Resurrecting The Ordinary
John 21:1–19 (NRSV)
After these things 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.”
We as the church have been tasked with the extraordinary. To see God’s love and justice come to our world. But if we want to see the extraordinary happen, we must be faithful to the ordinary. If we run out and try to stand up to those in power and love every neighbor and remake unjust systems and fight to see justice happen in all of the areas where injustice flourishes, we will not only burn out, we will likely be ineffective.
So how can we live out the good news of God’s love and justice in our world in a way sees how important it is for the church to love our neighbors and speak truth to power, but do so in a way that lets us continue to this work for the long haul? I think in our story today there are a few small moments that give us a glimpse of how we can begin to practice this.
The first is this: We must practice seeing Jesus in our everyday lives. When the disciples were on the boat, they saw Jesus but they didn’t recognize him at first. They even talked with him, and listened to his advice, yet they still didn’t recognize him. We are not told why they didn’t, but, given all that had recently happened, maybe they just weren’t in a space to recognize him.
The more we are able to see Jesus in our everyday lives, the more we are able to live out the good news of God’s love and justice. There is a central idea in the biblical narrative and our christian faith that Jesus is uniquely present with those who are poor, oppressed, or marginalized. That people in those places are able to experience God in a way that those with power and privilege cannot. Therefore, if we want to know what God is up to in our world and join in God’s saving work, then we must look for Jesus among those with which God is present.
To practice seeing Jesus in the everyday is to begin to see Jesus in those pushed to the edges of our society. It is seeing Jesus is the homeless, the poor, and the hungry. It is seeing Jesus in the undocumented worker just trying to provide for his family. It is seeing Jesus in the refugees and asylum seekers just look for a better life. It is seeing Jesus in the sex worker who is just trying to survive. It is seeing Jesus in people of color when they ask us, an our black lives also matter in this world? It is seeing Jesus in all those innocent people who have been killed by bombs with an American flag stamped on the side. To see Jesus is to look straight at the sorrow and brokenness in our world and not look away.
But let us also remember that seeing Jesus in the other is a deeply human moment. My friend Ken, whose work among those living on the street spans decades, was often asked if he saw Jesus in his friends living outside. And one of his responses was this: “No, I don’t see Jesus. I see my friend.” He would let this sink in for a second, and then he would go on to say, “I think that seeing Jesus in the other is not some spiritual moment, but a deeply human moment. To see Jesus in someone living outside is to really see THEM. To see their humanity and who they are, and the more you are able to genuinely connect with this person, the more you are able to see their pain and their dreams, the more you will be able to see what Jesus is up to and hear his voice.”
To see Jesus in our everyday lives is to see those our society and culture have been relegated to the edges. It is to take seriously Jesus vision that in the kingdom of God, the last shall be first.
The second thing we must do if feed Jesus’ sheep. Here at the end of John we don’t have the lofty great commission that Matthew has. We have a quiet moment over a breakfast of bread and fish, where Jesus tasks Peter — and through Peter the rest of the disciples — with feeding his sheep. Peter denied Jesus three times over a fire of coals, and here again over a fire of coals Jesus reinstates Peter, and three times asks him if Peter loves him, to feed his sheep.
While this broad task might seem huge, let us remember what Jesus said about his sheep. In a story told in both Matthew and Luke, Jesus tells of a farmer who had 100 sheep, and when one was lost, the farmer left the 99 to go find the one. Jesus goes on to say that this is what the people of God should be about. Willing to leave the 99 that are doing fine to be present with the one who is on the margins.
To be honest, I used to struggle with this one a bit, because, as someone who wants to see the large systems of injustice come down, leaving 99 to find one seems counterproductive. When I first began working among people who live outside, I began to see beyond the common myths about poverty, and began to see how larger and systemic issues of injustice contributed to homelessness. And I was angry. I want to see these systems torn down and replaced with just and equitable ones. I began to focus more on these than on my friends who lived outside. I was determined to do all I could to prevent homeless on a large scale.
By my friend and mentor Ken, who I mentioned earlier, reminded me of this one day. That wanting to create more just systems and structures and ways of being in our world was wonderful. But if I didn’t really know those living outside, those who are most affected by these economic and social systems, than I would have a much harder time doing standing against the powers that be.
I have tried to take these words to heart over the last decade, and they have shaped my understanding of what it means to stand in solidarity with those living outside. That the more I am able to know and listen to and understand my friend who lives outside, the better able I am to stand against the larger issues of injustice that lead to homelessness.
I have been in the room with politicians and people with power, where ideas are being discussed about how we can solve homelessness, ideas with price tags in the millions of dollars. While I am thankful that there are those with this desire to help, I have talked with people in these positions of power, and I have learned that some of them have never gotten to know, or even had a conversation with, someone living outside. They knew all about policy and laws and codes, but not the people which they were trying to help.
To feed Jesus’ sheep means we must start from the ground up. It means our first call is to find the one sheep. To be present with the sheep who finds itself on the margins. And it is through this solidarity with those who are poor, oppressed, and hurting that we will find the strength to stand against injustice in all its forms.
And lastly, we cannot do any of this alone. We are called to this work together, as the church. We will all have different roles to play, as Jesus reminds us when he talks about the body of Christ. But we must work together. To live out the good news of God’s love and justice in our world is not only to stand in solidarity with the poor and marginalized, it is to stand in solidarity with one another in the church. To see that all of us is stronger than one of us.
The good news of Jesus is not going to break into our world through a bunch of Gospel lone rangers. It is going to break into our world because the church is committed to solidarity with those on the margins and with one another. Let us as a community of ask both where God is calling us as individuals, and how we can bring those callings together to be the church of God’s salvation in our world.
