"He Finds You Where You Are"

John 21:1-14
Dr. Anne M. Cameron
April 24, 2011
Lake Highlands Presbyterian Church
Easter Sunday

      What we are about to hear in the gospel is such a common story. A stranger appears along the shoreline of a lake. Picture him, there in the distance, cupping his hands around his mouth as he shouts, "Catch anything?"

¹ Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: ² Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ³ "I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

⁴ Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

⁵ He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?"

  "No," they answered.

⁶ He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. ⁷ Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him and jumped into the water. ⁸ The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. ⁹ When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

¹⁰ Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught." ¹¹ So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. ¹² Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

      We arrive once again on Easter Sunday. Isn't it grand? The colors and the clothes, the children with eyes big as saucers, the fragrant flowers? The full sanctuary and the glorious music, the festive sense that today is a special sort of day. . .

      Today we are here from many different places. On the one hand, there are those who come from the land of great spiritual preparation having spent the entire forty days of Lent in prayer, fasting, and reflection. And on the other hand, there are those who come with little to no thought of what they may hope to find here on Easter morning. There are some who have been eagerly awaiting this day, and others dragged here under protest. There are those whose faith in the living Lord is unshakeable, and there are those filled with doubt. There are even perhaps some who don't care one way or the other.

      It is my prayer that NOW today the Spirit will speak her living word to each one of you, every single one, wherever you come from, wherever you live.

      This is the third time Jesus appears to his disciples in the gospel of John. The first two times were in Jerusalem, the scene of the Great Crime. This time, though, the seven are back home. They are back in Galilee, back where they came from. They have left the scene of the Great Crime. They have walked 50 miles to the north, to the place they know best, to the work they know like they know the back of their hands. They are fishing. It is not only what they do, it is who they are.

      "Why?" you may ask. "Why the Sea of Galilee?" Jesus is risen! They all know it. They have met the Risen Lord. Why aren't they on the road, evangelizing, planting churches, doing God's work? Why are they doing such a practical, mundane thing as fishing?

      They are in a boat, doing something so familiar they can literally do it blindfolded. Only this time, nothing happens. They have a really long, bad night. They fail. No fish.

      As they row slowly back to shore in the chill of the early dawn, the horizon starts to glow in shades of purple, then pink. They spot a solitary figure off in the distance, next to the tiniest orange glow of fire. A voice calls out to them across the water.

      "Hey boys, did you catch anything?"

      "Nope."

      Weary, they pull toward the shore. They murmur. "Who is this guy? Why is he out there so early? What does it matter to him whether or not we caught anything?"

      Here is where we, peering over John's shoulder, have the inside view. We know this is Jesus, but oddly enough, the disciples don't.

      And then, something strange. The stranger gives them a directive. "Try the right side of the boat." "Try again."

      And something even stranger, they obey. They do what he says.

      They throw their nets out. Again.

      They obey Him, and when they do, their nets are filled! Soon we will see it is not only their nets, but THEY ARE FILLED. They are filled with joy as they see him, almost as if for the first time, again!

      Let's step back for a moment and hear what John is saying.

      They obeyed before they even knew what they were doing. They go of "their way" of doing things before they could truly see who He was. They let go of their will, they succumb to His, and everything changes.

      This is indeed the mystery of Easter. Jesus is Risen! Jesus lives! Jesus, through the breath and life of the Holy Spirit, continues to be present and accessible to us even today, even now.

      We do not have to stop doing everything we normally do. Jesus is here, all around us. Jesus finds us where we are; we do not have to find Him. We don't even have to recognize Him, we have only to obey. When we obey, slowly but surely, we begin to recognize him. He's all over the place, He's in every place! Our eyes have been closed. We've been spinning our wheels counting on our own steam when the One who is the source of everything is there all the time, risen, waiting, inviting.

      This is always and forever the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection: that no longer do we HAVE TO FIGURE IT OUT. No longer do we have to HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS. No longer do we have to DO IT ON OUR OWN to know God. In and through Jesus, the answers are ours all along. Joy is ours for the taking! All we have to do is trust His plans for us more than our own.

      All we have to do is do what he says: throw out our nets on the right side of the boat. Even though we think it's hopeless, even though we've been trying again and again and again ON OUR OWN, when we turn ourselves over to him, everything changes. Everything changes, because we no longer rely on our own puny resources, our own empty nets, our own silly strategies. Everything changes, because we begin to discover Jesus, our true center. We begin to find the God who has been there all the time looking for us.

      God actually finds us where we live.

      We begin to see how God works in and through us in the stories of our simple, mundane lives. We begin to find the holiness in the moment, the gift of new and true life that depends not at all on who we are or how we are but on He Who Is.

      Life depends on HE WHO IS.

      It could have been any of a hundred stories of early dawn at the lake: seven tired fishermen, disgruntled and discouraged. It's such a simple story. No angels, no fanfare, no walking through locked doors. Just a man, crouching before a small fire, a heavy load of fish, an early morning fish fry. Just a God, looking for those he loves, desiring to give them everything they need and far, far more.

      Easter tells us the story doesn't end there.

      Just as He found them, he finds you and me, too.

      He finds us, in our doubt and confusion. He finds us, as we prepare dinner for our family for the thousandth time. He finds us, as we toss and turn with worry in the night. He finds us, as we drive a friend to the doctor.

      He finds us, as we punch a time clock

                finish a report

                smooth ruffled feathers

                pay your bills.

      He finds us as we seek to follow Him and obey whether or not any of it makes a great deal of sense in a given moment. He finds us. And when He does, He fills you and me and all God's poor fishing children with abundance and joy and life.