Sermon (8 am Service)

John 21 - Reinstatement of Peter

John 21. 1 - 19

This will likely be a very familiar story to many of us as we consider the resurrection accounts of Jesus in the lead up to Ascension. It’s a spectacular interchange between Jesus and Peter, and the most remarkable thing about it is that, by way of forgiveness, Jesus gives Peter a job to do.

Imagine inviting a fellow church member round for dinner, and you enjoy a lovely meal together and afterwards stand around in the kitchen cleaning up. You hand your friend a tea towel and they eagerly help, drying up the pots and pans, until it comes to the glass bowl (perhaps a treasured item, perhaps a serving dish that belonged to your parents, or a vase that you think is particularly beautiful…) in the process a drying said treasured item, your friend turns around quickly to put it away and drops it and it breaks on the floor. You hide initially your disappointment and sadness, but when they go home you can’t help but feel upset. What does forgiveness look like? The treasured item cannot be replaced after all.

Theologian Tom Wright tells this story of a young member of their church after a small group meeting. He says: we struggled to think through what forgiveness might mean in a case like that. We were angry of course! We thought a lot. Then, a couple of weeks later, we invited the young person round for dinner again. And after the meal we invited him to help us clear up. Again we gave him the towel. He stared at us in disbelief. We smiled. He helped. And all was fine.

Jesus gives Peter a job to do. When Peter professes his love, Jesus doesn’t say ‘well that’s all right then.’ He says ‘well, then feed my lambs. Look after my sheep. Feed my sheep.’

The three questions correspond to Peter’s three denial. Three for completeness but also three as a reminder. The smell of the charcoal fire still lingers and the agony of Peter’s denial and Jesus’ own agony on the cross, return. But because of the latter, the former can be dealt with. Jesus is the Passover lamb who takes away the sin of the world, Peter’s sins included, your sin, my sin.

By the way in which this taking away of sin is put into practice seems to vary from individual to individual. It isn’t just a matter of a divine decree being issues, wiping the slate clean. God doesn’t keep a record against us, logging all our past inadequacies and what has been squared away and what hasn’t. We know God as one who is rich in mercy and love, who is glad to be reconciled with us, and to see us as through Christ’s sacrifice.

But there may still be plenty in our memories and imaginations: old failings, old sores, old wounds. Like a computer with a faulty and virus-ridden software in the hard disk, we need to have it dealt with before we can operate at maximum efficiency again.

And so Jesus goes to where the pain is. He takes Simon Peter away from the others and asks him the question that gets to the heart of it all.

Actually the words vary slightly. When Peter replied, the word he uses for love, is different to the one Jesus uses in the first two questions. What matters here is that the question is being asked and answered each time. And even more, that each answer doesn’t earn a pat on the back or a comforting word, but it is greeted with a command. A fresh challenge . A new commission. Time to learn how to be a shepherd. Time to feed lambs and sheep, to look after them.

I think each of us have these seminal moments in our lives when we have sensed God’s forgiveness, or fresh calling on our lives. One may spring to mind now. Certainly there have been a few for me personally. But also in the life of the local church, the arrival of a new vicar marks the beginning of a new chapter, a fresh season, an imperative from God.

It is very exciting and I’m thrilled for you all that Dianna is coming to be your vicar - and I look forward to celebrating with you here on Wednesday night! As we look ahead to that celebration and new beginning, perhaps this interaction between Jesus and Peter might prompt us to responding a fresh, committing again to follow Jesus, and embracing the work of mission and evangelism for this new season at St Marks- sharing the good news of God’s love with the world around us, leaving behind some of the old wounds , challenges or failings from the past.

Because not only is this a fresh commission. Not only is Jesus trusting Peter to get back to fruitful work, and to turn his undoubted though hitherto pretty wobbly love for Jesus to good account. It is more: Jesus is sharing his own work, his own ministry, with Peter.

IT is, after all, Jesus who is the ‘good shepherd’, who has the task of leading and feeding his sheep and lambs, guiding them from pasture to pasture, keeping them safe from predators. He knows them and they know him. Just as Jesus our good shepherd knows us and has given his life for us. Jesus asks Peter to share in Jesus’ task of shepherding, and he calls you and I to that same task too.

Not because we’re perfect or we’ll be excellent at it, but because it brings him joy to share it with us. No parent ever invited their child to help them wash the car because that child was particularly gifted or talented in car washing! In fact, and you probably have many of your own stories like this, asking a child to help almost doubles the work - undoubtably they will miss a bit here, not get in the wheel rims there, can’t quite reach the middle of the roof and miss the car completely when let lose with the hose, probably preferring to give you a good soaking!

Parents don’t invite kids to help wash the car or make the cake because they are good at it, but because it’s enjoyable to do it together!

Jesus invites us to share in his work of shepherding, looking after his flock, not because we’re perfect or will be perfect at it, but because we love him and he loves us, it will bring him joy to share the work with us.

The secret to all Christian ministry, whether ordained or lay, full time or part time, volunteer or faithful pray-er - if you are going to do a single thing for Jesus, this is what it’s built on. Somewhere, deep down inside, there is a love for Jesus, and though goodness knows you’ve let him down enough times, he wants to find that love, to give you a chance to express it, to heal hurts and failures of the past and give you new work to do.

I believe that for some of us here today that will be deeply significant - and it’s important to remember that Peter went from strength to strength. He was still muddled from time to time, as we read in Acts. But he became a shepherd. He loved Jesus and looked after his sheep. No one could ask for more. Jesus never asks for less.