Sunday, January 25, 2009: A Famous "Do Over"

A Famous “Do Over.”
John 21: 1 – 19.

I. Introduction.
When we were kids, we all knew what a “Do Over” was. A “Do Over” is when you ask your playmates for one more chance to get it right. Maybe you struck out while playing baseball and need a “Do Over” to hit the ball. Perhaps you tripped over the jump rope and need a “Do Over” to stay in rhythm with the song.

However, children aren’t the only ones who need a “Do Over.” I don’t want to admit how many times I have to hit more than one golf ball off the first tee.

Sometimes even the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court needs a “Do Over.”

Have you heard that there is a new President of the United States? On Tuesday, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. and Barack Obama stood on the steps of the United States Capital and stuttered and stammered through the oath of office.

On live television, most people did not really know what had happened. In fact, it was somewhat endearing to think that Obama was so excited about assuming the office of President that he might have gone through the oath too quickly. Yet, we learned after the fact that these two men—perhaps two of the smartest men in our nation—actually got confused. These two intelligent men got one word out of order.

The Presidential Oath of Office is only 35 words. But these 35 words are listed in the U.S. Constitution. They are important words. They are heavy, weighty words.

The oath is supposed to say: "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

But here is what came out: "I do solemnly swear that I will execute the office of President of the United States faithfully, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

I do not claim to be a Constitutional expert. But it sounds like this oath is close enough. All the words are there. It is just the order of the words that is in question.

Officially, the oath of office was administered at noon on Tuesday. But just to make sure there would be no challenges to the new President’s legitimacy, Chief Justice Roberts got a “Do Over.” On Wednesday night, Obama, Roberts and a small group of news reporters gathered in the Map Room of the White House to re-administer the oath of office. You will be glad to know, they got it right on the second try

(http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090122/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_oath_do_over;_ylt=AhsDwTU1JLhMdWi_7FNH18gDW7oF ).

On one hand, this is an interesting political story. I’m not sure if it reveals more about respect for the exact wording of the Constitution or fear of politically motivated lawsuits. On the other hand, this is a Gospel story. I believe every person has an inherent desire for a “Do Over.” We have regrets. We have broken relationships. We have guilt and shame over sin. We wish we could just ask for another chance.

The story of Obama’s oath of office will probably make it into the history books someday. It is a famous “Do Over.” But it reminds me of another famous “Do Over” recorded at the end of the Gospel of John.

Read John 21: 1 – 19.

According to John, this is the third time Jesus has appeared to his disciples after the Resurrection. The first appearance was in a locked room, where only ten of the twelve disciples had gathered with some of the other Jesus followers—including some women. There were only ten disciples present, because Judas had died, and Thomas was absent for some reason. A week later, Jesus appeared a second time…And Thomas was there.

These first two appearances happened in Jerusalem. This third appearance happened on the banks of the Lake of Galilee—approximately 65 miles North of Jerusalem.

We don’t know why the disciples chose to go to Galilee. We don’t know how long it took them to get there. Perhaps they left Jerusalem one week after the Resurrection. Perhaps they felt threatened in Jerusalem. After all, the Jewish religious leaders and the Roman politicians had killed Jesus in Jerusalem. The disciples could have been next on the list of “people to kill.”

All we know is that most of the disciples had originally grown up in the region of Galilee. So, seven of the twelve disciples went back to their homes. They went back to familiar surroundings—family, friends, comfortable surroundings, etc…

John doesn’t say this, but the Gospel of Mark gave the disciples specific instructions about what they should do after the Resurrection. The women who came to the empty tomb were given a message to deliver. The angel at the tomb said, “Tell the disciples and Peter, Jesus is going ahead of you into Galilee.”

I don’t think we should fault the disciples for going to Galilee. This is where Jesus wanted them to go. But, Jesus never told them what they should do in Galilee.

Old habits are hard to break. When Jesus first encountered the twelve disciples, many of them were fishermen. They worked in the family business. They left the family business to follow Jesus on a journey of faith. There might have been some family pressure for the disciples to go back to work. I can just hear Peter’s mother, “When are you going to help your father? He’s too old to have to do all the work by himself. He hasn’t been the same since you left. He always wanted you to take over the business. You were so good with your hands.”

Whatever their reasons, Peter was the first one to think about going fishing. In this example, Peter functioned as the leader of the disciples. On one hand, we expect that. He was a man of action with an infectious personality. He was a natural-born leader. We even expect it, because of our knowledge of early church history from the book of Acts. On the other hand, we don’t expect the other disciples to follow Peter. Only a few days earlier, Peter had broken his promise to Jesus and failed miserably. While warming himself around a fire outside the governor’s mansion, Peter had cursed and denied ever knowing Jesus.

Fishing was a natural choice for the disciples. They had grown up working in the industry and presumably had been successful. But not on this night. The disciples fished all night long and were coming back to shore empty-handed.

The disciples planned their fishing trip at night so they could bring their catch to shore in time to sell their fish in the market. When they returned to shore, they were met by a man whom they probably thought would be a good customer. But this was no customer. It was Jesus.

Jesus’ words to the disciples are significant for several reasons. First, he addressed them literally as “Children.” Second, he made them admit their failure by asking about their catch. Third, Jesus instructed them on how they could haul in a miraculous catch of 153 fish.

This might seem like a small, insignificant miracle. But there is some good theology here. No matter where the disciples might go or how they might have failed Jesus, he still addressed them as his “children.” When the disciples confessed their failure, Jesus came to their aid. And, when the disciples obeyed Jesus’ commands, they experienced a miracle. How many times do we miss out on a miracle because we fail to obey Jesus’ commands?

The miraculous catch of fish was all that John needed to recognize who was standing on the shore. “It is the Lord!” he called. And, Peter leapt into action.

Peter is the first disciple to make it to shore and encounter Jesus. Then Peter became the central character in the rest of the story. It seems that this Resurrection appearance was all about Peter and his relationship with Jesus.

The conversation began when Jesus addressed Peter as “Simon, son of John.” Notice that Jesus did NOT call him Peter. That is significant, because Jesus is the one who changed his name from Simon to Peter. Yet, at this point, Jesus refused to use the name he originally suggested.

I can think of three reasons why Jesus would address him as “Simon, son of John.” First, that’s his name. Second, the name “Peter” is a nickname which means “Rock.” And lately Peter has not been acting much like a “rock.” He failed his Lord, denied knowing Jesus, and abandoned Jesus in his time of need. Third, this is Jesus’ way of showing Peter that he is giving him a “Do Over.”

Keep in mind where we are right now. We are not in Jerusalem anymore. No. We are on the shore of the Lake of Galilee. This is a special place to Peter. It is his hometown, AND this is the place where he first met Jesus. This is the place where Jesus called Peter to follow Jesus, leave his fishing business and become a fisher for people. In other words, Jesus has just taken Peter back to the very beginning of their relationship. He has a chance for a “Do Over.”

The conversation between Jesus and Peter revolves around three questions, three answers and three commands. Actually, it’s one question, one answer and one command. It just happened three times. Jesus asked, “Do you love me?” Peter answered, “I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

The Greek text of John 21 reveals a subtle play on words in the conversation between Jesus and Peter. In Greek, Jesus’ question reads, “Do you agape me?” And Peter’s answer reads, “I philo you.”

I suppose it is possible to build a sermon from the basic meanings of these two Greek words for love. Agape love is selfless and giving love, best defined by Jesus’ self-giving sacrifice on the cross. Phileo love is something akin to friendship.

This is a very attractive interpretation…except for a couple of problems. If Peter never used the word agape to describe his love for Jesus, then Jesus had to compromise his expectations for Peter. In fact, when we look at the commandments Jesus gave Peter, we would have to say that Jesus gave Peter a divine calling despite his inferior love for Jesus. The second problem is even more difficult to overcome. More than likely Jesus and Peter did not have this conversation in Greek. They probably spoke in Aramaic. And Aramaic only has one word for “love.” So, there must be another reason for the three questions.

Jesus asked for Peter’s love three times. Does that remind you of anything? Better yet, should the number three remind Peter of anything? Yes. It ought to remind him of the three times he had previously denied knowing Jesus. Remember in John 18, we read that Peter stood by a fire and denied Jesus three times. Now, in John 21, we watch as Peter and Jesus stand by another fire as Peter professes his love for Jesus three times. This is a “Do Over.”

Yes, Peter had failed. He had an opportunity to stand up for his Lord but refused. He denied knowing Jesus. No matter how badly you have failed, you too can have a “Do Over.” Jesus wants to give you another second chance. (I like the way that sounds, “Another Second Chance.” It’s not just a second chance. It’s another second chance!)

But notice how Jesus wanted Peter to use his second chance. Jesus said, “If you love me, feed my lambs; take care of my sheep; and feed my sheep.” Again we find a variety of words, which might lead us to interpret these commands as being separate commands. However, I think they are the same thing, repeated in three similar statements. In fact, Jesus’ commands to Peter only have one word in common: “my.”

Jesus did not hand over his sheep to Peter. The sheep still belong to Jesus. Peter simply has a responsibility to care for Jesus’ sheep.

You and I might not know much about sheep and how to take care of sheep. But Peter knew about sheep. Most every family in the ancient world had their own flock of sheep. The flock of sheep was their primary source of wool, milk, meat and religious sacrifices. Shepherding the flock was a responsibility of every family and was a position traditionally held by the youngest son. When he got older, he could go to work for his father in the family business. But every young man took responsibility for shepherding the flock.

We often talk about sheep as being dependent animals. They need a shepherd to look after them and to take care of their needs. But there is another thing about sheep that we sometimes forget. Sheep are a herd animal. They don’t do well on their own. They stick together. They need each other.

The Old Testament is full of references to sheep and shepherds. Many of these references describe the people of Israel as sheep. The New Testament adopts this same language to describe God’s people—the church—as sheep. So, I believe Jesus was commanding Peter to use his “Do Over” in the church.

You and I are like sheep. We are dependent on our shepherd—Jesus—to take care of our needs. AND, we need to flock together in the church. Christians NEVER do well on our own out in the world.

II. Conclusion.
Notice Jesus’ question in verse 15: “Simon, son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” We don’t really know what Jesus was asking Peter, because there is some debate about what “these” refers to. It could mean, “Do you love me more than the other disciples love me?” Or, “Do you love me more than you love the other disciples?” Or, “Do you love me more than you love your fishing boat and nets?”

Recently, I was listening to a sermon on the Internet by Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. He told a story about a woman in his church who was living with her boyfriend but attending church every week. She was a Christian, she knew she shouldn’t be living with her boyfriend, but she couldn’t move out. He told her very plainly, “You love your boyfriend more than you love Jesus.”

I saw this personally in a conversation over lunch a few weeks ago. Aubrey asked a guy, “Where do you go to church?” He answered, “I don’t go to church right now. I am coaching my daughter’s select softball team that plays on Sundays. So, my family reads the Bible and prays together. But we can’t go to church.” Which do you think he loves more? Softball? His daughter? Jesus?

I think Jesus is standing on the shore today offering us a “Do Over.” It doesn’t matter how badly you have failed. But he is asking us the same question he asked Peter, “Do you love me more than these?” Then, Jesus will give us his calling for our lives…Take care of the church.