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Jesus’ Fireside Chat with Peter
John 21:1-19

     Do you know what it is to start out strong? That diet you started three weeks ago is working; you have more energy and your tightest pants are feeling looser.  Or that project you began with gusto last month is really taking shape.  Then comes some setback.  Your whole family gets a stomach bug one weekend, your home project is neglected, and now you can’t make yourself get at it again.  Or with your diet, you were doing fine until you went to your grandmother’s birthday party and ate a big piece of chocolate cake; now you can’t stop sneaking sweets.  Setbacks happen.
      The same can be true with relationships.  Things can be going along smoothly, then a very difficult issue comes up.  You don’t agree, there’s frustration, then an argument. It’s a setback you’d like to have resolved so you can return to the normal ease that’s usually part of your relationship. 
     Setbacks, like it or not, regularly happen in all of our lives; some project at work hits the skids, you get bills that drain your bank account, or a relationship gets tense.  If you struggle at those uncomfortable junctures, if you really prefer to stick your head in the sand and wish it away, this sermon may be just for you! Even if you do cope pretty well, this message might give you new insights! 
     In today’s Scripture the focus is on Simon Peter, the one Jesus called “the Rock on which he would build his church.”  He was a disciple who started out strong, then had a devastating series of setbacks.  First, he fled when Jesus was arrested and felt immense shame.  He wasn’t at the foot of the cross with John and Mary - that was another regret.  Then three times one night, sitting by a fire near the priest’s court, Peter denied that he knew Jesus.  He blew it; he was so fearful he lied and said he wasn’t his disciple.  When a rooster crowed in the early morning hours, Peter realized his failures, and filled with self-loathing he wept bitterly.
     Several days later, the disciples were out on a fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee. They’d seen their risen Lord twice so far; Jesus told them to go ahead of him to that spot and he’d meet them there.  We don’t know how many days went by, but we can assume Peter was struggling. He was filled with regrets, which likely made him restless and eager to stay busy with a long night of fishing.  The others likely wanted ways to pass each day too.  They were a band of brothers, bound together in the waiting.  Three of the men in the boat weren’t even fishermen by trade, but they stuck together in camaraderie.  
     Nighttime on a body of water can give a person plenty of time to think.  I imagine Peter wrestled with guilt and regret.  He’d said words he wished he could take back.  He’d shamefully abandoned his Lord during the darkest days of his life.  If you’ve ever said or done things you deeply regretted, you can likely relate to Peter - I surely can!  You and I know that relationships with those we care about can become strained.  We usually replay what happened over and over; that processing can spike our anxiety.  Does that sound familiar?  We wonder whether or not things can be improved; we want them better, we’d really like to be reconciled.    
      Notice what Jesus did on that long-ago morning; knowing Peter was struggling and upset with his painful choices, he showed up.  He made the first move in restoring peace in that relationship.  But notice how Jesus first gave Peter some time to sift through his emotions and get ready to have a more clear-headed conversation.  That’s a good reminder for us to do the same.
     From the shoreline, Jesus called out and asked the men whether they’d caught any fish.  Hearing them say they had no luck, he shouted: “Throw your nets to the right side and you’ll find some fish.”  Those words triggered a vivid memory for Peter from three years earlier.  Jesus had said the exact same words to him on the day he called him to be his disciple. That day he’d hauled in a miraculous catch of fish that had broken his nets.
     John, another disciple on the boat, suddenly recognized the identity of the man seen only dimly on the shore.  He probably whooped for joy as he yelled, “It is the Lord!” Within seconds, impetuous Peter was overboard, swimming as fast as he could, then running across the sand to encounter Jesus.  He needed to see him, to be given the chance to express his regrets and seek forgiveness. 
     We don’t live in a perfect world and none of us are perfect, far from it!  What we see in today’s lesson is that we all have a choice: we can stay at a distance when something or someone is difficult for us or we can choose to move toward the person or activity that troubles us.  Here’s my advice for those times when we feel anxious.  Realize that if we do nothing, we’ll feel anxious.  Likewise, if we choose to move toward what’s hard, we’ll also feel anxious.  Since we will feel anxious one way or the other, I say we might as well use our best energy toward doing whatever we can to make things better.  
      I see three lessons for us in today’s passage that relate to facing serious setbacks in life.  The first is that the disciples received an unexpected blessing while they were still in a low place. Their fishing nets were embarrassingly empty after a long night on the water.  When they listened to Jesus and put their nets on the other side of the boat, they hauled in an abundance of gleaming fish - 153 in all, probably weighing in at around 300 pounds.  
     Have you ever been in a low place in your life, so much so that everything looks bleak with the lens you are using?  Sometimes holidays can bring out that melancholy. COVID has certainly left many of us feeling isolated, missing the full lives we’d been living.  Then some joyful news comes, a sudden surprise that boosts us.  Look back over the years of your life and can’t you remember bright spots during dark days?   I’ve heard many stories about broken-apart families coming together and getting along again because of a blessing - like the birth of a baby.  Or a family wedding, even a funeral.   Things may start out awkwardly, but someone gets to reminiscing, another joins in, and after a bit of time some of the good feelings once felt in the past return.  Those can be healing times.  That’s what I see happen again and again.  When we go through a season when our nets are empty and our hearts feel troubled, some wonderful blessings come along.  God lifts us up so we don’t become entirely overwhelmed. God is watching over us and is at work, as only God can be, to bring about good in our lives.
      The next thing we see is Jesus modeling how to re-connect with someone after the relationship is strained.   He built a cozy campfire for his chilled friends and was cooking them breakfast. He was acting as a servant, as usual, meeting their practical needs. But his main purpose was to help heal the hurt in Peter‘s soul. That campfire is reminiscent of the one where Peter denied his Lord in the courtyard. This morning the sun has not set; instead, it is coming over the horizon, A new day is dawning. Jesus could have looked into Peter’s sorrowful eyes and told him what a failure he had been and how he let him down, but Jesus was not bitter - he was filled with compassion.
     As the sun crested over the horizon, Jesus said two times, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”  Jesus was saying, do you have “agape” love, God-like love for me? Peter answered: “Yes, Lord, you know I 'like' you." Peter used the Greek word “phileo” for love, which means brotherly love, or having affection for someone. Simon Peter, feeling ashamed, could not muster up the courage to say he had “agape” love, God-like love for Jesus, only the “phileo” kind.  The third time Jesus asked Peter, he burst forth saying “Lord, I ‘agape’ love you.”  Three times Peter’s own lips betrayed Jesus and on that morning he got to proclaim his allegiance three times out in the open.  It was his second chance; he was redeemed from his past failures. 
     Peter offers us an example of what we might choose to do when we have a strained relationship with someone.  He decided to close the gap, then take the risk to come and be vulnerable with the one he had hurt.  He sat dripping wet, anxiety etched on his face, unsettled before his beloved Lord.  Have you been, or would you see yourself in the future, being able to sit down with someone you care about but have had some difficulties with?   In order for God to be at work, each person needs to be genuinely humble and open to hearing what hurt the other.  There has to be a readiness to say we are sorry and could have made better choices.  And while there is no guarantee of the outcome, the deciding factor is most often this: how full each of them is of Jesus and his love.  
     Jesus went to the cross to show us the fullness of the Father’s love and he rose from the dead to show us His indisputable power over all things.  Jesus then gave to his followers at the time, and us his church today, the gift of his own Holy Spirit.  We have the Father’s love and His power at work in us.  Nothing is too hard for us with Christ living in us.  Do you believe that?  You and I are anchored deeply in God.  Whatever this world may harshly blast at us, we know we will remain secure.  What makes that anchor and its chain hold is not us - it is Jesus’ power and his agape love.  It’s so strong and real and protective that nothing will ever sever it.  No setback we might experience, however painful.  No dark night when we blow it and feel remorse. Nothing will ever separate us from Jesus.   He wanted Peter to know that, and us as well. Jesus’ love will seek us and find us, no matter where we are, and He’ll draw us to himself.  Then he’ll rise and be on his way, and entrust us to be His church, just as he did long ago with Peter and the other disciples.  Thanks be to God!  Amen. 

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