|
|
Sermonhelp.com
Third Sunday of Easter - Gospel Reading: John 21:1-19
It all began in a boat down by the lake... the reluctant dream of an impulsive
fisherman who actually believed he might be intimately involved with someone who
was going to change the world. That dream had come hard -- indeed at first he
rejected the thought. Someone like him associated with a holy man like the
Carpenter from Nazareth?
Not on your life! This Jesus who had the audacity to commandeer his boat and
then tell a fisherman how to fish? "...we have worked all night long but have
caught nothing -- (Oh well, what's another empty net in a night filled with
empty nets?) -- "Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets."
Then it happened! "...they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to
break," Luke reports. From that moment on, Simon Peter's life was defined by a
dream.
History is filled with people who have dreamed big dreams like the dream of a
poor black child, named Jackie Robinson in an all white world. "I will play
baseball with a professional team of white players.
The dream of George Washington Carver that began with the prayer, "Lord, why did
you make the peanut?"
The dream of a defeated man named Abraham Lincoln who said, "I think I will run
for president!"
There is the dream of a diminutive nun named Sister Theresa who said, "I want to
touch a poor child in Calcutta."
History will never be the same since the dream of a a young Indian named Gandhi,
who thought, "There must be another way to regain our country from the British."
Yet, dreams are not just for those whose dreams make them famous. There are all
kinds of everyday dreamers like you and me who dream that somehow, someway, our
lives might make a difference in this world. Our childhood images were filled
with, "Cinderella," "The Little Train that Could," or any of a hundred other
tales that fired our hearts with the notion that we could -- if we hoped, prayed
and worked hard enough -- make a real difference in our world!
***
But there is a kind of a "downside" to dreams. They are not always fulfilled and
indeed, they sometimes crash and burn. Is there anyone in America who can not
identify who said, "I have a dream..." Chilling -- isn't it? I mean what can
happen to dreams. What an incredibly painful thing it is when dreams die.
Somewhere in most of our lives there is at least one dream that fell apart. Some
broken dreams may have to do with major issues that change the direction of our
lives -- others are simply a temporary inconvenience, but most of us have been
there. The dream that had become the heartbeat of Peter's life was huge. While
most of us "have" dreams -- this dream "had" Peter.
Peter's Journey
One way to fully appreciate the struggle of Peter's journey is to examine some
of the more powerful statements he made to Jesus during the course of their
relationship.
All of us can remember some of the significant things we've said to special
people in our lives. For instance, can you remember the first time you said, "I
love you" or maybe a time when you said in anger, "I'm leaving" or that amazing
experience when you asked, "Will you marry me?" Some of the important statements
we've made to others can actually document the development of our relationships
-- and maybe even our dreams. By taking a closer look, we can trace, the rise
and fall of Peter's dreams in four amazing statements he made to Jesus and one
he made at the end to a crowd of bystanders.
"Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" At the very beginning when Jesus
had directed Peter to a "catch" so unbelievable, Peter was confronted with
awesome divinity in the person of a carpenter from Nazareth and fell to his
knees.
"Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." Spoken when a boat
full of terrified disciples saw Jesus walking toward them on the water. Peter's
life changing desire to step out in faith.
"You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Can you imagine Peter ever
forgetting the day he identified the Messiah who then changed his name to "The
Rock"?
"Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you." Blurted out when things
were coming unglued (at least in the disciple's view), Jesus has just said that
all of them would desert him. Peter's vehement response was a heartfelt
affirmation of loyalty.
"I do not know the man!" These words must have stuck like velcro to Peter's soul
for the rest of his life. They represent the moment Peter's dreams died! The
fisherman who identified the Messiah of God and went to the mountain top with
Jesus became the disciple who denied the Lord and sunk to the depths of
dreamless despair.
***
Peter's Devastation
Peter's dream finally saw him arrive at the worst experience of his life. Hope,
joy and expectation, tentative at first, grew into full blown excitement for the
"new world order" [the real one!], Jesus was bringing. The Kingdom of God was at
hand -- within reach -- the sick were being made well, crowds were discovering
"the joy of the Lord" and evil was on the run. The unknown fisherman and his
friends from the North were about to be apart of ushering in God's plan for
Israel.
The denial was beyond belief! Just to make sure the accusing bystanders believed
him, Peter punctuated his denial with curses, "I do not know the man!" Then
Peter's world collapsed. He wound up heartbroken and soul sick. It is like that
when dreams die. If you have ever had a time when your fondest hopes were
smashed or your most cherished dreams were dashed -- you can relate to Peter at
this lowest point in his life.
Maybe it is a marriage that failed, a child who turned the wrong way or a career
that ended. Whatever the experience and however it came to us -- most of us have
experienced the trauma of shattered dreams and broken hearts.
Peter's Road to Recovery
Hang in! Just like the saying goes, "It ain't over 'till it's over!" If Peter
could rise from the ashes of his devastation, there is healing for broken dreams
that is available to you and me. The road to recovery for Peter went something
like this:
1. Roots: Back to the Beginning
Some commentators believe this episode from the conclusion to John's gospel to
be simply another expression of Luke's story of the amazing "catch". (Luke 5)
The problem with this approach, however, is that it is too stuck in a thinking
mode and does not does not consider the very natural and even necessary flow of
the way our emotional lives work. The most natural thing in the world, when
trouble and trial come is to go back to the beginning of our experience.
The fact is, Jesus meets Peter at the beginning point of their relationship. Of
course Peter would go back to fishing. Of course we want to go "home" when
something terrible hits. The key point here is: God will meet us at the point
where we first began to dream.
2. Recognizing Christ in our Lives
There are a number of incidents in the gospels where followers of Christ have
difficulty recognizing who he is. The disciples on the Emmaus road, Mary in the
Garden and now these fishermen are somewhat uncertain of just who it is that
calls to them from the shore.
Where was Christ at the beginning of your dream? Was God involved in the shaping
of the dream? The point of our gospel story is a strong one: "Did you see me at
the beginning of your dreams? How did I fit in? Do you see me now in the
brokenness?
If we open our spirit to the still small voice within, we may hear the voice of
the Lord, "Come back to where you began. I was there in the beginning and I am
willing to be with you now. Recognize me and involve me in your present and I
will be with you in your future!"
We can not find healing for our broken dreams until we open up to ("recognize" )
the presence of Christ in our circumstances. The point of the gospel lesson
is... "Christ was there when it all began -- He is present now -- even when it
is difficult to recognize him. A sure beginning step in recovery is to pray,
"Lord help me to see you here and now in the midst of my difficulty."
3. Reestablishing Our First Love - The Meaning of Threes
Sometimes dreams die and we have absolutely no control over the events and
forces that bring about their demise. Sometimes we have used bad judgement or
otherwise contributed to the demise of our own dreams. And then again, sometimes
we've been just plain foolish.
[Like the guy whose dream was to have such great faith in God, he would be able
to prove God's existence to others. He felt such an opportunity for great
witness came when he had joined others on the lookout floor of a giant
skyscraper. He announced to a startled crowd that he has such faith in God's
love that God would cancel the law of gravity for him. The he jumped over the
fence and plummeted to the ground. As he dropped past the twentieth floor, he
was heard to exclaim, "So far so good!"]
Peter contributed to the demise of his own dream by trusting too much in his own
strength. He made the very natural mistake of saying, "Lord, I will be strong
for you!" Instead, he would later have to learn to pray, "Lord, give me strength
to serve You!"
There's something about the number three. "Three strikes and you're out," or
"Third time's a charm." After breakfast on what must have been an incredibly
joyful reunion on the Northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, there is a bit of
unfinished business to take care of. Interestingly, the gospel says, "This was
now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from
the dead." Then, as if to take him through the three denials -- face him with
his need for grace. Jesus asks Peter three times, "Do you love me?" And true
enough -- the third time was the charm. "Peter felt hurt because he said to him
the third time... 'Do you love me?'"
In other words, Jesus finally had Peter's attention and was able to help him put
his life on track to regain the dream. Only this time it would not be Peter's
personal, private dream. It would be the dream of God within him -- the dream of
"Good News" for all who would receive it.
Jesus' final instruction to Peter is the essence of simplicity and brilliance.
"Follow me!" The greatest thing in all the world -- the thing that can bring the
greatest joy and fulfillment of the most magnificent dream is the great
commandment Jesus gave some time before this early morning breakfast... "You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with
all your mind and with all your strength!" In other words, love God with all
you've got and your life and dreams will line up with God's design for your
living.
Love of God -- deep within our lives can become the driving force of our dreams.
As with Peter's recovery, we too may need to look carefully at just how central
God has been in our living and in our dreaming.
See Also:
Lovest Thou Me?
by Rev. C. H. SpurgeonDo You Love Me? Feed My Lambs
by Joseph Cardinal BernardinForgiveness for Peter Moments
by Teresa Fry BrownRestoring Simon Peter
by Rev. Fr. George TDo You Have A Genuine Love For Christ?
by Rev. Fr. Gheevarghese JohnDo You Love Me More Than These?
by Rev. Fr. Mathew ChackoDevotional Thoughts on Second Sunday after the New Sunday
by Rev. Fr. George TDevotional Thoughts for Second Sunday after New Sunday
by Rev. Fr. Mathew ChackoDevotional Thoughts for the 2nd Sunday after the New Sunday
by Watchman Upon the WallDevotional Thoughts for 2nd Sunday after the New Sunday
by Jose Kurian Puliyeril
Sermons Home | General Sermons and Essays | Articles | eBooks | Our Faith | Prayers | Library - Home | Baselios Church Home
-------
Malankara World
A service of St. Basil's Syriac Orthodox
Church, Ohio
Copyright © 2009-2020 - ICBS Group. All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer
Website designed, built, and hosted by
International Cyber Business Services, Inc., Hudson, Ohio
