Eastertide 2 | 2024

In the next few weeks we wrap up a big arch in the church calendar. We moved from Advent, to Christmas, to Epiphany, to Lent, to Easter. Easter is the culmination of what we began way back in December. The anticipation of the Son of God coming to Earth reaches its satisfaction in Jesus victory over sin and death. The resurrection changes everything. We are alive, and free and whole.

May 19 is Pentecost Sunday, and then we move into a season that the high church people call ordinary time. It’s the time from approximately June through November and it’s the longest season in the Church calendar. We spend most of the year, and most of life, in Ordinary time. We can’t live in the high of Easter Sunday forever but we can and should live in light of the resurrection. So what does that actually mean?

I have a lot of questions about the resurrection stories. Like did the people who actually witnessed the resurrected Jesus live any differently because of it? And why did the authors of the Bible feel like it was so important to mention several times that Jesus ate and drank? And what does that mean for me, a middle aged woman working and raising children and just going about my daily life?

If the resurrection changes everything, why do we still eat, and sleep and work and play like the other several billion people on this planet? How do we live life in ordinary time? THAT is what we are going to talk about today.

We read a story about Jesus appearing to his disciples after the resurrection.

JOHN 21:1-14

After this, Jesus appeared again to the disciples, this time at the Tiberias Sea (the Sea of Galilee). This is how he did it: Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed “Twin”), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the brothers Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. Simon Peter announced, “I’m going fishing.” The rest of them replied, “We’re going with you.” They went out and got in the boat. They caught nothing that night. When the sun came up, Jesus was standing on the beach, but they didn’t recognize him. Jesus spoke to them: “Good morning! Did you catch anything for breakfast?”

They answered, “No.” He said, “Throw the net off the right side of the boat and see what happens.” They did what he said. All of a sudden there were so many fish in it, they weren’t strong enough to pull it in. Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Master!” When Simon Peter realized that it was the Master, he threw on some clothes, for he was stripped for work, and dove into the sea. The other disciples came in by boat for they weren’t far from land, a hundred yards or so, pulling along the net full of fish. When they got out of the boat, they saw a fire laid, with fish and bread cooking on it. Jesus said, “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught.” Simon Peter joined them and pulled the net to shore—153 big fish! And even with all those fish, the net didn’t rip.  Jesus said, “Breakfast is ready.” Not one of the disciples dared ask, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Master. Jesus then took the bread and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus had shown himself alive to the disciples since being raised from the dead.

So it had been a couple of weeks since Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus had told the disciples to go back to Galilee, where they were from. So what do you do after such an emotional rollercoaster of Jesus’ death burial and resurrection? Peter was like, I guess lets go back to work. And I think this is important. For several years, the disciples had been following Jesus around Israel. They had left their lives and homes and had this super intense experience, witnessing miracles, listening to Jesus teaching daily, traveling from place to place. This was not a regular existence. But after the resurrection, Jesus tells them to go home. And Peter decides to go fishing. He is returning to his life. Returning to normalcy. Back to familiarity.

There would be time for preaching and teaching and miracles. But for now, they needed to get back to their ordinary lives. I think this is a perfect picture of the resurrection life. We may have these big meaningful moments, but most of our time is spent moving through our everyday life. So how should we live this everyday resurrection life?

I have read several books and studies about the resurrection, but the one I come back to again and again is this book, Living the Resurrection by Eugene Peterson. If you haven’t already, you need to read this book. We have a few extra copies and you can grab one if you life. It’s one that will always be on my bookshelf, no matter how much decluttering I do. Eugene says that the resurrection life is

“...gathering in congregations and regular worship before our life-giving God, our death-defeating Christ and our life-abounding Holy Spirit. We do it by reading, pondering, teaching and preaching the Word of Life as it is revealed in our Scriptures. We do it by baptizing men, women and children in the name of the Trinity, nurturing them into a resurrection life. We do it by eating the life of Jesus in the bread and wine of the Eucharist. We do it by visiting prisoners, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, healing the sick, working for justice, loving our enemies, raising our children, doing our everyday work to the glory of God.”

Although I think this is one of the most eloquently stated descriptions of the resurrection life, what he is actually saying is very ordinary. He goes on to say its so simple that children can do almost all of these things. In other words, the resurrection life is not revolutionary or spectacular. It’s common and simple. The resurrection life is our everyday life.  Doing our everyday work for the glory of God. There is no magic, there is no formula. Just get in the boat and go fishing.

And then the other disciples say, we are going with you. Because here’s the thing. Peter is probably a bit of a mess. He’s denied Jesus, he experienced the grief of the crucifixion and the elation of the resurrection. He has seen Jesus alive. And all of these emotions are rolling around inside. So when Peter decides to go fishing, he friends are like, hey buddy, we are going with you. They knew they were in for a long night of hard work, but they weren’t going to let their friend go it alone. I love that they didn’t ask, “hey do you need help?” Or “it it okay if we come along?” They just simply said, “we’re going with you.”

People in this community have spoken those words to me when I have been a bit of a mess. I think those are some of the most powerful words we can say to each other. When your feeling lost and unsure of your place with God, we’re going with you. When you are sick and need help, we’re going with you. When you are trying to find your equilibrium after having a baby, we’re going with you. When your marriage is struggling and your family is in chaos, we’re going with you. When nothing seems to be going right and its all a mess, we’re going with you. You see, in the resurrection life everything has changed, everything is the same, but you are not alone. You’re not alone.

So the disciples go with Peter. After a long night they see a man on the shore. When John realizes its Jesus he tells Peter, who promptly jumps in and swims to shore. Which always makes me laugh. I get his eagerness though. The rest of them bring in this large catch of fish which Jesus miraculously provided. And when they get to the shore, Jesus is there with a fire and a meal. Those guys were wet and hungry and tired, and preparing a meal was a necessary and probably unwelcome burden. But Jesus showed up for them with warmth and food and rest. It’s not a fancy breakfast and he isn’t there to teach them anything at the moment. He is just there to be with them. Right where they are at. In the middle of their work. With exactly what they need.

This image of Jesus on the beach is exactly what I have needed recently. This has been a long season for many of us in this room. I have been struggling with the grind, with the monotony, with feeling like what’s even the point?

In a couple weeks Andraé and I will celebrate 15 years of marriage. When we talk about it, 15 years seem like such a long time. But the lived experience of those 15 years has gone by in a flash. It’s easy to mark those years by anniversaries, the birth of our three children, moving house, vacations, promotions, but in reality those days make up such a small portion of the days we have lived together. Most of our days for the past 15 years have been spent working and cooking dinner and bedtime stories and kissing owies. It’s been spent negotiating schedules and driving our kids around to all their things. Its been fighting and making up. It’s been watching so.many.nascar.races, and late night chats in the kitchen. It’s been SO good and its been SO hard and from the outside looking it, it seems pretty ordinary.

So when I’m signing cards to Andraé for anniversaries or birthdays, I write I choose you. I choose you and I will choose you. Because the feeling of love comes and goes. But I choose him when he writes me sweet songs and I choose him when he drives me crazy and I choose him when we are the most boring married couple on the planet. And I think that is what it means to live a resurrection life in community. We choose each other when its parties and picnics in the park . And we choose each other when its doubt and heartache and disagreements. And we choose to do this life with Jesus. We choose it over and over again until we can’t imagine any other way. We choose it not because it’s glamorous, but because its simple, and we are together.

So let’s eat meals together and drink coffee together. Let’s hang out on back porches and around campfires. Let’s raise our children together. Let’s mourn death and celebrate new life and do our everyday work for the glory of God. I truly believe that just as Jesus was present on the beach with the disciples, He is present with us as we live our everyday lives. It’s in the everyday that we are shaped by God. It’s in the discipline of showing up every day that we find transformation. The life that Jesus invites us to is hard and honest and good. Let’s share this life together.