April 18, 2010  Third Sunday of Easter

Psalm 30, Acts 9:1-20, Revelation 5:11-14, John 21:1-19

The beauty of thee past days has drawn me out into our woods.  After as much research on the readings as I can discover, I usually sit in front of my computer and pray.  Well, it seemed like much better stewardship of this great spring weather to walk the trails in our woods and talk through what I believe the texts says to us today.  So, yes, today’s sermon is one of those that the birds and squirrels have heard before you.

Walking and noticing all the wood violets in the least likely places; the one that caught my eye was in the middle of a narrow path beside two rocks on some very dry ground.  It had pushed up some dry leaves in order to make its appearance. I was reminded how God uses the least likely people, with the least likely backgrounds, according to our standards, to accomplish God’s work.

Take Paul for instance.  He was Saul, the notorious Pharisee who is talked about in Acts 7.  To quote, “They dragged Stephen out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.  While they were stoning Stephen, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”  Then Stephen knelt down and cried out loud in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”  When Stephen had said this, he died.  And Saul approved of their killing him.”!!! Saul was about the work of killing the followers of Jesus then, and again, in Chapter 9 of Acts, Saul is going to Damascus with letters in his hands with permission to arrest the followers of Jesus!

Paul has often been spoken of as having a conversion experience.  I have thought of that as a complete change away from who he was before and into who God is going to use in the future to write the 13 letters that we have in our Bible; Romans, Corinthians, Thessalonians, Ephesians, Phillippians, etc.  The word ‘conversion’ used here is much more like how it is used when we talk of a conversion van.  The van is still the van before and after.  What happens is that all the van was before is still there, it is now to be so much more with all that is added i.e. television, DVD player, bed, curtains, refrigerator.

Saul was a man well educated in the Jewish religion.  He called himself a Jew among Jews.  He knew the Torah, the Levitical law, the Psalms of David, the prophets; Saul was about preserving the religion that he knew and loved.  He did not believe that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah talked about in  the teachings he ascribed to.  Saul was working to preserve his religion from heretics.  He believed Jesus to be a trouble maker and those who followed him to be part of an uprising causing unrest.  This is who God chooses to be his disciple and author of what we read today about Jesus.

God uses who Saul is, his knowledge of the Jewish people and their religion, his good standing among the synagogues and temples to gain influence in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.

I like to say that God “zapped” this zealot!  Because that is what Saul was and who Paul became; a zealot for the Kingdom of God before and after his conversion experience.

Now let’s take a look at our good friend Peter.  You have to admit this is an interesting scene.  These men have been in the upper room. Jesus has come to them twice, but they still don’t know quite what they are supposed to be doing.  So, they did what most of us would do if we didn’t know what we were to be doing.  They did what they know.  They were fishermen before they met Jesus and they needed to eat so they went fishing.

They are not catching anything and they have been fishing all night.  Then someone hollers out to them from on shore - “Children, you have no fish, have you?” No. “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.”  Come on, they haven’t thought of that already?  There is humor in the Bible - John realizes who it is when they do catch all those fish and says “It’s the Lord!” And what does Peter do?  He is like Adam and Eve when they realize it is the Lord when they are feeling guilty in the garden; they realize they are naked, exposed of their sin.  So Peter does what?  He puts on clothes and then jumps into the water.  Who put on clothes to jump into the water?  It seems that Peter then swims to shore and helps the fishermen drag the nets in, while wearing his sopping wet clothes.

They are at the Sea of Tiberius, Jesus is along side that sea only once before.  That is when he feeds the 5,000 with loaves and fishes, just as he is feeding the disciples now with bread and fish.  In this I believe we are assured of the abundance of God grace and mercy and provision for us both before and after the resurrection.

Then comes the call of Peter, much like in John 10 when Jesus is talking about being the good shepherd. Jesus calls Peter to so the same. As if in a reversal and forgiveness for denying Jesus three time, Jesus asks Peter if he loves him three times.  Each time Peter answers him, Jesus tells him of his shephherdly duties; feeding lambs, tending sheep, and feeding sheep.  Then in a foreshadowing of the good shepherds death of laying down his life for his sheep, Jesus tells Peter he is to follow Jesus even unto death.

When I had come to this realization that God used Paul and Peter to do some heavy lifting in the early church, I had a conversation with God about the people that I felt were the least likely people for God to use to further God’s work.  I prayed for friends who, like Paul, do not understand the joy of knowing Jesus.  I prayed for a young man who has been in trouble with the law for breaking and entering.  “God, if you can use Saul, then I am not going to give up praying for these young men.  I prayed for our church to see how we may be walking in the old ways of the church like Saul, and asked God to open our eyes to the new and fresh winds of the Holy Spirit blowing through the new people that God brings to us.

I realized that, just as I have people that I am praying for, and maybe even haven’t been because I must confess that I didn’t think God could use them, that you also have those that you may have also given up praying for.  Just as God is able to push and pull wood violets out from the dead earth in the spring in the most unlikely places, just as God can use Saul to preach the Gospel; just as Jesus called Peter to be the shepherd who would lay down his life, God is also able to Call those who God has placed upon your heart to pray for.  Our God is a God of resurrection; our God is a God of miracles.

Amen, Come Lord Jesus, Come.

Pr. Karol Hendricks-McCracken