The Circle of Life

John 21:1-17

        I have been led to believe that the disciple Peter was a great fisherman.  I don’t have any proof of that, but I seem to remember my Sunday School teachers telling me that when Peter left the Sea of Galilee, he gave up everything to follow Jesus.  We know he had his own boat and nets.  We believe the other fisherman worked under him. So for the sake of argument, let me suggest that Peter was very good at what he did.  On the other hand you could make a very fine argument that if we only rely on the biblical text, Peter should have been a farmer.  I mean every time he goes fishing he comes home with empty nets.  Remember his first and last encounter with Jesus.  They are very similar.  The first time Peter was out on the water with his crew.  They had put in a hard nights work but had nothing to show for it.  Jesus stood on the shore and shouted to them, “Cast your nets on the other side of the boat.”  Even though he had no idea who this man was, Peter did as he was told and the nets were full of fish.  Peter jumps out of the boat, wades ashore and was greeted with, “Will you follow me?”

 Immediately Peter responded, “Yes Lord, you know I will follow you.”  Jesus replied, “I will make you a fisher of men.”

        For three years Peter underwent instruction and examples of how he should conduct his life.  He has seen Jesus standing beside Moses and witnessed countless miracles.  Peter has been named both “The Rock” and “The Denier”.  He experienced the trial, the death and the resurrection of his beloved.  And in the end, what does Peter do?  He goes fishing.  He gets the gang together and they go out to catch a few fish for breakfast.  Only once again, the fish are not biting.  There didn’t seem to be a single fish in the whole lake.  Then, almost as if it is déjà vu all over again, Jesus appeared on the beach and shouted, “Try the other side of the boat”.  Instantly the nets were filled. The disciple jumped into the water, waded ashore and was greeted with, “Peter, do you love me?”  The words struck like a knife to the heart. “Lord, you know I love you.”  Jesus replied, “Feed my sheep.”

        “Follow me!”  “Feed my sheep.”  For those of us who claim Christ, these words complete the circle of our spiritual life.  What is it that Christ would have us do?  Follow him and feed his sheep.

        What motivated Peter to follow Jesus?  The answer seems obvious.  Peter suffered from Empty Net Syndrome.  I suspect this had nothing to do with his occupation and everything to do with his life.  T.S. Eliot wrote, “Between the idea and the reality, between the notion and the act, falls the shadow.”  It seems one of the oldest problems of human existence is the frustration of our efforts falling short of our noblest intent.  Left alone, no matter how heroic our labors, they often seem inadequate.  Somehow our vision of what could be and what is becomes blurred.  This is most obvious when trying to attain a sense of self-fulfillment.  How do we become whole?  How do we live complete lives?  Peter was a successful fisherman.  There is no doubt that he was a highly respected member of his community.  And yet, with one word, he left everything and ventured into the unknown.  He was willing to leave that which was comfortable, that which was safe in order to search for the divine.  Peter understood in order to become whole one must first encounter the Holy.  Perhaps this is the shadow, the mystery, to which Eliot speaks.

        In this age of individualism we are apt to make the mistake of believing we can discover this holiness within ourselves.  We often refer to the mystery of God as some hidden spark buried in our soul waiting to be discovered.  We forget that Moses encountered God in the middle of the wilderness.  Elijah discovered God outside a cave high in the mountains.  In contrast to many the spiritual guru’s of our day, I question if the search for God begins or ends by simply looking inward.  In the first chapter of the gospel of Mark we read, “Early in the morning, long before daylight, Jesus got up and went away from them to a lonely spot.  And there he began to pray.”  Even Jesus recognized the Holiness of God as something for which we must search.  The spiritual nets of Peter were empty.  Perhaps that is why he dropped everything and followed Jesus.

        It seems the point of the gospel is, in order to follow Jesus you have got to be willing to go someplace.  I am not suggesting you leave your family or your job. But maybe we need to move beyond the familiar to encounter the unknown. If we desire our spiritual nets to be filled, we need to travel toward the holiness of God and risk being made whole by the encounter. 

I suspect each of you has a story, a moment when your spiritual nets were empty.  I suggest you need to mentally go back to that place. Remember what it was like to suddenly let go of reality and hold on to God.  Stay in that place for a while. Allow these Godly thoughts to not only recharge your memories of yesterday, allow it to reignite the possibilities for today. Allow your soul to be fully charged with God’s energy. Then remember two things. First, your conversion to holiness was not the end but rather the beginning of your journey.  Second if we are converted to the holiness of God, sooner or later God will also convert us to a radical new understanding of who we were meant to be.

        Peter returned to his spot. In the midst of his grief and confusion, Peter went fishing.  It was three years, and three days since his last excursion.  It was post crucifixion, post-resurrection and post-appearance. But Peter remained confused as to what he was to do next.  He could not move beyond the realization that he had been in the presence of God.   It was his time to become a fisher of men, but the Peter could not visualize himself in that role. He returned to the familiar. He went out on the sea; he cast the nets; and came up empty.  Then, once again he encountered God.

        Believing in God is really no big deal.  I suspect if a poll were taken any place in the United States, 95% of the folks interviewed would claim some kind of faith.  Even in Europe, where organized religion barely has a heart beat, I suspect a high percentage of folks would acknowledge the existence of a mystery, a power, beyond their comprehension.  Almost everyone has some understanding of God.  But how many folks are willing to respond to God?  Jesus said to Peter, “Twice I have filled your nets.  Now go feed my sheep.”

        Last Monday Deb and I had the rare opportunity to walk the hallowed grounds of Augusta National with my 87 year old father and our 29 year old son. For me it was a really big deal. Once we got our bearings, I decided we should attempt to walk the back side. We made our way below the tenth tee about the time Bubba Watson and Rickey Fowler teed off. As the reigning Master’s Champion and one of the up and coming stars strolled by I thought life could not get any better than this. I was wrong.

        Our foursome slowly made our way toward the tenth green. We stopped often to take pictures and insure the walk did not overwhelm my father.  The twosome following Watson and Fowler was a fourteen year old amateur from China, Tianlang Guan and two time Master’s Champion Ben Crenshaw.  It was truly an odd couple. Crenshaw, a beloved champion, acknowledged the crowd and often stepped outside the ropes to pose for a picture or two. Guan seemed older than his years but I can’t imagine what must have been going on in his head.

        No one knows the greens of Augusta like Ben Crenshaw.  I watched as he would stand on each green, rolling the ball to different spots that later in the week would represent each official pin setting.  Then he would take his putter and encourage the young Chinese boy to putt at the imaginary holes.  A priceless lesson was being offered by one of the greatest putters golf has ever known. I shut my eyes and imagined the great teacher Harvey Pennick working with Crenshaw as an eighteen year old at the University of Texas.  I imagined Pennick watching Crenshaw roll a few and then going up to the freshmen and saying, “Try this.” And then years later I can imagine Pennick saying to Crenshaw, “Do you love me?”

I am certain Crenshaw looked at him and said, “Coach, you know I love you.”

Pennick responded, “Pass along what I have taught you to someone else.” 

None of us are ever going to qualify to play the Masters, but almost every day each of us will have the opportunity to offer a hand or a word of encouragement to someone else. When the opportunity comes we can choose one of two options.  The first is to say, “I wish I could help but as you can see my own nets are empty.  As soon as I get back on my feet you will be the first person I come and see.”  Or we can take option number two.  We can remember God loves us, and has given us the opportunity to show that love to someone else.

 Is there anyone sitting here this morning who can honestly say you have not been blessed? Our nets are full.  The question is, are we willing to follow the one we love? It begins by answering this simple question, “Do you love Jesus?”  It is not a complicated.   Either you do or you don’t. 

        Let me try again. “Do you love Jesus?”  Of course you do. So let‘s find ways, through labor, through words of encouragement, through prayer, through anything imaginable feed God’s sheep.   

        I am not naïve enough to suggest a 14 year old amateur is going to win the Masters after a few putting tips.   But those gentle words were a small step in completing Crenshaw’s circle of life.

I suspect each one of you is capable of a similar act of grace. Embrace God’s boundless generosity. Then become the giver as well as the receiver of the love of God.                            Amen.