Easter 3(C): How Will We Respond?
By: Casey Cross
In the history of my serving as a youth, children, and family minister, there is one thing I really love to do. I get to talk to children and their parents about communion. We do not offer a series of classes leading up to one’s First Communion where kids are dropped off on a weekly basis until they can answer a series of questions in just the right way. The First Communion part of it isn’t the focus. Instead, we offer communion instruction for children or youth and at least one parent or guardian from the household. I always make a point to tell families, especially families with younger children, that they can revisit this instruction again and again. We can never spend too much time learning the Bible stories and wondering over the mystery of God’s presence in this simple act. In fact, I’d argue that Holy Communion is the epitome of our life together. It is where we experience the mystery of our faith in the most mundane of human acts, eating and drinking with friends and strangers, not even 100% sure of why we are there, but saying yes to the invitation anyway.
One of the first things I do in my communion instruction is ask families to talk about their favorite foods and special meals. A party isn’t a party without good food, good drink, and good friends. Balloons and piñatas are just that extra bit of flair. Of course, some kids might argue with me on that point. What I notice in this conversation is that everybody smiles. That simple question brings them somewhere else, links them to that favorite food or moment, and sparks a smile. I don’t think they even realize the way their eyes are shining or how the smile curls at their lips. It is a beautiful sight to see.
All I could think about when reading this passage from John was how much Jesus understood the centrality of food to our personal and communal connection and wellbeing. Food matters. It is not always the type or amount that makes a difference, but the manner in which it is shared.
It must have been a confusing and difficult time for Jesus’ disciples. I am sure, even after Jesus first appeared to them and did all of these miraculous things, they must have been left wondering, “Now what?” So I totally get that Peter had to get busy doing something as a way of sorting through all of his thoughts and feelings. I know quite a few people who like to go fishing for this very same reason. And in their “Now what?” numbness, the others followed him to the boat. They didn’t catch anything, but maybe that wasn’t their main purpose for being there. Maybe they weren’t even trying that hard. So when some dude from the beach tells them to try the other side, of course they would. Their hearts weren’t in it anyway. But this is what shakes them awake. THAT’S A LOT OF FISH! And, “Did that guy just call us children?” Then they see. This is their Lord. He is still with them. Again, Peter jumps into action and jumps into the water. They get to the shore and they are invited to sit around the campfire for breakfast, time together, communion. With the sharing of the bread, they had no doubt this was the Lord.
Jesus and Peter have a moment. In this moment, their entire life together comes into focus, the whole point of it all. “Do you love me?” How many of us have put ourselves in Peter’s place, thinking, “Of course! Of course I love you!” It is so easy to think, so easy to say. But Jesus pushes and continues to ask, “Do you love me?” Peter is hurt, thinking Jesus doesn’t believe him or hear him. Peter is focused on his personal love for Jesus. But Jesus is meeting Peter at the limits of his understanding and pushing, broadening his vision of what this love means. Where does our love for Jesus take us? Not to a building once a week for prayers and songs, but to each other.
Here is the resurrected Jesus’ call to all of us, with words, yes, but most especially modeled in his interactions with others. “Feed my lambs.” Feed my children. I do not think this is simply a metaphorical statement. Those who suffer the most from hunger are the children of our world. I think Jesus wants us to wake up and see the simple, most obvious meaning in this first call and response. Do we love Jesus? Then feed one another, make sure no one is hungry, especially our children.
In the second call and response, Jesus asks again if Peter loves him. Peter says again, “Yes Lord, you know that I love you.” And here Jesus takes the next step of pushing him further. “Tend my sheep.” Pay attention to and look after one another. Serve one another. Care for one another. This love is not about you, it is about the manner in which it is shared.
A third time Jesus asks of Peter’s love. He responds to Peter’s hurt and frustration with, “Feed my sheep,” but also some more instruction. When we let our love for Jesus lead our lives, we are led to people and places we would have never imagined for ourselves. We connect with people we would have never otherwise chosen to connect with. We are pushed beyond our comfort zone, even to the point of facing death.
Jesus concludes with a final call, “Follow me.” We do not hear Peter’s reply. We do not hear any more about this breakfast on the beach. We are left with the call. We are left to respond, not with our words, but with our very lives. Will we?
There is power in the meals we share. Certain foods connect us to not only special times, but special people. I was recently introduced to a resource that is committed to connecting grieving people through the power of food called, The Dinner Party (https://www.thedinnerparty.org/). Their tag line is, “We know what it’s like to lose someone and we aren’t afraid to talk about it.” The premise is simple. After signing up, you meet for dinner and bring something that reminds you of the person you lost. Simple, but not so simple because this food is so much more than food. When we meet for communion, we are doing the same thing. In communion, we meet Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. We join the body of Christ that transcends time, connecting us with the past, the now, and the not yet. In communion, the stories we’ve read in the Bible since we were children become real stuff for us to chew on and embody in the world. This is what happened in every one of those resurrection stories, where Jesus is made obvious, real, and living among his followers with the breaking of the bread. When we gather for communion, we gather with the disciples on the beach, around a fire. We are sitting with Peter, hearing the call of love for Jesus and being left to respond with our lives to follow him.
Casey Cross is serves as the Young Disciples Director at Hope Lutheran Church in Eagle, Idaho. Check out some of her other writing at http://caseykcross.wordpress.com.
Modern μετανοια 