Rev. Rachel Lewis Cooley
“Resurrection Thru Re-Invitation”
Kensington Community Church UCC, San Diego, CA
April 7, 2024
John 21
21 After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he showed himself in this way. 2 Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he had taken it off, and jumped into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.
9 When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them, and though there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
Jesus and Peter
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” 19 (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”
Will you pray with me?
Abundance, restoration, invitational God Full circle, mirror moments, finally see Tender, tending (loyalty & faithfulness, cooperation & harmony, peace, forgiveness, reconciliation, heart as endurance & patience)
He’s gone back to what he knows—fishing. But it’s sheep in the image Jesus offers.
God comes to meet us where we will see, know, feel. In a way uniquely ours. I personally have been fishing only once or twice, You will do greater things than these (john 14) a second call. To nourish spiritually. Shepherd, guarding & guiding.
Jesus trusts Peter with it. Have to go through it. Be where you at.
No denying. Bold, brash.
It’s not just the well-behaved, moral ones who are entrusted with Jesus’s ministry. Peter is a whole person, just like us. It’s that he lets love & faith lead. Love with endurance, patience. “here’s my heart”
What’s different on this side of the resurrection?
Death isn’t the end of the story. But neither is resurrection. The call is perpetual. A journey.
Where is God inviting KCC? No matter where we've been on our journey, what our struggles & pitfalls are.
Will you pray with me? Oh Creator, God who seeks us out, pour your Spirit on us in a special way this day. We are longing to give our hearts to you, and to know you cherish our love and call us ever onward. We hope & trust we'll feel you with us this day. In the name of the Risen Christ, Amen.
Good morning KCC! Did you know that Easter is a whole season, not just that one Sunday of fancy clothes & egg hunts & full-belly, full-hearts dinners? This is the second Sunday of Easter, another resurrection Sunday so we can still say “Christ is risen!” “He is risen indeed!” last week, Stephen drew us into the theme of resurrections in our own lives—the hell & back journeys we go on to resurrect new & beautiful versions of ourselves. Through facing the good Friday moments & the betrayal moments, without denying them, we come to co-create a new self with God. We have journeyed with Peter through his resurrection story, from moments where he followed his curiosity, to those where he felt overwhelmed with insecurity, dropping to Jesus’s feet saying he’s not worthy, to flip flopping from “you can’t wash my feet!” to “not just my feet, but also my hands & my head!,” to denying he even knew the man who washed him. Peter is not a meek & mild lamb following his Good Shepherd. Peter is going to ask the questions & cry & argue in whatever bold & brash way he feels prone to at the time. I have to say, this series has me wondering about Peter’s personality a bit more too, how about you? He may be a bit prone to melodrama, maybe a theatrical background? Or that’s probably just me seeing myself in him. What do you see? For while we all respond to the resurrection differently, I so admire the way Peter lets himself be exactly where he is at. No denying, no tucking it away, just being in process. Being honest. From his faith to his doubts, his courage to his pitfalls, honest & real. Thanks be to God.
And so we find Peter, this wandering heart, several days after running to the empty tomb, and he is fishing. Was he simply going back to what he knew, something comforting amidst the grief & wondering? What seems true is that he longed for his friend, who, while resurrected, was not around in the “brotherly love” sort of way anymore. Or so he thought, but then Jesus appears again, in a familiar, comforting way, by the lake, with instructions for where to cast their nets once more.
And as at the beginning of their earthly time together, Jesus’s guidance leads the fishermen to an incredibly abundant catch. Jesus is back, and Jesus’s abundance is too! Thanks be to God, Peter can’t wait to get close to him, and dives out to swim. He recognizes this Christ because Christ seeks him in a way that is comforting, familiar, recognizable. It’s my experience & belief too that Jesus meets each of us in our unique ways, in the spaces that are comforting to us. God will draw us in by seeking us where we are at, In a way we will recognize, because God offers God’s heart to us, especially in our moments of grief & sadness.
Jesus sets a table for Peter & the disciples, offering them a nourishing meal & serving them once more. If there was any doubt amongst the group as to who this was, they know in the breaking of the bread that this is the Risen Christ. Jesus already had fish to serve, but asked that they bring some they’ve just caught to the meal. They share thus their resources, Jesus makes theirs equivalent with his, and reminds them of the miraculous feeding of the 5000, where he urged the disciples to figure it out, that they could solve the problem of feeding so many hungry without his help. The meal is a collective effort, where Jesus encourages the disciple’s agency even as he offers support. The moment has come, though, where they will need to remember his teachings without him being there. “You will do greater things than these,” he said at the Last Supper. Greater miracles & teachings & ministries than Jesus? Could it be so? They sit remembering, and yet a few days ago it didn’t seem that resurrection could be so. Impossible things are happening, perhaps this can too?? They realize they don’t need to ask again if resurrection is real, they’re coming to know it in their bones. The risen Christ is with them. He seeks them out. They know it to be true. They’re learning too to trust in abundance— from the catches of fish to the resources they have to share to the never-ending love of God. God meets them there at this full circle moment, a moment of deeper understanding.
Jesus will have another conversation with Peter, just to be sure. Three times Peter had denied Christ, and three times Jesus asks him, “Peter do you love me?” alongside a call, stated most clearly this time: “Feed my sheep,” nourish them spiritually, tend the tender as I tend you, meeting you right here, right now. Though you denied me, I trust you with his ministry, this call. Jesus does not issue a formal forgiveness— why not, we might ask? Perhaps one isn’t needed. Perhaps Peter’s journey has been wandering, but his heart has always been in it, all the way. And through invitation after invitation, he has followed. Maybe even when we feel shame for places along our way, we learn we can be honest with God. God will love us, and there ain’t nothing we can do about it. God will invite us again & again, all our days. Invite us to love & be loved, to trust in abundance, to believe in our agency, to serve the one in front of us. For in so doing, we experience life more abundantly, more beautiful, more like resurrection.
Where is God inviting you? Your family? This church? How is the risen Christ seeking you out, personally, with love, love, love.
For the invitation is also to steadfastness, loyalty, and patience. To relationship with an invitational God, not a shaming one. To faithfulness where even our moments of doubt & darkness are normal and dare-I-say good on the journey. God will meet you where you’re at, be where you are.
God is still seeking us out, still calling us each here at KCC, no matter our foibles & doubts & struggles. Jesus entrusts Peter with continuing his ministry just as Jesus entrusts us. For it takes all of us, all along our journeys, to co-create life more abundantly for all. Jesus needs Peter to carry on & do “greater things than” he did. God needs KCC to embody resurrection, and invites us to it. What images will we notice? Jesus draws Peter’s mind’s eye to imagine himself as a shepherd, what images will God draw us into? What new ways of being might KCC find for itself in resurrection & life abundant? So let’s be honest with ourselves & God about where we're at—like Peter, our moments where we feel hopeless or shameful or turned away, for when we find that God loves us still, we trust in resurrection. Let’s come together to remember Christ’s teachings, and to believe together that we can do greater things than these. To offer our hearts, and lead with love, that all may have life & love & resurrection more abundant.
Amen