to eat fish and bread for breakfast?
Anyway, after they finished eating, Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?” And every time Peter said he did!
Jesus gave Peter another chance! Even though Peter disappointed Jesus, and disappointed himself, Jesus still cared about Peter and let him be his friend again.
It’s really important to forgive people when they disappoint you. And it’s really, really good when they forgive us when we disappoint them!
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The Immediate Word, May 4, 2025 issue.
Copyright 2025 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
