“Third Time’s the Charm”

May 1, 2022    Communion         

First Lesson:     Isaiah 61:1-3

61 The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; ² to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; ³ to provide for those who mourn in Zion— to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.

Second Lesson:     John 21:1-19

21 After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. ² Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. ³ Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

⁴ Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. ⁵ Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” ⁶ He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. ⁷ That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. ⁸ But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.

⁹ When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. ¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” ¹¹ So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. ¹² Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. ¹⁴ This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

¹⁵ When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” ¹⁶ A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” ¹⁷ 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. ¹⁸ Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” ¹⁹ (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”       

When I say three, when talking about scripture, what comes to mind?  Jesus was raised on the third day.  The Trinity being God taking on three forms, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The forefathers of the faith Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Three is an important number in scripture.  One that signifies completeness.  There are 27 books in the New Testament, which is 3 squared, or completeness to the third power.  Jesus prayed three times in the Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest. He was placed on the cross at the 3rd hour of the day (9 a.m.) and died at the 9th hour. There were 3 hours of darkness that covered the land while Jesus was suffering on the cross. Lots of three in God’s word.

Today we read from John’s resurrection account, and it was the third time Jesus appeared to the gathered disciples.  His appearance to Mary was separate, personal.  Afterwards Mary runs to tell the disciples all that she witnessed of the risen Lord. Then they encounter Jesus three times.

You remember the first two times Jesus appeared. First, the disciples are gathered in a room with the door shut for fear of the Jews and Jesus comes and says, “Peace be with you.”  They look at the scars on his hands and side, and Jesus sends them out after breathing on them and giving them the Holy Spirit (20:19-23).  The second time, Thomas doubts that it is really his risen Lord until Jesus appears again offering peace.  This time Jesus allows Thomas to touch his wounds and he declares him, “My Lord and my God!” (20:24-29).   Then it concludes with a summary paragraph stating other signs were done, but these were written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

Because of this, and other factors, scholars believe that chapter 21, the one we read, is an epilogue written later by one of John’s disciples.  It is here that we have the third and final appearance of the risen Lord.

I titled this sermon, “Third Time’s the Charm” because of Jesus asking Peter three times if he loved him and this was the third resurrection appearance, on the third Sunday of Easter. But I realized there was more to that than I intended.  I did not really consider that it offered hope that after twice failing to accomplish something, one may succeed in the third attempt.  I was thinking more about when a person tries to do something, and it works out on the third attempt.  The British often say third time lucky to express a similar idea.

But this got me thinking about how the third appearance was difference than the first two and why someone felt motivated to add this epilogue to scripture.

First let’s look at geography and timing.  The first two appearances were near Jerusalem because they happened the day of the resurrection and the next week in the same house.  And Mary was able to run to tell them.  The third appearance took place near the Sea of Tiberias, also known as the Sea of Galilee, which is 4 to seven days walk away depending on the route.  So a group of disciples head home, or at least back to Peter and Andrew’s home in Galilee.  These seven disciples having seen the risen Lord twice, decide they will go night fishing, at Peter’s prompting. Not quite the passionate evangelists we have come to know.   But maybe they felt lost after all that had transpired, vulnerable because Jesus was no longer with them, and so they go back to what they know.

How often have we done that?  Something powerful happens in our lives and instead of changing course, we go back to the familiar, to what we know.  Maybe they need to regroup, to reaffirm their Lord.  But even fishing doesn’t seem to be going their way, their nets are empty.  Jesus appears in their vulnerable moment.  Peter was even naked when Jesus appeared, that certainly is vulnerable. But the first two times, Jesus gave the disciples what they needed, Peace and the Holy Spirit to calm their nerves and help them understand the resurrection and that Jesus is still alive.  The third time Jesus is not giving them peace but a commission to go forth as apostles to the world. Third time’s a charm.  Follow Me.

We see this in two parts, catching the fish and eating with them and his exchange with Peter to feed his sheep.  What better way to inspire the disciples than with one word from Jesus, to abundantly fill their nets?  This miracle becomes a new experience of abundance, mirroring Cana’s gallons of wine (2:1-11) and the twelve baskets of food left over at the feeding of the 5,000 (6:1-14). Abundance moves to tasting and seeing that Jesus truly is alive and able to eat with the disciples.  Remember the first two appearances focused on the scars of his death and here we see him eating and alive! Powerfully affirming Jesus’ bodily resurrection, eating with them, in the breaking of the bread and fish.  Third times a charm.    Of course, this takes them back to the last supper and all the meals they had shared.  This sunrise meal will be not the last supper, but the last breakfast, as they are being fed to do the work of sharing God’s love and the good news Jesus is alive!

Love is a great motivator.  It trumps fear and it heals the soul.  So, when Jesus wants to reinvigorate Peter, he asks three times if he loves him.  Now Peter gets annoyed, but I think it reminds us of the power of love and how it motivates us to share the gospel.  Let’s remember that Peter had denied Jesus three times on his final night. Betrayed him really.  So, Jesus asking him if he loves him three times reinstates Peter as a faithful follower. Jesus welcomes Peter into the fold by asking him three times to take care of his sheep (verse 15-17). This is important because Peter is to become the rock upon which Jesus will build his church.  Peter owning, claiming his love for Jesus will help him endure his death which is foretold and to passionately follow Jesus like he did when he first met him while fishing on this same sea, years before.  I imagine Peter recalled declaring his love for Jesus, as a touchstone to his faith as he became the rock upon which Jesus would build his church.  Peter declares his love for Jesus, but during the first two appearances, the disciples are living in fear, fear for their lives, fear of what happens next.  Here, Jesus roots his connection with Peter in love.   The third time IS the charm!  Because Peter loves Jesus he feeds his sheep, he tends to his flock, he is the head of the church.  Love motivates action!

How do we as Christ’s disciples feed his sheep?  What was prophesied by Isaiah, was true for Peter and is also true for us: bring good news to the poor, bind up the broken hearted, comfort all who mourn and release the captives!  That is how we feed his Sheep and how we show our love!

One night in New York, on Broadway, the great star Mary Martin was preparing to go on stage, as she had a 1000 times before, in Rodger & Hammerstein’s South Pacific. Just before she took stage a note was handed her. The letter was signed Oscar Hammerstein who was that evening on his deathbed. The note was short. It simply said: “Dear Mary, A bell’s not a bell until you ring it. A song’s not a song until you sing it. Love in your heart is not put there to stay. Love isn’t love till you give it away.”

When the play was over the cast rushed her backstage and asked, “What happened? We’ve never seen you perform that way before?” Mary read to them Hammerstein’s note and said, “Tonight, I gave my love away.”

I can hear Jesus’ words to Peter in that: Peter do you love me? Feed my sheep. Jesus was saying, Peter you know the song. Sing it! Peter you’ve got the bell. Ring it! “Peter, love isn’t love till you give it away” (Sermons.com, Brett Blair).

May we come to Christ’s table, may we be fed with God’s grace and goodness so that we can share God’s love. So that we live out God’s love, because love isn’t love till you give it away! Amen.