"Surprised By Love"
John 21:1-19
Perhaps you read the following in the Upper Room Devotional last Wednesday:
"I hit the road with everything I owned packed inside my small car even though the idea of leaving my apartment, job, school, friends, and my comfortable life of sin had paralyzed me.
The drive home seemed like a lifetime; I dreaded returning to face my mom.
Fearful thoughts also filled my mind.
'How could God ever forgive my poor choices?
How could I cope without my destructive, self-made support system?'
All I could do was muster up a tiny seed of hope that my life was not over.
When I entered my mother's house, I found my bedroom decorated with a bright new bed cover and cheery new curtains.
My mom came in and sat down beside me.
She was all hugs and smiles, ecstatic that her baby girl was home.
I didn't realize it at the time, but God used the simple act of my mom sprucing up the bedroom to show me a glimpse of love and grace.
And little did I know that the next few years would be filled with new friends, a college degree, a wedding, and opportunities to mentor teenagers.
Looking back to that long drive home I never would have guessed that God would be so lavish in pouring out love on me, especially knowing it was nothing I deserved or earned.
Knowing this, we can muster up a tiny seed of hope today that life is not over.
With God, it is just beginning."
The disciples had left their dreary lives in order to follow Jesus on the most exciting three-year-journey anyone could ever imagine.
Some of them, if not all of them, were convinced that Jesus was going to be the Messiah who would rid Israel of its enemies and take His rightful seat on a kingly throne.
They of course, would be the "knights of His round table" so to speak.
They may have gotten into the groove of feeling pretty good about themselves.
After-all, over time Jesus garnered hundreds if not thousands of followers.
He was a BIG time Star.
And they were the ones closest to Him.
They were His hand-picked crew.
Certainly, when Jesus came into His Kingdom, there would be special seats of honor, power and privilege for them as well.
And then the night Jesus was arrested, everything--all their hopes and dreams--everything they were counting on--not least their own bravery and worthiness came crashing to the ground.
Judas betrayed Jesus.
Most of the rest of them fled in fear.
And Peter, Peter--whose profession of Who Jesus was...was the Rock on Which Jesus would build His Church--had denied even knowing Him--not just once but three times.
And then, after all this, Jesus rose from the dead.
And when He found them, His gallant band of men were shaking in fear, locked behind closed doors.
Certainly, there was no place for them in His Kingdom after-all.
They had failed the test.
They had blown it completely.
They must have felt like complete idiots--clowns.
And now what are they gonna do?
They no longer have jobs...
They aren't gonna be the King's men...
Jesus wouldn't be able to trust them to clean toilets let alone lead a revolution.
...they might even be worse off than they were before they met Jesus.
Jesus could never forgive them for abandoning Him in His hour of need.
Jesus could never forgive Peter for denying Him.
How could they cope?
And this is where we find them today.
They are at the Sea of Tiberius.
They are depressed.
They have hit rock bottom.
They are nobodies...although they once thought they were stars.
So, Peter just kind of mumbles something about going fishing, and they go with him.
To add insult to injury...
...they weren't even good at what they used to be experts at--catching fish!!!
They fished all night and didn't catch a thing!!!
How would you feel if you were them?
What would it be like to be in their shoes at that moment of darkness?
Did they feel helpless...
...hopeless...
...unloved...
...used or used up...
...lost...?
I bet they did.
I remember a time when I hit rock bottom in my life.
I had never been so low.
And then I had a striking experience.
It's an experience I will never forget and it's an experience that saved my life.
I was at Rock Bottom, but somehow I sensed...
...somehow I knew that Jesus was there with me.
And so I remember calling up a friend who had been worried about me, and I said to him--between tears-- "Buddy, rock bottom isn't so bad after-all--it's actually not bad at all because Jesus is here!!!"
The disciples had hit their lowest point.
The dark night was over, dawn was on the horizon...
...they had lost everything they cared about, they were ashamed of themselves, and they had caught no fish...
...but Jesus was there.
And that's all that mattered!!!
"Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore...
...and when Peter realized it was Jesus he jumped right into the water and headed for shore!!!
And when they all got to the beach, Jesus had a fire going, with fish on it, and some bread.
'Come and have breakfast'" Jesus beckoned.
There He was, their old friend...
Their hero...
...Their Lord...
...the One Whom they had betrayed...
He called them His "children"...
...He "came, took the bread, and gave it to them.
He did the same with the fish."
Now, how do you think they felt?
The Resurrected Christ could have chosen to hang out with anyone that day.
And here He was with them.
And He wasn't mad.
He wasn't disappointed.
He made them breakfast.
Do you see the love and grace in it all?
Do you see God?
Do you see your Creator doing what He does best...loving His creation no matter what?
And then we have one of the most spectacular interchanges in all of the Bible.
"When they had finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, 'Simon son of John, do you love me...?
Simon replied, 'Yes, Lord, you know I love you.'
Jesus said to him, 'Feed my lambs.'"
Jesus asked a second time and then a third time...
...and the most remarkable thing about it is that, every time Peter confesses His love for Jesus, Jesus gives Peter a job to do.
Every time the question is asked and answered Jesus gives Peter a fresh command, a challenge, a new exciting commission.
"Peter, it's time to learn how to be a shepherd.
It's time to feed lambs and sheep, to look after them."
Not only is Jesus trusting Peter to get back to work--Jesus is sharing His own work, His own ministry, with Peter.
Looking back at how Peter had felt before dawn...
...he never would have guessed that God would be so lavish in pouring out love on him, especially knowing it was nothing that he deserved or earned.
And here is the secret of Christianity--for you, for me, for Peter, for everyone...
...If any of us are going to do a single solitary thing as a follower and servant of Jesus, this is what it is built on:
Somewhere, deep down inside, there is a love for Jesus, and although you, and I and Peter and everyone else have let Him down a zillion times, Jesus wants to find that love, and to give us a chance to express it, to heal the hurts and failures of the past, and give you and me new work to do--which brings us life and life to the full!!!
Folks in this room: Do you love Jesus?
If so, feed His lambs.
People of East Ridge United Methodist Church, do you love Jesus?
If so, take care of His sheep.
People in this church, do you love Jesus?
If so, feed Jesus' sheep.
And follow Him.
And you, like Peter will go from strength to strength.
You will still mess up from time to time, but you will become shepherds, you will feed Jesus' lambs, you will look after Jesus sheep.
And no one could ask for more.
And Jesus never asks for less.
