19^th April 2010

Rev Dr Max Champion at UCA, Maitland NSW (18 April 2010)

Lessons -- Psalm 30; John 21:1-19

'Now none of the disciples dared ask Jesus, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord.'
(John 21:12 RSV)

In Mark's Gospel (8:29) Jesus asks the disciples, 'Who do you say that I am?' Peter declares Jesus to be 'the Christ', but he misunderstands what this means so badly that Jesus then says to him, 'Get behind me Satan!'  During Jesus' ministry it is not clear even to his disciples who he really is.

After the crucifixion things are no clearer. When Jesus appears in the flesh to seven of them they are bewildered. They still cannot fathom who he is. At one level they knew it was him; at another they can't figure him out. 'Who are you?' they ask of a familiar figure whose presence after crucifixion defies logic. 'Who are you?' to break the dread spell that evil and death cast over the earth.

Their question is not 'How can we fit you into our ideas about what is possible?' but 'Who are you to open our eyes to an unexpected act / too large for our small world of fact?' (Together in Song 649)

The answer is that the crucified Jesus has been raised from the dead by God the Father as the one sign in history of the renewal of our flawed and broken humanity (v11). Although Jesus' true identity is disclosed in a personal encounter with a few disciples, what happened in him is not significant only for an inner circle or for the private religious part of life.

No! The Risen Lord shows them 'who he is' in the midst of their secular activity -- by the 'Sea of Tiberias' [Galilee] (v1). The action takes place away from Jerusalem (the Holy City) and the catch represents the entire human race, 153 being the number of species of fish known at that time.

What we have here is the equivalent of Matthew's post- Easter 'missionary charge' to 'make disciples of all nations' (Matthew 28:16f). It also reminds us of other times when Jesus called people 'to follow him'. The closest parallel is in Luke 5:1-11 where, on seeing a huge catch resulting from Jesus' instruction to try the other side of the boat, Peter says, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. (v8)' In that episode he sees 'who Jesus is' -- the Son of God whose grace alone is the power that drives the Church's mission.

Now we begin to see what John says about 'who' Jesus is and 'who' we are called to be in following him. We can truly 'follow' him, says John, only when we see-and-believe that the earthly Jesus is the crucified-and-risen Lord of all -- that he alone is the one who 'has redeemed men and women .
. . from every tribe and tongue and people and nation' (Revelation 5:10).

It is a shame when Church leaders and others think it is very modern to dismiss the importance of Jesus' resurrection. Prominent UC minister, Rev Dr Francis Macnab of St Michael's Melbourne is not alone in saying that 'On Easter Sunday, we will note there was no physical resurrection' but 'a spiritual resurrection' which he wrongly attributes to St Paul. Denying that Jesus' resurrection is an earth-shattering event that signifies God's victory over evil and death, he compares it to 'an awakening to the best in the human spirit -- like a resurrection of the whole personality'
(Herald-Sun 9/4/09).

Other critics focus on the supposed similarities between Jesus' teaching and other spiritual wisdom. They see Jesus as the bearer of 'shared values', like tolerance, social justice, equality and human rights.

Apart from the fact that Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount and the parables is radically different from all others, it is not 'what' he teaches in itself that is important but 'who' he is as the one whose words- and-actions led to the Cross and the empty tomb. Who he is and what he says must be held together.

Jesus' teaching would not have had lasting impact if the one crucified as the enemy of God and humanity had not been raised from the dead! We can do our best to treat others well, contribute to the common good and share each other's joys and sorrows without believing that he is the crucified Lord of all who has triumphed over evil and death for us. But we can't be the bearers of genuine hope.

What good is it to 'do one's best' in the short time given us on earth while believing that evil and death are 'normal' and that there is no hope for the renewal of the creation and the redemption of humanity? No matter how important it is to do good we can't ignore our part in the brokenness of the world, our inability to make things right, or the fact that we must die. To follow Jesus' teaching without believing in his crucified and risen power is a recipe for false pride, resignation or despair.

The Church is summoned to say, with John, that the resurrection of the crucified Jesus is the event of hope for humanity. This incredible event is the sole purpose for our preaching, mission and ministry. We are the Church of the Resurrection or we are not the Church of Christ at all! 'Who we are' as a Christian community is determined by 'who God is' for all people in the crucified-and-risen Jesus.

In his missionary charge to the Church, John doesn't emphasise our fine religious efforts but the presence of the Risen Lord. It is impossible to describe adequately what this incredible event means for the Church. In a way that defies logic, John tells us that the Risen Jesus 'feeds' disciples, body and soul, by giving what they need to carry out the mission even in the face of stiffest opposition (vv18,19).

Here we learn that Christ is present in the sacrament (vv12,13). Bread and fish were often used in early Christian art to depict celebrations of the Lord's Supper. In this post- Easter encounter John wants us to see that 'communion' between Jesus and his disciples doesn't remain in the past -- in his earthly ministry -- but continues in the life of the Church.  Despite crucifixion, astonishingly, Christ is still 'present' with them.

We also learn that, as in his earthly ministry, Christ forgives the timidity of the disciples and calls them to costly responsibility (vv15- 19). The exchange between Jesus and Peter is one of the most moving in Scripture. Before the crucifixion Peter was found wanting when interrogated around 'a charcoal fire' (18:15ff). Now once more he is interrogated around 'a charcoal fire' (21:9) -- but this time by the Risen Lord after he has given them the bread and fish of 'communion'.

This is the moment of redemption for Peter! The once impetuous, outspoken and 'satanic' disciple is now a broken man. Before he became a disciple he was simply 'Simon the son of John'. Jesus then gave him the name 'Simon Peter -- Simon the rock' (1:42). Now, though, there's no mention of him being 'the rock'. Jesus addresses him three times as 'Simon, son of John' (vv15-17) , the man who hadn't known Christ. He is his old self again -- a broken man who has no more illusions about his importance.

Three times Jesus asks Peter, 'Do you love me?' and three times the chastened Peter says, 'Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. (vv15-17)' The full meaning of the exchange is easily missed in the English translation of 'love'. Jesus uses the Greek word 'agape' meaning 'complete selfless commitment to another'; three times Peter uses 'philia' meaning 'deep caring for another'. In contrast to his earlier bluster, Peter is humbled before the Risen Christ. No longer is he a know-all; now he acknowledges that 'You Lord know everything; you know that I love you' (v17).

Only now, at the dawn of a new day, does he really know 'who Jesus is' -- and 'who he is' called to be. His delusions of grandeur shattered by the crucified-and-risen Lord, Peter is now fit to 'follow Jesus'. He is now ready to exercise strong pastoral leadership in the fledgling Church: to 'feed the sheep' by preaching the Gospel of the Resurrection and building up the community in the love of Christ. Now, in the light of the resurrection, he is ready for 'costly discipleship' -- to 'follow Jesus'  even to crucifixion (vv18,19).

This is also a moment of redemption for the Church. Like Peter, Christians are prone to forget the magnitude of God's love and rely on themselves for the success of mission. Today we often hear the Uniting Church in Australia bragging about our record on social justice, human rights and tolerance but hesitant to declare the earth-shaking reality of the resurrection of Jesus in a multi-faith society. Some are even promoting a 'new progressive faith' that, to meet the needs of modern folk, ditches the resurrection. Others, like the Assembly of Confessing Congregations, who are rightly concerned about these developments, are tempted to take a 'holier than thou attitude' toward those who are embarrassed by or hostile to the evangelical, reformed and orthodox faith of the church.

All of us need to be shaken by the encounter of the Risen Christ with Peter and the others. Illusions about 'who we are' to further the mission of the Church must be shattered if we are to be of any use in telling the world 'who Jesus is' and shaping our life-together in response to the love of God in him.

If that miracle happens, as it did with Peter, we too will know that being a disciple is much more than following Jesus' teachings. We will know that, in the person of Jesus Christ, God's costly love for us has been embodied in the midst of suffering, evil and death. And we will be delighted to preach the resurrection of the crucified Jesus as the event of hope for the whole of humanity and to live out the resurrection hope even when faced with hostility, persecution or death.

We should never forget that the Church exists solely to proclaim and embody hope for the renewal of creation. To suggest, as many Church leaders now do, that we should re- shape the resurrection to suit so- called 'modern' people, is arrogant and a sad reflection on the state of much Church thinking. Worse than that! It is a shameful dereliction of duty in a society where, despite the cancerous effect of religious and moral relativism and atheistic secularism, men and women still yearn for hope.

It is imperative therefore that we continue to say 'who Jesus is' so that you and I, and our brothers and sisters for whom Christ lived, died and was raised again, may know 'who we are called to be' in God's good purposes.

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Rev Dr Max Champion is minister in the St John's Uniting Church, Mt Waverley, Victoria, Australia. Dr Champion is Chair of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations within the UCA.