0:00

We started a new teaching series on vocation

0:03

, and last week we

0:05

looked at the wider call

0:07

, what it means to be human , the

0:11

vocation that God has given to every

0:13

single person that he has created , and

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I want to put up just a simple chart for

0:17

you . It looks like a wedding cake , just in sort

0:19

of a way of conceptualizing what it means for us to begin to understand . Because when we

0:21

start talking about vocation , the ultimate question most of us are asking isizing what it

0:23

means for us to begin to understand . Because when we start talking about vocation

0:26

, the ultimate question most of us are asking is what

0:28

am I here to do ? Like God , what did

0:30

you wire me for ? But it starts

0:32

much bigger than that , and so what we wanted to do

0:35

was sort of scale out and start where

0:37

the scriptures start . So last week we talked

0:40

about our shared human

0:42

vocation . Today

0:44

I want to delve

0:46

into our vocation as

0:48

Christians , and my

0:50

prayer is that , as we

0:52

look at the life and the career of

0:54

one specific disciple of Jesus

0:57

, that it will spark

0:59

in our imaginations and in our minds

1:02

and in our hearts a desire to serve Jesus

1:04

in the same way

1:06

. But one of the beautiful things is , as

1:08

you look at this chart , the human

1:11

vocation and the Christian vocation really could

1:13

be merged together . Colossians

1:15

1 says that Jesus is the firstborn from

1:17

among the dead . In Jesus

1:19

, a new humanity has been inaugurated

1:22

, that to be human is to be

1:24

like Jesus . To be human

1:26

is to be a part of his new creation , and

1:29

so you really could merge those two together

1:31

, but for lots of reasons we have separated

1:33

them out . I should say also , I

1:35

sound much worse than I am . Our

1:39

staff got hit with some version

1:41

of the flu a couple weeks ago , coming from

1:43

Easter , and we have been battling through

1:45

it for the last couple weeks , and last week there

1:47

were some delirious moments up here

1:50

. But this week I feel amazing . But

1:52

I sound like I've smoked

1:54

a couple packs here this morning , but I

1:57

assure you it was just one pack . So

1:59

we , as we talk

2:01

about this , just want to . I found in the first

2:04

service there was a lot of affectation in my voice and

2:06

I was like I don't know if I'm trying to push

2:08

really heavily on the emotional buttons here . So

2:10

if you find that frustrating , your

2:13

grace is appreciated . I want

2:15

to put up a painting today

2:17

as we begin . This is an image

2:20

in many ways , of the Christian

2:22

life and

2:24

if you look closely , you should be terrified , because

2:27

that is a man who is being

2:29

nailed to a cross . That is not Jesus

2:31

. That is Peter . This

2:34

is a painting by Michelangelo and

2:38

Peter comes to

2:40

the last day of his life , legend tells us , starting

2:43

with Eusebius , a fourth century church

2:45

historian . Legend tells us that Peter

2:47

, when it came for his

2:49

time to be martyred under the reign of

2:52

Emperor Nero , decided

2:54

that , being killed in the same manner that his lord

2:56

and friend was killed , he was not worthy of

2:58

it , so he asked to be

3:01

crucified upside down . I

3:03

don't know if this story is historically true . It's beautiful

3:05

. I don't know if this story is historically true . It's beautiful . I don't know if it's true , but

3:08

as an image for us , as an invitation

3:10

to consider the life that we live

3:12

for Jesus , I want to

3:14

start , as storytellers often

3:16

do , with the end and

3:20

enter into Peter's very painful

3:22

reality . You know , oftentimes , at the

3:24

end of our lives , we're said that we have flashbacks

3:26

, that we scroll

3:29

through the moments of our lives , the highlights

3:31

, the lowlights . What I want

3:33

to do today is simply do that in

3:35

the life of Peter . Peter

3:38

, in many ways , is the consummate disciple

3:40

, and he

3:42

is because we have access to

3:44

so much of his life . I mean , who do we know

3:46

more about in the New Testament than Peter ? And

3:50

we have access to the triumphs , these

3:52

moments that Peter does

3:54

things , as we'll see , that nobody else in human

3:57

history has done . We

3:59

also have access to Peter's failures

4:01

, the moments that

4:03

he would like to forget . It's

4:06

actually an incredible thing that Peter

4:08

, as one of the figures

4:10

of the earliest church movement

4:12

, did not erase those moments

4:15

, those moments of failure , from the record

4:17

. Like you know

4:19

, guys , I know Jesus is risen

4:21

. Could we , if

4:24

we could just strike the record about

4:26

the fact that I denied Jesus three times , that

4:28

would be amazing . And also

4:30

if you , somebody , would tell John to stop

4:32

writing that he beat me to the tomb . He is not faster

4:35

than me , but

4:38

Peter's life is

4:40

offered for us on display and I think

4:42

it's offered as a gift from Peter

4:45

himself that he would say all

4:47

those moments of failure , all those moments of

4:49

shortcoming , are an invitation

4:52

to see God for who he really is , because

4:54

the story , ultimately , is about Jesus . The

4:57

story of Peter's life is about Jesus , and

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today I think we'll see , as we scroll through these moments

5:03

, these little vignettes , these episodes , that

5:05

Jesus is inviting us in the same

5:07

way that he's invited Peter . The

5:10

first time Peter met Jesus

5:12

was after a long night of fishing

5:14

. You see , peter was born into a fishing

5:17

family , which meant that for

5:19

many days in the year he

5:21

would spend his late evenings

5:23

to early mornings out on a lake

5:26

fishing . Some of those

5:28

moments , I'm sure , were glorious Nice

5:30

, warm nights , clear skies

5:32

, no light pollution . Incredible Other

5:36

times of year , like yesterday , when it was

5:38

45 degrees and 40

5:40

mile an hour winds not the kind of night

5:42

you'd want to be outside . We don't know

5:44

what kind of night it was before when

5:47

Peter met Jesus for the first time , but we

5:49

do know that these professional fishermen

5:51

caught nothing , and

5:54

part of finishing the work for the day

5:56

, as they would complete

5:58

their tasks , was to take the nets ashore

6:01

, to untangle and to wash them . And

6:04

so these fishermen , who have for all

6:06

intents and purposes failed for the

6:08

night , are now on the shore

6:10

of the lake and they're cleaning their nets when

6:13

, all of a sudden , a crowd starts

6:15

to emerge , and at

6:17

the center of this crowd is this figure

6:19

who decides that he's going to teach . But

6:22

Jesus doesn't just decide that he's going

6:24

to teach . But Jesus doesn't just decide that he's going to teach

6:26

. He looks at the shore of the lake and he sees two boats

6:28

that belong to Peter and his companions

6:31

. And he doesn't even ask , he

6:33

just takes it . Jesus gets

6:36

into the boat , puts out a little way from

6:38

the shores and he starts to tell

6:40

stories . And you know those moments where you've had a long day at work and

6:42

you're just like I'm actually too tired to long day at work and you're

6:44

just like I'm actually too tired to deal with this

6:46

. So they're not like , hey , buddy , could

6:49

you leave the boat . They're just like , whatever , it's fine

6:51

, the Lord needs it . And

6:54

so , as Jesus begins to teach , jesus

6:56

is really funny . He

6:59

tells stories in such a way that it makes people

7:01

laugh . He tells stories in such

7:03

a way that it grips their emotions . But

7:06

Peter is not just a simple

7:08

man , not just a simplistic

7:10

man . Peter is a good Jewish

7:12

man and he's listening to the stories

7:15

that this Jesus is telling about the kingdom

7:17

of God . And Peter starts

7:19

to think this man is beyond any

7:21

rabbi . I've ever heard this man something

7:23

to him . And Peter works away

7:26

cleaning his nets , listens

7:30

and he's compelled by this man and at the end of Jesus's time

7:32

of teaching . He

7:36

turns to the fishermen who have just finished the tedious task of cleaning their

7:38

nets and he says hey guys , you know what we

7:40

should do . Let's go fishing . And

7:44

they're like no

7:46

, we're good . And

7:48

Jesus says to them you know what ? I

7:51

know you professional fishermen , spent

7:53

all night fishing with all of your expertise

7:56

and didn't catch a single thing . But let's go

7:58

try again . I'm sure they're like listen , nice

8:00

carpenter man , with your nice words

8:02

. We tried , we

8:04

failed . We're willing to take the loss

8:06

for today . We'll start again tomorrow . But

8:09

something in this invitation

8:11

compels them and

8:13

, for whatever reason , when Jesus

8:16

asks , people tend to do things they

8:18

wouldn't normally do . And so they get

8:20

in the boat . Now it's not clear in

8:22

the story if Jesus

8:24

is in the boat with them . I think he is . I

8:27

think Jesus , if you read the story closely

8:29

, especially in Matthew's gospel Jesus really

8:31

likes the water . He is

8:34

born into a carpenter's family but for

8:36

whatever reason , he always finds himself

8:38

walking along the seashore and

8:40

his friends knew it . I think Jesus wanted

8:42

to take a boat ride . And so they

8:45

get in the boat and Jesus

8:47

says put out your nets in the deep

8:49

water for a catch . So

8:51

they drop these nets that they had just spent all

8:53

this time cleaning . And as they

8:55

drop the nets it's almost like the boat had snagged

8:58

on something on the ground . It

9:01

jostles and it jars , and

9:04

the disciples look over the side and they

9:06

see that this net is teeming

9:09

with fish and

9:11

the one boat has to call the other boat and say , hey , we need

9:13

your help . We actually can't get this in the boat by ourselves

9:15

. So they come

9:18

and they pull the catch into

9:20

the boat and Peter's

9:22

watching all this happen . He's listening to this man , jesus , teach

9:24

. Now he's looking at him and he's watching all this happen . He's listening to this man , jesus , teach . And now he's looking at him and

9:27

he falls at Jesus' feet . He says away

9:29

from me , for I am a sinful man

9:32

. It sounds like Isaiah in

9:34

the temple Woe is me , I

9:36

am a man of unclean lips from a people

9:38

of unclean lips . But Jesus says

9:40

to him no worries , from

9:43

now on you will fish

9:45

people . And

9:47

it says that when they had brought the catch

9:50

ashore , that Peter

9:52

and some of his friends left their

9:54

nets and followed Jesus , they

9:57

had no idea what was waiting for them . Something

10:00

so powerful and compelling in this

10:02

call caused them that day

10:04

to leave everything that they

10:06

had ever known behind and to go

10:08

with this rabbi and to follow

10:10

him . You fast

10:13

forward a couple of years

10:15

. The crowds that

10:17

were present that day on the lake

10:19

have now swelled

10:21

to numbers that Peter is just astounded

10:24

by . Have you ever had kind of an important

10:26

friend ? I

10:29

have friends that are minor Christian

10:31

celebrities and it's really funny watching

10:33

them in settings where people have

10:35

genuinely been touched by their lives in

10:38

really beautiful ways and they're my

10:40

friend . But it's awesome to see

10:42

them sort of like move in the crowds

10:44

and the people , the adoring masses , but also

10:47

to know that , like at the end of the night you get

10:49

to go , hang out and kind of unpack everything with them . Peter

10:52

has a similar thing going on and

10:54

Peter , as the disciples and Jesus

10:57

would do ministry together , he

10:59

would know that this

11:01

one that they're all gathering around that they

11:03

think is so compelling . They get

11:05

to spend the night dining

11:08

with this person , they get to hear

11:10

the stories in a special way and

11:12

the crowds have begun to

11:15

swell . And one day

11:17

in particular , these crowds have gathered in

11:19

a remote place and

11:25

they have been listening to Jesus all day long , when at some point somebody realizes

11:27

hey , these people are going to need to eat and

11:30

they're in a distant place . The

11:32

smart thing to do would be to tell these disciples

11:35

to send the people away

11:37

so that they can go and buy something to

11:39

eat . But that's not what

11:41

happens . Jesus , instead

11:44

of sending the disciples away , hears

11:47

that there is a loaf of bread

11:49

and maybe a couple of fish amongst

11:51

4,000 people . And

11:55

instead of sending these people away , jesus

11:57

says hey , bring me what you have . And

11:59

so the disciples watch as Jesus takes

12:02

these meager rations , as

12:04

he takes them into his hands , and

12:07

then he prays over them , but not an

12:09

anxious prayer like oh Lord , please , we

12:11

really need you to show up . Just God bless

12:13

it . I've given this on

12:16

behalf of these people . He

12:18

breaks it , he gives it and they start to distribute

12:20

these items in baskets . And

12:23

the disciples are watching , because they know where it

12:25

started , and they're watching as this all

12:27

unfolds and as

12:29

the baskets keep getting passed around , as people

12:31

keep taking and eating , there's still more

12:33

. And as people eat their

12:36

fill , there's still more . There's still more

12:38

fish and bread . And

12:40

they're watching astounded . Who is this man

12:43

? Who is this man that can take

12:45

these meager rations and distribute

12:47

them and there's still so much left over

12:49

and Jesus was

12:52

, I think , a modified extrovert

12:55

or introvert . Jesus

12:57

would spend time with crowds and then

12:59

he would decide I've had

13:01

enough . Anybody else Can you

13:03

sort of extrovert for a while and then you're like

13:06

leave me , all of you

13:08

quiet . My kids

13:10

still have not received that invitation . But

13:13

Jesus , after a day of ministry , says

13:16

to the disciples , as he often would do I'm going to

13:18

spend some time alone with the Father . You guys

13:21

go ahead , sail across the lake

13:23

, I'll meet you . And

13:27

so the disciples , after a long day of ministry of being surrounded by crowds

13:29

, have the prospect of a

13:31

evening boat ride ahead of them under

13:33

those same stars , those clear

13:35

, radiant , beautiful stars . That doesn't sound

13:37

so bad , does it ? And

13:39

Jesus sends them ahead and

13:42

they go and they're sailing . And it says

13:44

that many of them professional sailors

13:46

, encounter a headwind and

13:50

that they're sailing across the lake . But they're going slowly

13:52

and at

13:54

some point in the evening their

13:57

eyes have adjusted . The

13:59

sky is lit by the stars

14:01

. They can see somewhat well , but not

14:03

so well . It's still pitch black by the

14:06

stars . They can see somewhat well , but not so well , it's still pitch black . And

14:10

they're sort of sleepily scanning the horizon . When they see something like that . You see somebody walking

14:12

towards them , but

14:15

this person is walking on the water

14:17

Too

14:21

much wine , but

14:24

sure enough , the figure keeps approaching

14:26

them . And then , as

14:29

these disciples are surely like I mean

14:31

, there are a lot of ghost stories in first century fisher

14:34

culture as they're terrified , the

14:36

voice calls out do not be afraid

14:38

, it is I , it

14:41

is I Okay

14:43

. And Peter , I

14:46

think , almost says a joke . He's

14:48

like okay , if it's you , jesus , tell

14:50

me to come to you . Jesus , because

14:52

he's funny , looks at them . He says come

14:55

. Because he's funny , looks

15:02

at them , he says come . We

15:07

have to understand . Jesus just invited Peter to walk on water and Peter , maybe

15:09

half-heartedly , had said if it's you

15:11

, tell me to come to you . Jesus

15:17

is like absolutely . And

15:21

Peter begins to look over the side of the boat . Peter could swim . We have good documentation

15:23

in scriptures that Peter could swim . But he's looking over the side

15:25

of the boat and he's expecting

15:27

that when he steps out of the

15:29

boat , when gravity has

15:31

its way , that he will do what every

15:33

single human in the history

15:35

of human history has done when they have

15:38

fallen into water , that they will sink

15:40

. Peter , as

15:42

his weight shifts , as

15:44

he steps over the side of the boat steps

15:47

out onto the water and finds that the water

15:49

does not yield

15:51

. It's not like glass , but it's like walking

15:53

through a puddle . You

15:56

know you're looking down . At this point you're like , okay , when

15:58

am I gonna fall in ? And then he starts looking

16:00

up at jesus . I have to imagine he's just cackling

16:03

, like are you kidding me ? I'm standing

16:06

on water . And he takes

16:08

a couple more steps and then reason starts

16:10

to take over . I should not be standing

16:12

on water . How is this happening ? And

16:14

it says that he starts to falter , but

16:17

jesus grabs , pulls

16:20

him close . And this

16:22

question , I think , is so powerful as we

16:24

consider our vocation , what it means to be human

16:26

. Why did you doubt Something

16:30

so human

16:32

and trusting about asking

16:35

Jesus to

16:37

be able to join him on the water ? Asking

16:45

Jesus to be able to join him on the water ? Jesus just says gently hey , that

16:47

kind of trust is what you were made for . That's what it means to be

16:49

human , to trust that you can ask me to

16:51

do things . That may seem extraordinary . Jesus

16:55

in that moment

16:58

, is still just such a mystery to

17:00

them , so astounding . A

17:03

couple weeks later , the disciples

17:06

are sitting around

17:08

a meal and Jesus asks them

17:10

the question who do the people say

17:12

the Son of man is ? The

17:16

disciples start offering answers . Well , some say you're Elijah

17:18

, some say you're jeremiah , they're not sure

17:20

. But peter has that like

17:22

. You know that you , sometimes you have an answer

17:24

that's just kind of burning and you're maybe you're in a setting

17:27

like this and you're like I don't normally talk

17:29

in group settings like this , but he's just got that answer

17:31

that just won't let him go and peter

17:33

just blurts out before you are the messiah

17:36

, son of god . Now

17:39

, for the people in that room , that

17:41

wasn't just about okay , second person of the Trinity

17:44

, your divine being . That was about Jesus

17:46

as the answer to

17:48

the promises that had been given to Israel

17:51

, a king in the line of David

17:53

, a king who would overcome their oppressors

17:55

, who would restore Israel to their rightful

17:58

place . This

18:00

is the story that's echoing around the room

18:02

, and Peter offers

18:05

this as his answer . Who is

18:07

Jesus ? And

18:09

Jesus says to him you have

18:13

spoken right . Blessed , are you Simon

18:16

, son of Jonah ? This was not revealed

18:18

to you by flesh and blood , but by my Father

18:21

in heaven , and I tell you that

18:23

you are no longer

18:25

simply known as Simon , but you

18:27

are Peter . On this rock , I

18:29

will build my church and the gates of Hades

18:32

will not overcome it . In

18:35

that moment , in Peter's

18:37

response to Jesus , peter

18:40

receives a new name Petros

18:42

rock . You

18:45

are the rock

18:47

, peter . You are the one

18:50

upon whom I will build

18:52

this new church . This image of the rock

18:54

would carry Peter throughout the rest of his life

18:56

. If you read the letter of Peter

18:58

in 1 Peter , chapter 2

19:00

, peter begins reflecting on the

19:02

rock , the cornerstone of the temple , and

19:05

he talks about . Jesus is the cornerstone

19:07

, but we , as the church , are being built

19:09

like living stones into a house

19:12

that can inhabit God . Have you

19:14

ever had words that were spoken over you

19:16

that carry you ? Ever

19:21

had words that were spoken over you that carry you ? I have words

19:24

that still echo around in my heart today of people seeing

19:26

me and calling out something in me . Somebody

19:29

once told me that when I talked about the Bible

19:31

, people listened . I don't know

19:33

if they were just being kind , but here

19:35

we are . What

19:39

this tells us , friends , is

19:41

that we have to pay attention to those words , as

19:43

we'll talk about next week in our personal calling

19:45

. God has given us words that create

19:48

worlds in our life , but

19:50

also we so often

19:52

carry around the negative version of that right

19:54

. Do you have words that have

19:56

wounded you , that that you

19:58

still carry around , that

20:01

you still just drag around

20:03

every day . It's not that those words didn't

20:05

hurt , but God is wanting

20:07

to do a work of healing , of redeeming those

20:09

words , and it tells us that

20:12

as a church , we have to be willing to share

20:14

those kinds of words . When

20:16

you see something in somebody else , you

20:18

don't know what kind of destiny you might

20:20

be writing in their life by simply

20:22

saying it . What a gift

20:24

. And Peter hears

20:27

himself called out by Jesus

20:29

. You are Peter . But

20:33

Peter , as he's there on that last day of his life

20:35

, as he's tracking through the

20:37

highlights of his life walking on water

20:40

, you are Peter . The rock also

20:42

would remember lowlights

20:44

that in that same

20:46

breath , in that same vein

20:49

as Jesus , had been called out by

20:51

Peter . You are the Messiah . For Peter

20:53

, that meant conquering king glory . That

20:55

meant you will get rid of the romans

20:57

, thank you . But

21:00

then jesus started talking about yes

21:02

, peter , you've spoken correctly , I am the son of

21:04

man . But what that means is that

21:06

I will suffer , I will

21:08

be given over to the religious

21:10

leaders , to the romans , and that I will be

21:12

killed , and then , on the third day , I will

21:15

rise again , and none of them had any clue what he meant

21:17

by that . But as peter's

21:19

hearing jesus saying that that for

21:21

him to be the son of man that he's going to suffer

21:24

, peter takes him aside and he rebukes him . He says

21:26

no , lord , you're

21:28

the Messiah , that's not going to happen to you . And

21:31

Jesus , in responding to Peter

21:34

, in responding to his very well intention

21:36

but misguided rebukes

21:38

, says to Peter he

21:41

says get behind me , satan , you

21:44

are a stumbling block to me . Interesting

21:46

that the rock has not become a stumbling block , isn't

21:48

it ? You do not have in mind

21:50

the concerns of God , but merely human

21:52

concerns . Jesus

21:55

doesn't look at Peter with anger or with

21:57

harshness , but Jesus

22:00

looks at Peter with anger or with harshness . But

22:02

Jesus looks at Peter with the clarity of his purpose and he says to Peter

22:04

you do not have in mind the concerns

22:06

of heaven , but the concerns of humanity

22:09

. And then Jesus said to his disciples

22:11

whoever

22:14

wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their

22:16

cross and follow me . To

22:19

be called Satan by Jesus was not one

22:21

of Peter's favorite days , to say the least

22:23

. Fast

22:26

forward one year later , to the spring . Things

22:30

had turned somewhat ominous . It was clear that

22:32

things were accelerating . The

22:34

disciples had joined Jesus back

22:36

to Jerusalem for the Passover feast

22:39

and as they entered the city

22:41

, crowds as we celebrated on Palm

22:43

Sunday welcomed him . Hosanna Blessed

22:46

is the one who comes in the name of the Lord

22:48

, son of David . Later

22:51

that week they were at a meal and

22:54

they gathered and Jesus is talking very

22:57

ominously , very cryptically

23:00

. But they gather at this meal

23:02

and Jesus gets

23:05

up from the table , he takes off

23:07

his outer garment and

23:09

he wraps a towel around his waist

23:12

and he grabs

23:14

a basin and some water , fills

23:16

up the basin with the water and

23:18

then he proceeds to bow

23:21

before each of his friends and disciples

23:23

and it became clear

23:25

that Jesus was going to wash their feet . Now

23:27

the washing of feet was reserved

23:29

for the lowest status member at the meal

23:31

and oftentimes they just skipped it altogether because

23:34

it was a task reserved for slaves . But

23:37

here's Jesus getting

23:39

up from this very important meal , stooping

23:42

at the feet of his disciples , and

23:45

he comes to Peter . Peter

23:48

looks at him . He's like no way , you

23:50

are not going to wash my feet . And

23:53

Jesus says to him you do not

23:55

know now what I'm doing , but later you

23:57

will understand . And

23:59

Peter says to him very plainly Jesus , you

24:02

will never wash my feet , jesus

24:05

answered him , unless I wash you

24:07

, you have no share with me . Simon

24:10

Peter said to him Lord , not my feet , but

24:12

my hands and my head also

24:14

. Again , as Peter gets

24:17

access into what's happening , then he's

24:19

all in and Jesus is like , hey , just your feet will

24:21

do , it's okay . It

24:25

was at that meal that Jesus would tell Peter

24:27

the truth , that he would deny him , that

24:29

he would abandon him . And Peter resisted that too

24:31

. He said , lord , I'll never leave you . Peter

24:35

wasn't sure then . He couldn't

24:37

have known . The reality was

24:39

, what Jesus was about to do was unforeseen

24:42

by every single person that

24:44

Jesus was about to be arrested , crucified

24:48

, and that on that first Easter

24:50

Sunday morning he would stand in a locked

24:52

room full of fearful disciples and

24:54

say Peace to you , I am alive

24:57

forevermore . But

24:59

Peter had , in the course

25:02

of those events , denied Jesus

25:04

. Something

25:06

was still off . When Jesus shows

25:09

back up , when he's resurrected , risen to life

25:11

, peter knew that he was still

25:13

dragging around his failure , still

25:16

dealing with the reality of denying Jesus

25:19

. And we see in John chapter 21

25:21

that Peter had gone back to fishing . It's

25:24

a very uncertain timeline

25:27

. At the end of John it seems

25:29

that the disciples have seen Jesus risen

25:31

. Why does Peter , at this

25:33

point , go back to fishing ? I

25:36

don't know . I think

25:38

it's so we can have the story that we're about

25:40

to tell , but Peter goes

25:42

back to fishing . Why ? What was he thinking ? Well

25:46

, I think Peter was thinking that

25:48

he couldn't fish for people anymore , that

25:51

when he had denied Jesus , he had denied his

25:53

calling . So

25:56

Peter goes back to fishing , and

25:59

wouldn't you know it that this professional fisherman

26:01

spends another whole night fishing and

26:03

catches nothing

26:05

. As morning

26:07

dawns , as the sun breaks the horizon

26:09

, peter is staring at

26:12

the shoreline wondering

26:14

what's next . He can't fish for fish . He

26:17

can't fish for people . He can't fish for fish . He can't

26:20

fish people . When , just like he had seen that

26:22

one walking on the water , he now sees one

26:24

walking on the shoreline . Oh

26:26

, there's a person there . And the voice calls

26:29

out because Jesus is

26:31

hilarious , friends

26:35

, have you caught nothing ? Thanks for pointing that out

26:37

. How about you

26:40

professional fishermen who have caught nothing , why don't you try

26:42

one more time ? Put the nets

26:44

out on the other side of the boat for a catch

26:46

? And again , because

26:48

it's Jesus's invitation , because

26:52

we often do things we wouldn't normally do , when Jesus tells us to do it , they're

26:54

like okay , and sure

26:56

enough , wouldn't you know it , they put

26:58

out in the deep water and they

27:01

catch so much fish that they can barely contain

27:03

it . And it's at this moment

27:05

because Peter's like , it takes me a while , I'm

27:07

slow , but I get there . I've seen this before

27:09

. That's Jesus . It

27:12

does something interesting when

27:15

you go swimming and

27:17

it regards your clothes . Normally you

27:19

are undoing layers , you are

27:21

unburdening yourself right of

27:23

your layers of clothes because that makes

27:25

it easier to swim . But

27:28

Jesus , as he calls Peter

27:30

. Peter responds , and

27:32

he's been out fishing all night with his buddies

27:34

. They've taken off their outer garments so they don't have to wash

27:37

them . Peter , as

27:39

he realizes this is Jesus , puts

27:42

his thick outer

27:44

garment back on and

27:47

then jumps in the water . How

27:49

does he do that ? Well

27:52

, it's because from the very beginning we've been

27:54

trying to cover our shame , to

27:56

make ourselves approachable to

27:58

God and for God by covering ourselves

28:01

. There's figs and leaves in the garden

28:03

. Here's Peter here , mired

28:05

with shame , covering himself with his outer

28:08

garment for a swim . So by the time

28:10

he reaches the shore , he's exhausted and

28:12

heavy laden , just dripping . And

28:17

as Peter comes upon the shore

28:19

, he

28:24

smells . The first thing he smells is charcoal fire . Now , I'm from Oklahoma

28:26

. We cook a lot with open flames

28:28

. It's a

28:30

gift . Some of you are like , yes , you can smell it . Now it's

28:36

smell lunch . But how many of you also know that our sensory

28:39

memories , especially when it comes to smell , are

28:41

quite powerful ? You

28:43

have a smell that brings you back to a certain

28:45

place , good or bad . And

28:48

for Peter it just so happens that one of the times that

28:50

he denied Jesus was around a charcoal

28:52

flame . What

28:54

do you think that smell recalled in Peter

28:56

? The first

28:58

thing Peter smells

29:00

upon entering Jesus's risen

29:03

presence is his shame . But

29:07

Jesus is baking bread

29:09

, baking fish over this flame

29:11

. As

29:13

Peter and the disciples come to the shore

29:15

, they share a meal together . It's all in community , I think

29:17

. Oftentimes we think then

29:19

that Jesus and Peter have this little aside

29:22

conversation , but I don't think so . I

29:24

think when Jesus restores

29:27

people , like the woman who touches

29:29

the hem of his garment and he stops and he

29:31

says who touched me , jesus is

29:33

doing a work of restoration that is beyond

29:35

something we can envision . So

29:37

Jesus is not just restoring Peter

29:39

and saying , hey , it's all good , I'm

29:41

going to ask you some questions , you're going to have the right answer , but

29:44

Jesus is restoring Peter in the light of

29:47

the other disciples , he's bringing all

29:49

of it back into harmony . And

29:52

Jesus turns to Peter in front

29:54

of all the other disciples , I think . And he says

29:56

to Peter Simon , son of

29:58

Jonah , do you

30:00

love me ? And the

30:02

first time Peter has been aching to answer

30:05

this question yes , lord

30:07

, I love you Great

30:10

. But then Jesus

30:14

asks him again Simon

30:17

, son of John , do you

30:20

love me ? Peter's

30:22

like I told you the first time , I love you . Yes

30:25

, lord , I love you Great . Then

30:29

Jesus asks him one more time

30:31

. Why

30:33

is Jesus asking the question over and over again , even

30:36

Peter's annoyed Lord , you know everything

30:38

. You know I love you . It's

30:41

simple math . Grace's

30:44

math always balances

30:46

the equations Three times denied

30:48

, three times affirmed . But

30:51

in each affirmation Jesus

30:55

is offering Peter an invitation

30:57

towards his future . This one who was called

31:00

to fish for people is now being told

31:02

tend my lambs , feed my sheep

31:04

. This one who was called to fish

31:06

for people is now being invited to the vocation

31:08

of a shepherd , to

31:11

be one who receives his call

31:13

anew from this redeeming

31:16

loving Jesus . And

31:19

today , that's okay

31:22

. That's okay , friends

31:24

, for us , as we have

31:27

surveyed and scrolled

31:29

through the life of Peter

31:31

, what we start to see

31:33

as we invite the worship

31:35

team to make their way forward is

31:38

that our Christian vocation

31:40

is not about having

31:42

all the right answers . It's

31:45

not about always

31:47

responding well in the moment

31:49

. It's not about

31:52

necessarily the job

31:54

that we do . It's about

31:56

do we know Jesus

31:59

? Do we allow him

32:01

to wash our feet to

32:03

make us holy as he is holy ? Do

32:07

we allow him to call

32:09

us out on the water , to

32:11

respond to him , to live in

32:13

light of faith , not by sight , and

32:15

to say , god , where you are is

32:18

where I want to be sight and to say , god , where you are is where I want

32:20

to be ? Do we allow him to restore us to

32:30

redeem even what we perceive to be our deepest failures ? And do we receive from his hand the

32:32

call anew to do the work of serving our neighbor

32:34

, of tending the sheep , of feeding the

32:36

lambs , of being with Jesus

32:39

, our Christian vocation

32:42

, ecclesia ? This

32:44

call that is put forth to each one of

32:46

us is a call

32:48

to live the whole of our lives as the

32:51

life of discipleship , coming

32:53

to Jesus , receiving anew . This

32:58

morning , that

33:00

is the call . That same call that was given

33:02

to Peter has been given to each one of us To

33:07

hear and to respond to , to receive

33:09

a new name and a new story . Jesus

33:15

is the one who

33:17

makes all things new by

33:20

giving of himself . So today

33:22

we gather around this newness

33:24

, around this new creation . Say

33:26

, god , do with me what you will . Here

33:28

I am , lord , send me . I'm

33:31

gonna pray as we enter into a time of response

33:33

. Oh

33:37

, I pray . Come Holy Spirit , god

33:40

, would you descend upon this place , god

33:47

? I want to speak to those for whom their

33:50

lives have been defined by a

33:52

harsh word spoken over them or

33:55

by shame that they have brought

33:57

into their lives by a choice that they've made , that they have brought into

34:00

their lives by a choice that they've made . God

34:03

, so often we spend so much of our time

34:05

and our energy trying to make ourselves respectable

34:09

, as if you need something

34:11

for us to accomplish so that you can approach us , god

34:13

. But the story of the

34:15

gospel is the story of the God who

34:18

doesn't wait for us , god in our faithlessness

34:20

, but steps out of

34:22

the abundance of his steadfast mercy and

34:24

love his covenant . Love for us , god , by

34:27

giving of his very self , drawing

34:31

near to us when we would rather push you

34:33

away . And

34:36

so , god , in this place , lord , I pray that

34:40

you would draw near to people in places where

34:43

they have locked up their

34:45

own future in light of their past . God , god

34:51

, you are the God who speaks new possibility

34:53

over us . Would

34:56

we receive it here this morning , god ? Would you undo

34:58

the lies and the accusation of

35:00

shame ? God , the lies

35:03

of the enemy . God , the voice of the accuser in

35:05

this place , and would

35:07

your voice , the voice that calls

35:09

out to us on the water , the voice that calls us

35:11

a new name , god , would

35:13

you meet us here in this place ? God

35:18

, I want to speak to those who are just unclear

35:20

. God

35:22

, we spend our lives trying to figure out what

35:25

does it mean to be called by you ? Lord

35:29

, that you would speak words of confirmation

35:31

over deep desires , god , god

35:34

, you speak words of life and calling

35:36

God in this place of destiny . Jesus

35:40

, and only the way that you can . God

35:45

, we gather around your

35:48

story . God , that

35:51

this story of Peter is the story of Jesus

35:53

through and through , the

35:55

story of a life held in your hands at

35:57

our last breaths . God , that

36:01

our lives would be a sign of what it means to be loved

36:03

and cared for by you , called

36:06

by you . Jesus , we

36:08

ask all these things in your name , in the beautiful

36:10

and powerful name of the Father , the Son

36:12

and the Holy Spirit . We pray Amen .