John 21:1-14
The Gospels tell the story of Jesus’s post-resurrection appearances. We hear about Peter, John, Mary Magdalene, and others at the tomb; we are told of those who met Jesus on the way to Emmaus; we read of the disciples gathering in an upper room, first without Thomas and then with him; and finally, in John 21, we hear this story of how the disciples, having gone back to their old occupation of fishing, encountered the Risen Lord on the beach. The Gospel of John can often sound very mystical and metaphorical. There are long theological passages about Jesus and other long theological passages spoken by Him. There are many acts performed by Jesus as “signs.” There are dramatic prophecies. But when the author of John decides to tell a story, he tells it with many vivid details – from Peter being so excited that he jumps into the water naked, to the precise count of fish in the un-torn net, to the charcoal fire and the fish breakfast Jesus prepared. (Luke 24:42 tells of how, when Jesus appeared in the upper room, He ate broiled fish to prove to them He was not a ghost.) I don’t know about other church experiences during the COVID years, but here at FECC Fullerton, we ceased to meet together for in-person worship in early 2020 and went for about one year, worshipping on YouTube. We first gathered again together in person early 2021. Our service with masks on and chairs distanced from each other, singing along to a keyboard, but we were together and we sang and we read the Bible and I preached and we received the Eucharist. When we gathered together for in person Easter Sunday 2022, indoors, our YouTube Easter Sundays of 2020 and 2021 strongly echoed in our minds. 2022 was the first Easter together. Then we celebrated Holy Communion in person again. I had presided over many Holy Communions as the pastor of the congregation since 2019. There were renewed joy in being together in person. Bible readings struck home. Pieces of the liturgy took on new meaning. The presence of the Risen Christ was palpable. The hymn, “We Know that Christ is Raised” that I’ve sung many times before struck me in a new way, especially this verse: We know that Christ is raised and dies no more. Embraced by death, He broke its fearful hold, and our despair He turned to blazing joy-- Alleluia! I thought, and think now, of those disciples on the shore of the Sea of Tiberius. Confused, caught between the old and the new, puzzled by their post-Resurrection meetings with Jesus, fishing in the dark and catching nothing. And then, all of a sudden—daylight, fish, and the one they loved most welcoming them to breakfast, “Come and have breakfast.” Embraced by death, He broke its fearful hold; and their despair—and ours—he turns to blazing joy. Alleluia. Lord, turn my despair to blazing joy. Amen and be filled with Your fullness—and then to share it. Amen. Comments are closed.
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