Pledge of Allegiance
John 21:1-19
This last week at the Moxie awards hosted by Pfund at Macalester College the students who were selected to receive scholarships from various community agencies were presented. You may remember that one of our DUO funds last year went toward this scholarship fund. I am pleased to announce that Kathryn McAuley and Rachel Murr were selected to receive the scholarships from All God’s Children. Katie is attending Itasca Community College in Grand Rapids and enjoys being a lesbian wild land firefighter. She is working on a degree in forestry. Rachel visited AGC last year as she was preparing to come out to the conservative church where she serves in a leadership role. She is working on a Master of Social Work at St. Catherine University. She leads a recovery ministry at her church and it has caused quite a stir among the leadership when she came out. I have invited both of them to worship with us soon so that all of you get a chance to meet them in person.
This coming week marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Each year this day calls people from around the world to reconsider the choices we make, the resources we use and the ways we dispose of waste so that this beautiful planet we call home may remain beautiful, clean and sustainable for generations to come. As most of us know, humanity has not always been kind to Mother Earth. We’ve made many mistakes, allowed greed to cloud out judgment, allowed self interest to trump the needs of the larger population. Sometimes short-term benefits have not been weighed against long-term consequences. Earth Day is an opportunity for us to learn from the mistakes of the past so that we leave a better world for the children who come behind us – whether the children who come behind us are our own children or someone else’s children. In the end, they are all our children.
Creating an event like Earth Day helps keep these things in our consciousness. It is like a formalized way to stay true to our convictions. This leads us to our scriptural text.
Our story is set in the period after Jesus’ crucifixion. It has been interpreted in many ways. It is a fascinating story because it does not occur in the other three gospel writer’s accounts. Some believe John’s gospel uses this story to restore Peter to the fold after his betrayal and denial of Jesus three times before the crucifixion. We can only imagine what Peter was experiencing within himself after the events of the last few days and his part in those events.
Addressing Peter as “Simon, son of John” seems to bring a formality to the questioning. Except for the story of Jesus’ initial meeting with Peter in the first chapter of the gospel of John, this is the only place in the Newer Testament where Jesus addresses Peter as “Simon, son of John.” It is formula language. It tells us that the moment is being set apart as significant. It is similar to what comes to our mind when we hear the words, “tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” When we hear those words said like that, we immediately get an image of a particular setting – a courtroom. When we hear the words, “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,” we think of the Pledge of Allegiance we learned in grade school. It seems that the story is setting up something similar. This formal address may indeed fulfill the purpose of restoring Peter’s place in the gospel writer’s telling of the story like taking an oath prepares us to testify or the Pledge of Allegiance calls us to focus on the flag with our hand over our heart. But there are other layers to this story as well.
This story is also a way for Jesus to say to Peter that he knows him completely. Simon, son of John. Jesus knows his family – his people. He knows where Peter came from. He knows his character, his passion, his weakness and still he is calling Peter into service to feed lambs and tend sheep. Resurrection for Peter, that day, not only had to do with the events that occurred on Golgotha days before but had everything to do with the fact that Peter was called to this community – just as he was – to offer his gifts, his life, his passion, even after he had made a mess of things. Have you ever had that experience of grace? Have you ever done something that embarrassed you or caused you not to present yourself in your best manner or found yourself in an awkward place? Nothing you can do can fix the situation. Nothing you can do can make time reverse to give you another chance to correct the course. Nothing allows you to escape the consequences of your action until someone reaches across the chasm and says, “I know you. I know what you value and I know the truth of who you are. I want you as a part of my community, my family, my circle, my life. Your denial, your mistake, your blunder, your failing, your lack is not the whole story of you. I know you are more than that.” Have you ever had that kind of grace-filled experience? I have… here. So have lots of you. Jesus gave Peter a way back to where he belonged. It didn’t mean that the betrayal wasn’t awful. It didn’t mean that there weren’t consequences to his actions. He simply affirmed to Peter that he was more important to Jesus than one mistake, one bad day, one bad pattern.
It is also interesting that this story is the first time in the gospel of John that mentions that Peter and the others were fishermen. The other gospel writers introduce this at the beginning of their gospels so we already have that reference in our minds when we read this story. But for John, now is the time to introduce the context that Peter was a fisherman. The gospel writer tells us that the power of resurrection gives us courage to cast our nets into unknown water trusting God will take care of the harvest. Our responsibility is not to always know where the fish are. Our responsibility is not to know what socio-economic group the fish belong to. Our responsibility is not to have all the answers to the fishes’ questions. Our responsibility is simply a willingness to cast the net.
As I was sitting at the Moxie awards on Tuesday night I became aware of how important the people of All God’s Children are to the greater community. The Executive Director of Pfund who helped craft such a moving event is a member of All God’s Children. He’s also the one who is directing our sandwich project today. Besides the two scholarships our church provided through DUO, two more of our members, out of their own generosity, donated to provide two additional scholarships. One of the people on the application review committee was from All God’s Children. One of the organizations that received an award for their work in providing health care to the GLBT community is led by a member of All God’s Children. I thought to myself, “All God’s Children people are all through this evening.” And I started to get a little frustrated – not at anything going on that night but because like some of you I sometimes hear people say something like, “All AGC does is internal things. We only do things for our own church.” Yet here was an event celebrating the impact of wonderful people on our world and it had AGC people all through it. Who do we think AGC is – these pews, this table? AGC is us. AGC is the nurse who works with HIV clients at a housing organization. AGC is the CEO who works with an organization that makes sure businesses treat customers fairly and justly. AGC is the riders who ride in the Red Ribbon Ride or sponsor the Friends and Family Night. We are the artists who use their talent to push the envelope and inspire. We are the teachers who work with children in classrooms across this area. We are the volunteers who give their time freely to organizations, shut-ins, and the homeless. AGC is the parent or the family member who is mentoring and loving a child to grow into the best person he/she can be. Two AGC members are now host home providers for a GLBT teen who needs a safe place to live and thrive. The people of AGC are involved in hundreds and hundreds of things every week that make this world a better place. We will continue to give you opportunities that you can use your gifts in ministry. So the next time somebody says in your presence, “Oh the church only focuses on internal things.” I want you to be an ambassador and firmly with great kindness say, “You don’t know what you’re talking about. That is not true. The people of All God’s Children are making the world a better place every day in hundreds of ways and I am proud to be part of that.”
Something doesn’t have to have All God’s Children’s name in the sponsor title or the list of credits for it to have All God’s Children all over it, because whenever any one of you does something to make your world a better place, AGC is there. When I go up to hold worship at Moose Lake or when Rev. Robyn and I teach at Pride Institute, for some reason people are able to see that as a way that All God’s Children is reaching out to the world. The same is true for every one of you when you are an agent of grace in the situations God brings to your life. You see, the point isn’t that all of those hundreds of events happen so that All God’s Children can get the credit. They are done so that the realm of God might come a little more fully. When I think about all the ways that each of you is changing the world by your gifts and your contributions and your life the question Jesus asked of Peter that day rings in my ear? “Do you love Jesus?” Yes, you do. You really do. Oh my God, you really do.
When Jesus told the disciples that day to cast their net on the other side of the boat, he wasn’t trying to teach fishermen how to do their jobs. He was simply giving them an opportunity to be part of something God was doing in their world. In other words, our job is to be available to the touch of God when an opportunity avails itself to pull a floundering friend back in the boat – to offer grace in the face of a blunder, to be an voice of hope in a difficult situation. Whether it is providing a young person with the chance for an education or doing your small part to end hunger by helping make sandwiches today or making the decision to recycle in your home, our willingness to be available to the touch of God and act on that willingness is what counts.
When we listen to this conversation between Peter and Jesus in this way, something amazing comes out of it. Jesus wasn’t really trying to get a pledge of allegiance from Peter but instead for Peter to grasp what was really important at the core of himself. Jesus pushed through the malaise of Peter’s life and helped him affirm what was central to him. “Peter, after all that we’ve been through – after all the mistakes and the misunderstandings and the hurt feelings – do you love me?” It was almost like a light bulb finally went off in Peter’s head. I do. I really do. Oh my God, I really do! Then get back to what you were called to do. Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Care for the people of God entrusted to your love. Make your world a better place.
Sources:
www.homileticsonline.com The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved, April 2010.
Earth Day 2010