John 21: 15-19                                                      4/11/10

         For three years Peter had followed Jesus.  He had talked with Him, listened to His teaching, watched while He healed the sick and the blind.  He had gone with Christ up the Mount of Transfiguration and seems Him in all His glory.  He had proclaimed his faith by being the first to declare that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God.  And he betrayed Him. 

         Three times he said “I do not know Him.”  Three times He declared “I am not one of His followers.”   Three times those fateful words were spoken.

         Christ was crucified, dead, and buried. 

         Then it happened.  The women came back on that third day and declared that the tomb was empty.  Peter ran and saw for himself that the body of Christ was not there.  He saw for himself the evidence of Christ’s resurrection.  And then he met the Christ Himself --- the resurrected Lord of heaven and earth came to the disciples as they gathered together in the upper room. 

         Jesus came to them and said “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.  You are the witnesses.”

         And what did Peter do? 

         Peter went fishing.

         He picked up his gear and returned to his boats, back to his old life, back to the way things were three years before, back to what he knew.  And who among us can blame him?  How many times in our own lives have we been tempted to just go back to fishing?

         I know I have.  There have been more times than I can count when I have wanted to say, “I can’t do it, God.  I don’t have the faith, the wisdom, the energy to do what You have called me to do.  Life was easier when I worked at McDonald’s.  It was easier when I taught college.  Heck, it was easier when I ran a college.  I want to go back – back to when life was safe. 

         But there God is, saying to Peter and to me and to you, “I am sending you.  You are the witnesses.  It is you who must tell others about my life, my death, and my resurrection.  I am sending you to tell others about this new life you have found.  I am sending you to tell others of God’s grace and love.

         Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m just like Peter.  I’m not up to the task.  I keep thinking there has got to be some kind of mistake, that at any minute God will let me know that He was wrong.  That somehow I misunderstood.  Deep down I’m convinced that God couldn’t possibly have called me to such an enormous and important a task. 

         I’m not good enough, not saintly enough.  I have all sorts of questions and doubts.  I fumble around trying to do the best that I can and praying a lot that God will use me in spite of my mistakes.  I think that I understand exactly what Peter must have felt when he heard the words, “I am sending you.” 

         To be perfectly honest, I want to go fishing.  I want to do something safe, something where there isn’t a lot of personal risk, where you don’t need to go out on a limb, or constantly test your faith.  Just give me a pole, a boat, and a calm lake on a sunny day.  Oh yeah.  I can understand Peter.  I think we all can.  I don’t know anyone who hasn’t wanted to turn their backs on the hard demands of life and hang out a sign that simply says, “Gone fishing.”

         But not very surprisingly Jesus follows Peter to the lake.  He doesn’t just let him go.  And the first question He asks Peter is, “Do you love me more than these?  Do you love me more than these boats and fishing nets?  Do you love me more than this way of life?  Do you love me more than this nice, safe, predictable life?  Do you love me enough to give all of this up?  Do you love me, Peter?  Really love me?

         I can imagine Peter hesitating over that answer, thinking about all that it meant, thinking of all he would be giving up, thinking of all that would be required of him.

         I can imagine it because we have all been asked that same question, “Do you love me more than these?  Do you love me more than your old way of life?  Do you love me enough to risk changing?  To take a risk?  To step out in faith?

         It’s not an easy question.  It’s not one we should take lightly. 

         I remember once I was attending an old fashioned revival and the preacher was making his altar call.  He told us that if we came down that aisle and gave our lives to Jesus that things would be different.   That we would have a new beginning, and we would find the answers to our problems.  Everything would be put right if we would just let Jesus into our hearts.  We would discover a joy we had never known before.

         Now everything that minister said was true, but I think it left a false – even a dangerous – impression in people’s minds.  I think some people thought that walking down that aisle would be the end of their problems and they would never suffer again.  But while it’s true that our lives are different when we accept Christ, that difference does not come without a cost.           It’s true that Christ will put our lives right, but it is also true that does not come without a sacrifice. 

         So how do we find the strength to love the Lord more than anything else?  How do we find the strength to walk in faith when the pathway is not smooth but filled with stones that make us stumble?  How do we leave our old life behind to build a new one?

         Perhaps the answer lies in the second question.  “Do you love me?”  Our answer lies in our love of God, or more accurately a belief in His love for us.  In Him, we can find the strength and the courage we need to live as we ought, to make the changes we ought.  Love itself is the answer.

         Then it comes again, for the third time, “do you love me?”  Why ask the question, if He already knows that answer?  He asks it, not for Himself, but for Peter --- and for us.  For Peter responds “You know all things, You know that I love You.”  No matter how uncertain we are, no matter how many doubts we have, no matter how many times we may even deny our Lord and God, He knows that we love Him.

         We may not love Him perfectly.  We may not love Him the way we wish.  We may not do all that He asks, but Christ knows we love Him in spite of it all and He will seek us out even when we have retreated back into old, safe, familiar ways --- even when we have gone fishing. 

         So when you hear His voice for the umpteenth time saying “Do you love me?”  Say “yes, Lord.  You know I love You.”