Date:   01/03/10

Text:   John 21:12-19

Title:   Focus

Theme: Since Jesus calls us in his grace, therefore we are to minister His people.

Introduction:

  In 1992, twenty large containers of bright yellow rubber ducks and other bath toys were on a cargo ship from China to Seattle . This cargo ship sailed into a violent storm and all 20 containers were lost at the sea. The containers consisted of 29K rubber ducks, frogs and turtles. However, 11years later, in the summer of 2003 some of them showed up in the east coast. You see, after being tossed into the ocean, they embarked on an epic 11 year swim across three oceans and half the globe. Somehow they stayed afloat through winds and waves, weathering several winters frozen in an arctic ice and enduring so many days of exposure that their once bright yellow skin had been bleached white as bone. Of course they were still smiling. It was assumed that some of them may be heading towards the New England coast, and some may reach Britain as well. A faded beaver was discovered in July of 2003 in an Alaskan island. With such sightings, the toy company has offered a $100 US saving bonds reward to anyone who finds one of these refugees.

Can you imagine floating in the ocean and just going with the flow for 11 years and counting? This brings us to the main character in today’s scripture reading: Peter. On the evening that Jesus was arrested, Peter denied knowing him three times. He was like one of those rubber ducks being tossed into the ocean. Being one of the favorite disciples, nevertheless he denied the master 3 times. What was even worse was that his denial did not occur under a knife, but before a servant girl. Some time later he resurfaced by the Tiberias Sea , he must have felt totally bleached, having nothing to boast about. Unlike those rubber ducks, I don’t think there was a smile on his face.

I will treat this passage in a different manner this morning. I will first point out some of the uniqueness in this passage, then identify several main points and apply them to our lives. This passage is about Jesus' conversation with Peter. In a very strict sense, it is about restoring Peter after his three fold denial of Jesus in the first century. However, it also carries special meaning for those of us reading it in the 21 st century. Now, let us unpack this passage.

Early that morning, Jesus prepared a breakfast for his disciples. This is the first Breakfast with Jesus. What was on the menu? Fish and bread. This is the same as the two meals he prepared for the 5000 and later 4000. It was a symbol of the great feast the messiah prepared for his people. I have a feeling that the great feast in heaven may also be bread and fish.

After breakfast, Jesus had a talk with Peter. Three times he asked Peter, “do you love me?” Asking 3 times certainly paralleled Peter’s denying Jesus 3 times. In the original language, the greek word ‘agape’ was used two times. Agape is used to describe God’s love for men. Another time, the word ‘philo’ was used. Philo means brotherly love. We may not need to go into the nuances of these two words. Instead, modern scholars have generally agreed that John simply wanted to break the monotony of using the same word, thus bringing in some variation of the word ‘love’. The reason Jesus asked peter 3 times, do you love me, was to reinstate Peter, to reinforce the importance of love in one’s serving and following Him.

Then there was Jesus' response to Peter. He told Peter to do two things. Each time after Jesus asked, Peter answered that he loved him. What was Jesus'' response? Feed my lamb, tend my sheep, feed my sheep. It is feed, tend, feed. The next thing Peter was asked to do was: Follow Me. Now, what about Peter? Right after the command to feed, tend, feed and follow me, Peter started to compare himself to John. Most likely Peter did not like what Jesus told him about what will happen to him in the future, so he asked about John. What was Jesus' response? In so many words, (these are really one of my favorites), Peter, mind your own business, what will happen to John is none of your business. You just come and follow me.

On this particular morning, Peter must have been quite distraught. He was tossed into failure by denying his Lord 3 times. He was confused and not knowing what to do. So he said to the other 10 disciples, let’s go fishing. This is what they were most familiar with. This was their comfort zone. Then, the lord Jesus Christ came to meet them, especially Peter. Through the Q/A session, Jesus was trying to help Peter to refocus on what it means to follow Him; on what is really important. To follow Jesus means to love him. To love Jesus means to obey him and this must be evidenced in one’s love for God’s people. Loving Jesus and loving people cannot be separated.

This being the first Sunday of 2010, or this decade, may be some of us also need to focus on what is important in life. And then we have the council installation in a little while. Some have been serving as elders and deacons for many years with some breaks in between, we may also need to pause and see what it means to serve and follow Christ. Then there are some first time deacons. What does it mean to follow Christ and serve others?

I  •  Our ministry/service is a response to God’s grace.

First let us consider this: Is Peter worthy to follow Christ and serve others? How long does it take for us to trust someone who has betrayed us once, twice or thrice? Sometimes we have a problem trusting the person after being hurt by him/her. To be betrayed the 2 nd time? It will be very difficult. Now, the third time? If we continue to trust, people will say that we are the ones with the problem. Humanly speaking, after those denials, it’s hard to regain trust again, right?

After a retreat, or just back home from the Urbana conference, we may be all fired up to follow and serve Him. Or as elders and deacons, we want to use those God given gifts and talents to serve here or in other parts of the world. Such desire and aspirations are certainly great. But come to think of it, it kind of reminds us of a person we know; Peter. Didn’t he once say, “even if everyone denies you, I will not. I am willing to die for you.” You see, as a matter of fact, when we examine our own past track record; the many promises that we failed to keep, or our failure to obey his commands, there is really not much we can brag about. I don’t think we are that worthy to follow Christ. Yet, what is amazing is that our Lord never gives up on us. He continues to call us to follow him and to serve his people. So, our following Christ and serving him is not out of our own ambition or aspiration, but a response to his gracious calling.

II  •  Our ministry is out of our love for Him.

As we follow him, what motivates us to serve others? Jesus asked Peter 3 times: do you love me. Each time after Peter’s response, Jesus gave Peter the task, feed my lamb, tend my sheep, feed my sheep. It appears that Jesus wanted to impress upon Peter that the motivation to serve others is out of love for Him.

I wonder how many of us have been around sheep. Sheep is not the most pleasant or smartest animals. They are not necessarily obedient or self motivated. They are easily scared by noise and other animals; not to mention easily led astray. Definitely not as smart as a cat or dog (I don’t think any of us owns a sheep J ). One can get easily frustrated working and caring for the sheep. I think of grandparents like us saying, “how I adore my grandkids. I want to go and spend couple weeks and take care of them.” You look forward to the trip and getting all excited by the thought of those grandkids. What happens after one day? Can’t wait to go home. Very often ministry is like this. We have heard or even said it ourselves, oh, I really like working with them, they are such a bunch of nice people. Yet experience tells us that those lovely angels can turn into monsters. We have jokingly said, “I really like the ministry, but its people I cannot stand.”

So, what sustain us, or for that matter, me, in the ministry? Definitely not the monetary gains, nor because it is an easy job. We follow Christ and serve others because of our love for the Lord. It’s like the lyric of a song, He ain’t heavy, because he is my brother. Though it is difficult, we will continue our ministry because we love our Lord.

III •  We serve others by caring for them.

We follow and serve because our Lord has graciously called us. We follow and serve because of our love for him. Now, the third lesson we learn from this early breakfast was that we serve by caring for others.

Peter expressed his love for Jesus 3 times. And Jesus told him to feed, tend and feed his sheep. He wanted Peter to care for his people. Peter’s love for Jesus must be expressed in his love for God’s people.

Here, we notice that first, it is God’s people. Early on in my ministry, I was repeatedly reminded by my seminary professors that this is not my church, or my people. It is God’s people, God’s church. Today, I also remind the pastoral staff, elders and deacons, and of course myself, that we are serving God’s church, God’s people. You have heard me say this before, because it is God’s people, God’s church, I have to be careful and diligent to be a good steward. Because it is God’s people, God’s church, I will do my best to treat you not like a pawn in my hands, but like a delicate egg given to me. I am to relate and treat you with dignity and respect.

Secondly, we also notice that we love Jesus by loving others. Feed, Tend, Feed essentially means to love and care for God’s people. We love God’s people by teaching and sharing God’s word to help them to grow into maturity. What does this include?

In our world, there is the strong current to give people what they want. We want a religion that meets our needs; bring great health and prosperity to us. We want something that will allow us to just go with the ocean currents. We want to hear messages that will make us feel good and uplifted. We don’t like messages that challenge us to carry our cross and follow Christ. We prefer discussions and sharing our emotions and feeling, instead of digging into the scripture to find out the meaning of denying self and follow Christ.

However, when we feed, tend and feed God’s people, we are to feed them with what they need and not just what they want. It’s like feeding children. We cannot give them candies all the time. Yes, children like sweet food, but too much of it is not good for their health. The same is true with the spiritual food. We need to explain and be examples of what it means to follow Christ. I trust that for those that went to the Urbana conference this past week, you have heard and seen life examples of how individuals follow Christ and left their comfort zones, serving in places where no one has ever heard of the gospel. I can think of individuals reaching out to the nomadic tribes in Mongolia , living in fairly primitive conditions. Or, the Church Under the Bridge, part of the 1000 Hills ministry, bringing worship services to the homeless in Houston . They hold their weekly services under the highway overpass. I also think of Greg, the moderator or MC at the Urbana conference. By profession, he is a trained lawyer. After two years in the legal profession, he responded to the call and became an IV staff serving in the NY and NJ states. These are individuals who have left their comfort zones and followed Christ to where he wants them to be.

In our feeding, tending and feeding of God’s people, we are to encourage God’s people to see beyond the four walls of this church. We are here to worship God and to learn His truth. The goal is not to grow bigger, or have the most comprehensive programs in Houston . We are here not to be salt in the salt shaker, or light among the lights. Instead, we come here to be equipped to be fed, tended and fed, so that we can be salt and light in the dark world around us. As pastors, ministers, elders and deacons of this church, as believers in this community, we are to feed, tend, and feed God’s people. Our love for God is to be expressed in our love for people. We are to care and love God’s people so that we can be healers of the disintegrated families, advocates for the victims of domestic violence, voices for the oppressed, for victims of injustice and the growing problem of human trafficking both in Houston and in other cities and around the world. We are to help God’s people to serve and love the victims of AIDS and Poverty.

The longer I am in ministry, the more I am convinced that the greatness of a church is not measured by the size of her building, how many pastors she has, how many people are here on the weekends, or how deep her pocket is. Instead, the true greatness of a church is measured by the impact her members have on the society around them.

Conclusion:

  It’s hard not to think of the 29K rubber ducks and bath toys lost in the Pacific ocean, between China and Seattle in 1992. After being tossed into the ocean, they kind of just floated with the flow. They travelled across the oceans and survived the severe weathers. One of them eventually landed in the east coast 10 years later.

  Sometimes we, or at least, I may feel that way. We are just being tossed into the ocean of life. We go and flow with the current. We have arrived where we are today.

  However, this morning, in a way, we have all landed at this particular place. Now what? May be at the beginning of a new year, or a new decade, we all need to adjust our focus in life. Out of his grace, our lord has called us to follow him and serve others. We may want to focus that the reason we serve is because we love Him. We serve by feeding, tending and feeding God’s people. To help God’s people to love God and man with all our hearts, minds and strength.