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SERMONS

The Third Sunday of Easter
April 29, 2001

By David Christian

They really are a pretty sad-looking group of men, these disciples in today's gospel; at loose ends; just hanging around; not sure of what to do. They are there by the sea of Tiberias: Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, James and John the sons of Zebedee, and two others who aren't even named.

I picture them there, one or two perched on the end of a boat, the rest of them sitting on the ground. Occasionally someone makes a comment, but the others don't even bother to respond. One of them picks up a stone and tosses it into the lake.

They really don't know what to do. They know that Jesus has risen from the dead. They have all seen him; they have been with him. But they're not quite sure what it all means. They just don't know. They don't know what to think. They don't know what to do. So they hang around, waiting for something; some sign; some direction. Time hangs heavy.

Finally Peter has to do something. "I'm going fishing," he says. The others decide they might as well go too. So they climb into boats and set out. But things aren't any better out on the lake. Although they fish through the night, as the sun rises they have nothing to show for their activity.

Then, just after daybreak, they see a man on the beach. He calls out to them and asks them about their catch. When they confess to utter failure, he tells them where to cast their net. They follow his command and the net fills with so many fish that they are not able to pull it in.

Now, at last, one of the disciples recognizes the figure on the beach to be Jesus. With impetuous Peter leading the way, they hurry to the shore and there he is, waiting for them. When they examine the catch they find an abundance of fish, an extravagant number of large fish, more fish than the net should be able to hold. And yet it is not torn. Then he feeds them breakfast-bread and fish-prepared by his own hands.

We are they-you and I. And they are we. This story is about us. Like them we have moved from the promise of Palm Sunday to the fear of Maundy Thursday to the utter despair and loss of Good Friday. Like them we have experienced the surprising joy and wonder of the resurrection. Like them we have been visited by the risen Christ.

And like them we don't know what to make of it.

It is grand and glorious and mysterious beyond our knowing. And we don't know what to do with it. So we do nothing. We go about our daily lives, all the while recognizing that something is missing; that our days are somehow empty.

And yet as we move from day to day there are moments. There are moments when we respond to a mysterious movement; when we obey a strange command. And when we do suddenly we find that our actions achieve results beyond our imagining. We find our nets teeming with life. We find our lives teeming with life.

And in those moments we recognize that the voice to which we have responded is the voice of our Lord. For he is with us, even today. Our part is to be alert. Our part is to be attentive to that voice. Our part is to align our wills to his will. Our part is to let ourselves go to his purpose.

When we do, we find that the catch fills the net. We find that the fields produce a bountiful harvest. We find that life has meaning, purpose, joy. We find that we are standing in the kingdom of God-even here, even now.

And we find that he feeds us. He feeds us with the bread of life. He feeds us with the cup of salvation. He feeds us with his very Body and Blood; the wedding feast of the lamb; the food of eternal life.

David Christian
The Chapel of the Cross
Madison, Mississippi