The Season of Easter
May 7, 2006
"Cracker Barrel on the Galilee"
John 21:1-14
Dr. Dan Ivins, preaching

My favorite place for breakfast is Cracker Barrel.  I go so often, I've been nicknamed "The Chaplain of Cracker Barrel!"  A title I readily claim.  Hey, it's not expensive, you don't have to wait all morning, and it tastes great!  But not less filling. 

Our text is a first century Cracker Barrel story.  The church is still in the Season of Easter. A time to focus on Jesus’ resurrection appearances. Offering plenty of occasions for dealing with life and death throughout our lives -- roughly one for each of everything that matters to us.

Sometime after Easter, the disciples went home to Galilee; back to a way of life that was familiar, where it all began between them and Jesus. But mostly because it was safe! The likelihood of them meeting the same fate as Jesus was far less up in the Galilee. So it was the natural place to go after everything fell apart on Friday.

The 12 were already breaking up. Their number had dwindled to 7. So this bunch, plus 2 new ones, hung out a sign that read: “Gone Fishing.” There’s a reason why people fish. It’s the pursuit of that which is elusive but attainable. And offers oodles of opportunities for perpetual hope. An infinite series of chance and luck. It makes sense because fishing allows you time to think. And let the silence do its healing work.

It's something to do when you don’t wanta do anything ... but sit and watch a cork drift -- knowing that your nets are down in there somewhere in the depths -- just like you are. Waiting, hoping to hook something that’ll make it all worthwhile.

Fishing was their profession, before they took up discipling. These guys don’t fish for pleasure. They’re serious; which is why they fish with broad nets instead of a single hook. So when they go fishing, its not just to daydream. But a decision to return to the only way of life they know about, without Him. Jesus isn’t around much anymore. The time has come to move on. Memory, is OK, but there’s not much you can do about it except cherish it. The future is something else. Jesus' life on earth may have ended. But theirs hasn't. And they had to start looking after themselves again and make a living. So its back to fishing, and hoping, with each of them absorbed in his own thoughts.

They climb back into that old familiar boat, jabbing themselves for not knowing any better than to stake their destiny on somebody so unpredictable. They had “hoped Jesus was the one to redeem Israel.” But they gambled and lost. Now it’s back to the way it used to be. Only it doesn't work. They fish all night long and didn't even get a nibble! Time after time, they cast in their nets and come up empty -- a perfect match for their hearts. So now what? Caught in a time-warp, all they can do is sit in the dark and float around aimlessly, watching the sky brighten up as the sun rises behind the hills.

That’s when they hear him! They can't see him. But they can hear his voice ... calling out across the lake. Guessing the truth -- that “they have no fish.” And suggesting they "try the other side of the boat!" Which they do. And the water begins to boil! So dense with fish that some of ‘em are pushed above the surface, fins glittering in the early morning sunlight.

It's deja vu all over again! The boats, the nets, the Stranger calling out to them. Haven't we been here before? Or is this another one of those new beginnings? And it finally hit the beloved disciple, "It’s the Lord!" Also guessing the truth. And what had been a dismal midnight scene becomes daybreak pandemonium!

Peter fished naked, but puts on his clothes (go figure) and jumps overboard, leaving the rest to haul ‘em in. They scramble for the oars and catch up to the swimmer just as he reaches the beach. And they arrive to the sight of a charcoal fire with fish baking on it. And guess who’s the Cook! Gathered around the copper-glowing coals in the cool of the morning, the smell of wood burning, fish sizzling over the flames, the rhythmic sound of the seashore -- well, it was an awkward moment. Is it a dream? Or is it real? If it’s a dream, its too good not to be true!

Jesus isn't serving the "last supper" now. This is the "first breakfast!" Its not up-tight Jerusalem, but free-spirited Galilee. The last supper was the final meal of their old life together; a crucifixion supper. The initial meal of their new life together is a resurrection breakfast -- prepared by the only One who knows the recipe! Its not just bread this time but fish.

Its not clear why food is involved in Jesus' resurrection appearances, but it is. Two of Luke's stories are based around meals. 1st on the road to Emmaus, where Jesus was "made known in the breaking of the bread," and then later, when he appears to them all and eats “a piece of broiled fish.”

Then here in John 21 is this meal, reminiscent of that other picnic by the sea of Galilee, where Jesus took “a boy's sack lunch and fed everybody in sight!” But food and the resurrection seem to go hand-in-hand. Maybe it's because they’re both necessary for life. And so is Jesus. Or maybe its because sharing food is what makes us human. Other species forage alone, and feed in solitary. But people like to eat together. That may be because food is one of the clues to God's presence. There’s always a chance when people eat together, we’ll discover the risen Lord in our midst.

I'm glad for whoever gave us this 2nd ending to John's Gospel. Because it’s brimming with truth about those times when we’re marooned out on the sea in the dark, afraid that we’ve come to the end of something, without any idea what to do next. I see several things in it.

1st it's a good idea to pay attention to strangers. Especially those who know things about you that they have no way of knowing. Whether they give you unsolicited advice about where to cast your nets or look at you with the eyes of daybreak. It’s probably a good idea to listen to them -- since Jesus has a closet-full of surprises!

Next, you can bet Jesus is somewhere around when we’re involved in a sudden change of fortune. Not the rags-to-riches kind, because he prefers the rags to the riches. But a change in the way life looks to you. Your outlook seems hopeless. And the next thing you know, you're seeing possibilities you never saw before. Just when life appears to be a insurmountable, that’s when you discover some opportunity that you never knew was there. That might be Jesus.

One minute the "nets are empty," then lo and behold, something's wiggling around down in there, when there was nothing a moment before. That may be Jesus. It can be a little or a lot, but whatever it is, its alive -- with resurrection life! A living thing, where there was nothing but darkness and emptiness and death before. Jesus knows something about that too.

And wherever somebody’s trying to right a wrong, Jesus will be there. Forgiving our failures. He went back to the Galilee to “show himself” and set the church back on track. Especially Peter. While they’re sitting around the fire munching in silence, Jesus nods to Peter. And they take off down the beach together. Just the two of ‘em... “Simon,” says Jesus, “I need to know if you’re still with me?” And Peter, pained by the question -- answers “Yeah Lord. You know I love you.” Anguish in his voice. And then Jesus asks him again. And once more for good measure.

Each time Peter responds with all the sincerity he can muster. But no more of the bluster -- he had in the upper room. And Jesus does a curious thing -- he changes the metaphor from fish to sheep: “Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep.” That’s because John’s Jesus is more interested in shepherding than fishing!

Make of that what you will. But anybody can see the connection between Peter’s 3-fold confession of Jesus with his previous denials in the courtyard by the fire. Peter had dug a huge hole for himself. And because the #1 rule of holes is: when you find yourself in one, the 1^st thing to do is stop digging! So Jesus went up to the Galilee where all that was left of his infant church had retreated, to give them a chance to fill-in the hole it had dug for itself ...with 3 big shovelfuls of love.

But there’s a lot more here than symmetry. Jesus didn’t just want to bring ‘em back to where they were before. He wanted to move ‘em beyond where they were previously. With Thomas in the upper room in Jerusalem, he moved them from doubt to faith. But this is Galilee, where it all began. This time it’s Peter he’s moving, from faith to action!

Good religion always does that. And that’s the only reason the church is still here. Because courageous people along the way, responded when Jesus spoke the words that captivated the fisherman in the first place: “Follow me!” The Christian faith is never directed back to where you were. But always to where the Spirit leads. That can be pretty scary. But all Jesus wants to know is 2 things: If they love him. And if they’ll follow him. As it was then, so it is now, the church is better at loving Jesus than following him.

That’s why he had to “show himself.” He’s still trying to move the church from where it is to something better. Do you think in these resurrection-days, we need that as much as Peter and Thomas did?

Life gets tedious because it’s mostly unfair. To live is to change; to know pain and failure; the frustration of lost causes and dreams that turn into nightmares. The earliest church just after Easter didn’t have much going for it. Up in the Galilee, stuck at sea-level; empty nets, going no place.

Maybe that’s why John ended his Gospel twice. How else could he create a frame for that wonderful line for the beloved disciple: "It is the Lord?" But how’d he know? How does any of us know? By staying on the lookout, I guess. And swimming to Jesus when you’re perplexed. And most of all, by refusing to believe that our nets will stay empty. Or that the dark night of our souls will last forever.

Somebody added this story to the end of John’s Gospel to remind those of us “who have not seen,” that we are not alone. Because it says to all “with ears to hear,” there is a Voice that can turn all our dead ends into new beginnings. And that Voice says: "Come on ya'll.  Let's go to the Cracker Barrel!”

Prayer: It’s so easy Lord, to go back to the old ways, old routines and priorities. Each time we determine to put the past behind us, let bygones be bygones, we end up sacrificing your vision for us to common sense, as we surrender your ideals to the real world. But our nets always come up empty, until you tell us to try the other side. Show us on which side of the boat to fish and how Jesus can make life bountiful.

You’re a lot more interested in whether we love you, than how many fish we can catch. We say we love you. But you have to keep asking us. Because that’s the only way we can gain the strength to love the Lord more than we love predictability and security.

How do we find the strength to leave our old life behind and step out into something new? Its easy to love you when you fill our nets with fish and give us what we want.

The radiance of your presence only underlines the absence of our faith. Forgive us for letting living take the place of loving. Help us to see that your real interest is in our being shepherds not fishers.

Once you called us to be disciples, now show us how to be servants, of all you place in our path–the stranger, the sick, the lonely and isolated, the grieving and suffering; those who have a hard time believing in themselves. We remember all who face difficult decisions, which once they’re made, have definite consequences.

On this fine day we proclaim with our lips that you are the Son of God! May we leave this place more able to show in our lives that we are the people of God. With our words, we confess our love for you. With our deeds, enable us to confess your love for the world. Amen.