Third Sunday of Easter

Theme 

Breakfasting with Jesus 

Sentence       

Jesus showed himself to his disciples and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. Alleluia! (Acts 1:3)  [NZPB, p. 594]     

Collect                  

God of peace,                               

By the blood of the eternal covenant; 

You brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, 

That great shepherd of the sheep; 

Make us perfect in every good work,   

And work in us that which is pleasing and good;                               

Through Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen. [NZPB, p. 597]       

Readings                                

Acts 9:1-6                               

Psalm 30        

Revelation 5:11-14 

John 21:1-19

Comments

Between them, Matthew, Luke and John present an apology, or defence, of the resurrection faith.

In Matthew chapter 28, the gospel writer rebuts charges that the tomb was empty because the disciples stole the body of Jesus.

In Luke 24, we hear two examples that make the case for the risen Jesus as a physical person, to the extent that he ate and drank with disciples.

In John's chapter 20, he makes the case that believers who have not directly experienced the risen Jesus are no less privileged than believers who have.

Then in chapter 21, John presents Jesus in 'physical' mode, but more by making breakfast than eating it.

John may also be defending a particular strand of Christianity ('Johannine Christianity') alongside the strand associated with Simon Peter.

Acts 9:1-6

Paul (then known as Saul) encounters the risen Christ in an unusual manner for the stories in Luke-Acts.

After the ascension (i.e. the end of appearances of the risen Jesus Christ as 'earth-bound' experiences), the risen Christ appears to Paul.

According to the narrative, Paul does not necessarily 'see' an 'appearance' of the risen Jesus: we are told he experiences a 'light from heaven' and hears the voice of Jesus, a voice also heard by his companions.

Nevertheless in his own account, 1 Corinthians 15:8, Paul describes this event as an 'appearance', using the same word that described Christ's appearances before the ascension to the apostles and other disciples.

There is a body of literature which says that in this appearance Paul received the whole revelation of the gospel which drove forward his subsequent preaching and writing, including his conviction that the gospel was for Gentile as well as Jew.

Here we note two points.
First, Saul/Paul's murderous intent against 'disciples of the Lord' is described by Jesus as persecution of himself (compare 9:1-2 with 9:5, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.')

 This could be an implied theology of the body of Christ: the church is the body of Christ on earth, so to persecute the church is to persecute Christ.

It could also be an insight into Saul/Paul's psychological state: he was outwardly raging against disciples, but the anger within was actually an anger focused on Christ (e.g. as a disruptive figure who was disturbing the settled state of Judaism).

Secondly, the transformation of Paul, from bloodthirsty crusader to humbly obedient disciple is a paradigm of conversion. 

Psalm 30

Sticking with Paul, in his great discourse on the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, one of the puzzling statements he makes is this (v. 4): 'that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures.'

Ever since Christians have wondered, where in the Old Testament do we find 'scriptures' which look ahead either generally to the resurrection or specifically to resurrection 'on the third day'.

One possibility for the latter is Hosea 6:2.

Our psalm today speaks generally of the possibility of resurrection. The psalmist (David?) speaks of a transformation from death to life, from weeping to joy, and from mourning to dancing.

Since David did not write this as a resurrected person, he must originally have been speaking of the situation in his life when all looked bleak and dark but God led him to a better place.

One aspect of resurrection which applies to us in this life is that we see God at work in raising Jesus from the dead as the God who is able to 'raise' us up from difficult situations.

Revelation 5:11-14

This portion of the great vision of the open heaven in Revelation 4-5 takes us to the slain but conquering Lamb, that is, to the risen Lord Jesus Christ (see also Revelation 1:13-20). The text captures the most appropriate and timeless response to the risen Jesus: worship.

The Lamb is 'worthy' of worship, on heaven and on earth, because he was 'slain/slaughtered' for us (we might go back to John's Gospel, 1:29, 36; also to 1 Corinthians 5:7 and 1 Peter 1:18-19 for a range of insights into Christ as the Lamb slain for us). But we worship no dead Lamb.

The Lamb has conquered (sin and death) and exists forever with God on the divine throne. Together, 'the one seated on the throne' and 'the Lamb' constitute a single object of worship in Revelation's vision.

John 21:1-19

This story is full of 'angles'.

The story begins by pressing the resurrection as a real time event, with many witnesses to subsequent appearances of the risen Jesus, not confined to Jerusalem and its surrounds. It then moves to the forgiveness and restoration of thrice-denying Peter into a thrice-affirming-commission. It ends just prior to a word on discipleship manifest in varied but equally valid forms (21:20-23). 

In keeping with the feel of John 21 as this gospel's 'epilogue' or 'afterword, loose ends are tied up here . The gospel could end perfectly well at 20:30-31, but the addition suggests a community which engaged with this gospel and raised important questions that now are answered.

What clues do we have to preach from this passage?.

What are our pressing questions about the resurrection, or about how we must live for Christ as people of the resurrection?

What answers would Jesus himself give, as he himself answered the questions being answered here? 

Broadly speaking, the questions here are still being asked today. Did the resurrection of Jesus really happen? John answers "Yes!"

Will God forgive me and restore me to divine communion? John answers "Yes!" 

What does it mean to follow Jesus? John answers "All disciples follow Jesus wherever he leads them, whether to peaceful death in old age or to martyrdom."

The net was not torn ( John 21:11)

A good commentary will help with possible solutions to the significance of the number '153' fish caught in the disciples' net.

In a chapter on fishing and following Jesus, our minds go to Jesus' commissioning of the first disciples as fishers of people.

Jesus' expectation is that his movement will grow.

Here the unbroken net speaks of Jesus' promise that no matter how large his movement grows, it will cope with growth.