"Giving Your Fill," Sermon From April 14, 2013

By Rev. Rebekah Falk-Jones

The disciples have had a couple of crazy weeks since the supposed last meal with Jesus. They’ve been through a lot together---a sleepless night in the garden, the betrayal of Jesus by one of their own, the fear of being identified as a follower, witnessing a brutal murder, grieving the loss with fear and confusion. Then a whirlwind of extreme emotion on the other end of the spectrum! Jesus shows up among them and offers them peace, breathing his Holy Life into them, encouraging them to believe; and, just as they are settling back into their routine, going fishing, Jesus comes among them one last time to have another feast and to remind them of their calling as his disciples.

But just like Mary did not recognize Jesus at first when she went to find him at the tomb, the disciples do not recognize the sound of Jesus voice when he tells them to cast the net to the other side of the boat. Only after they get a miraculous catch does the “Beloved Disciple” recognize that it is the Lord. You would think that after spending so much time with Jesus and being quite acquainted with him, the disciples would recognize Jesus immediately—that they would know the sound of his voice easily. The miracle of the catch is what jogs their recognition of him. They are familiar with being unsuccessful on their own until Jesus intervenes, and then they are able to do things they couldn’t do without Christ. There are a few significant elements to this piece of the story. The first is about recognition. The second is about being fed.The ability to recognize the voice and appearance of Christ begins with humility and passion. We see this displayed in two of the disciples as we are told of their responses. The first response involves understanding that their catch of 153 fish in an instant is not the result of anything they were able to do. Once they did as they were told and as a result had several fish in the net, it became apparent to the Beloved Disciple that this was not of their own doing but because of Jesus. The ability to recognizing Jesus involves submitting the ego. It also involves a passion for embracing the Christ. As soon as Peter hears that it is the Lord, he jumps into the water, barely putting on clothes, to go and greet Jesus. His heart is ready to receive and to greet and be greeted by and loved by the Christ.Another element to engaging with Christ is being fed by him. Although Jesus created the haul of fish for them, he already had a fire going with fish on it up at the beach before they even came ashore. This is quite reminiscent of the last supper. He has bread and fish. The early depictions of the Last Supper and of communion in general had images of fish and loaves without the cup. Of course, earlier in the gospel, Jesus feeds the multitudes with loaves and fish. It is the symbol of the Eucharist, of Christ’s love and devotion to us, his desire to nourish us from his very life to ours. This story teaches us that engaging with Christ means recognizing his presence, acknowledging his works, being eager to receive him, and allowing ourselves to be nourished by him.After Jesus fed them, he addressed Peter, asking him about the intensity of his love for Christ. The three-part question and response reminds us of Peter’s denial of Jesus. The beauty in it shows the redemption of Peter from Jesus. It is comforting to the reader that even denial of Christ and lack of recognition do not disqualify us from participating with and being called by Christ to love, feed, and tend the flock. If we are willing to engage Jesus with passion and humility, if we allow ourselves to be nourished, to spend time in Christ’s presence, we are then able to feed and tend to those whom Christ has given us to love. Once we get our fill, we are called to give our fill, to be present to the flock that we are given in one another.You all are a faithful congregation, caring for each other in times of need. You pray for each other, you visit those who are shut in, taking lilies, poinsettias, and food. It is an important role we are given, to tend and nourish the flock. Sometimes we neglect and forget about those in our flock whom we haven’t seen in awhile. Sometimes we are so exhausted doing other tasks for the church that we don’t have energy left over to be mindful of those who are missing. We run out of steam. It is a good reminder that in order to give our fill we must get our fill. In order to be present to the flock, to tend to those in need of nourishment, we must seek nourishment ourselves so that we are not functioning out of our own strength, but humbly realize that we are able to tend to others only because Christ gives us what we need. Making ourselves available to receive what Christ offers for us, moving toward him with eager hearts, allows us to be fed by the living God. Giving out of abundance, we are able to respond to the call of Jesus, passing on what is given to us. May we be like both the Beloved Disciple, who recognizes with humility the presence of Christ, and like Peter, who eagerly moves toward Jesus, ready to greet him and be nourished by him. And may our experience of getting filled with Christ compel us to give of our fill.Today we have a special opportunity to connect tangibly with this story because we are sharing communion. Before you make your way to receive the symbols of Jesus’ life and nourishment for us, seek to humbly recognize the presence of Christ and make your spirit available to encounter the Risen Lord. Be filled. Sit with the joy that comes from being nourished by Jesus. Then reflect with Christ on how you will respond to his call for us to feed and tend the flock. Let us gather at the Supper Table of our Lord.