Showing posts with label Peter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peter. Show all posts
Saturday, August 06, 2011
Transfiguration
This sermon is posted here. It was written for the "Sermons That Work" series and also delivered in a modified form to St. John's in Silsbee.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
What is that to you and me?
2nd Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C
Jesus, you turned huge vats of water into wine for a wedding feast – and you gave your own blood as wine for us to drink: May we not limit how you choose to answer our needs. Amen."They have no wine."
Jesus and his mother have been invited to a wedding in Cana, a few miles from where they live – maybe like from Silsbee to Lumberton. His disciples are there, too. Everybody's talking, dancing, celebrating - doing whatever people do at wedding parties in Galilee in the first century. They're drinking, we know that – because at some point, the wine runs out. And this is not a good thing.
In five or ten, maybe fifteen minutes, however long it takes for a few people to ask for refills and notice that they're not getting any - the guests are going to realize the problem. And when that happens, word will start to circulate; people will start complaining, making snide remarks, and then they'll start to leave early...
At some point, the groom will figure out what's happening, but by then, he's already toast. Later, or maybe right then, he'll yell at the steward for not ordering enough wine, and the steward will smack the servants for not making it last longer. But that won't change the fact that the groom has been totally humiliated in front of his new wife and all of her family and her family's friends and all of his family and their friends: in short, everybody they both know and some people they don't… On the day of his wedding! When his family is trying to IMPRESS everyone, not give them a reason to laugh at him.
Maybe his wife will forgive him… Maybe. But do you think his in-laws will let him forget? Ever?
But all of that is five or ten, maybe fifteen minutes in the future...
Right now, at this moment, only the servants know – and Mary.
How does Mary know? Maybe she's one of those people who pays attention to things other people don't notice, like an expression of concern on a servant's face when he pours her what seems to be the last of the wine in his jug. Who knows, but anyway, she notices the problem before the rest of the guests know. And what does she do? She goes over to her son and taps him on the shoulder, "They have no wine."
The implication seems to be "so do something."
But how does Jesus respond?
"Woman, what is that to you and me?"
It's true, Jesus is God's son, but there may be a lot he hasn't learned yet about being human – at least not from personal experience. The word is, he emptied himself completely to become completely one of us, which may have meant he had to learn how to see out of our eyes. Becoming like us in every way except sin may have meant he had to learn, like anyone else, how to read people and interpret situations. So, at 30 years old, sitting at a wedding a few miles from his home, maybe Jesus wasn't looking far enough into that statement "They have no wine" to see what it could mean in terms of someone else's humiliation – and maybe his experience at that point in his life hadn't led him to fully understand yet what kind of suffering humiliation might be, such that it would be worth stopping, even if it wasn't directly his concern.
He will certainly learn... Give him a few years, and he'll learn all about human nature's capacity to brutalize and humiliate and tear each other to pieces. And he'll also learn how people can wash their hands of another's suffering when it seems not to be their concern.
But now, eating with his friends at a party, before his ministry has become public, before he's become anybody's hero – or anybody's villian, it may be that his mother knows a bit more than he does about the experience of human suffering and humiliation. It's one more thing – maybe one last thing, she teaches him.
Who more than Mary would know about humiliation – and the powerless anger that comes with it - to be talked about all over the place, to have the conversation stop when you walk up, to know people are saying and assuming all kinds of things about you that you have no chance to refute. Certainly it was a blessing that the angel explained the plan to Joseph, but I doubt the rest of the town was informed.
Humiliation is so awful, a lot of people would prefer death. "I wish I could just curl up and die!" Really, if you think about it, you only have to die once, and it's over with. But humiliation can go on and on... Nine months must have been an eternity for Mary. What she went through must have made her sensitive to others' humiliation – and perhaps here at the wedding, she taught her son to see it too.
"Woman, what is that to you and to me?" It was nothing to him; why should it be anything to her? But for some reason it was something to her. She didn't say another word to him, just turned to the servants; "Do whatever he tells you." And why should anyone have listened to her? – except sometimes, you can just feel that something serious is at stake, something you don't understand but you know you'd better respect. So he says, "Fill the jars with water" - and they fill them.
Maybe Jesus didn't completely know where his mom was coming from, but he loved her and respected her well enough to listen and do something, if only because it was a concern to her. And maybe this was about more than just wine.
Nowhere in the text does it say this, but I imagine Mary taking Jesus aside later and saying, "Son, there's a lot you don't know about what we went through with you..."
I don't know if that's a conversation that ever took place, but somehow he learned to recognize and show compassion for people who were being humiliated. Think about how he treated the Samaritan woman he met at the well, or the woman caught in adultery who officials pushed in front of him in the temple. Remember how he responded to Nicodemus, who crept in at night to see Jesus for fear of what his colleagues might say. To all of these people, Jesus explained that God's not out to punish and shame us; we've all been hurt and made mistakes, and God loves us and wants to make us well. That's the point. This is a hospital for sick people, not Survivor Island. "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." (John 3:17)
Making wine out of water - that's impressive, and no doubt the groom WAS impressed. But I imagine what he appreciated more was being saved from humiliation and being given the chance to start his marriage on a high note. This first of Jesus' miraculous signs not only shows God's abundant, extravagant provision for our needs, even seemingly insignificant ones – it also shows God's compassion, pointing to the nature of God's love – which is often characterized as 'loving-kindness."
This miraculous sign happened at a wedding, and I think there's something to notice about that, too. More important that wine, in long-term relationships, is kindness. Loving feelings fade out at times; what makes relationships last and grow stronger are loving actions – and love often takes the form of kindness. It's difficult to be kind when you're irritated, but at those times it's more important than ever. Kindness is one of the fruits of the spirit, like love. But love can be hard to grasp at times. Kindness is more concrete. Like outreach. It's not directly love, but it's certainly moving in that direction.
After his resurrection, when Jesus and his disciples were having breakfast on the beach, Jesus asked Peter, "Do you love me?" And Peter said "Yes."
Jesus told him, "Feed my sheep."
Then Jesus asked him again, and a third time, "Do you love me?"
"Lord, you know I love you."
"Feed my sheep."
Peter had gotten past the first major obstacle, learning not to just love himself, but to love God, and Jesus was trying to move him from there to also love his neighbor, and he was teaching Peter in the same way his mother had taught him.
"Peter, maybe you don't love them – you don't have concern for them, but you love me – and I have concern for them. So for my sake, look after them, feed them."
In other words, folks, be kind to each other here.
In other words, when you see someone else's need or suffering, don't ask, "What concern is that to you and me?" Instead, remember your love for Jesus, and "Whatever he tells you, do."
Amen
-----------
Given to St. John's, Silsbee - Jan 17, 2010
In five or ten, maybe fifteen minutes, however long it takes for a few people to ask for refills and notice that they're not getting any - the guests are going to realize the problem. And when that happens, word will start to circulate; people will start complaining, making snide remarks, and then they'll start to leave early...
At some point, the groom will figure out what's happening, but by then, he's already toast. Later, or maybe right then, he'll yell at the steward for not ordering enough wine, and the steward will smack the servants for not making it last longer. But that won't change the fact that the groom has been totally humiliated in front of his new wife and all of her family and her family's friends and all of his family and their friends: in short, everybody they both know and some people they don't… On the day of his wedding! When his family is trying to IMPRESS everyone, not give them a reason to laugh at him.
Maybe his wife will forgive him… Maybe. But do you think his in-laws will let him forget? Ever?
But all of that is five or ten, maybe fifteen minutes in the future...
Right now, at this moment, only the servants know – and Mary.
How does Mary know? Maybe she's one of those people who pays attention to things other people don't notice, like an expression of concern on a servant's face when he pours her what seems to be the last of the wine in his jug. Who knows, but anyway, she notices the problem before the rest of the guests know. And what does she do? She goes over to her son and taps him on the shoulder, "They have no wine."
The implication seems to be "so do something."
But how does Jesus respond?
"Woman, what is that to you and me?"
It's true, Jesus is God's son, but there may be a lot he hasn't learned yet about being human – at least not from personal experience. The word is, he emptied himself completely to become completely one of us, which may have meant he had to learn how to see out of our eyes. Becoming like us in every way except sin may have meant he had to learn, like anyone else, how to read people and interpret situations. So, at 30 years old, sitting at a wedding a few miles from his home, maybe Jesus wasn't looking far enough into that statement "They have no wine" to see what it could mean in terms of someone else's humiliation – and maybe his experience at that point in his life hadn't led him to fully understand yet what kind of suffering humiliation might be, such that it would be worth stopping, even if it wasn't directly his concern.
He will certainly learn... Give him a few years, and he'll learn all about human nature's capacity to brutalize and humiliate and tear each other to pieces. And he'll also learn how people can wash their hands of another's suffering when it seems not to be their concern.
But now, eating with his friends at a party, before his ministry has become public, before he's become anybody's hero – or anybody's villian, it may be that his mother knows a bit more than he does about the experience of human suffering and humiliation. It's one more thing – maybe one last thing, she teaches him.
Who more than Mary would know about humiliation – and the powerless anger that comes with it - to be talked about all over the place, to have the conversation stop when you walk up, to know people are saying and assuming all kinds of things about you that you have no chance to refute. Certainly it was a blessing that the angel explained the plan to Joseph, but I doubt the rest of the town was informed.
Humiliation is so awful, a lot of people would prefer death. "I wish I could just curl up and die!" Really, if you think about it, you only have to die once, and it's over with. But humiliation can go on and on... Nine months must have been an eternity for Mary. What she went through must have made her sensitive to others' humiliation – and perhaps here at the wedding, she taught her son to see it too.
"Woman, what is that to you and to me?" It was nothing to him; why should it be anything to her? But for some reason it was something to her. She didn't say another word to him, just turned to the servants; "Do whatever he tells you." And why should anyone have listened to her? – except sometimes, you can just feel that something serious is at stake, something you don't understand but you know you'd better respect. So he says, "Fill the jars with water" - and they fill them.
Maybe Jesus didn't completely know where his mom was coming from, but he loved her and respected her well enough to listen and do something, if only because it was a concern to her. And maybe this was about more than just wine.
Nowhere in the text does it say this, but I imagine Mary taking Jesus aside later and saying, "Son, there's a lot you don't know about what we went through with you..."
I don't know if that's a conversation that ever took place, but somehow he learned to recognize and show compassion for people who were being humiliated. Think about how he treated the Samaritan woman he met at the well, or the woman caught in adultery who officials pushed in front of him in the temple. Remember how he responded to Nicodemus, who crept in at night to see Jesus for fear of what his colleagues might say. To all of these people, Jesus explained that God's not out to punish and shame us; we've all been hurt and made mistakes, and God loves us and wants to make us well. That's the point. This is a hospital for sick people, not Survivor Island. "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." (John 3:17)
Making wine out of water - that's impressive, and no doubt the groom WAS impressed. But I imagine what he appreciated more was being saved from humiliation and being given the chance to start his marriage on a high note. This first of Jesus' miraculous signs not only shows God's abundant, extravagant provision for our needs, even seemingly insignificant ones – it also shows God's compassion, pointing to the nature of God's love – which is often characterized as 'loving-kindness."
This miraculous sign happened at a wedding, and I think there's something to notice about that, too. More important that wine, in long-term relationships, is kindness. Loving feelings fade out at times; what makes relationships last and grow stronger are loving actions – and love often takes the form of kindness. It's difficult to be kind when you're irritated, but at those times it's more important than ever. Kindness is one of the fruits of the spirit, like love. But love can be hard to grasp at times. Kindness is more concrete. Like outreach. It's not directly love, but it's certainly moving in that direction.
After his resurrection, when Jesus and his disciples were having breakfast on the beach, Jesus asked Peter, "Do you love me?" And Peter said "Yes."
Jesus told him, "Feed my sheep."
Then Jesus asked him again, and a third time, "Do you love me?"
"Lord, you know I love you."
"Feed my sheep."
Peter had gotten past the first major obstacle, learning not to just love himself, but to love God, and Jesus was trying to move him from there to also love his neighbor, and he was teaching Peter in the same way his mother had taught him.
"Peter, maybe you don't love them – you don't have concern for them, but you love me – and I have concern for them. So for my sake, look after them, feed them."
In other words, folks, be kind to each other here.
In other words, when you see someone else's need or suffering, don't ask, "What concern is that to you and me?" Instead, remember your love for Jesus, and "Whatever he tells you, do."
Amen
-----------
Given to St. John's, Silsbee - Jan 17, 2010
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Trinity
Year C, Trinity Sunday
Gospel Reading: John 16:5-15
Trinity
Today is Trinity Sunday, celebrating and recognizing God in the three persons of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It’s not common in the church calendar to have a day dedicated to an idea or a doctrine, but the idea of the Trinity is central to the way we as Christians understand our relationship to God.
Today’s scripture from the Gospel of John is one of several in the Bible that talks about relationships between Father, Son and Spirit. The word ‘Trinity’ is not in the Bible, but as the church worked out how to explain what it believed, this word was created to express the mysterious way in which Christians encounter God as Father, Jesus as God’s Son and the Holy Spirit in relationship to both and to us.
Though it seems contradictory, the idea of something being many things and one thing is not totally unimaginable. A family is one thing even though there are separate, distinct members; whether there are two or five or sixty people; it’s still the same family. Likewise, a country – we have on our money ‘E pluribus unum’ – ‘Out of many, one.’ The Church also - though we are many people, and we are very different from each other, still we are one body.
Similarly, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are distinct, but they’re one God. How this works is the subject of defining the doctrine of the Trinity.
The idea of the Trinity, though in one way simple, is hard to explain exactly; it took the church a few hundred years to hash out descriptions of it and even still, there are arguments. One of the results of those many, many, many discussions was the Apostle’s Creed, where we say ‘I believe in God the Father,.. and in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord..." and "I believe in the Holy Ghost..."
Analogy of Love
Augustine, a bishop in North Africa, spent a big part of his life trying to understand and explain the Trinity. He wrote a 15-volume book about it, even. One of the ways he came up with for describing it is an analogy – the Analogy of Love. Augustine said that the Trinity is a relationship. The Father loves the Son, and the Son loves the Father back, and the Holy Spirit is the love between them.
Augustine felt that, though good, this analogy didn’t completely work, and he tried to refine it with many variations. He concluded that really no image or analogy can exactly describe the Trinity, but he also thought that, even though he could never perfectly describe it, it was worth trying. And I’m glad he went to all that trouble, because I think his analogy is helpful.
Heart Strings
It helps me, anyway. I think of the Father loving the Son, and the Holy Spirit as love – and I imagine the Holy Spirit, the love between them, like an elastic string tying their hearts together.
This image also helps me in thinking about my relationships with other people. My heart is tied to all the people I love, so when someone leaves, or moves away, or dies, those strings stretch out, pulling on my heart. Sometimes it’s quite painful, but I think of the ache as a reminder that my heart is still tied to the person I’m separated from, and so wherever they are, part of me is there also.
I thought about this when my grandmother on my mom’s side died a few years ago. I felt she had taken part of my heart with her but that it was still tied on to me. In a way, though, that made heaven seem closer, because wherever it was, I knew she had to be there, and part of me was there with her.
You may feel this way about people you love. Some of you may feel like this about Anna. I do. She brought so much life and joy to this church through her music and her spirit. I think she has taken part of us with her to heaven, and we feel our hearts pulling us there, wanting to be with her.
In Matthew, we read that where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. So tie your heart to real treasures that will pull you toward heaven. I’m sure we did that by tying our hearts to Nan Nan.
I think this is what happened with those who knew Jesus. Because he lived among people as one of them, they got to know him and love him. They followed him, investing their lives in him, and when he died, it was very painful for them. The wind went out of their sails; they didn’t know what to do. When he rose and ascended back to the Father, though, he pulled their hearts with him toward heaven and blew the Holy Spirit as a following wind to push them on. It changed their direction and their drive; they became more sure of their faith in Christ. Where before, Peter waffled and even denied knowing Christ, later he died for him.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is saying ‘goodbye’ to his disciples. They love him and don’t want him to go away, and Jesus knows it’s hard for them. ‘Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.’
A little after this passage, Jesus prays to the Father for his disciples, as we read together earlier, and in that prayer, we hear what was supposed to happen later after Jesus went away. "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them, and that I myself may be in them."
Signs
The Gospel of John is a very carefully organized work, and it seems to be in two main sections, which scholars call the Book of Signs and the Book of Glory. In the first part, Jesus performs signs or miracles to show and explain to people who he is – God’s Son – and that God loves them. In the second part, his final, most important sign shows the world God’s love in a complete and definitive way, through a total self-giving act.
Many people today are interested in the idea of signs or miracles. I think it’s pretty universal for people to want to hear from God, but we’re not always the best at recognizing how God speaks to us. Today’s reading seems to indicate the Holy Spirit will help open our eyes to what’s true, remind us of what Jesus taught and offer comfort in our struggles. Often, signs of God’s love are all around us but we have to pay attention and look with eyes of faith – faith seeking understanding.
There’s a song by Carolyn Arends that I like which says, ‘I was hoping for a miracle and waiting for a sign/ as if each breath I take is not a gift,/ and I was acting just as if the way you gave your life for mine/ didn’t have my foolish heart convinced. What did I think could cause this hunger – did I ever stop to wonder why every time I open up my eyes...There you are."
In another song, she asks, "Do we dare pay attention, dare even mention, the mystery we find ourselves caught in...And do we dare to remember all that we have forgotten?"
The cross remains for us a sign and reminder of God’s love in Christ’s sacrifice. Jesus told his disciples, "when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself." In the same discourse as today’s passage, Jesus also commanded his disciples to love one another, and this love would be a sign to others.
So the love – the Spirit - that ties Jesus’ heart to the Father ties our hearts together as well in community and communion, creating a web of interconnections – like a huge net. And as Christ is lifted up, the net is pulled up behind him, catching and drawing even more people all together toward God – God who is himself a community of love.
----------------------------------
Given to Vidor Presbyterian
and in memory of Anna Lee
June 5, 2007
Gospel Reading: John 16:5-15
Trinity
Today is Trinity Sunday, celebrating and recognizing God in the three persons of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It’s not common in the church calendar to have a day dedicated to an idea or a doctrine, but the idea of the Trinity is central to the way we as Christians understand our relationship to God.
Today’s scripture from the Gospel of John is one of several in the Bible that talks about relationships between Father, Son and Spirit. The word ‘Trinity’ is not in the Bible, but as the church worked out how to explain what it believed, this word was created to express the mysterious way in which Christians encounter God as Father, Jesus as God’s Son and the Holy Spirit in relationship to both and to us.
Though it seems contradictory, the idea of something being many things and one thing is not totally unimaginable. A family is one thing even though there are separate, distinct members; whether there are two or five or sixty people; it’s still the same family. Likewise, a country – we have on our money ‘E pluribus unum’ – ‘Out of many, one.’ The Church also - though we are many people, and we are very different from each other, still we are one body.
Similarly, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are distinct, but they’re one God. How this works is the subject of defining the doctrine of the Trinity.
The idea of the Trinity, though in one way simple, is hard to explain exactly; it took the church a few hundred years to hash out descriptions of it and even still, there are arguments. One of the results of those many, many, many discussions was the Apostle’s Creed, where we say ‘I believe in God the Father,.. and in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord..." and "I believe in the Holy Ghost..."
Analogy of Love
Augustine, a bishop in North Africa, spent a big part of his life trying to understand and explain the Trinity. He wrote a 15-volume book about it, even. One of the ways he came up with for describing it is an analogy – the Analogy of Love. Augustine said that the Trinity is a relationship. The Father loves the Son, and the Son loves the Father back, and the Holy Spirit is the love between them.
Augustine felt that, though good, this analogy didn’t completely work, and he tried to refine it with many variations. He concluded that really no image or analogy can exactly describe the Trinity, but he also thought that, even though he could never perfectly describe it, it was worth trying. And I’m glad he went to all that trouble, because I think his analogy is helpful.
Heart Strings
It helps me, anyway. I think of the Father loving the Son, and the Holy Spirit as love – and I imagine the Holy Spirit, the love between them, like an elastic string tying their hearts together.
This image also helps me in thinking about my relationships with other people. My heart is tied to all the people I love, so when someone leaves, or moves away, or dies, those strings stretch out, pulling on my heart. Sometimes it’s quite painful, but I think of the ache as a reminder that my heart is still tied to the person I’m separated from, and so wherever they are, part of me is there also.
I thought about this when my grandmother on my mom’s side died a few years ago. I felt she had taken part of my heart with her but that it was still tied on to me. In a way, though, that made heaven seem closer, because wherever it was, I knew she had to be there, and part of me was there with her.
You may feel this way about people you love. Some of you may feel like this about Anna. I do. She brought so much life and joy to this church through her music and her spirit. I think she has taken part of us with her to heaven, and we feel our hearts pulling us there, wanting to be with her.
In Matthew, we read that where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. So tie your heart to real treasures that will pull you toward heaven. I’m sure we did that by tying our hearts to Nan Nan.
I think this is what happened with those who knew Jesus. Because he lived among people as one of them, they got to know him and love him. They followed him, investing their lives in him, and when he died, it was very painful for them. The wind went out of their sails; they didn’t know what to do. When he rose and ascended back to the Father, though, he pulled their hearts with him toward heaven and blew the Holy Spirit as a following wind to push them on. It changed their direction and their drive; they became more sure of their faith in Christ. Where before, Peter waffled and even denied knowing Christ, later he died for him.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is saying ‘goodbye’ to his disciples. They love him and don’t want him to go away, and Jesus knows it’s hard for them. ‘Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.’
A little after this passage, Jesus prays to the Father for his disciples, as we read together earlier, and in that prayer, we hear what was supposed to happen later after Jesus went away. "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them, and that I myself may be in them."
Signs
The Gospel of John is a very carefully organized work, and it seems to be in two main sections, which scholars call the Book of Signs and the Book of Glory. In the first part, Jesus performs signs or miracles to show and explain to people who he is – God’s Son – and that God loves them. In the second part, his final, most important sign shows the world God’s love in a complete and definitive way, through a total self-giving act.
Many people today are interested in the idea of signs or miracles. I think it’s pretty universal for people to want to hear from God, but we’re not always the best at recognizing how God speaks to us. Today’s reading seems to indicate the Holy Spirit will help open our eyes to what’s true, remind us of what Jesus taught and offer comfort in our struggles. Often, signs of God’s love are all around us but we have to pay attention and look with eyes of faith – faith seeking understanding.
There’s a song by Carolyn Arends that I like which says, ‘I was hoping for a miracle and waiting for a sign/ as if each breath I take is not a gift,/ and I was acting just as if the way you gave your life for mine/ didn’t have my foolish heart convinced. What did I think could cause this hunger – did I ever stop to wonder why every time I open up my eyes...There you are."
In another song, she asks, "Do we dare pay attention, dare even mention, the mystery we find ourselves caught in...And do we dare to remember all that we have forgotten?"
The cross remains for us a sign and reminder of God’s love in Christ’s sacrifice. Jesus told his disciples, "when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself." In the same discourse as today’s passage, Jesus also commanded his disciples to love one another, and this love would be a sign to others.
So the love – the Spirit - that ties Jesus’ heart to the Father ties our hearts together as well in community and communion, creating a web of interconnections – like a huge net. And as Christ is lifted up, the net is pulled up behind him, catching and drawing even more people all together toward God – God who is himself a community of love.
----------------------------------
Given to Vidor Presbyterian
and in memory of Anna Lee
June 5, 2007
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Peter's obedience
Year C, Epiphany 5
Gospel: Luke 5:1-11
In this passage, obedience opens up the way for miracles.
This is a powerful story about Jesus calling people to join him in mission. In the last and most recognized part of this story, Jesus tells Simon that he will make him a fisher of men, and they leave everything to follow him.
But leading up to that moment, Simon and his crew make some crucial choices, based purely on obedience, before they realize who Jesus is. Those acts of obedience open up the way for Jesus to do something miraculous.
View from the Crew
There are several people in this story besides Jesus and Simon Peter.
Sometimes, a good way to understand what’s happening in a situation is to mentally put yourself in the place of somebody who was there – Did you ever see those videos in history class, with Walter Cronkite narrating: “It’s 1776 at the signing of the Declaration of Independence and You are there!”
Well, imagine you are a crewmember on Simon’s boat. “It’s 30 AD, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee as Jesus calls his first disciples – and You are there...”
It’s just turning to evening as you join Simon and the rest of the crew in the boat. Simon’s boat is about 20 feet long, wooden, and smells like fish – so does Simon, and so do you.
Simon’s partners, James and John and their crew, are fishing in their father’s boat. Both boats put into the water as the stars are coming out. Fishing is a quiet kind of work; there’s no need to talk, really, and you don’t want to scare the fish.
It’s a long night, throwing the net out, pulling it back in – and catching nothing. Over and over: throw it out, pull it back – nothing, throw it out, pull it back – nothing. Simon steers the boat from one favorite spot to another, and every one of them turns up dry tonight.
The sky begins to get grey, and still no catch. You can see the other boat a ways off, and they’re sitting high in the water, too. This whole night is going to be worthless if you don’t catch something soon. Throw the net out; pull it back – nothing.
Finally, with the sun up, Simon gives the signal, and you pull back in to shore. Total catch for the night – nothing. The fish must have found a good hiding place. Everybody starts washing out the nets.
Nearby, a lot of people are gathered around a man who’s talking. He starts walking over, with the people following him. Apparently, he knows Simon; he gets in the boat and asks him something. Simon looks over and motions the crew back in the boat. What’s this about?
Simon says to row out a little ways from the shore. The crowd on the shore moves closer to the water. Then Simon says to drop anchor. The man sits down in the stern, facing the shore and starts talking. Apparently, he’s a teacher or a preacher, and from the size of the crowd, he must be popular.
How does he know Simon? And how long is he going to talk? You’d like to get home. It’s been a long night.
Simon looks tired and slightly irritated. This is not a time to ask.
The man finishes his talk and then motions to Simon. You hear him ask Simon to put out further and drop the nets.
Simon’s patience is visibly waning. “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing...”
“Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.”
The man looks at Simon. Simon looks at you.
You’re thinking, ‘Who is this guy getting in your boat and telling you how to fish?’ He glares back and motions to throw out the net. Whatever. Now is clearly not the time to ask, but later, Simon’s going to have to explain this.
You throw out the net.
And the rest is history. The nets came up so full that they started to break. The crew had to signal the other boat, and they filled both boats so full they started to sink. Everyone was amazed, and Simon didn’t have to explain anything. It was obvious that this teacher had much more authority than they realized, and not just about fishing. When they got back to the shore, they left everything and followed him.
Simon’s obedience (twice)
In the most dramatic part of this story, Simon falls down in front of Jesus, recognizing him as Lord after seeing this miraculous catch of fish. Then, Jesus tells him not to be afraid, that he will become a fisher of men.
Though the catch is the dramatic part, I think what leads up to the catch is just as important, if not more so. What I’m talking about is Simon Peter’s obedience, and also his crew’s obedience.
When Jesus got in Peter’s boat and asked him to put out a little ways so he could teach the people, Peter and his crew did it. Perhaps he did it as a favor, recalling that Jesus had just healed his mother-in-law. Perhaps he did it partly out of respect because Jesus was a teacher.
When Jesus was finished teaching, he asked Peter to do something else – something that didn’t make sense and wasn’t really called for.
Jesus asks Peter to put out into deeper water and throw out the nets for a catch. Peter may have been willing to do Jesus the first favor out of a sense of respect or gratitude, but with this second request, he was stepping into Peter’s territory.
For Jesus to be authoritative in teaching about the Law was one thing, but for Jesus to tell Peter how to fish seemed to be overstepping his bounds.
You can probably think of someone you know who is an expert in everything. No matter what the topic is, they know all about it, even if they don’t. They’ll argue with someone who really is an expert. What do you do? To argue back will just make you crazy; but to let them go on is just as bad.
The issue is who really has authority on the subject. It would seem Peter, the fisherman, should be the authority on fishing, not Jesus, the teacher/carpenter. But Jesus was also God, and having been present at creation to make the sea, the fish and Peter himself, he was actually a much higher authority on the subject.
Peter, despite appearances, decides to give Jesus the benefit of the doubt. He explains that they’ve already tried what Jesus suggests and failed, “yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.”
This is obedience.
Obedience
Obedience is doing what you’re told, not because you want to or because it makes sense or you feel it’s likely to work, but because the person who tells you has authority, and you submit to it.
This concept undergirds all military endeavors; the military depends on clear authority structures and prompt, complete obedience. The idea of obedience is not a popular one in our culture of independence, though. Even the army now has changed its slogan - An Army of One – to reflect our culture’s obsession with individuality.
But we’re starting to see that an excess of individuality, when it becomes a primary good and doesn’t ever bow to the idea of a ‘greater good,’ causes society to deteriorate.
The Church is not an army of one. The Church is a Body with many parts, governed by Christ as its head. When the parts of the body do things on their own, without the head’s direction, it causes problems for the whole body.
I recently learned a bit about Huntington’s Disease, which is similar to Parkinson’s – in this condition, the nerves begin sending signals to the muscles at random times. The result is jerky movements that make it hard for the person to speak clearly, walk straight, eat, or move without bumping things. The person’s thinking is clear; it’s not a disorder of the brain. You could say it’s an obedience problem in the nerves. The nerves send out their own orders to the muscles, without the brain’s direction, and the result is chaotic movement and frustration for the person trying to live in his body while it’s doing its own thing instead of what he’s telling it to do.
When we as the Church focus on self-actualization rather than developing a good ear for hearing Christ’s direction and a quick response of obedience, the result is chaotic movement within the body and Christ getting frustrated that his Body parts are all trying to do their own thing rather than cooperating.
Obedience has nothing to do with how I feel, or what I think; it has everything to do with knowing who’s in authority over me and accepting that direction, regardless. I can express my concerns, my doubts, my outright objections, but if I do it anyway, that’s still obedience, and that’s what’s crucial to being someone God can work with.
God calls people individually, and he knows us each by name, but we can only collaborate with His larger purposes if we obey Him. What Peter and his crew and the partners in the other boat saw that day with the miraculous catch of fish was that Jesus had authority over their world. And it was their obedience, even when they didn’t yet know the extent of his authority, that put them in a position to see this.
There will most likely be times in your life when you’re told to do something that you don’t want to do or that doesn’t make sense or that you don’t think will work. In those situations, you need to discern, not the wisdom of the order, but who’s giving it. Remember the game ‘Simon says...’ If Simon says, you do it. If Simon doesn’t say, don’t do it or you lose that game. If the order is authoritative, then do it. It may open up the possibility of something miraculous.
Jesus told Simon, ‘Let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon objected, but he obeyed, and his crew obeyed him also. That’s why we’re here today. Because these fishermen obeyed Jesus’ directions for catching fish, he taught them to catch people, and they taught the people they caught, until now we’ve been caught and hauled into the boat to fish for others. That’s pretty miraculous.
---------------------------------------
Given to Vidor Presbyterian
Feb. 4, 2007
Gospel: Luke 5:1-11
In this passage, obedience opens up the way for miracles.
This is a powerful story about Jesus calling people to join him in mission. In the last and most recognized part of this story, Jesus tells Simon that he will make him a fisher of men, and they leave everything to follow him.
But leading up to that moment, Simon and his crew make some crucial choices, based purely on obedience, before they realize who Jesus is. Those acts of obedience open up the way for Jesus to do something miraculous.
View from the Crew
There are several people in this story besides Jesus and Simon Peter.
Sometimes, a good way to understand what’s happening in a situation is to mentally put yourself in the place of somebody who was there – Did you ever see those videos in history class, with Walter Cronkite narrating: “It’s 1776 at the signing of the Declaration of Independence and You are there!”
Well, imagine you are a crewmember on Simon’s boat. “It’s 30 AD, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee as Jesus calls his first disciples – and You are there...”
It’s just turning to evening as you join Simon and the rest of the crew in the boat. Simon’s boat is about 20 feet long, wooden, and smells like fish – so does Simon, and so do you.
Simon’s partners, James and John and their crew, are fishing in their father’s boat. Both boats put into the water as the stars are coming out. Fishing is a quiet kind of work; there’s no need to talk, really, and you don’t want to scare the fish.
It’s a long night, throwing the net out, pulling it back in – and catching nothing. Over and over: throw it out, pull it back – nothing, throw it out, pull it back – nothing. Simon steers the boat from one favorite spot to another, and every one of them turns up dry tonight.
The sky begins to get grey, and still no catch. You can see the other boat a ways off, and they’re sitting high in the water, too. This whole night is going to be worthless if you don’t catch something soon. Throw the net out; pull it back – nothing.
Finally, with the sun up, Simon gives the signal, and you pull back in to shore. Total catch for the night – nothing. The fish must have found a good hiding place. Everybody starts washing out the nets.
Nearby, a lot of people are gathered around a man who’s talking. He starts walking over, with the people following him. Apparently, he knows Simon; he gets in the boat and asks him something. Simon looks over and motions the crew back in the boat. What’s this about?
Simon says to row out a little ways from the shore. The crowd on the shore moves closer to the water. Then Simon says to drop anchor. The man sits down in the stern, facing the shore and starts talking. Apparently, he’s a teacher or a preacher, and from the size of the crowd, he must be popular.
How does he know Simon? And how long is he going to talk? You’d like to get home. It’s been a long night.
Simon looks tired and slightly irritated. This is not a time to ask.
The man finishes his talk and then motions to Simon. You hear him ask Simon to put out further and drop the nets.
Simon’s patience is visibly waning. “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing...”
“Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.”
The man looks at Simon. Simon looks at you.
You’re thinking, ‘Who is this guy getting in your boat and telling you how to fish?’ He glares back and motions to throw out the net. Whatever. Now is clearly not the time to ask, but later, Simon’s going to have to explain this.
You throw out the net.
And the rest is history. The nets came up so full that they started to break. The crew had to signal the other boat, and they filled both boats so full they started to sink. Everyone was amazed, and Simon didn’t have to explain anything. It was obvious that this teacher had much more authority than they realized, and not just about fishing. When they got back to the shore, they left everything and followed him.
Simon’s obedience (twice)
In the most dramatic part of this story, Simon falls down in front of Jesus, recognizing him as Lord after seeing this miraculous catch of fish. Then, Jesus tells him not to be afraid, that he will become a fisher of men.
Though the catch is the dramatic part, I think what leads up to the catch is just as important, if not more so. What I’m talking about is Simon Peter’s obedience, and also his crew’s obedience.
When Jesus got in Peter’s boat and asked him to put out a little ways so he could teach the people, Peter and his crew did it. Perhaps he did it as a favor, recalling that Jesus had just healed his mother-in-law. Perhaps he did it partly out of respect because Jesus was a teacher.
When Jesus was finished teaching, he asked Peter to do something else – something that didn’t make sense and wasn’t really called for.
Jesus asks Peter to put out into deeper water and throw out the nets for a catch. Peter may have been willing to do Jesus the first favor out of a sense of respect or gratitude, but with this second request, he was stepping into Peter’s territory.
For Jesus to be authoritative in teaching about the Law was one thing, but for Jesus to tell Peter how to fish seemed to be overstepping his bounds.
You can probably think of someone you know who is an expert in everything. No matter what the topic is, they know all about it, even if they don’t. They’ll argue with someone who really is an expert. What do you do? To argue back will just make you crazy; but to let them go on is just as bad.
The issue is who really has authority on the subject. It would seem Peter, the fisherman, should be the authority on fishing, not Jesus, the teacher/carpenter. But Jesus was also God, and having been present at creation to make the sea, the fish and Peter himself, he was actually a much higher authority on the subject.
Peter, despite appearances, decides to give Jesus the benefit of the doubt. He explains that they’ve already tried what Jesus suggests and failed, “yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.”
This is obedience.
Obedience
Obedience is doing what you’re told, not because you want to or because it makes sense or you feel it’s likely to work, but because the person who tells you has authority, and you submit to it.
This concept undergirds all military endeavors; the military depends on clear authority structures and prompt, complete obedience. The idea of obedience is not a popular one in our culture of independence, though. Even the army now has changed its slogan - An Army of One – to reflect our culture’s obsession with individuality.
But we’re starting to see that an excess of individuality, when it becomes a primary good and doesn’t ever bow to the idea of a ‘greater good,’ causes society to deteriorate.
The Church is not an army of one. The Church is a Body with many parts, governed by Christ as its head. When the parts of the body do things on their own, without the head’s direction, it causes problems for the whole body.
I recently learned a bit about Huntington’s Disease, which is similar to Parkinson’s – in this condition, the nerves begin sending signals to the muscles at random times. The result is jerky movements that make it hard for the person to speak clearly, walk straight, eat, or move without bumping things. The person’s thinking is clear; it’s not a disorder of the brain. You could say it’s an obedience problem in the nerves. The nerves send out their own orders to the muscles, without the brain’s direction, and the result is chaotic movement and frustration for the person trying to live in his body while it’s doing its own thing instead of what he’s telling it to do.
When we as the Church focus on self-actualization rather than developing a good ear for hearing Christ’s direction and a quick response of obedience, the result is chaotic movement within the body and Christ getting frustrated that his Body parts are all trying to do their own thing rather than cooperating.
Obedience has nothing to do with how I feel, or what I think; it has everything to do with knowing who’s in authority over me and accepting that direction, regardless. I can express my concerns, my doubts, my outright objections, but if I do it anyway, that’s still obedience, and that’s what’s crucial to being someone God can work with.
God calls people individually, and he knows us each by name, but we can only collaborate with His larger purposes if we obey Him. What Peter and his crew and the partners in the other boat saw that day with the miraculous catch of fish was that Jesus had authority over their world. And it was their obedience, even when they didn’t yet know the extent of his authority, that put them in a position to see this.
There will most likely be times in your life when you’re told to do something that you don’t want to do or that doesn’t make sense or that you don’t think will work. In those situations, you need to discern, not the wisdom of the order, but who’s giving it. Remember the game ‘Simon says...’ If Simon says, you do it. If Simon doesn’t say, don’t do it or you lose that game. If the order is authoritative, then do it. It may open up the possibility of something miraculous.
Jesus told Simon, ‘Let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon objected, but he obeyed, and his crew obeyed him also. That’s why we’re here today. Because these fishermen obeyed Jesus’ directions for catching fish, he taught them to catch people, and they taught the people they caught, until now we’ve been caught and hauled into the boat to fish for others. That’s pretty miraculous.
---------------------------------------
Given to Vidor Presbyterian
Feb. 4, 2007
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