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It was not long after the resurrection. Jesus' disciples were sitting around probably still in a daze from Easter Sunday and the appearances in the upper room. And Peter, the leader of the gang, up and said, "I'm going fishing." Now don't think that Peter was lazy. He had been a fisherman before he took up discipling. He was going back to work. Returning to the business of daily living. There were mouths to feed and backs to clothe, no use just sitting around.
But fishing just wasn't the same as it was before Jesus. With every cast Jesus' words "I will make you fish for people" kept coming back to him. He probably remembered the day he met Jesus. After a long day's night of fishing and catching nothing Jesus told him to cast his net again. When he did, he caught the catch of his life. In that moment of grace Peter saw God revealed in Jesus and was convicted of his sin.
In the present he was once again having one of those nights. They had worked all-night and caught no fish. And just about daybreak there was someone on the shore. "Boys, ya ain't caught nothin' have ya?" "No, what's it to ya?" "Throw your nets of the other side of the boat." For a moment Peter thought he had heard that voice and those words before, but he threw the net.
In a moment the nets were filled with fish; more than they could empty into the boat. Peter knew that voice! It was Jesus! He rushed to the shore and when he got there Jesus had prepared a breakfast for them. A good Jewish breakfast: locks and bagels. Well, roasted fish and bread.
As they were eating together Jesus said to Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me." Almost without a thought Peter said, "You know I do." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep." Then Jesus asked again, "Simon son of John, do you love me." This time there was a pain in Peter's heart. He remembered that awful night when he denied that he even knew Jesus. But Peter said, "Yes Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Tend my sheep." A third time Jesus asked, "Simon son of John, do you love me." This time the pain was almost unbearable. On the verge of tears Peter said, "Lord you know everything. You know that I love you." Again Jesus said, "Feed my sheep."
But he said more. He said, "You used to choose the direction that you would go, but now it will be chosen for you." Then Jesus said, "Follow me." And in that moment all the guilt and regret, all the pain and the hurt that Jesus had brought to the surface with his questions just fell away. And this time Peter knew he could follow Jesus to the cross.
Today is Heritage Sunday. It is a day when we remember the past and how God has been at work though our forebearers to bring us to where we are now. As Christians, Peter is an important part of our heritage. He was the chief apostle whom God used to lead the early church through its earliest days. But, as this story demonstrated, Peter was just a man in need of the forgiving grace of God. A forgiveness that he experienced through Christ.
As members of that particular branch of the Christian family called Methodist we have other moving stories in our heritage. I know you have all heard of John & Charles Wesley. John and Charles Wesley were sons of an Anglican priest in the early 1700's in England.
While preparing to serve as priests themselves they became very involved in the never ending pursuit of holy living. They would rise early in the morning, 4:00, to study the Bible and pray. They would fast regularly and pray every hour on the hour and keep prayer diaries. They fed the hungry and counseled condemned prisoners. This was the period when the term "Methodist" was first coined. It was a term of derision used by their enemies. It was meant to make fun of their methodical approach to Bible study and the Christian life.
As part of his religious fervor to live a holy life John Wesley went to Georgia as a missionary to the Native Americans. On the boat ride over the ship was caught in a storm. It just so happened that a group of Moravians was on the boat as well and they were singing hymns in the midst of the storm. Their peace and tranquillity in the face of possible death amazed John Wesley. With all his prayer, Bible study, and good deeds he was terrified. These Moravians had a faith that intrigued Wesley.
Georgia was a disaster for John Wesley. He didn't lead any Native Americans to Christ; in fact he barely had a chance to minister to them. John left the New World just one step ahead of the law. On his way back he was once again in the company of Moriavians. In one of his discussions with them one asked him, "Do you know that Christ died for you." John said, "I know that he died for the sins of the world." The Moravian said, "But do you know that he died for you."
Upon returning to England John Wesley began worshipping with the Moravians. On May 24th, 1738 while in a meeting something happened to John. John wrote, "I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." In a moment of Jesus' amazing grace, all the doubt and regret of the past fell away. No longer did John have to work so hard to make himself holy and earn God's love. In a moment he knew that Jesus had died for him and that freed him. It freed him to continue to minister to the poor and needy; to continue to study the Bible and pray, but out of the joy of his salvation not an attempt to save himself.
In both these stories Jesus encounters a Christian leader and in a moment of grace gives them the forgiveness and the faith they need to serve God. And in both these stories boats play a prominent role. That is especially significant in the Peter story. In the Bible a boat, especially one with disciples in it, is a symbol of the church. As the church we are adrift in times between Jesus' first coming and the shore of his second coming. And as in both Peter's and Wesley's case, Jesus encounters his children while they are adrift.
In those moments of grace when God encounters us in the boat, we are healed and given the faith to make it through the trials ahead. As a result the storm in stilled and we can continue to pray and study in peace. As a result we are given the faith to take up a cross and follow where Jesus leads us.
We are in a boat. It is the IHS Grace. It set sail in 1985 for the shores of eternity. And many sailors for Christ have fished from its decks. And the storms of the years have tossed it about.
We as a church can learn much from these two boat stories. For one, we can learn that in the midst of life's trials Jesus is there to help us. As Peter and the other disciples were trying to learn what it means to keep living, Jesus was there to help them. To give them direction: "Throw your nets on the right side." Fed them when they were hungry. To offer forgiveness: "Peter do you love me," to give them a mission: "Feed by Sheep." When John and Charles Wesley were struggling to know what it means to be God's holy people, Jesus was there. When John was scared for his life, Jesus was there in the praise of the Moriavians. When he had failed in Georgia, God was there in the counsel of Christian friends. When he had failed to make himself holy with all his wonderful works of piety and charity, Jesus was there to offering him a warmed heart as a gift.
In the midst of our trials Jesus is with Grace UMC. As we struggle as a congregation to live out the Gospel, God is with us. As we yearn to reach out to the community, Jesus is here to give guidance. As we try to be faithful to our calling to bear one another's burdens, Jesus is there to give aid. As we try to maintain Christian education as a priority in a society that doesn't give time to read the Bible much less study it, Jesus is here to give perseverance. As we try to reach the unchurched and unsaved in our community with the hope and love that God wants to give them, Jesus is here to offer grace. As we face the failures and sins of our past both individual and as a congregation Jesus is here to offer grace. God is with us because we are in a boat that is registered under the flag of Jesus Christ.
We are in a boat that is tossed about by the waves of evil. We are trying to navigate to a distant shore what we cannot yet see. And all the while we are trying to rescue others who are drowning is a sea of sin and attending to the wounds of our own. Sometimes it seems hopeless.
If there is one thing that the lessons of the past should teach us, it is that we are not alone. The Church including this church does not survive because of our strength. It has survived because of the one who strengthens us. "Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world"(I John 4:4). We are in the boat, and the "we" includes Jesus.
"Dearly beloved, for as much as all have sinned as fallen short of the Glory of God..." For most of the two hundred plus years of the Methodist Church in North America these or similar words began the ritual of Baptism for Adults. They expressed the basis upon which people come to Christ. We all come as those who have sinned and fallen short of the Glory God intends for us. There was a brief period in the 1930's when human sinfulness was not emphasized as much. At that time people were beginning to believe that we humans were basically good people.
Then World War II came. The supposedly civilized nations of the world began attacking and killing one another. But then there was the holocaust. Germany, the Fatherland of Martin Luther, Bach, and Albert Schwietzer, had tried to commit genocide. The country that many thought was the most civilized, had perpetrated the most barbaric act in history.
Of course we Christians don't need the holocaust to convince us that all have sinned and fallen short at sometime. We have Saints to show us that. That's right, I said "saints." People like St. Paul and St. Peter. Strangely enough our examples of good people are also examples of human sinfulness. St. Paul, who was called Saul, had perpetrated acts of aggression against the early Christian Church. The Bible tells us that he set out on a mission to eradicated the early Church. And St. Peter broke his oath to stay with Christ and denied him, not just once, but three times. If the people we call Saints have sinned and fallen short, how much more true must that be of the rest of the world.
I could spend all of my time this morning arguing that all have fallen short of the Glory of God. But that is not the point of what God is telling us in our Bible readings this morning. Yes, Peter had fallen short, way short, of God's glory. Like most of us he confessed Christ among friends, but in the midst of enemies, Peter denied him. Three times Peter said, "I don't know him." Jesus could have abandoned Peter just as Peter had abandoned him. Jesus could have denied Peter a place in his kingdom, just as Peter had denied him as his Lord. But if you remember that is not what happened.
Jesus appeared to the disciples a third time. The disciples had worked all night and caught nothing, so Jesus helped them fill their nets. Then Jesus prepared a meal for these tired and hungry fishermen. As they were sitting on the beach eating breakfast Jesus spoke to Peter. "Peter, do you love me more than these?" Peter responded, "Yes, Lord." Then Jesus said, "Feed my sheep." This happened three times
Peter had denied Christ three times, so Christ gave him three opportunities to affirm him. Now Jesus had already forgiven Peter for his sins. Jesus' death on the cross had already paid the price of Peter's sin. But Peter needed to accept that forgiveness, so Jesus lovingly gave him that opportunity. Then Jesus lovingly gave Peter the task of caring for the church.
We have all sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God just as Peter did. That is not at argument today. God's message for us today is that through Christ we are forgiven. Peter denied Christ three times and Christ gave him a chance to take all three of those back. For each time we have denied Christ, he lovingly gives us a chance to affirm him. Christ has already purchased our forgiveness with his blood, that is not at question.
How many times in a person's life; how many times in our lives have we said things that we wish we could take back. We have all fallen short of the glory God created us for. We have all said things, unloving things mean things, to our loved ones. And each time we commit and act of malice and hatred we boldly proclaim, "I don't know this Jesus." Just like St. Peter we deny Jesus. But for each time our actions has said, "I do not know him," Christ gives us an opportunity to respond, "Lord I love you." To each of us Jesus says, "Do you love me" and when we respond "Yes, Lord you know I do" he says, "Feed my sheep." And if we really mean it we serve God in our lives.
How many times have we as a church sinned and fallen short of God's glory. Just consider the history of the Methodist church. Early on Methodists took a strong stance against slavery. But that stance soon weakened and by middle of the 19th century half the church whole heartedly endorsed slave owning. God did not wipe out the people called Methodists. Instead God called us back to righteousness by saying "Do you love me." And the church responded "Yes we do." Then the Methodist Church went out and fought child labor, and for women's suffrage and for civil rights.
Some feel that the Methodist Church has recently fallen short of the calling to spread Scriptural holiness. We have failed to clearly proclaim the righteousness of God for all to hear. We have failed to call people to repentance and discipleship. If that is true, Christ offers us forgiveness. Jesus says to the Methodist church today "Do you love me?" And we are called to respond, "yes we do" by serving God.
That is the heritage of the church. A 200+ year long story of our falling short and God forgiving. Our history is a constant repetition of this story of disciples gathered around a meal with Jesus, but some of the disciples are troubled because they have been unfaithful. The Good News is that Jesus who called them gives them a chance to be faithful.
In one sense that is what communion is all about. Jesus instituted communion as a way of continually saying to us, "Here is forgiveness, take and eat. Here is my love, take and drink." It is also what Christian fellowship is about. It is about us sharing that spirit of forgiveness.
As we gather for the meal after the service we can imagine the conversation on that beach so long ago. While Jesus was breaking bread with his disciples, he said, "Peter, do you love me?" "Yes lord you know I do." "Then feed my lambs." - "Peter, do you love me?" "Yes lord you know I do." "Tend my sheep." - "Peter, do you love me?" "Yes lord you know I do." "Feed my sheep." And if we listen hard when we break bread together later today, we can hear Jesus. He is calling each of us by name and saying, "Do you love me?" What is you response? Will you feed his sheep?