'Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" He asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do." [The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." He answered, "Here I am, Lord." The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight." But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name." But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.'
--Acts 9: 1-19
'Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon 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.
Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No." He 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. That 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. But 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.
'When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." So 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. Jesus 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. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
'When 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." A 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." He said to him 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. Very 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." (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, "Follow me."'
--John 21: 1-19
Jesus by the seashore fixing breakfast.
On a sleepless, restless night, several friends decide to go fishing. But they don’t catch anything. That’s ok, though. Fishing is more about the relaxation, the sharing of stories with each other. And oh the stories they share! The memories that flood in of other expeditions taken over the last three years or so. Remember that time when Simon leaped like a frog out of the boat and took off running toward the Teacher? Remember how he forgot for a second that he was on water and not on land? That was quit a….sinking sensation, eh, Peter?!
Then, after telling some really bad jokes, they head back to shore, and someone calls out to them, asking if they’ve caught anything. “Try throwing your net on the right side of the boat,” the stranger tells them. Even though the word that he uses – dexia – is Greek for “directionally right” and not right, as in, correct, we can still imagine him chuckling a little at his own dry humor. He knows what he’s doing. Suddenly their nets are bursting with hundreds of fish of every kind.
The stranger already has a campfire going, with fish and bread on it, and he invites them to breakfast. They’re pretty sure it’s Jesus. They’re not so sure it’s Jesus. And isn’t that so often the way that it is? We know him and we don’t know him. In stories and memories and encounters, his presence, and absence alike lead us to love him and to fail him. “Do you love me?” Jesus asks Simon bar Jonah – the one he gave the nickname Kephas, or Peter, or Rock. “Then feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep.” Don’t just say it. Be it. Don’t just intend it. Do it. Make your losses count for something, and let your believing become following.
There were many losses, especially where Simon Peter had been concerned. Not long after giving him a new name, Jesus called him ‘Satan’ when Simon Peter tried to keep things the way they’d always been and attempted to prevent Jesus from going through with his mission. He even denied knowing Jesus when push came to shove. Simon Peter’s not exactly a paragon of virtue. Still, when face-to-face with the risen Jesus, his three denials turn into three proclamations of love. Jesus doesn’t bring up his past mistakes and missteps. He feeds Simon Peter and tells him to go and feed the ones who will need it most. Even Simon Peter is not beyond redemption.
Nor was a Pharisee whose name at birth was Saul. He had persecuted the followers of the Way pretty harshly, even playing a part in the death of Stephen, the first deacon and martyr of this new faith. Like Simon, he gets a new name too after a conversion experience on the road to Damascus – that’s in Syria, not Southwest Virginia. Despite what he has done previously, the risen Jesus speaks to him and calls him, like Simon Peter, to tend and feed Jesus’ flock among the Gentiles. When he gets back to Jerusalem and suddenly says, “Hey everyone! I’m on your side now!” there’s gonna no doubt be those who’re skeptical, like Ananais; some who refuse to let him in on the meetings; or no doubt those who quit the group because they let him in. Still he is called. He makes his losses count for something. Even Saul the Pharisee is not beyond redemption.
You may be wondering why the text from John was so specific with the number of fish that Peter and the others caught: 153. Saint Jerome, who translated the Bible from Greek into Latin, claimed it was because there were 153 different kinds of fish in the sea, meaning that they caught one of every single kind. We know that number is more than a bit off, but the point remains the same. The net is big enough for everyone. You. Me. Even the ones that we may think are beyond redemption, yes, even them. Everybody. Several years ago, I was driving through rural South Carolina and saw a church sign that said “Dirty rotten sinners welcome!” It wasn’t an Episcopal church, but I think it hammers the point home much better and more directly than our generic “The Episcopal Church welcomes you” signs. Because the church is, as Saint Augustine once called it, “A hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.” We’ve all lost. We’ve all sinned. And none is beyond redemption.
The mistakes Peter and Paul make are not that different from our own. They miss the mark by trying to hold too tightly to the past and maintain a sense of control, and in doing so they misunderstand and misrepresent the very reality in front of them. They deny people they care about and hurl insults at folks about whom they know next to nothing, except the religious or socio-political position they take. Who among us is not guilty of missing the mark in such ways? It’s not just the folks we tell ourselves are above and beyond the grace, love, and mercy of Jesus, it’s all of us; and blessedly, those gifts he offers are not dependent upon us. The only thing that is dependent upon us is what we, those who have been given the such gift of grace, do with it.
Jesus shared bread and fish by the campfire with Simon Peter and the others. Annanias gave Paul something to eat before he left the house in which he was baptized. We share bread and wine at the Holy Table. In each case folks are given food for the journey, for the work that is to be done, like Peter and Paul and all the dirty rotten sinners before us. That work is nothing less than to restore all people to unity with God and each other through Jesus Christ. I didn’t make that up, it’s in our Catechism, on page 855 of our red Book of Common Prayer under the question “What is the mission of the Church?” Another way of putting it may be: to accept the gift of grace given to each of us and to be doctors and nurses to this world that is sick and suffering from sin.
Most biblical scholars agree that the 21st chapter of the Gospel of John is an add-on, a sequel, to the original text. We heard the first ending last week with the words “These things are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that through believing you may have life in his name." Sounds like a pretty good ending. But like Star Wars, Rocky, or the Godfather – all of which had sequels arguably better than the original – there was more story to tell, more lessons to be learned. Simon Peter needed his redemption moment and to know that love made him more than the worst thing he’d done. The people down through the years hearing this story have needed to know that the Jesus who ate by a campfire early in the morning still shows up, even when we’re not sure. And all of us, like Peter and Paul, need to be reminded of the grace that has been given to us – to everyone – and to remember our work, our call, to not just believe but to follow, and to make our losses count for something. To say, be, and do the Way of Jesus.