COMMUNITY CHURCH OF THE MONTEREY PENINSULA
P. O. BOX 222811
CARMEL CA 93922
(831) 624-8595
www.ccmp.org
Rev. Paul Wrightman, Pastor
Independent and United Church of Christ
May 3, 2020
Dear Friends,
Churchless church is getting old! I’m hoping and praying that we’ll be able to regather soon, but coming to realize that “soon” is probably still a couple of months away. Extrapolating from Governor Newsom’s recent remarks, I suspect that we’ll be asked to shelter in place through May, that some restrictions will be lifted in June in terms of restaurants and shops, and that churches will be allowed to hold in-person services again in July. It would be great if this happened sooner than later, but I think this tentative timetable is realistic. On the whole, California has done such a good job of social distancing that we probably won’t have a huge second wave of the virus here in the fall. Let’s turn that probability into reality!
I’m happy to report that no one connected to Community Church has come down with COVID-19. Given the fact that most of the congregation is already-retired or not facing layoffs, our families seem not to have been too compromised economically. I’d like to be more sure of this, however. To this end, if you need help with food please let me know. I would keep this absolutely confidential.
After seven weeks of being apart, the words to the hymn Blessed Be the Tie That Binds have become even more meaningful than usual. Hopefully we’ll be able to sing these words TOGETHER before too long:
Blessed be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love;
The sharing of a common life is like to that above.
Before our God we come and pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, our comforts and our cares.
We share each other’s woes, each other’s burdens bear,
And often for each other flows a sympathizing tear.
When we are called to part it gives us inward pain,
But we shall still be joined in heart, and hope to meet again.
Today we look at another “most important” Biblical text for the Easter season – the rehabilitation of Peter by Jesus. We will look at forgiveness, and at how forgiveness is made infinitely more powerful when offered out of love, as Jesus does. Next week we’ll return to our sermon series on the most important texts in the Bible from Genesis through Revelation. We’ll be looking at God’s calling of Moses, setting the stage for the Exodus experience.
Remember that Jesus is Emmanuel – God WITH Us, Paul
WORSHIP SERVICE FOR MAY 3, 2020
OPENING READING/PRAYER (Edna Hong, Contemporary)
Our Father in heaven, in your love for us you have freely forgiven us in your son Jesus Christ, a miracle so amazing that we have not grasped the wonder of it, a condition so brand-new in human history that we do not know how to receive it or to use it.
Teach us, dear Father! Teach us that you are not only a God of abstract forgiveness but that you in very fact and act can accomplish it in us. We pray not for a Sunday sense of forgiveness. We pray not for momentary acts of forgiveness. We pray for the spirit of forgiveness. We pray for the power of will to emigrate from our present state and to move into the new state your son Jesus Christ created for us, the state of forgiveness. We pray that we may become fully naturalized citizens of the state of forgiveness. We pray in your son’s name. Amen.
SUGGESTED MUSIC Bring Many Names arr. J. Bankson You Tube
PASTORAL PRAYER (Richard Foster, Contemporary)
Today, O Lord, I accept your acceptance of me.
I confess that you are always with me and always for me.
I receive into my spirit your grace, your mercy, your care.
I rest in your love, O Lord, I rest in your love. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING John 21:1-17, NRSV
After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberas; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I’m going fishing.” They said to him, “We’ll go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Just after daybreak, Jesus stood there on the beach, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.
When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”
Copyright 2020: Rev. Paul Wrightman
JESUS TAKES THE INITIATIVE IN CONNECTING AND RE-CONNECTING WITH US
John 21:1-17 5/3/20
The Gospels go out of their way to insist that the risen Jesus was not a vision, not an hallucination, not even something spiritual, but a real person. They insist that the tomb as empty, and that the risen Jesus had a real body.
Today’s Scripture text continues this line of testimony, testimony which was intended to count as evidence in a Jewish or Roman court of law.
A vision, hallucination, or something spiritual would not be likely to point out a shoal of fish to a group of fishermen. A vision, hallucination, or something spiritual would not be likely to cook a meal and share it out.
The first and foremost aim of this story is to emphasize the reality of Jesus’ Resurrection.
It tells us that the risen Jesus was not a vision, not the figment of someone’s excited imagination, not something spiritual that was limited to the hearts of the disciples.
No, it was Jesus who had conquered death and come back.
For several weeks Jesus appeared to his disciples both individually and as a group. Shortly before he returned to the Father, he came to them once more at the sea of Tiberias, the Roman name for the Sea of Galilee.
The Gospel of John is quite specific about those present. Simon Peter was there and with him Thomas the Twin, whom later generations of Christians have tagged as “Doubting Thomas.”
Also present were Nathanael from Cana-in-Galilee, and the two sons of Zebedee, James and John.
Two other unnamed disciples rounded out the group. I suspect that they were women.
Remember that John is presenting this event as further evidence for the fact that Jesus was risen, evidence that would be accepted in a court of law. Since at that time the testimony of women was not admitted, John names only the men who were there.
Although the disciples were no longer stunned by grief – the risen Jesus had appeared to them on several occasions by this time – they had not yet realized the full implications of what it meant that Jesus had been raised from the dead, especially the implications of what it meant that he had been raised from the dead with his wounds still visible.
In the immediate aftermath of the emotionally exhausting event of the crucifixion, and what must have been the equally emotionally exhausting of the Resurrection, surely the disciples needed some time and emotional space to assimilate what they had experienced.
Late one afternoon Peter announced to the group that he was going fishing, and the others replied that they would go with him. They wasted no time getting their tackle ready and launching the boat. Throughout the long night they cast out their nets time after time and caught nothing.
Dawn is about to break, just as it had on the first Easter morning. The fishermen are heading back to shore. They see a man standing there, but in the dense twilight they do not recognize Jesus.
Jesus calls out to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?”
It is of vital importance for us to hear the natural, common, ordinary, yet intimate way in which the risen Jesus speaks to his friends, the natural, common, ordinary yet intimate way in which the risen Jesus speaks to us in our hearts and minds.
As a group those in the boat call back: “No.”
To their straightforward and discouraged reply Jesus shouts out: “Cast the net to the right side of the boat and you will find some. Out goes the net. They begin to haul it in and are suddenly struck with a powerful combination of recognition and awe.
John, true to character, and true to his experience on Easter morning, is the first to make the connection. He remembers the catch of fish they brought in when they had first met Jesus.
John excitedly says to Peter, “It is the Lord! This statement is all it takes to enable Peter to recognize who it is calling out to them from the shore.
It is Jewish law that to offer a greeting is a religious act, and to carry out a religious act a man must be clothed. So we are treated to the eyewitness details of Peter hastily throwing on some clothes in order to jump into the lake (!), swim to shore, and greet the person standing there.
The other disciples beach the boat, towing the net full of fish behind them.
A charcoal fire is burning with some fish and bread on it. More is needed if there is to be enough food for all, so Jesus tells them: “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So the disciples drag ashore the net bulging with fish, one or more of them noting exactly how many there were: one hundred and fifty-three.
Jesus now speaks one of the most touching sentences in all of Scripture: “Come and have breakfast.” What a beautiful expression of “motherly” love on the part of Jesus!
Back then, as is still largely the case in many places in the world now, it was considered "woman’s work” to cook and serve. Remember the story of Mary and Martha, and Martha’s being caught up in preparing a meal for Jesus and his disciples.
In this scene, Jesus himself does the cooking and serving!
The tenderness and humility of this act, reminiscent of the footwashing recounted earlier in the Gospel of John, defines God’s Messiah not as some conquering hero, but as one who has come to serve, indeed, as one who delights in serving.
Jesus, who is Emmanuel, God-With-Us, here demonstrates that God’s love encompasses so-called motherly aspects of loving, such as humility and service, and not just the “fatherly” dimensions of loving, such as the courage to suffer and sacrifice for others.
Jesus thus frees all his disciples, men as well as women, to love in the fullest way possible, not limiting one’s love to gender stereotypes.
Now go back with me to the night of Jesus’ trial.
Peter has followed at a distance and is watching as events unfold. Earlier that evening he had bragged to Jesus in front of the rest of the disciples: “Even if all the others fall away on account of you, I never will.” Braggadocio to which Jesus had replied: “Truly I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”
Peter’s denials took place in the courtyard of the palace of the high priest – around a charcoal fire.
Think back to the heat of that fire wafting through the chilly April air.
Think of Peter running from the courtyard in profound shame, furious with himself.
Knowing that Jesus knew.
Knowing that the “beloved disciple” knew.
Knowing that God knew.
And hearing the next day that Jesus had been crucified.
Not even the Resurrection itself could wave a magic wand and get rid of the memory of Peter’s denials.
Nothing could, except revisiting it and bathing it in the light of God’s own power to heal.
This is exactly what Jesus is up to in our Scripture reading.
It is no coincidence that Jesus is cooking breakfast for his disciples over a charcoal fire.
Jesus wants to see Peter healed, and he knows that the charcoal fire will bring Peter back to that fateful night of his three denials. And set the stage for his healing.
So when Jesus and the disciples have finished breakfast, Jesus goes up to Peter and suggests that they walk alone by the shore of the lake.
Peter must have been both glad and anxious to have this time alone with Jesus.
Given the fact that there is not a single instance in all the Gospels where Jesus – in an actual encounter with a person in need – either withholds forgiveness or demands that the person do something in order to earn forgiveness, Peter knew that he was already forgiven – by Jesus.
The deeper question here is – had Peter been able to forgive himself?
Jesus knows Peter well enough tom know that he has not been able to forgive himself, and that without his going back in time and reliving this experience with Peter, Peter’s denials will eat away at him for the rest of his life.
Jesus knows each of us well enough to know that in certain areas in each of our lives we have not been able to forgive ourselves, and that without going back in time and reliving these experiences with us, these events will eat away at us for the rest of our lives.
So Jesus relives that night with Peter, empowering Peter to fully forgive himself by healing the memory of the threefold denial with a threefold declaration of love.
If the Resurrection of Jesus was a real event – if it really happened more or less the way the Gospels say it did – then Jesus is as alive today as he was back then, and Jesus can be just as present with each of us today as he was present with Peter on that momentous walk along the lakeshore so long ago.
If God really did raise Jesus from the dead, it follows that – caught up in the Spirit of Jesus – we already have a home in God’s eternal present, an eternal present which transcends time and makes it possible for us to go backwards in time with God for the healing of memories.
I would like to challenge you – and to challenge myself – to take on an experiment this coming week.
What I’m asking you to do is this: Whether or not you “officially” believe in the Resurrection, allow yourself to go back in time with Jesus. Allow yourself to go back in time to a negative event in your life, an event the effects of which have never quite worn off, and are still impacting your life in negative ways.
This time allow yourself to relive the experience with Jesus at your side, knowing that he is unconditionally loving, unconditionally forgiving, unconditionally desiring the healing and wholeness of everyone involved in the memory which needs to be healed.
Each of us has our own unique set of memories which need to be healed.
I’m not saying that reliving them with Jesus is easy.
It’s a lot like going to the dentist.
But it’s something that needs to happen if we want to fully embrace life.
And it’s something that can happen no matter what we do or do not happen to believe about Jesus.
After all, our personal beliefs or lack thereof do not determine the reality of God.
If God is real, God is real.
And given God’s nature of unconditional love and acceptance, God will meet with us even in spite of a lack of faith.
So I challenge us to be like Peter this coming week.
Let us walk with Jesus along the lakeshore, giving him permission to get started on the healing of memories that each of us needs to become the whole and healed person that each of us needs and wants to be.
Amen.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Looking at the Scripture text, what eyewitness details do you observe?
Assuming that Jesus did not want to publically embarrass Peter, which given what we know about Jesus is a safe assumption, what do you think the other disciples were thinking when Jesus invited Peter to take a walk with him, just the two of them?
Please invite Jesus to have a healing of memories experience with you. Allow it to unfold at its own pace. Remember that this experience is between you and Jesus. No one else needs to read or hear about it. For the sake of making this experience with Jesus part of the very fabric of your being, describe your encounter with Jesus in as much detail as possible.
CLOSING PRAYER (Sheila Cassidy, Contemporary)
Almighty God and Father of us all,
Have mercy upon this troubled world of ours.
We are a pilgrim people made of clay,
Captives of our own greed and frailty.
And yet, we are the work of your hands.
You have made us in your own image
And we bear within us
Your Spirit of life,
The seeds of immortality.
Give us, we pray,
A stronger faith
So that we may walk joyously into the unknown,
An unshakable hope
So that we may comfort the discouraged,
And a love
As vast as all the oceans
So that we may hold all humankind
In our hearts.
All powerful God,
Look in your love upon us, your pilgrim people,
As we struggle towards you.
Be our food for the journey,
Our wine for rejoicing,
Our light in the darkness,
And our welcome at the journey’s end. Amen.
SUGGESTED MUSIC God be With You Till We Meet Again SE Samonte You Tube
BENEDICTION
Patiently and persistently, God loves.
Relentlessly and unconditionally, God loves.
Now and forever, God loves.
Amen.