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.” (John 21:17)
I
love breakfast. I love cooking it and I love eating it. I love that first cup
of coffee at a Denny’s or a Waffle House when I’m road-tripping. I love my “Breakfast
of Champions,” 16 oz. Wawa Cuban roast and a sleeve of Tastykake[i] little chocolate doughnuts
I eat in the car when I’m late for something. I love dicing onions and other
goodies to put in scrambled eggs and have them with bacon and a toasted bagel
when I have time to cook for myself. I love sharing breakfast with other
people. It’s a cozy kind of meal. That’s why I love this story in the gospel appointed
for Easter 3, Year C in the RCL (John 21:1-19). What could be better than
having breakfast with Jesus?
In
this story, the evangelist tells us, Jesus appears for the third time to his
disciples. These boys have gone off on a little fishing trip. After all, what do
you do when your rabbi and Messiah has miraculously been raised from the dead
and you’re not quite sure what the next move should be? Sometimes it’s just comfortable
to go back to what you know. So, Simon Peter takes the lads out on the boat.
They’ve fished all night and caught bupkis. They row back to shore, and there’s
a guy there with a charcoal fire making some toast. Yup. It’s the Lord alright.
What’s he up to?
Jesus
is making the guys some breakfast. He gives them a little advice on where to
catch the fish, but he’s already got the fire going to roast some kippers.
Kippers and toast sounds like a pretty good breakfast to me. I’m sure Jesus
enjoyed it with them, further demonstrating that he wasn’t a ghost or phantasm[ii]. Maybe that’s what he
intended to show them through this homely, impromptu picnic by the lake shore.
He was real. He rose. Life is eternal, death is conquered, and they have no
need to be afraid of anything ever again.
I
imagine these old boys felt pretty good sharing each other’s company while
munching their toasted fish sandwiches. When I think of this moment, I can
almost feel the soft breeze coming off the Sea of Galilee and see the smiles on
the faces of the disciples as they relax in the faith and surety that God is in
control, Jesus is back, and they just caught 153[iii] fish, most of which they
can sell at a profit. It’s a pretty good morning.
That’s
another thing Jesus has shown them. They’ve spent a long night and come up
empty, but joy came in the morning. God provided for their needs. Maybe they were
just looking in the wrong place. Maybe they were impatient. The fish were always
there. Jesus wanted them to have faith, to know that God provides. Beside
reassuring them of eternal life, Jesus wanted them—and us—to live fearlessly because
fear is an instrument of the devil. We’ll be afraid of what we don’t understand,
and we’ll learn to hate what we fear. But God calls us to know his goodness and
providence and to live lives of trust and faith.
When
I see this story in my mind’s eye and imagine Jesus standing with the fork over
the barbeque, I’m reminded of John’s version of the Last Supper. Jesus demonstrated
his love and ministry by washing the feet of the disciples. Here, in this
passage, he’s again taking the servant role. He’s the host and they’re the
guests (even though they brought most of the breakfast). He’s leading by
example, reminding his buddies their job is to be servants—not leaders—to a
hungry world. He’s slowly preparing them to be the Church.
There’s
also this little chat Jesus has with Peter around the charcoal fire. Bible
scholars think it’s significant that Jesus’ breakfast barbeque pit is described
the same way (a charcoal fire) as the fire which warmed the slaves and police
outside the home of the High Priest the night Peter denied three times that he even
knew Jesus[iv].
This time, Peter gets to tell Jesus three times that he loves him, thereby
erasing the shame of his earlier cowardice. Of course, Jesus could simply have
forgiven Peter, but Peter is the kind of guy who needs to feel he’s worked off
his mistakes. This is another lesson for the Church. Jesus doesn’t just teach forgiveness;
he teaches us to respect the emotions of those who are penitent.
And
Jesus makes clear what he expects Peter, who will, someday in the
not-too-distant future, give his life on a cross in Rome, to do. Feed the
sheep. Love the people of God and see to their needs.
The
lessons we read in the Revised Common Lectionary during the 40 days between
Jesus’ resurrection and ascension are mostly about the way Jesus transforms his
disciples from followers to ambassadors of the Good News. Faith is certainly key but so is love. As Christians, we come to the breakfast table every Sunday
morning right in front of the altar. We come to enjoy a celebratory meal with
one another, to know—as Peter knew—our sins are forgiven, and to remind ourselves
of Jesus’ love for us.
Bon
appetit!
[i]
For my international or non-US East Coast readers, Tastykake is a
Philadelphia-based bakery producing delicious confections sold at most
convenience stores and grocery marts. Wawa is a chain of convenience
stores and gasoline stations located in the eastern part of the Central States,
Virginia, and Florida. They have a rich variety of coffee flavors and make any
kind of sandwich imaginable on savory French rolls. They usually play classic
rock music, and, for my money, they beat Disneyland as the happiest place on
earth.
[ii]
See Luke 24:40-43.
[iii][iii]
Bible scholars ponder the significance of this number, but nobody knows for
sure why John included this exact count. It’s possible the fishermen always counted
the number of their catch for tax reasons since fishing was a commercial venture.
[iv]
John 18:18.
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