Easter 3 C: Two Things Everyone Needs

Posted by DJL on Apr 5, 2016 in Dear Partner | 9 comments

Dear Partner in Preaching,

This “epilogue” to John’s dramatic and symbolic Gospel, while perhaps not part of the “original” Gospel, nevertheless does not disappoint. Indeed, it provides a clue not only to the questions and fate of this early Christian community but sheds light on key elements of our life as disciples today.

Scholars have posited a variety of reasons for this additional chapter: questions about the fate of the “beloved disciple,” the need to rehabilitate Peter as the Johannine community moved closer to other communities more familiar with Peter’s significant role in the early church, the need to “position” this Gospel among the other stories of Jesus circulating at the time. Perhaps because of this multitude of possible motives for adding this story, there are also a variety of jumping off points to interpret it: the abundance represented by the 153 fish caught by the disciples, the similarities (and differences) to other “call” stories in the Gospels, Peter’s triple confession by a charcoal fire that erases the triple denial of his Lord and, in particular, his identity as a follower of Jesus. All of these and more may make for a vivid and important sermon.

What strikes me, however, is how Jesus in this scene offers Peter what many modern psychologists contend every one of us needs: a sense of belonging and a sense of purpose.

First, a sense of belonging. We all need to feel accepted by a larger group in order to have a stable identity and sense of self. This goes against what may seem like common sense – after all, our culture regularly posits that identity is an individual affair, something we carve out for ourselves and by ourselves. But it turns out that the gift of identity is given to us by those around us, as we see ourselves through the eyes of those closest to us. And, just so we’re not confused, belonging is different than fitting in. Indeed, it is the exact opposite (as many of us will remember from adolescence!). Fitting in is changing yourself to be acceptable to the group, whereas belonging is being found acceptable by your group just as you are. We all need to belong.

In this scene, Jesus asks Peter three times whether he loves him. Three times. Imagine if someone you care about asked whether you really love him/her not once, not twice, but three times. Painful. And Peter is, indeed, hurt by this repetition. I suspect that only later did it sink in that Jesus is not testing Peter but reinstating him to the community of believers by allowing him to confess faith the same number of times he denied faith earlier. Jesus is drawing Peter back into a community to which he belongs and accepts him for whom he is.

Second, we all need a sense of purpose, the belief that what we do matters, that if we did not show up people would notice. Purpose, as it turns out, is one of the great motivators in the world. More powerful than money or fame or power, believing that you have something of value to contribute draws us again and again into challenging circumstances with joy.

And so in response to each of Peter’s confessions, Jesus responds by giving him good work to do: feed my sheep. Be a leader. Look out for these others. Devote yourself to this community. Peter is reinstated into the community of the faithful and given a sense of belonging, and then he is given good work to do and given a purpose.

Guess what, Dear Partner? This story is just one of hundreds in Scripture that do the same thing by granting us a sense of belonging and a sense of purpose. In fact, these two themes of belonging and purpose are so dominant in the biblical story that we’ve actually created theological language to capture them. For what else is justification – the promise that you are accepted for whom you are by God’s grace alone – except the promise of acceptance and belonging? By baptism we also are invited to be a part of a group where we belong. And what else is vocation – the promise that God will use us wherever we are to take care of God’s people and world – except the promise of purpose? By baptism we are called – vocatio – by God to make a difference in the world God loves so much.

This Sunday, Dear Partner, kindle a conversation about what everyone needs – belonging and purpose. And then tease out this story at the end of John to show how the resurrected Jesus gives Peter these two things. And then invite your hearers to see and feel that Jesus is giving us the same – an invitation into a community where we belong and a lifetime of work worth doing with a sense of purpose. And then, just for fun, read the last line of this gospel: “But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” Because, indeed, this story is not yet finished. There are so many other things that Jesus did that John couldn’t imagine writing them all. And there are so many things Jesus is still doing through you and your hearers that the tale of them would fill all the books of the world.

Blessings on your life, witness, and proclamation, Dear Partner. What you do matters!

Yours in Christ,
David