Trinity Mystery

 Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5:1-5; Gospel: John 16:12-15

I am always hesitant to preach on Holy Trinity Sunday. It’s a theological topic, and as you are well aware, I’d much rather tell you some stories. So, what I give you today is a collection of thoughts about the Trinity.

… It’s too easy to fall into a wrong interpretation of the Trinity. I have a video about it. I know it goes fast; the main point is that the analogies we use to try to explain the Trinity are wrong. (show video) 

Donall and Conall, and St Patrick, are citing the Athanasian Creed which declares that “We worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God, without mixing the persons or dividing the divine being. For each person—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—is distinct, but the deity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory and coeternal in majesty.”

It can be helpful to define God, the Trinity, as a black and white diagram, or as a grammatical exercise. But it’s more like this image, with Father, Son, and Spirit a constantly flowing and interchanging movement. There is one God, that we may experience in different ways, even at the same moment in time. It’s all about relationships, within the Godhead, and between us and God.

… We might think about the way we pray. For many, talking to God means calling on God the Father, the creator of all, who we think of as loving us the way a parent loves.

For others, praying to Jesus is like talking to a friend, who listens as we walk the neighborhood, or joins us at a meal. Jesus makes God seem friendlier, more understandable. At the same time, Jesus makes us want to be more just, more inclusive, as we learn to follow his way of life.

And for others, praying is a spiritual, meditative, contemplative experience. When we spend time in silence, we make room for God the Spirit to approach and enter us. Through God the Spirit there is an opportunity to feel a union with the Divine.

When we pray this way, we don’t pray exclusively to the Father, and ignore the Son or Spirit, and so forth. All the persons of the Trinity are there when we pray, and we know that.

… One of the confusing aspects of the Trinity is our language. We describe Father, Son, and Spirit as three persons, which tends to separate God into three separate entities.

But the original language describes God as three personas. In ancient theater, one actor played several parts, switching masks to identify who he was portraying in that moment. One actor, several personas. Now, Conall and Donall might describe this as partialism, or modalism, but the original intent is to describe the Trinity as One God, experienced in three main ways.

… I remember, imperfectly, a quote from a book by Justo Gonzales. He wrote something like this: The mystery of the Trinity is not a puzzle to be solved but a life to be lived. So we need to spend less time trying to solve the puzzle and more time living what Trinity teaches us. [Hanayama cast puzzle] 

Which takes us to our readings for today. Each of them describes aspects of our relationship with God, and the many ways God reaches out to have a relationship with us. It’s a mutual thing. It’s like that old song, “Mutual admiration society.” We look to God and God looks to us.

What’s the most important thing to know about the Holy Trinity? From the beginning, God has wanted to have a loving, caring relationship with us, and wants us to have a loving, caring relationship with God and with each other, as equally loved and cared for by God.

This week, I suggest you pay attention to how you pray. Do you focus on one persona more than the others? What happens if you switch it up? Does that enhance your prayer? Let me know if you try this. Amen 

 

Crash helmets and life preservers!

 Acts 2:1-21; John 14:8-17

Today, Pentecost Sunday, we celebrate the coming of God’s Holy Spirit into the world. This doesn’t mean God’s Spirit wasn’t present before, because we see signs of God’s Spirit throughout the Old Testament. But on this Sunday, the reading from Acts is remarkable in the way Spirit made herself known.

There are, of course, varying scriptural witnesses to the coming of Spirit. The first happens the night the disciples see the risen Jesus, in the upper room, Easter Evening. He breathes on them, saying “Receive the Holy Spirit.” This is the same Spirit Jesus promised during their last supper together.

This Spirit is sort of peaceful, unobtrusive. For weeks, we’ve been reading stories in Acts where Spirit guides the disciples, opens prison doors, frees people from demons, and so forth. This Spirit helps us pray, connect with God, meditate, and so forth.  We think of Spirit working rather like this  video

Let’s give our video friend an American name: Dan. In this video, Dan discovers a lot about himself and his neighbors through simple acts of kindness to others. The woman with the food cart counts on him, and they begin to have fun with each other. The little girl gets to go to school. Dan has a flourishing garden that started with one dry plant. The old woman hugs him, and apparently shares her bananas with him. He has a dog who follows him and eats from his hand. And the vendors shake their heads in wonder. God’s Holy Spirit works like this, slowly, in almost imperceptible ways changing lives.

But this is not the only way Spirit works. It’s been 50 days since Easter. Jesus has ascended and no longer appears to the disciples. They are meeting to figure out what to do next, while they wait for the Holy Spirit Jesus promised would come to them.

And outside the room where the disciples are meeting, a sound like violent wind and tongues of flame appeared in the plaza. A crowd forms, as Jews from all around the Mediterranean Sea come to see what is happening. [Pastor’s note: I realize this week that these folks are not visitors, in town for the celebration. These are foreigners who live in Jerusalem! It says so in verse 5.]

The disciples rush outside and begin to tell everyone about Jesus. They speak Aramaic with a Galilean accent, but everyone hears in their own languages. It’s a miracle of hearing, of simultaneous translation through Spirit. After a while, Peter gets everyone’s attention and gives a message linking this present moment to the promise made by the Prophet Joel
hundreds of years before.

… As I was preparing for this sermon, this quote caught my attention. The poet Annie Dillard once wrote about Christian worship, “Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? We should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews” (Teaching a Stone to Talk, HarperCollins, 1982, p. 58). We invoke God’s name Sunday after Sunday, but do we expect the sudden rush of the Spirit, people on fire for God, new proclamations spilling out everywhere?

Are we actually ready for God to show up? The quote made me think about the “normal” Lutheran congregation. Lutheran Church traditional worship is silent appreciation of the sermon, reverently bowed heads, and singing hymns in four-part harmony. I have been in churches where the folks smiled as loudly as they could when I said something funny.

While that is not true here, it is still hard to get you to clap your hands in time to the music. It's as if we think Jesus didn’t have a sense of humor, and God doesn’t have rhythm. If Jesus’ coming among us brings us joy, if a song or hymn is about praising God’s goodness and holiness, let’s make some joyful noise. 

Instead of quiet reverence, what if we expected Spirit to be so active among us, we needed crash helmets and life preservers? What if we allowed ourselves to be so aware of Spirit’s presence within these walls, we took her with us wherever we went outside the building? What if we listened to her give us ministry ideas and some of them actually worked?

Being church is not just about what happens inside the building. Like the first disciples, we are called, charged, to leave the safety of our building, to take the good news and share it with those who need to hear it, with those who are curious about the Spirit within us, with those in our immediate neighborhood, with those in our various communities.

Today, this week, I hope you will pay attention to the activity of Spirit. How does she help you connect with your neighbors? How does she challenge you to be kind when you’d rather not be bothered? How does she help you share Jesus’ love and forgiveness with someone who needs to hear some good news? Amen! 

 

Prayer

 Acts 16:16-34; Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21; John 17:20-26

Today, I want us to think about prayer. Prayer shows up in many ways in our texts, reminding us that there are many ways to pray, and many reasons for prayer.

Today’s portion of Jesus’ final message to the disciples is a prayer. I don’t know about you, but it seems Jesus is speaking in circles, saying the same thing in different ways, kind of like this Starry Night painting by Vincent van Gogh.

What is Jesus praying for, when we come down to the basics? Jesus wants us to trust God enough to turn to God in prayer. Why should we trust God? Because God sent Jesus to tell us so.

Jesus also says we are to seek unity with each other. “What!?” we comment. “We don’t want unity with THOSE folks!” And that’s exactly the point. God wants us to remember that even ‘those folks’ are just as much God’s children as we are, and God manages to love us and seek unity with us!

… In Acts, Paul and Silas are in Philippi preaching about Jesus, and I suppose praying that they would meet people willing to hear the good news. There is a young woman in town with the spirit, or gift, of divination. She was enslaved by people who profited from her by promoting her as a fortune teller.  Perhaps because of her gifts, she proclaimed that Paul and Silas were speaking the truth, and urging people to listen to them.

I hope Paul prayed about a response to the situation, but the text doesn’t say. One day, he is frustrated by her constant presence and orders (maybe?) prays that the spirit would be removed from her. And it came out. Now her owners are upset, and have Paul and Silas arrested and thrown in jail.

Instead of protesting their innocence, they spend the night praying and singing hymns to God. At about midnight, an earthquake shook the prison and opened all the doors. In despair, the jailer was about to end his own life, knowing his life would be over anyway if the prisoners escaped. I imagine he prayed for his Roman gods to help him.

Paul and Silas reassured him, that they were all still there. Amazed, the jailer wanted to know how to have this same kind of peace, that would keep them all in place despite the opportunity to escape. Paul and Silas told him and his family about Jesus, and they were all baptized, becoming members of the Philippian congregation based at Lydia’s home.

As often happens with Luke’s storytelling, we don’t hear what happened next to the young women. She now has no value to her ‘owners’. Perhaps she was given menial work, perhaps she was sold to other owners. Perhaps she, too, prayed to God and was baptized and brought into the Philippian church.

… In this passage from Revelation, Jesus prays for us. He wraps up the story with an invitation, ‘Watch for me. I am coming soon! Be open to seeing me.’ And we respond with the prayer, ‘Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!’  

There is a popular belief that heaven is up there somewhere, above the clouds, where God and all our deceased loved ones are. And it may be so, that there is a dimension in which God and our loved ones reside.

But that is not what Revelation is about. Revelation makes it plain that God has come down from the heavenly place to dwell with us on earth. God has reimagined the holy city into wherever WE are. We are living in heaven, if we look around, if we have the faith to see it as God sees it. Jesus is present, wherever we look for him. And so, we pray to see Jesus, to know him, to know he is with us whenever we need him, and even when we think we don’t need him. Maybe especially when we don’t think we need God’s help.

… What do you pray for? How do you pray? What words do you use? Often, I value the traditional words of the liturgy. I don’t have to think, I don’t have to read them, they just come to me. Just as often, I use my own words, or simply say a name or a situation: Sarah, or an end to hunger. Jesus and I know each other, and he has told us he prays for us. So, like any good friend, I don’t need a lot of words for Jesus to understand what I am thinking about.

And I find it interesting that when we pray long enough about something, for healing or for an end to violence, our prayers change. We begin with, ‘God, fix this!’ and slowly our prayers morph into, ‘How can I help fix this?’ It’s Jesus who hears you and prays along with you.

… As we take time today to ask for healing, for ourselves, for those we love, we trust in Jesus’ presence to make the healing real and true. Each time I touch one of you, I hope you feel Jesus touching you and praying for you.

Whenever we pray, whatever we pray for, we pray with confidence, because Jesus is right there, praying with us and for us. So, pray, pray often, with and without words. Because Jesus hears you and prays with and for you, even if you only think your prayer. Amen

 

The Acts of the Holy Spirit

Acts 16:9-15;  John 14:23-29

We get such a contrast with images of the Holy Spirit in today’s readings. The quiet, sort of puzzling promise by Jesus that an Advocate will be coming. Contrast that with the visionary guidance given to Paul as he makes plans to travel.

In John, again, we are at the last supper with Jesus as he gives the disciples their final instructions. Again, we hear we about God’s love for those who love God. Those who love God keep the commandment to love God and each other.  It sounds more conditional, like we need to love Jesus first, then God will love us.

But Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, the Paraclete, to help us do the loving he asks us to do. The Advocate will teach us how to love each other, even when it is hard to do. The Advocate will help us find the peace that comes from God, peace that goes beyond a lack of conflict. God’s peace is peace of mind, peace in our hearts, peace among neighbors – all sorts of neighbors. And the Holy Spirit helps us seek and find such peace.

… I am more fascinated by the reading from Acts. The Book is called the Acts of the Apostles, but it could more appropriately be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit. We read evidence of the Spirit’s activity throughout the book. And, by the way, we have also discovered this Holy Spirit activity in Luke, as we read it each week at Bible Study.

Our chosen text starts in the middle of a paragraph. Let me read the previous verses.  Paul and his companions traveled throughout the regions of Phrygia and Galatia because the Holy Spirit kept them from speaking the word in the province of Asia.  When they approached the province of Mysia, they tried to enter the province of Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t let them.  Passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas instead. From here, the story picks up with Paul having the vision of the man of Macedonia inviting him to come there.

The Holy Spirit was actively interfering with Paul’s plans, preventing him from going to certain places, and making sure he went to others. Throughout Acts, Spirit is teaching the disciples, unlocking prison doors, leading them to accept the faith of Gentiles, and the leadership of women.

Which takes us to the story of Lydia. She is a Gentile, who worships the Jewish God. We learn that she is a seller of purple cloth. Since purple is expensive to produce, it is a costly product, and those who deal in it are wealthy.  

Lydia is with the Jewish worshipers because she is seeking something more than her faith in the Roman gods provide. Lydia listens to Paul, believes what he has to say about Jesus and God’s grace, and has her entire household baptized. She makes her home available to the disciples and a congregation is started there. All of this is Holy Spirit activity, sending Paul to Lydia, and helping open her heart to the word of God, and the growing community.

… In the book, Christianity Rediscovered, Father Vincent Donovan describes a Catholic mission in Tanzania, East Africa, in Masai territory. The mission had been there for over 100 years, and Donovan discovered that although their schools and health ministry were often used by the Massai people, it was rare for the teachers or health care personnel to talk about the Christian or Catholic faith.

For Donovan, this was a Holy Spirit intervention moment. Donovan made a plan to visit the tribal villages and tell them about Jesus. He tried hard to strip religion from what he said and seek ways to make Jesus known in the simplest form. He received permission from the bishop for his ministry, and set out.

Soon, he learned he needed to speak to the head man in each village. Once he had permission to speak, he told the simple story of Jesus, and learned ways to associate Jesus with their cultural beliefs. The head man in many, though not all villages, welcomed this good news. One early comment was, “why hasn’t anyone told us this before?!”

… Lydia exists today, of course. She represents any spiritual seeker who isn’t attached to any particular church structure. Such folks are seeking spiritual meaning, purpose, and community. They don’t practice their faith in traditional ways, such as attending worship and Bible study.

I’m assuming you are here this morning because you believe that your faith in Jesus gives meaning to your lives. The Lydias in our community are looking for this meaning and purpose, but they are not likely to walk in here to be like us. It will be up to us to go where the Lydias are and introduce Jesus to them.

I trust the Holy Spirit will lead us to where we need to be, and tell the Jesus stories the Lydias need to hear. It may mean we have a Bible study at the Florida Porch Cafe, or a folk song sing-along at the Brick and Barrel Public House.

The Congregation Council is reading and discussing a book called Leading Faithful Innovation that will help us make plans to reach out to the community in new ways, that work the way believers and seekers need to be reached in today’s cultural settings. We’ll keep you posted as we figure out where the Spirit is leading us. We hope you, the members will be supportive if not enthusiastic of the activities that are proposed.

… For this week, I hope you will pay attention to the ways God’s Holy Spirit has nudged, led, forced, and challenged you in the past to a life of faith in Jesus. Where does the Spirit interrupt or change you this week?  Amen

 

See, I am making all things new

 Acts 11:1-18; Revelation 21:1-6; John 13:31-35

We begin with Jesus’ words. “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”  From the time Jesus first spoke these words to the disciples during his last meal with them, to today, we have been trying to figure out how to love as Jesus loves. It still feels new, and it is just as hard today as it was 2000 years ago.

… The first struggle came soon after the resurrection. The disciples scattered, headed north, south, east and west to tell the world about Jesus. They began by contacting the local synagogues, or going wherever the Jews in the town were meeting. They made friends, got to know the people, and told them about Jesus’ amazing love and forgiveness, about his resurrection.

By now, Paul has had a vision of the risen Jesus, who redirected his passion into spreading the good news among Gentiles. Peter has a similar divine encounter. Kill and eat these foods which until now have been labeled as unclean. It takes a while for him to figure it out. The vision is not about food, it’s about people.  

Perhaps Peter remembers all the times Jesus ate a meal with those people whom society thought were unclean, all the times Jesus treated non-Jewish people with respect and care. Perhaps Peter remembered Jesus’ command to love as he loved.

Of course, it can’t be that easy. One day, Jews and Gentiles didn’t share anything; then they did. The disciples in Jerusalem learn that Peter has CHANGED the RULES. What the (expletive deleted) are you thinking, Peter!!?? And he explains – “I had this vision, and as a result I baptized Cornelius and his household. It made me wonder what else I was doing that hindered God.”

… Revelation is probably written in the 90s, decades after Matthew, Mark, and Luke. By now, the Romans are actively persecuting both Jewish and Christian believers, because they refuse to worship the Caesar as a god. In the midst of the fear and trauma of persecution, John of Patmos writes visions to encourage the believers to remain faithful. In beautiful scenes of glory and praise, and in scary scenes of danger, the winner is always Jesus. He has conquered the evil one, the strong one who used to rule the earth.

As a result, God walks with us, dwells with us as one of us. Heaven is now present on earth. Instead of thinking of heaven as above us, among the clouds, or something far distant and strange, heaven is here, wherever God is present.

… Preaching is a curious process. Beginning with the texts for the week, I spend time with the words, with the stories. I read a few commentaries, which explain the significance of the original languages and the cultural context. Sometimes, I imagine myself in the story. What is Jesus saying to me?

This week, I was thinking about the Revelation text, with Jesus walking the earth. Then my abstract image became concrete.  What does it look like for Jesus to be here on second Friday mornings? I often think of Jesus as one of the hungry persons in line waiting for food. When we feed our neighbors, we are also feeding Jesus.

But this time, my vision of him changed. This time, Jesus was one of the volunteers, one of those giving out the food. Maybe he is this guy, with the overflowing grocery cart, continuing to feed hungry folks with an abundance. Jesus has not left us on our own, but continues to live among us, serving with us, loving us.

… Today’s stories are about Jesus making all things new. New ways of loving each other; new ways of relating to each other; new ways of thinking about God and heaven.

I have always, since childhood, paid attention to everything and everyone. It has a bit to do with coming from a dysfunctional family and seeking to know I was safe. But it is more about making sure everyone is included. I have always befriended those who had few friends in the group – the person of color, the intellectually challenged person, the weird person.

Once I became active in church leadership, I began to notice that some folks were missing. I ask myself, “Who isn’t here yet? How can we make sure they will find a welcome when they arrive?” At the same time, others are saying, “We don’t want that kind here.” “It would be great if they have a lot of money.” “They can come if they want to do things the way we always do them.”

… So, a story about that. At Anytown Lutheran Church, there were no children. When visitors with children came, people shushed them. They never returned. I suggested that we set up a quiet area for families with small children. A low table and chairs, washable stuffed animals, coloring books, a rug to catch crumbs from cookies and small crackers.

I had the support of the educators in the congregation, women who wanted to have children in a Sunday school. But the strongest voice on council voted my idea down with the illogical comment. “When I see children showing up, then I’ll support the idea of a children’s area.”

… Even if things never change in a congregation, the pastor stays for 40 years, the council always has enough members, worship attendance is stable at 120, finances are stable to support the existing ministries, God is still working to make all things new. Because God is about calling new people, changing hearts and minds, and through many little ways, making all things new.

This week, I hope you will think about how God may be making all things new at Gloria Dei. And how is God changing you and making you new? Amen

 

Abundance

 Acts 9:36-43; Psalm 23; Revelation 7:9-17; John 10:22-30

Most of us living in the US know abundance. We have a house large enough for all in the family. We have enough and more to eat. We have a variety of clothes to choose from. We have a car for each person who drives. We have a variety of stores to choose from, and options within each store. We can often choose the work we do, the books we read, the TV shows to watch, and how we watch them. This is abundance!

… In John Chapter 10:10, a few verses before our text for today Jesus says, “I came that you may have life, and have it abundantly.” This saying is very much a theme of John’s entire gospel. Abundant life. Life with Jesus the Good Shepherd who provides all we need and guides us through the trials and temptations and good times of our lives.

In our text, Jesus and the disciples are in the temple in Jerusalem. It’s during the festival of the dedication – more familiarly known to us as Hanukkah, or the festival of lights. During a war in about 164BCE, the temple was invaded and used badly. It was finally restored to Jewish hands, and a ceremony of rededication was held. However, there was only enough lamp oil for one day of the seven-day ritual, but it lasted for seven days. God leads God’s people with signs of abundance!

Jesus’ message about being the Good Shepherd, the one who guides us and whose voice calls to us, is a reminder of this time in their history. “Remember,” Jesus says, “God is a God of abundance!”

… We usually focus on certain verses in the psalm: We shall not want; we rest in pleasant places; God walks through dark times with us. Today, let’s focus on verse 5: God prepares a table for us, and our cup is so full it overflows.

When God feeds us, it’s not just a hot dog, chips, and a bottle of water. It’s bratwurst with sauerkraut, potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, and corn on the cob, plus a cooler of beverages, and brownies for dessert. God gives us so much we can’t eat anything more. That’s abundance!

… In Joppa, Tabitha was well known for her charitable acts. Now, she has become ill and died. Her friends, a group of widows and other believers, sent for Peter to come to them. The text doesn’t say why the friends wanted Peter; most likely, it was to let him know in person that Tabitha had died. When Peter arrived, they showed him a portion of the abundance of clothing she had made for women and children in need.

Peter sent everyone away and entered Tabitha’s room alone. He prayed, then called to her and she opened her eyes. He then called to the widows and believers and presented her to them, alive and well again, ready to live once more with abundance.

… We might think that the abundance in this text from Revelation is the countless multitude gathered around the throne. It certainly is an abundance of people! A second look shows us the abundance comes in the promises: they will hunger and thirst no more; the weather will be pleasant, not extreme, causing drought and famine or destruction; there will be springs of water – not just water, but water of life; and God will wipe away all their tears.

The multitude of saints – and we – worship God because God cares about us enough to make sure we have more than enough. God wants for us an abundance of good things.

… But … there seems to be a disconnect. There is an abundance of people in the world who don’t have enough, much less an abundance of what they need. For too many, the cup isn’t even half-full, nowhere near overflowing. This imbalance isn’t new. It’s actually thousands of years old.

Calls for those-who-have to care for those-who-have-not begin in Exodus and Leviticus, and continue with Proverbs and the prophets. This imbalance of wealth and power is one of Jesus’ frequent challenges to the crowds and the leaders of Judea.

Imbalance is a hot-button issue today, too. Changes in the national budget have reduced our ability to feed hungry people. We never have had the ability to provide an abundance to hungry folks, but lately, we have a serious reduction to what we can provide.

… I’ve been reading the book, The Measure by Nikki Erlick. The book imagines that at a certain moment in time, like tomorrow morning, everyone in the world receives an indestructible wooden box. In the box is an indestructible string that gives “the measure of your life”. Quickly, data analysts determine the relationship between the length of the string and the longevity of life. That is, how long a person has to live, including the year and month.

Quickly, prejudice arises against those with shorter strings. No need to train them for highly skilled jobs, don’t trust them in higher levels of military service, don’t waste money on health care, and so forth. “Short strings” becomes the new sexism, racism, LGBT+ issue to rally fear about. Some people talk about compassion, but their voices are drowned out by the fearful voices.

Some try to put forth the notion that the measure of your life is not necessarily quantitative, but qualitative. I’m still reading the book, and I hope that voice becomes stronger soon. It’s what Jesus is saying in John 10:10. “I came so that you may have abundant life.”

… This week, I hope you spend some time pondering: Where in your life is there an abundance? Hopefully, we each have an abundance of friends, of interesting things to do, of the knowledge that God loves us and forgives us. I pray that whether our lives are shorter or longer, that they are filled with God’s abundance. Amen

Encounters with the Risen Jesus

Acts 9:1-20; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19

Today’s readings all relate encounters with the Risen Jesus. We discover that Jesus shows up in some unexpected places, in Scripture, and in our lives. First, we need to remember we are reading John’s Gospel, and there are only a few reported resurrection appearances. In contrast, Luke tells us Jesus appeared frequently for 40 days. So, the disciples in John’s story aren’t accustomed to Jesus showing up in their midst.

… Jesus and some of the disciples are back in Galilee. Peter isn’t sure what to do, so he does what he has always done. He’s gone fishing, but they have caught nothing all night. As they pull near the shore, there’s a man on the beach who tells them to throw the nets out on the right side of the boat. They do so, and the nets are so full, they need help hauling them in.

It turns out that a person on the shore can see a school of fish that can’t be seen from inside the boat. So, the disciples believe the person’s guidance, and that’s why they are able to catch so many fish. But Peter knows it’s more than the perspective from the beach that gives them this catch; it’s Jesus who makes it possible. He puts his outer clothes back on and runs through the water to be with Jesus. Can you imagine the joy the disciples feel when they see Jesus again here?

… The first story, of the large catch of fish, is followed by a second story with just Peter and Jesus taking a walk down the beach away from the others. It’s the first private conversation they’ve had since Peter denied knowing Jesus in the courtyard during his trial. They talk about love, as they did so often during Jesus’ life and ministry.

Three times Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” The first time, Jesus says, “Do you love me more than these?” I began wondering if Jesus is pointing to the fish. In other words, “Do you love me more than fishing?” The other two times, Jesus charges Peter with caring for Jesus’ sheep as well as Jesus has. “If you love me, love my sheep the way I taught you to.”

It’s obvious in this encounter with the risen Jesus that the disciples’ lives are to be a continuation of the ministry Jesus started. They are now going to be led by Peter, and take the good news of God’s love to all people.

… In Acts, Saul has an encounter with the risen Jesus as he travels to Damascus in search of people who believe in Jesus. At this time, Saul has a passion for seeking for those who sin by believing Jesus is God. He is very good at his job, and known and feared by all followers of Jesus.

Saul is temporarily blinded by the encounter, and cared for by a man named Ananias, who also has an unexpected encounter with the risen Jesus. Ananias is reluctant to do as Jesus asks. “Do you know what evil Saul does to us believers?!” “Yes, and I have chosen him to spread my name to Gentiles and kings. And, I have chosen you to tell him the truth about me.” 

This is not a conversion for Saul but a redirection of his passion. He has been forgiven by Jesus for persecuting Jesus-people. Only someone who has passionately sought the guilty can passionately share the good news of God’s love and grace.

And just a quick note: Since Saul spends most of his time with Gentiles, he goes by the Roman name Paulus, or Paul, when he is with them, and Saul when he’s with the Jews.

… John of Patmos has a different kind of encounter with the risen Jesus. His vision of the risen Jesus lasts a long time, and encourages those who are being persecuted to remain faithful to Jesus. In this portion of the vision, Jesus is shown as the Lamb who was slain, who freely gave his life. Beyond the grave, Jesus the Lamb is also the Divine One who is worshiped and glorified. John writes down what he sees: a glimpse of heaven, or at least what God wants him to tell us about who Jesus is.

When I dream, sometimes the stories I see are strange, but this story of the Revelation to John is beyond a dream. It is an apocalypse, a literary form that resembles modern fantasy novels. Lots of scary stuff happens, but in the end, the good guy always wins. Jesus … always wins.

… I hope you understand that each week you have an encounter with the risen Jesus. We remember we are baptized and forgiven. We receive the gift of his body and blood in the meal we share. Today, we also receive his blessing as we receive anointing and laying on hands while we pray for the healing of our bodies, our minds, our relationships, our spirits.

We also have the occasional encounter with the risen Jesus when we hand food to a hungry person with a smile and a prayer. We may encounter Jesus as we travel or shop for groceries or visit a homebound person.

… One of my encounters with the risen Jesus happened while I worked with Women of the ELCA at the Churchwide office in Chicago. One weekend, I was with the Board of the Metro Chicago Synod. It was there I met Betty, the instigator of Rachel’s Day.

In the mid-1990s, gun violence was causing the death of almost 1,000 young men a year in Chicago. Betty decided she had to do something. She began looking for women who had lost children to gangs and gun violence. Together, they planned a non-violent demonstration of how enormous the problem really was.

They located an empty lot, and invited all families to put a cross with their child’s name in the lot set up like a cemetery. The observance gave everyone an opportunity to lament their losses and to protest that conditions in their communities needed to change. Soon, the event became a Women of the ELCA Churchwide event, which we are observing today. It all started with one woman who had a Jesus-driven passion to make life better for her people.

… And yesterday, at the Pinelands Spring Gathering at Luther Springs Camp, I met Nicky. He grew up going to camp, attending from the time he was in elementary school to today, when he is a camp counselor.

He talked with passion about meeting campers year after year, and how they open up to him and to each other in ways they never would at home, or with friends. It is clear to me he has known the risen Jesus, and shares him with the kids he meets at camp, and wherever he goes.

… This week, I hope you will reflect on the times you have had an encounter with the risen Jesus. It may be hard to discover them, because Jesus shows up incognito, looking like a regular person, but I assure you, he has been there with you all the time. Amen