John 21:1-19
Paonia United Methodist Church
April 22, 2007
Its been another one of those weeks for this country, hasn’t it?
You would have to be a complete alien to have missed it.
Another deranged wannabe gangster walks into a college campus
and starts gunning down kids sitting at their desks.
He now holds the record…
Until… next time?
The media can’t play enough of it…
It gets good ratings and it helps to get the next lunatic
Prepared for their spot in the sunlight.
It works the same way that terror attacks do.
The more you attention you feed it,
The more it wants and the more it grows.
Now, let me ask you a question…
And be honest…
Were any of you as shocked and a horrified this time
As you were with Columbine 8 years ago?
You know, the sad thing is, in many ways, I have grown numb to it.
Few things shock me anymore.
The DOW hovering around 13000 is more shocking to me than
The VT killings.
Now to be fair to myself, I was also running a 102 degree fever and was
Heavily medicated recovering from surgery. But even then I could hear the politicians and the
Lawyers plotting and scheming on how best to use the carnage
For their election campaigns and getting rich.
So, have I just become completely jaded?
Or is this just a part of the new normal?
Ever feel like the whole planet has gone completely nuts?
I gave you that message the last time some nut went in and shot up
An Amish schoolhouse.
Even though I had some people not very happy with me, my theory hasn’t changed a bit.
Systems are designed for the results they are getting.
We are creating a society of sociopathic killers who are
Only acting out their nature.
The video he thoughtfully sent to NBC to be replayed endlessly to the public
Shows you that clearly enough.
And the bleeding hearts are already pointing out that he was picked
On school.
Wah!
I was called Marty Farty for 18 years.
Changed my name to John my sophomore year of college after
An Emmaus walk.
I had an older brother whose mission in life was to torture
Me every chance he got.
Every kid gets picked on.
That’s life.
Closest thing that I ever had to going on a shooting spree involved
my bb gun, my graduation day, and my grandparents new Cadillac.
That was one tough car!
The Caddy won that fight and thankfully I was never discovered.
That’s what dumb and dangerous looked like 20 years ago.
Something else has changed.
And I have given you that sermon…
That sermon about our culture no longer valuing life…
And I am not changing a word of it
Because that is the message being heard loud and clear by today’s youth
Both here in America and abroad.
Its primarily in our music, the graphicness of our video games, the coarsening of
Television and the media, and the inability for some people to make the
Distinction between what is real and what is fantasy.
But you have heard that sermon.
This morning, I don’t know about you, but I need something else.
Even as I sat and wrote this sermon I needed something more
Than the constant doom and gloom of the world we live in.
Some problems we face have answers… some don’t.
Dealing with evil is the problem this planet has faced
Since that fateful day in the Garden of Eden.
And, when we arrive at the moments when we don’t know what to do or think,
What do we do?
Most people turn back to the things that they know.
Time for a little reality check.
Did you notice what today was when you looked at your bulletin?
See where it says Easter 3c?
That is what we are supposed to be celebrating right now.
Does this feel like Easter to you?
Or do you feel like you are sitting in a funeral right now?
You know, if this feels more like a funeral than an Easter celebration,
You might just be at the right place this morning after all.
Let’s all take a deep breath,
And get back to what we all came here this morning for.
Moving back to our biblical story…
The apostles had lived through their worst horror.
They had watched the person they loved and adored brutally
And senselessly murdered…
Take a moment to meditate on the events of Good Friday.
The betrayal… the flogging… the humiliation… being crucified to a tree…
Death.
And then Easter came.
There was an empty tomb.
There was that time of Rapture and excitement.
And then he appeared in a room with the others and showed
That he was very much alive.
And then…
And then….
And then…
What had changed?
Could anything still shock the disciples anymore?
What do you do in that time spent waiting for the next big thing to happen?
God bless Peter for always being the faithful fragile portrait of
Our humanity to show us the way.
John 21:1-19
1 After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. 2 Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. 3 Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No." 6 He said to them, "Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.
9 When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." 16 A second time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep." 17 He said to him the third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go." 19 (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, "Follow me." (NRSV)
This is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Of all the apostles, there is none more human than Peter.
In just about every occurrence with him,
He says something even dumber than the last time.
He opens his mouth just to switch feet.
And remember, this is also the guy that figured out who Jesus
Was first, and the one that Jesus said upon him he would build his church.
And today’s Gospel is a moment right out of Forest Gump.
You know, these stories are so old that we sometimes miss the humor,
And the emotion, and the drama in them.
How many of you have seen Forrest Gump?
You remember the scene when he is out fishing and he gets the phone call
His mother is sick?
Not a thought goes through his head before he is off the side of the ship running
Home to mom.
That’s the very picture you just heard this morning.
And did you catch that part about him putting on a clean pair of shorts
Before leaping over the side?
He at least had the presence of mind to not show up completely
In the buff as jumped off the side of the ship.
God I love Simon Peter.
He shows us what it looks like when Jesus shows up in those dark moments
When we wonder if Easter really meant anything or not.
One moment he is no where to be found…
The next moment he appears and we are abandoning ship
Just to get close to him if just for a few more moments.
If you have ever stood in his presence, even if for a moment,
you understand what is happening here.
Everything is right with the world again…
Because the one who spoke it into being is speaking your name
once again, and he is calling you friend.
And you are reminded once again,
As if somehow we managed to forget,
That we don’t get to celebrate Easter until we live through
Some pretty ugly Good Fridays.
And it’s a "duh" moment…
Like, how could I have even forgotten or doubted.
Because the living power of the resurrection is alive again in you.
And we can take a deep breath
And get some perspective again on the world around us.
The light is still with us.
You know, people of God, there is evil in the world.
There has been since the Apple in Garden.
Its going to always be with us.
I know this is a subject that there are people don’t want to hear about in church,
But firearms have been with this country since before we were a country.
There are 300 million people in the US
And 250 million publicly owned firearms.
Let that number sink in for a moment.
Most of you who have enjoyed shooting sports learned from a father,
Grandfather, scoutmaster, or maybe even military instructor.
You were taught respect for the firearm, vigilance and awareness
Of where the barrel is at all times.
You were taught not to shoot at something you didn’t plan on eating,
Always keep the barrel pointed down and the safety on.
You learned respect for the weapon because you saw what it could
Do the first time you harvested an animal with it.
Your firearms have become a part of your identity and your family heritage.
You take honor in being known as a straight shooter.
And our little daughter already owns her first youth model bolt action
Single shot .22, that was the one Mary’s father taught her with..
It might even be the one he learned on.
Believe me… I get it.
I am proud of that heritage.
But the kids today, if they do not have a strong family to teach them
are learning from Snoop Dog and the Sopranos, and Gangster Rap.
That’s where they are getting their lessons about firearms.
And from the media endlessly replaying the rantings
of an insane killer, in my opinion, glorifying him
and whining about his childhood.
Firearms mean something very different in this new world
Where God and the pledge of allegiance have been removed.
Courts might violate your civil rights if they dare to post
"thou shalt not kill" where some felon has to look at it.
There is no respect for life.
There is no respect for authority.
I don’t have a lot of answers for it either.
Clearly the NICS system is going to have to be overhauled...
But what I would say to you who are responsible gun owners is this…
You do need to keep your firearms locked up.
I don’t care if you have kids or not.
Columbine happened because a kindly old grandfather kept his firearms
tucked in a bedroom closet.
They were stolen and used.
If you have kids in your house.
I don’t care how good they are and how trustworthy they are…
They have hormones and they are also getting lessons
That I assure you are not coming from you.
You are not the only influence in their lives.
They need to be locked up.
This is not the world that you and I grew up in.
Snoop Dog was a black and white Beagle who slept on top of his dog house.
Morons have a constitutional right to have guns too.
You can see that every time you pass a shot up stop sign.
They also get to have children…
A far greater tragedy, but that’s another sermon
For another time.
But there is something else that you yourself can do…
The other stark reality that we face is that
somewhere along the line, Cho got missed.
Somewhere, he didn’t get the guidance he needed.
Maybe he was mentally ill.
Maybe he was just evil…
But people of God, you and I, we are the ones who carry the Light with us
Into the darkness.
The dark is only acting according to its nature.
The problem today is not with the darkness,
The problem is with the light.
The only thing that moved faster than the speed of light is the
Speed of darkness getting out of its way.
You and I are the torchbearers... the carriers of the Holy Spirit.
I know that we live in a pretty remote part of the country.
Actually, that’s one of the things that I love about living here.
But, you and I, you know, we are supposed to be part of the solution…
And we do have a prison here in Delta County.
And there are children growing up without mentors.
It would not be that hard for us to create a ministry for them
If there would be any interest among you.
Its easy not to see them.
But I want you to catch that last part of Christ’s interaction with 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.
Think that call is just to Peter?
Parents, school teachers, grandparents, if you are sitting here
This morning, you have something that this generation is starving for.
Don’t kid yourself that you don’t have anything to offer.
You most certainly do.
You know the power of Easter morning
That awaits the other side of the Good Fridays in this world.
Surely, surely there is someone that you know is starving.
Close your eyes for a moment, and who do you see?
…
…
…
People of God, will you commit right now before God,
That you will, as he guides you, promise to be that influence?
Will you take that risk, use your resources, take your time
To change that person’s life who needs you?
In 2000 years neither the problem of evil nor the response has changed.
Do you love me?
Feed my sheep.
