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Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Feed My Lambs...Tend My Sheep
This past Sunday the Gospel reading came to us from John. John
21:1-19. A very very interesting story.
Here we have 7 of the disciples, who have gathered in
Galilee, just sitting around, hanging out, probably just doing dude stuff. They find themselves by the sea of
Tiberious. What are they doing?
“Sitting by the dock of the bay…wasting time.”
Preach it Otis!
So we have 7 of the disciples doing nothing and finally
Peter is like, “I am going fishing.”
(Yes, that is a direct quote from the Bible.
For anyone who has not gone fishing, it is truly one of the
greatest ways of killing time and having a good time.
Well, the other 6 disciples don’t want to be left out so
naturally they say, “We will go with you.” (another quote).
Now they were fishing for a long time. Like all night. This is not the fishing as we know it
today. They did not simply cast their
line, sit back in a comfy chair and nap until they catch something.
Nope. This fishing
was hard work. This style of fishing was
called cast net fishing. They would take
a net about 20 feet in diameter that had lead weights attached to the
borders. They would then fling this
whole weighted net contraption off the side of the boat, very skillfully mind you, because you have to
throw it in a way that the whole net spreads out and lands flat on the water. As the net sinks, the weighted edges come
together and trap the fish in the middle.
Then, more often than not, someone had to jump in to catch the net and
help lift it back up and into the boat.
That is a lot of work!
Imagine how tied you would be if you did this for an entire night!
Now imagine you did that and you caught nothing!
No fish. None. Zero.
Zilch.
Can you imagine?! So
then, at daybreak, this man is standing on the shore and tells them cast their
nets on the other side of the boat.
Naturally, when someone 100 yards off in distance and you’re not sure
who it is, you listen to them. Good
thing too, cause that was no ordinary man.
It was the Risen Lord! This is
the third time that Jesus appears to them!
Remarkable!
So skip ahead in the story a little bit, Jesus and the
disciples cook the fish and eat breakfast together. Then Jesus looks to Peter and asks, “Simon
son of John, do you love me more than these?”
This is a special, very intimate conversation. If you remember, Simon Peter is his name,
however, Jesus called him Peter. Peter
was his nickname. If you actually go
back and look at the origins of the name, it comes from the Greek Petros, which
means stone. Remember when Jesus told
Peter that he would the “rock” on which he built his church? Well, hence his nickname, which is pretty
much like calling him “Rocky”.
So in this dialogue, it is the first and only time that
Jesus refers to Peter by his full, formal name.
And he asks him, “Do you love me more than these?”
More than what, more than the other disciples? I don’t think that is what he was referring to. They had just returned from fishing, the job
he left when he began to follow Jesus.
That was his old life. That was a
certain life that he grew up and understood.
After the crucifixion of Jesus, what was he suppose to do?
He responds, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”
“Feed my lambs.”
Jesus asks again, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Again he responds, “Yes Lord; you know that I love you.”
“Tend my sheep.”
A third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Hurt, Peter replies, “Lord, you know everything; you know
that I love you.”
“Feed my sheep….”
Three times he is asked…and it was three times that Peter
denied him.
But did you know that the Greek words for “love” that are
used in the passage are two different words?
When Jesus asks the first two times, “Do you love me”, he uses
the word agape. A word that means
unconditional love. A love that we don’t
fully understand and a concept that we struggle to grasp. The third time Jesus asks, “Do you love me”,
he uses the Greek word filee. Each time
Jesus asks this question, the intensity grows, he use of the word “love” is
stronger and stronger. In his responses
Peter says “You know that I love you.”
However, he is using the word fileo.
Also a Greek word for love, but more of a friendship love, more of a
loyalty.
Each time Jesus responds.
Feed my lambs. Tend my
sheep. Feed my sheep. But what does that mean?
Feed-tend-feed, lambs-sheep-sheep.
That was the order given.
Many people interpret these in different ways. Some claim this a call of the importance of
youth. Lambs are young sheep. Feed my lambs. The first thing we are to do is to look to
the young. Many call Jesus one of the
first youth ministers. He hung out with
and preached a lot about youth. And he,
he calls us to feed his lambs. Tend his
sheep. Feed his sheep.
He ends with this invitation. An invitation that is still offered to us
today. An invitation we may still
struggle with accepting. But no matter
what, it’s there.
“Feed my lambs.
Tend my sheep.
Feed my sheep…
Follow me.”
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Be Yourself... You are Perfect!
This past Wednesday night, we had an open floor discussion
about whatever the youth wanted to talk about.
I was a little nervous about this at first because you never know where
it can lead or if it will ever get past the blank stares, crickets, and “I dunno…”
stage.
But I was curious, what is on your mind, what you want to
talk about…I am leaving it up to you.
Right away, my question was answered with another question.
“What is wrong with the youth in the world today?”
Wow, that is a heavy question. Coming from a youth too, I wanted to hear
more.
Our conversation quickly became about drugs and
alcohol. Which sadly and yet not
surprising at all, everyone in the room had been exposed to one or the other,
or even both.
I was surprised that when given a chance to talk about
anything, this was what they chose. And everyone
opened up and shared something. About
their thoughts on it, how it made them feel.
Peer pressure, parenting, low self-esteem, a strong desire
for attention…many reasons and excuses were given as to why.
In life we wear many masks.
We want to fit in wherever we are, whoever we are with, we want to
matter. At school, we want to fit in
with a certain crowd, so we wear that mask that makes us appear that we belong.
We go to practice, rehearsal, or whatever extra-curricular
activities we are involved in and put on another mask. We go home to our parents and put on another
mask. We go to work and put on another
mask. Go to church and we put on our God
mask. A different mask for every
occasion. Are we ever really truly being
ourselves or merely a version of it that is being covered and hidden by our
masks?
Do we ever really take off our mask? Which version of is the “real” version? Do we even know?
Is it really that hard for us to just be ourselves? We are made in the image of God! We are perfect in every way! That weird birthmark you may be
self-conscious about, maybe you think you are a little over weight, not smart
enough, clumsy, nerdy, whatever you think your flaw is…remember this, you are
made in God’s image! Why put a mask on
that?! Why would we take something made
and created by God, loved by God, cared for by God, and cover it up with a
mask.
What if instead of trying to do everything so we fit in with
a crowd, we did everything as if we were children of God and treated everyone
else as if they too were a child of God.
What if we stopped hiding who we are and succumbing to peer-
pressure that more often than not is misguided and self imposed.
In the Lectionary for today, the Old Testament reading seems
to fit perfectly with this message.
So I pose a new question, not what is wrong with the youth today...is it really just the youth? Or is this something we all struggle with?
This week, I challenge you to remove your mask. Be yourself, just the way you were made to
be. Because you are perfect.
Proverbs 3:1-7
My child, do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commandments;
for length of days and
years of life and abundant welfare they will give you.
Do not let loyalty and
faithfulness forsake you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
So you will find favor
and good repute
in the sight of God and of people.
Trust in the LORD with
all your heart,
and do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways
acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Do not be wise in your
own eyes;
fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
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