From time to time, Glenys says something to me that is sweet to hear and extremely powerful. These words arrest me and make me sit and up and listen. Ladies, if you have a man that does not pay attention, you need this sentence because you will get the undivided attention you so desperately desire. The sentence is - “let’s go for breakfast”! We do not need a reason – we simply do it! It is wonderful to slip away somewhere and have a quiet breakfast together. We try not to talk ministry and work. We talk family, us. Sometimes we do not say much of anything but sit quietly and BE. We aim for PRESENCE. We leave breakfast feeling connected and rejuvenated. The Fireside and other similar Saturday morning hot spots speak to the desire of others like us, to have a break from routine demands and not have to do one more thing to an already huge list.
Today’s text is an invitation by Jesus to join him for breakfast. The invitation to “come and have breakfast” is equal to the command of Jesus in Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” This message goes deeper than the surface understanding that Jesus calls us to physical rest from regular work. It is an invitation to center in God; to find rest in the simple sense that he is in control and wherever I am, HE IS and he desires PRESENCE. We need to understand the invitation to breakfast as a metaphor, intending to take us beyond the surface picture of an hour at a fireside having fishcakes and tea (or in Ontario, coffee!)
The first reality of our lives that is painfully familiar and common, can be captured in the phrase of the song,
1. Working Nine to Five (vs1-3)
Peter and his friends found themselves in a similar dilemma. Here is the scene. The Roman power crucified Jesus but God raised him from the dead! He had appeared to his disciples on several occasions. Their emotions were bursting. Peter’s choice to go fishing could have been “I’m going back to what I know best” which was fishing, his trade before he met Jesus three years ago. He could have been trying to do something to keep busy because with the crucifixion and now the appearances that prove Jesus is alive – well, adrenaline is pumping and it is impossible to sit around and wait for the next show. Whatever their reasons, they went fishing. Here is the nine-to-five reality of fishing. There was
-No productivity at first (caught nothing)
-Hard fishing – all night
-Hungry and weary, discouraged
-They had no control over the outcomes. It is what it is. It is what happens when you go fishing. It is the tough life of good days and bad days.
Are you simply working nine-to-five? What do you wake up for every day? Is there any defined purpose to what you do? Why are you doing it? Statistics Canada published a report in 2006 showing that 1.2 million or 8% of Canadians are not satisfied with their work life and jobs. That is, 1 in 12 is unhappy. The bad news is most Canadians could not change their lives for several reasons, to invest themselves in things that really exist them.
2. The Alternative for Nine-to-Five! (vs4-8)
At first glance, this instruction and outcome looks like a miracle when in fact it may not have been. There are instances today where fishermen have assistance from someone on shore to catch the fish. Being in the boat at certain times of the day, such as in this story, they cannot see the fish. However, a person on shore (the boat was only a hundred yards off shore) could see where the fish are. Therefore, Jesus directed them to the fish.
Jesus affected the outcomes of his followers’ nine-to-five experience. His involvement in their lives definitely affected how things ended up; where they had no control Jesus took control and turned the tide of experience! Jesus reminds us not to run after the wrong things and lose Life. He provides opportunities for him to show up and blow us away with his influence in an otherwise nine-to-five existence! The miracle here is not the catch of fish but the lesson that Jesus works in the ordinary! If you are struggling to believe that, when you go to work next time, pray this simple prayer: “Jesus, show me where you are in this.”
Dr. Dale E. Turner writing for Health Action News in July 1993 tells an interesting story of John W. Gardner, founding Chairman of Common Cause. Turner quotes Gardner as saying that it is “a rare and high privilege to help people understand the difference they can make -- not only in their own lives, but also in the lives of others, simply by giving of themselves.” Gardner then tells this story.
A cheerful old man asks people that he met for the first time, the same question: "What have you done that you believe in and you are proud of?" He never asked questions like, "What do you do for a living?" It was always, "What have you done that you believe in and are proud of?" Some people feel uncomfortable with the question because life has been completely about building self-esteem, respect and making lots of money. The old man was excited with some answers that came back. A woman answered, "I’m doing a good job raising three children;" a cabinetmaker said, "I believe in good workmanship and practice it;" and another woman said, "I started a bookstore and it’s the best bookstore for miles around.”
These live beyond nine-to-five and experience the alternative – they know the miracle of Jesus’ life and presence in the ordinary.
Would you like to move beyond nine-to-five? Do you want the miracle that will transform your workplace, your life and your understanding of what your purpose is? The answer is in living a:
3. Consecrated Life (vs9-12)
That word, ‘consecrate’ sends people running for the door mentally speaking. Before you check out though, hear the definition of consecration. It is “to make or declare sacred.” It is a word very similar to the word sanctification, which means to make holy or set something aside as sacred. Contrary to popular opinion, it does not always mean we have to stop living and start giving up things. To live a consecrated life is to decide that your life is sacred.
Why did Jesus ask for fish when fish was already on the fire? Some suggest that Jesus did not use their resources for this meal but that he performed a miracle and fed them with one fish and a bread cake. If so, then what can we make of Peter bringing fish to Jesus? I am prone to think that Jesus put their fish with his fish; Jesus blends our labor with his resources for our lives. Life, like a bull charging a matador in the arena, will gorge us in a moment. Jesus provides communion (presence), consecration (makes life sacred) and healing. He takes the offering of our lives when there is nothing else we can do and makes it holy. He pours in the oil and wine of his providence and presence. Jesus, the Waiter is also Jesus, the Provider for our needs.
Further to this, Jesus invites us to bring the ordinariness of our lives – our nine-to-five existence, to allow him to pour into that ordinariness his extra-ordinary presence and purpose! To quote Bible scholar John Darby, “There is no question here [about] heavenly things, but of the renewing of His connection with His people in the kingdom.” We can add further support to Darby’s words with the powerful words of Matthew Henry, “Sometimes by his Spirit he visits [people] when they are employed in common business.”
In the book, “The Sacred Romance” John Eldridge shared the story of a personal crisis with co-author Brent Curtis. Curtis wondered what “God was up to?” in the situation. Eldridge’s response painfully reminds us of where we find ourselves too often. He said, “I was caught up in the sociodrama, the smaller story, completely blind to the true story at that point in my life…The process of our sanctification, our journey, rests entirely on our ability to see life from the basis of that question.”
Friends, the message that I am trying very hard for us to understand is that we cannot always change where we are in life or what we are doing. Even if we could – and did – nothing changes as long as we maintain the same mentality and approach to life as indicated by Eldridge, that of seeing the smaller story of our lives and not seeing the bigger picture. If we do not live our lives against the understanding of God’s bigger picture, we are simply working nine-to-five and more often than not, we come home from fishing empty, exhausted and hungry. The process of our lives becoming sacred and holy comes in our development, as we go deeper in our understanding of the bigger picture. We do not always need a new job, a move or a different something else. What we need is to invite Jesus to be a part of our activities, places and decisions.
If we will fix this daily life experience, we need to accept Jesus’ invitation to breakfast. We need to want his touch, his provisions and his presence, in our lives. We must invite him to bring the extra-ordinary to the ordinary. When we desire our lives to be lived as sacred, Jesus will blend our ordinary, mundane, routine realities into something breathtaking! Will you accept Jesus invitation to breakfast – to a sacred experience of God in every day?
WRAP
I conclude with the words of Jesus in Revelation 3:20, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
“Come and have breakfast.”
“I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
The invitation is to relationship.
The invitation is for Jesus to sanctify the offering of our lives.
The invitation is for Jesus to show up in the ordinary so that his being there makes it extraordinary.
A friend made a joking comment to me once about the shopping excursions his wife has been taking with a friend, but she hates shopping! I joked back and said, “You know it is not about the shopping. She enjoys the company. It is never so much about the activity as the company we keep.
Maybe this is a fitting conclusion to the point of these thoughts today. It is to realize that Jesus is inviting us to include him in what is going on.
“Come and have breakfast.”
