Resurrection Detectives 

John 21:1-14

Fishing?  Really?  So soon?  Why on earth were those disciples fishing again?  Don’t get me wrong—I enjoy fishing, especially when the sandbass are schooling on top and my father or my husband will take them off my hook.  I am not anti-fishing by any means.  But I have a hard time understanding why on earth those disciples were already back to their old routines, in their old boats, throwing out their same old nets, catching nothing but the same old failure. 

 Had they already forgotten what had just happened?  By this point in John’s Gospel, the risen Jesus had already appeared to them two times. You remember from last week that Jesus had already come to them and had a Pentecost moment in their room that had been locked out of fear.  He had blown his breath of peace and Spirit for them to deeply inhale into their lungs and into their hearts.  He had made promises of forgiveness and constant presence.  And that was just appearance number one. 

 Then, when Thomas showed up and had to see the wounds for himself, Jesus appeared again.  He held out his hands and showed his side so that Thomas, also, might be able to touch and feel a piece of resurrection hope.  So that Thomas, also, might be able to believe that God had fulfilled God’s promises.  That was appearance number two.  And so, by today’s reading in John’s Gospel, all of the remaining eleven disciples had actually seen the risen Jesus two times.

 And those two appearances are why I cannot figure out why they were fishing that night.  As soon as Jesus had left their room, I would have thought they would start pulling out the maps and marking their routes.  I would have thought Peter would have been giving marching orders:  “James—you and Nathanel go to Damascus, a few more of you pack up and head out to Alexandria and Antioch.  John and I will hit Athens.  It is time to practice what Jesus has preached!  Let’s spread the Gospel word!”  Isn’t that how you felt after our joyful Easter Sunday worship? 

 After seeing the risen Lord two times, I would have guessed they would be out there hitting the streets, living the great commission—baptizing and making disciples to the ends of the earth.  They had seen the Lord.  He is risen!  So where was their resurrection energy?  What happened to their Easter hope?  Why were they fishing?

 Was the group was falling apart?  From what John tells us, we could jump to that conclusion.  John lists only seven disciples who were gathered together.  Maybe the other four just could not handle all of the resurrection chaos and had gone their own ways.  It was a lot to take in all at once.  First, Jesus was dead.  Then, Jesus was alive.  First, the disciples were grieving.  Then, the disciples were rejoicing.  I am sure their heads and their hearts were reeling from the emotional rollercoaster that had quickly become their lives.  Maybe those four were in shock, not sure how to feel or what to do.  So they hit the road, leaving the group of seven disciples who were left feeling afraid and paralyzed by their mission, instead of feeling energized and excited.    

 So perhaps in the wake of so much emotional chaos, Peter decided he needed to clear his head and just go back to what he understood—fishing.  The other six followed.  Maybe they all needed some familiarity for a few moments, to get their heads on straight.  I get that.  But still, after all they had just seen and heard, they decided to go right back to what they had done before Jesus interrupted their lives.  They went back home to Galilee and fished.  And I just wonder what happened to their resurrection energy.  Where was their Easter hope? Their Lord had risen.  Everything was good now, right?

 Writer and preacher Eugene Peterson says not necessarily.  He claims the disciples were in shock after Easter Sunday because frankly, crucifixion is easier to deal with than resurrection[i].  And I think he is onto something.  Think about it.  Death makes sense to us, doesn’t it?  As much as we fight it, as much as we sometimes hate it, as much as it can scare us, we are used to death in our world.  It is part of the natural order of things.  We all know that we will die.  That is part of life as a human being.  And it was a normal part of the disciples’ lives also.  Even a crucifixion was not all that unique for them.  Anyone who lived in Palestine at that time had seen a crucifixion before.  So while it was absolutely horrible and tragic and awful to see their Jesus crucified, it was not unusual. 

 But resurrection, right then and there?  That is a whole different thing altogether.  The disciples thought of resurrection as something that happened at the end of time when all bets are off anyway.  But Jesus’ resurrection did not wait until the last days.  It did not happen in some other sphere of reality. 

 Jesus had risen right there, among them, smack dab in the middle of their everyday lives.  Their risen Lord encountered them, not in some “sweet by and by”, but in their familiar locked room.  He breathed on them his peace and gave them the Spirit not as they strummed golden harps, but as they cleaned up their mess from lunch.  Jesus’ resurrection totally interrupted their normal, everyday lives.   And that resurrection interruption threw the disciples into complete chaos.  Not because God raised someone from the dead, but because all of the
sudden, God had moved resurrection from the future tense into the present tense[ii].  The risen Jesus was with them, right then and right there. 

 And maybe that present tense interruption of resurrection is what sent them running for the old boats and the old nets.  “They needed to reinforce their grip on everyday reality—the country they grew up in, the work they felt at home in, the sea and the fishing boat, the fishing nets.[iii]”  At the very least, they needed to go through the motions of the familiar. 

 And again, I can understand that.  Most of us disciples probably think of resurrection as an event that happens later, after we die, in another space and time.  Most of us disciples probably do not go through our days expecting to see signs of resurrection here and now, in our familiar work, surrounded by familiar people, living in our familiar world. 

 Resurrection?  Easter?  That only happens to the dead.  Who goes through life expecting to encounter or feel resurrection?  Those seven disciples didn’t.  They went back to fishing.  Their experience of the interruption of resurrection sent them back to the old, familiar, predictable routine.  It did not cause them to hit the road, looking for other signs of resurrection energy and Easter hope. 

 But what if, fellow disciples, that is exactly what we are called to do?  What if part of our call as God’s Easter people is to be constantly awake for resurrection newness breaking out in our very midst?  What if part of our call as God’s Easter people is to be constantly looking for the risen Lord standing among us, or even in us?  Looking for Easter energy and resurrection hope smack-dab in the middle of the week, in the middle of the routine, in the middle of the familiar work, in the middle of familiar people.

 For we notice it was precisely in the middle of their familiar, old routine of fishing when the risen Jesus appeared again for the third time.  Those disciples were catching nothing, having fallen back into the old predictable routine of failure.  But the risen Jesus comes to where they are, tells them to cast their nets on the other side, and once again provides abundance.  And they finally recognize him again and rush their way back to shore.  And there, crouched down around a fire, Jesus cooks them breakfast, feeds their bodies with the food, and feed their souls with yet another look at the promise of resurrection newness, Easter hope and energy, right then and there, in their very midst, not just at the end of time or “in the sweet by and by.” 

 I guess it is no wonder why Jesus had to appear to those disciples three times before they finally got the point.  It is just plain strange to practice resurrection in the middle of life.  It is not easy to see resurrection newness or to live as God’s Easter people in the middle of routine and ordinariness.  Our eyes have grown so used to seeing death and endings, brokenness and apathy.  We are not nearly as good or as well-practiced at seeing and recognizing resurrection beginnings.  Living with that kind of resurrection expectation would be a whole new thing for many of us.

 But I’ll let you in on a secret.  It is really not that hard to see resurrection all around.  I have been practicing.  For the last couple of weeks, I have been a detective for resurrection newness.  And what I have seen!  I have seen resurrection newness and peace being born into people as they move through their first year of life after losing a loved one.  They have spoken to me of newfound strength and deeper courage as they start to dip their feet back into the waters of life and new healing.  Easter people.

 And I have seen resurrection in men and women who are moving through the pain of broken and failed relationships.  I have heard them talk of discovering a new call and a new purpose for their lives, slowly moving forward into a hopeful future.  Easter people.

 And I have felt resurrection energy and Easter hope in a bunch of tired pastors who gathered for a one-day meeting in Kansas City last Monday.  Together, we dreamed about what God might be doing in our denomination and how we might be better leaders for our church’s future.  And as we all talked about why being Presbyterian pastors is important to us, we all started to come alive again and dream about our church’s larger mission again.  And we came home, ready to put some time and energy where our mouths are.  Easter people.

 And last week, I talked to a family about baptizing their new baby.  And I thought about how we will gather around that font and watch as his mother and father remember God’s claim on his little life and promise to help him know that claim.  And I thought about how wonderful it will be as we all promise to love that baby as our own, to help his parents raise him surrounded by grace, and to step up and serve as examples of discipleship for him.  Easter people. 

 And then I thought about this table, and how we streamed to it just a couple of weeks ago, how we almost ran out of elements because so many people were at the Easter party.  And I remembered how we professed that this is a table where all of God’s children are welcome, regardless of who we are, who we love, or what we’ve done or not done.  And I rejoiced that though our eyes and our souls have grown used to only seeing death and brokenness, around this table we profess resurrection hope and newness, trusting that promise will come true for all people and for all creation.  Easter people.

 The resurrection completely shook up those early disciples.  It was not what they had expected to see in their midst, right then and there.  When Jesus showed up on that beach and served them breakfast, a lifetime of assumptions had to be thrown out the window.  And I pray that it may be so for you and for me, as well.  May we live as Easter people, always on the lookout for interruptions of resurrection newness, ready to point them out and proclaim them.  For with a risen Lord on the loose, Easter happens constantly.  See for yourself.  And tell us what you see.