Rev. Paul Tellstrom Irvine United Congregational ChurchEaster 3C “Feed, Tend, Feed” April 22, 2007 Gospel Reading: John 21:1-19 word count: 1,572
The newscaster’s voice broke when he tried to describe the light all around him; light rising up from a dark field, the flames of candles, thousands of them, sheltered in soft-drink cups. They were lifted up by those who grieved the loss of their young friends at Virginia Tech, and the thousands who came to support them; their light piercing the darkness in defiance of its power to enshroud the spirit. The great mystic Meister Eckhart once said, “Truly, it is in the darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us.” It is hard to find the light to lift up or the good word to bring when such national or even world tragedies happen. Occurrences such as this, the killings of 32 students and faculty and the suicide of the killer, appear at once senseless and random. Many of these were young people who were about to blossom into leaders in their various fields, who would enrich our country by their knowledge and the love they shared with family and friends. One professor, a holocaust survivor, was shot and killed not in a concentration camp, but while barricading his classroom door so that his young students could be saved. What about the future; what influences both subtle and great have been erased by this act? We drop our rock in the pond of this world and the ripples move out through history; but these tragedies happen and its like the pebble has been snatched out of the water and the ripples have to retreat back, and the influence is gone. This is one of those times when the question of theodicy arises; “Where is God when terrible tragedies befall us?” God was not in the hand that held either of those guns. God did not cause this to happen, but where do we see evidence of a God of love in the events of this week? In our story from John this morning, we see a glimpse of a Jesus who comes back to impart an important message one more time. Simon Peter, Thomas, and some of the others were fishing in the dark and catching nothing. Jesus appears at the first dawn light and tells them to cast their nets to the other side, and when they do, their nets become full of fish—153 to be exact, though no-one knows why this fact is recorded. Soon, they recognize him and gather on the shore to cook some of their fish and share a meal. Peter has been out there without his clothes, and jumps into the water and gets dressed. This same Peter, who just days ago denied knowing Christ three times, is asked a question. As they finish their meal, Jesus turns and says, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” Peter says to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” And Jesus says to him, “Feed my lambs.” Without missing a beat, Jesus asks again if Peter loves him, and after Peter says that he does, Jesus says, “Tend my sheep.” Then again, as though the
question had not been asked, Jesus asks Peter the same question again.
Peter is a little hurt by this time, and he is impatient. “Lord, you
know everything; you know that I love you.” The first solid evidence I could see was in the actions and words of the first responders. These were the Emergency Medical Technicians on campus, all young people whose job it was to go into the classrooms where the killings occurred and sort out the wounded from the dead and get medical help for the survivors. In a CNN interview with David Mattingly,1 medic Jeff King described what it was like for him afterwards. He said that he couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat—that he just kept playing the scene over and over. He won’t take time off, even though he is having difficulty, because his family is the rescue squad along with his own family. They are sustaining him, and the campus has never been closer. Feed My lambs. The students are coming by and lifting up the work of this 40 unit group, leaving them notes and words of encouragement and gratitude. There are countless e-mails from students, from around the country, and from people all over the world. These are posted on all of the walls at their headquarters. Some of them read, “Hold your heads up high—you were the true leaders today.” And, “You provided hope when there was none in sight.” And again, “Out of darkness, there are diamonds of brilliance and pride.” Every kind word, every thoughtful gesture has been taken to heart. Tend My sheep. A young student medic named Matt Green, having seen the carnage, expressed his own philosophy when he said, “The most amazing thing for me to remember is that tragic events will occur, but goodness will always prevail; we will always be able to come together and unite. There will always be bad individuals, but on the whole the world is a great place.” As he said this, CNN played the video of these young men carrying a bloodied student to a rescue vehicle. Feed My sheep. Feed, tend, feed. That’s the mission statement. Feed, tend, feed the flock of God. And where was God this week? Time after time in the stories of great courage that we have been privileged to hear, there are stories of those who walked into danger, gave generously, mourned in solidarity, affirmed, showed up, and displayed compassion in order to feed and tend the lost sheep everywhere. Senior Iraqi official Ali Allawi was asked about correlations between the grieving process for the Virginia Tech shootings and the ongoing grief felt in Iraq during his Daily Show appearance.2 His sympathy was genuine, more empathy really, as he reminded us that life in Iraq right now is made up of many such incidences on an almost daily basis. Grief and compassion live everywhere in this world. Feed, tend, feed. God is in the faces of those of you here and all over this city and country that walk for a cure for AIDS or breast cancer; that knit prayer shawls and make the Crop Walk and the Heifer Project an important outreach—the presence of God is in our active hands that feed, tend, and feed the flock. In every act of kindness, in every outpouring of love and generosity that you have witnessed in story after story on the news, and in the candles that pierced the darkness, God is there, and in the catch in your throat and the tears that sometimes just suddenly come when you witness these things, you know and I know that perfect love casts out all fear. And “therefore, we will not fear, though the earth shall change.” M. Scott Peck once said that, “Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult—once we truly understand and accept it—then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.” If you profess to follow this path, then like Peter, you’ve got to get dressed, wade ashore, roll up your sleeves, and dig into the work. What does a disciple do? Feed, tend, feed. That’s the mission statement. Medics Jeff King and Matt Green have
been placed in a terrible situation, one which they responded to by
saying “yes” to being a part of this family, and servants to their
community. Their discipleship has cost them, and still they feed, tend
and feed. We are not so far off—sometimes being a part of a community
may result in some unpleasantness and misunderstanding from the world
around us. Just as Jesus warned Peter that someone would “fasten a belt
around you and take you where you do not wish to go,” we may find
ourselves facing some stomach-churning situations as we fulfill our
mission: feed, tend, feed.
2) Ali Allawi interview on “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart, April 19, 2007 3) Greg Bullock, “Feed my sheep,” Perimeter Point Web Site, Perimeterpoint.com. Scripture for Sunday, April 22, 2007, Easter 3C “Feed, Tend, Feed”
John 21:1-19 After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tibe'rias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathan'ael of Ca'na in Galilee, the sons of Zeb'edee, and two others of his disciples. 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. Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” 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. 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. 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. When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 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. 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. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. 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.” 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.” 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. 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.” (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”
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