May 4 2025 Easter 3
Acts 9.1-6 Psalm 30 Revelation 5.6-14 John 21.1-19
You may be forgiven for thinking that John ‘wrapped up’ his gospel last week with the words “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.” But today we find there is another chapter, and the story continues, although we are not told what the time gap is between Easter Day and this event. Apparently ancient epilogues often had ‘second endings’ where the fate of the main characters are revealed. And that is what this passage is doing, tying up loose ends and telling us what happened to Peter and the disciples.
Peter and some of the disciples are at a ‘lose end’, not sure what to do next, Peter returns to his previous occupation and announces ‘I’m going fishing’. Those named here could be seen as being significant either for their association with the fishing industry or as representatives of Jesus-followers who had unique encounters with Jesus. And once again, a night of fruitless fishing is transformed by one comment from Jesus – throw you net on the other side. And having pulled in the catch they join Jesus on the beach around a charcoal fire. And Jesus asks Peter three telling questions, actually it is one telling question that he asks three times. And we often interpret this questioning as Jesus’ attempt to reverse the denials Peter made of him, around another charcoal fire, on the night of his arrest. But, the thing is, at not point does Peter actually deny ‘knowing Jesus’, because he was not asked if he knew Jesus, or who Jesus was, he was asked ‘aren’t you one of his followers’. And Peter’s answer ‘I AM NOT’, was not a rejection of who Jesus is, it was a rejection of who he is. So maybe what Jesus is actually doing here in this three-fold questioning is affirming who Peter needs to be – the disciple Jesus needs him to be. And the disciple Jesus needs Peter to be is the shepherd now.
Think about it, how often to you deny your own identity. Often it may be because we think we will not be able to live up to the expectations of others, or even our own expectations of ourselves. We deny who we are for fear of disappointing others, or to avoid being judged or even rejected. We deny who we are because we do not believe that others will like who we truly are, or that we will be loved for who we truly are. And so we ‘play it safe’, and we pretend. And maybe sometimes that is the best option, because not everyone can be trusted with our truth. But if this is the way we feel with the people we know, in our lives, then the same is probably true about our relationship with Jesus.
On the night of Jesus’ arrest, Peter had to make a critical decision as he stood around that charcoal fire, and it is easy to believe that he was terrified that what had happened to Jesus might also happen to him. Except, of course, he did not know what was about to happen, he only knew Jesus had been ‘taken in for questioning’. But maybe Peter was not willing to admit his identity because he wasn’t yet ready – and let’s face it, can you ever really be ready? Maybe Peter couldn’t affirm his identity because what had happened in the garden was still too fresh, too painful, too personal. Maybe he was not able to say ‘I AM’ because he couldn’t believe it himself. And I wonder ‘when’ not ‘if’ you have felt like that. It is difficult for us to imagine that Jesus would believe in us.
In this passage from John, Jesus offers Peter what many psychologists contend is something we all need; a sense of belonging and a sense of purpose.
All of us need to feel accepted by the group around us so that we can have a stable identity and sense of self. Peter is asked three times by Jesus if he loves him. Imagine, three times he is asked the same question, and by the third time we can hear an understandable sense of hurt in Peter. But through these questions, Jesus is stating to Peter the person he needs him to be; he is giving him the role in the community he needs him to fill. Jesus is giving Peter a sense of purpose, Peter is provided with clear evidence that he does matter. And purpose is one of the great motivators in the world, more powerful than money or fame or power, it is the knowledge that you have something of value to contribute and it draws us again and again into challenging circumstances with joy.
Every time Peter responds to Jesus’ question, he is given work to do, feed my sheep, be a leader, look out for others, devote yourself to this community. Peter is affirmed into the community of the faithful and given a sense of belonging, and given good work to do and a purpose.
And this is just one of hundreds of Scripture passages that do the same thing by granting us a sense of belonging, and a sense of purpose. In fact, these themes are so dominant in the biblical story that a theological language has been created to capture them. After all, justification, that promise that you are accepted for whom you are by God’s grace, is the promise of acceptance and belonging. We are invited, through Baptism, to be part of a group where we belong. And vocation, that promise that God will use us wherever we are to take care of God’s people and world, is the promise of purpose. Through baptism, we are called by God to make a difference in the world that God loves so much.
And so, Jesus shows up on that shore, hosts a meal one more time, and tells Peter, tells us, “I believe in you. I know who you are, and I love you. And yes, you are exactly the disciple I need, the disciple the world needs.”
Are you able to see and feel that Jesus is giving you this same invitation into a community where you belong, and a sense of purpose with a lifetime of work worth doing. We read, “But there are many other things that Jesus did, if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written”. This story is not yet finished. There are so many other things that Jesus did that John could not possibly write them all down. And there are so many things Jesus is still doing through you and all who hear these stories that the tale of them would fill all the books in the world.
What you do matters. You belong. You have a purpose.