Sermon on John 21:1-19

Pastor Jennifer Garcia

If you’ve ever felt like you’re not enough, you’re in good company.

The Bible’s full of people who didn’t seem to measure up:

·       Moses didn’t feel like he was a good enough speaker to confront Pharoah.

·       Hannah was mocked by her husband’s other wife for not meeting society’s expectations—in this case: having children.

·       David was the youngest, a shepherd boy among strong, impressive older brothers who would surely be better kings.

·       Mary was a no one from a backwater town in Roman Empire occupied territory—not a strong candidate for mother of God.

And then, we heard the stories of Saul and Peter today.

Saul was actively working to have Jesus followers arrested, imprisoned, and executed.Jesus chose to miraculously appear to Saul and commission him to not just stop killing Jesus followers, but to follow Jesus himself and invite others to do the same. Why would Jesus choose this guy with so much blood on his hands?

Then, there’s Peter who swore up and down that he would die for Jesus only to choose his own safety over being truthful about not only knowing Jesus but being his disciple and friend. He didn’t even stick around to be with Jesus in his final moments before death. So, even after Jesus’ resurrection, Peter decided the best thing to do was go back to what he knew. “I’m going fishing,” he said. Maybe that was his way of numbing the shame of all that had happened over the past couple weeks when he just hadn’t measured up to his brave promises.

And yet, we see in our Gospel reading that Jesus gave Peter the chance to try again. Instead of denying that he knew Jesus, Peter affirmed again and again that he not only knew him but loved him.

And Jesus not only forgave him but commissioned him to tend his flock in his physical absence. Why would Jesus give Peter a second chance when he saw that Peter reacted badly in a crisis?

And yet we read later that Saul (renamed Paul) and Peterboth had a huge impact on spreading the Beloved Community. They didn’t agree with each other a lot of the time, but it would be hard to overstate their impact on the early Jesus movement. It’s a good reminder that faithful people have disagreed with each other heatedly since the beginning of the Church and still have done good, important community building work.

Jesus came to both Paul and Peter, invited them to choose different behavior, and then sent them on the mission to nurture and to share the Good News of God’s Beloved Community.

They weren’t just offered forgiveness but given a mission.“Follow me,” Jesus told Peter.“Get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do,” Jesus told Paul.

Their stories didn’t end with seeing Jesus. Easter wasn’t an end but a beginning.

It’s a story God is still writing, and we’re characters in that story.

And we, like Moses and Hannah and David and Mary and Peter and Paul, can sometimes feel like we’re not enough or are told by society that we’re not enough.

We so often ignore God’s invitations in our lives, insisting we’re not worthy, there’s someone better out there, we’re too busy, we’re not equipped, we’re too (young, old, quiet, loud, or insert whatever quality or characteristic you’re self-conscious about).

So, we hide behind our familiar fishing nets, turning back to what we know, regardless of whether it’s the best thing for us right now or if it’s even harming us, keeping us from what God has imagined.

What are your fishing nets? What do you turn back to because it’s comfortable, instead of being willing to accept God’s invitation to something new, hard, or scary?

Again, you’re in good company.

And when Star Wars Day, May the Fourth, as in “May the Fourth be with you,” falls on a Sunday, I would have to turn in my nerd card if I didn’t work at least a small reference into my sermon. So here are two more examples of people giving up and turning back to what’s comfortable before accepting a new path.

In Episode IV: A New Hope, Han Solo is invited to join the rebels in a dangerous but noble mission against the Empire. But he declines, choosing to go back to his way of life as a smuggler.

And in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Luke has gone to train in the use of the Force with Master Yoda, but he gets discouraged when Yoda has him go from levitating small rocks to lifting his entire ship out of the swamp. To his credit, he does attempt it, and the ship starts moving, but then it sinks back into the water. He slumps down next to Yoda and says, “I can’t; it’s too big.”

The task at hand often feels too big.The ship is too big to lift out of the swamp.The Imperial army is too big to defeat.

What can a smuggler or a farm boy do against Darth Vader, the Emperor, and the Imperial forces anyway?

What can a denying disciple or an executer of Jesus followers do to build the Beloved Community?

What can you or I do against all that’s wrong with this world?

The problems are too big.

But as Yoda tells Luke, “Size matters not.”

After overcoming his discouragement, Luke keeps training in the Force and becomes a hero of the Rebellion.

Han changes his mind and comes back at a pivotal moment, saving the day.

As big as the problems of this world feel, they’re not too big for God, and God chooses us to help make earth more as it is in heaven. We might not all be heroes like Luke and Han or great influencers of the Church like Peter and Paul, but God calls us too.

Jesus called Peter and Paul, and he calls you and me, even when we feel insufficient. Jesus knows our weaknesses, our backgrounds, and everything else that makes us feel unworthy, hypocritical, or like an imposter. And he calls us anyway.Jesus calls us to feed his lambs, tend his sheep, and follow him.

I’ve heard it said that humility isn’t thinking less of yourself but thinking of others more.Humility isn’t about being the best at beating ourselves up. It’s easier to set aside our insecurities when we’re focusing on others with love instead of dwelling on how we think we fall short.

And we’re going to fall short. We’re human beings, not God. And God knows that—God takes that into account when God calls us. We can’t be imposters with God, because God knows everything about us—more than we know ourselves. And God calls us anyway.

As we continue our mission to be the church that feeds people body and soul, remember what Yoda said, “Do or do not. There is no try.”

Let’s feed God’s sheep together.