"Follow Me"
A Sermon by Roger Shervington
San Francisco Theological Seminary, Southern CaliforniaJohn 21:1-19
I. Introduction
Good evening. Our New Testament reading from the lectionary this evening chronicles the final post-resurrection appearance of the risen Lord in the Gospel of John. Let’s listen to Godƒs word to us.
II. Scripture: John 21:1-19 (NRSV)
1After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. 2Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. 3Simon 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.
4Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did know not that it was Jesus. 5Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No." 6He 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. 9That 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. 8But 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.
9When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. 10Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." 11So 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. 12Jesus 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. 13Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
15When 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." 16A 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." 17He said to him for 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. 18Very 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."
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
III. Prayer: Please join me in prayer.
Creator God, thank you for calling us together in your name this evening, for the patience of our instructors, and for the support of our classmates. We ask that you will bless our efforts as we strive to serve you and your creation. We ask this to the glory of your Holy Name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
IV. "Follow Me"
I was raised in the beautiful Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains, "God’s Country," and have spent a significant part of my adult life at sea, sailing, fishing and diving. It is therefore no surprise that I love a good fishing story! And what we have in the first fourteen verses of today’s lectionary reading is one fine fishing story--any fishing story where you actually catch fish is a fine fishing story! But this fine fishing story is about much, much more than spending yet another night at sea in a small boat, wet, exhausted, sore from the constant motion of the boat, and thoroughly frustrated by a lack of fish. The night in this story had just been a boat ride.
But let’s take a look at how this fishing story develops. Let’s look at the events leading to this fruitless night at sea. Let’s look at the fishermen.
This story is placed at the Sea of Tiberias, a.k.a. the Sea of Galilee, an indeterminate time after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Seven of the disciples are gathered on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, presumably because they no longer feel safe or welcome in Jerusalem. We aren’t told where the others are. Couple this with the idea that the disciples haven’t seen the risen Lord since his earlier appearances in Jerusalem. They have lost their leader, the Lord Jesus, and are probably feeling confused, restless, down... Simon Peter then does what all normal fishermen do in such situations. He asserts his natural leadership talents and announces "I am going fishing." My kind of leader! The other six, recognizing a good idea, reply "We will go with you." We fishermen are so predictable...
I have spent many unproductive nights at sea fishing. I can assure you that this was not a happy little ship the next morning when, approaching the shore, they were hailed by a stranger saying "you have no fish, have you?" This was more of a statement than a question as Jesus already knew the answer, but their one word response, "NO!," pretty well summed things up. Then this irritating stranger, anybody would have been irritating that morning, had the audacity to tell them how to catch fish! Can you imagine this! Some landlubber is telling professional fishermen how to catch fish! "OK, let’s show this guy. If there were any fish in this sea we would have caught them last night." You see, I know how fishermen think. Yet something, something must have enticed them to try one more cast. Having read much of the Gospels over the years, the reader should not be surprised at the results. Fish everywhere, especially in the net. This gets the fishermen’s attention. Maybe there’s more to this stranger on the shore than was first apparent. The Beloved Disciple takes another look and announces "It is the Lord!" Simon Peter hesitates only briefly, torn between his Jewish aversion to nakedness and his desire to get to Jesus, before jumping ship and swimming to shore. The other disciples stay with the boat and make for shore.
Once ashore, Simon Peter finds Jesus tending a barbecue. Fish are already cooking, and there’s bread. When Jesus asks Simon Peter to bring some of his fish, he hurries back to the boat and helps haul in the net which is bulging with one hundred fifty-three fish and is not torn! This is a good thing, net mending is tedious work and hard on the hands. Jesus invited the disciples to breakfast. By now they all recognized Jesus. And Jesus served the meal.
I want to revisit a few points in this story thus far. This is reportedly the third appearance of the risen Jesus to the disciples, an earlier appearance to Mary Magdalene apparently not being counted because she was not considered a disciple or because she was only a woman. This is the third appearance of the risen Jesus, and yet the disciples failed at first to recognize Jesus on the shore. Admittedly, things are not too distinct when looking over water at daybreak, and Jesus was some one hundred yards away, yet close enough for his voice to carry, and the disciples probably didn’t expect to see him there. Also, they had spent years together and the disciples also failed to recognize Jesus’ voice. It took the miraculous catch of fish to get their attention! It also does not escape notice that the first to recognize Jesus was the Beloved Disciple, generally regarded as the author of this Gospel. Doesn’t this remind you of the disciples responses to the empty tomb in the previous chapter of this Gospel? In this story, as in earlier stories, the revealing of Jesus’ glory is seen in the abundance of Jesus’ gifts. Do what Jesus asks, and the rewards will be abundant. The number of fish, one hundred fifty-three, and the fact that the net was not torn has been the subject of scholarly discussion and debate for centuries. Raymond Brown writes that "Since Simon Peter hauls the 153 fish ashore and the net is not torn, the catch becomes symbolic of missionary success in bringing people into the one community of Christ." Others see the miraculous catch as a reward for following Jesus’ orders. Also not to be missed is the fact that this was a nighttime fishing trip and was fruitless. Night is dark. With the dawn and the arrival of Jesus, things changed dramatically for the better. Dawn is light. Night and darkness versus dawn and light is typical Johannine imagery. Night is likened to spiritual darkness. Jesus is the light. While in the darkness, they got skunked. In the light, with Jesus, abundance. Another topic of discussion is the breakfast meal. This meal is seen by most scholars to have eucharistic overtones, although there is no mention of ritual blessing of the food or the presence of wine, but the hour was early. The meal together, served by Jesus, does, however, confirm the intimacy of the relationship between the risen Jesus and his disciples.
Back to the text. After breakfast, Jesus asks Simon Peter three times "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Simon Peter replies in the affirmative, but by the third affirmation we can see the disciple starting to smart from this perceived slap at his loyalty, after all, he answered the question the first time. Peter may have forgotten about his three denials of Jesus in Jerusalem. With this series of questions, Jesus has reinstated Peter and has commissioned Peter for pastoral and apostolic duties. That is, Jesus has appointed Peter to be the shepherd of his flock. Mitchell Reddish writes, "Peter must put into practice his love by caring for Jesus’ sheep, which means to serve and minister to others in the way that Jesus has cared for the disciples." "Feed my sheep" recalls the words of Jesus in 13:34-35, "Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." Verses 18 and 19 predict Peter’s imprisonment and loss of freedom in his old age, and his ultimate death by crucifixion in Rome.
Then, after the manner of good and effective leaders everywhere, having set the example, Jesus simply says "Follow me." If only it were that simple.
V. Closing
My brothers and sisters, we are on the path towards ordinatopm and assuming the responsibility for tending a portion of Jesus’ flock. This path has not been, and will not be easy. Some of us travel this path not of our own volition, but in response to a personal call or perceived nudge in this direction. In traveling this path, we are not likely to receive, and indeed should not seek, personal glory or recognition, but should strive to bring glory and recognition to the one who sent us on this trip with the words "Follow me."
To God be all honor and glory, forever. Amen.
