Last Sunday, we
followed the footsteps of Jesus in the wilderness. We remembered that even when we walk through
barren and difficult and dry places in our lives, Jesus has already been there,
and indeed he still walks with us in those places.
Today, our
attention moves about 100 miles north to the region around the Sea of
Galilee. In just 100 miles, the landscape
shifts from the dry and rocky desolation of the wilderness to the green and
fertile lushness around the Sea of Galilee.
The majority of
his adult life and earthly ministry took place in this region, and just as the
land itself is fertile, so too was it fertile spiritual ground for Jesus. I invite you to join me in following the
footsteps of our Master at the sea.
Now when Jesus saw the
crowds, he went up a mountain. He sat
down and his disciples came to him. He
taught them, saying:
“Happy are people who
are hopeless, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Happy are people who
grieve, because they will be made glad.
Happy are people who
are humble, because they will inherit the earth.
Happy are people who
are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, because they will be fed until they
are full.
Happy are people who
show mercy, because they will receive mercy.
Happy are people who
have pure hearts, because they will see God.
Happy are people who
make peace, because they will be called God’s children.
Happy are people whose
lives are harassed because they are righteous, because the kingdom of heaven is
theirs.
Happy are you when
people insult you and harass you and speak all kinds of bad and false things
about you, all because of me.”
High above the
northwestern edge of the lake is the Mount of Beatitudes. The site commemorates Jesus’ teaching in the
5th Chapter of Matthew’s Gospel which was just read for us. This section of scripture is called “The
Beatitudes,” because in Latin, each of these 8 teachings begins with the word beatus, meaning “blessed,” or “happy:”
describing life and character traits of true followers of Jesus.
But there’s more
to it than that. A more thorough
understanding of what Jesus actually said would be, “You’re on the right track
when.” “You’re on the right track when
you’re hopeless, when you grieve, when you’re humble, when you hunger and
thirst for righteousness. You’re on the
right track when you show mercy, when your heart is pure, when you make
peace. You’re on the right track when
people harass you and insult you and speak all kinds of bad and false things
about you because of me” - folks, when you’re following Jesus, expect this kind
of treatment. When someone is mean and
nasty, when they harass you, when they insult you, you just look them in the
eye, and you smile, and you say, “Thank you,” because that mean and grumpy
person is helping you to realize that you’re on the right track.
The Beatitudes
are a centerpiece of Jesus’ teaching.
The top of the mountain has been developed into a beautiful garden with
many places that overlook the Sea of Galilee.
At the center of this beautiful garden is the Church of the Beatitudes;
the building’s octagonal shape is a reminder of the eight beatitudes Jesus
taught.
We hiked down a
trail from the top of the mountain to the water’s edge. I couldn’t help but think, “I wonder if Jesus
himself ever walked down this path?” We
know that Jesus and his disciples were all over those mountains and hills that
cradle the Sea of Galilee - could we be walking right where he had walked? Every rock we passed - was this a place where
Jesus might have sat to rest or to teach?
As we walked down
the mountain, talking with each other, sharing stories, sharing life, and
taking in the beauty of the moment and time - I couldn’t help but wonder if we
were experiencing something like what it was for Jesus and his disciples. Partway down the mountain, at a place where
we could see almost the entire sea from one to the other, Bishop Goodpaster
stopped our group, called us close, and we turned our attention to a story in
Matthew 14:
Right then, Jesus made
the disciples get into the boat and go ahead to the other side of the lake
while he dismissed the crowds. When he
sent them away, he went up onto a mountain by himself to pray. Evening came and he was alone. Meanwhile, the boat, fighting a strong
headwind, was being battered by the waves and was already far away from land. Very early in the morning he came to his
disciples, walking on the lake. When the
disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified and said, “It’s a
ghost!” They were so frightened they
screamed.
Just then Jesus spoke
to them, “Be encouraged! It’s me. Don’t be afraid.”
Storms on the Sea
of Galilee are legendary. Geographically,
the lake sits in a sort of bowl with mountains all around it. However, on the western side of the sea,
there is a gap in the mountains that stretches all the way to the
Mediterranean. And so, what happens is
that the wind blows off the Mediterranean, through the gap in the mountains
that acts like a wind tunnel, and then spills out into this bowl that contains
the Sea of Galilee, and can whip it up into quite a frenzy in no time.
We stood at the
overlook, picturing this story in our minds.
It was afternoon, and Jesus sent the disciples to the other side of the
lake, which you could see. He dismissed
the crowds, and went up onto a mountain to pray - perhaps it was a place
similar to the overlook where we were standing.
Hours pass, evening comes, and still the disciples are out there rowing,
straining against the wind. Then it
says, “Early in the morning,” - think about that for a minute - let’s say it’s
6am - the disciples have been rowing against the wind since the previous
afternoon, it might have been 15 hours that they’ve been rowing. Think about how exhausted they must have
been. How discouraged. How ready to give up.
You ever felt
like that? I have. You know, there are times in the life of
faith where it feels like we’re rowing against the wind - straining, working,
wearing ourselves out and just not getting anywhere. There are times when it feels like we’re
going at it alone, and Jesus is far, far away.
What I want you
to remember is that there are times when it’s difficult to sense the presence
of Jesus, but that doesn’t mean that Jesus has abandoned us. Even when we are straining at the oars of
ministry against the headwinds of all that would blow us off course and feels
like it might even drown us, Jesus is never far away. He always has us within sight, and he might
just be praying for us in our struggle.
But, thanks be to
God, there are also places where we experience the overwhelming presence of
Jesus so clearly he may as well be in the boat with us. One of the highlights of any trip to the Holy
Land is a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.
Next time I go to the Holy Land, I’ll be leading the trip, and I hope
all of you can come along, and we will take a ride on the boat.
You may not
realize this, but when pastors get together, we talk about church. We talk about budgets, we talk about
attendance, we talk about worship, we talk about missions, we talk about
challenges, we talk about leadership, we talk about headaches and problems - we
talk about you, too!
It’s one of the things
that is wearying about going to clergy meetings - because you never get away
from the business of church. But on the
boat that morning as we travelled across the Sea of Galilee, there was none of
that. No complaining, no bragging, no
jockeying for position about who was doing the best or whose situation was the
worst. We talked about life, places
we’ve travelled, experiences we’ve had, jokes we love even when we couldn’t
re-tell them very well - There was a fellowship and a connection I experienced
both with Jesus but also with the others on the boat, and I thought to myself,
“This must be a foretaste of what the kingdom of God is like.”
Later in the
trip, when we had an opportunity to express our thanks for some meaningful
moment of the trip, I gave thanks for “friends in the boat.”
And here’s the
thing - out on the boat, none of us were in charge. None of us were trying to drive. None of us knew where we were going. We did, however, know who we were going with,
and that in and of itself was a great blessing and source of joy.
It is no
coincidence that one of the early metaphors and images to describe the church
was a boat. So here’s what I want you to
consider this morning - are you blessed and joyful because of your time with
others in the boat? Or, are you still
complaining, still bragging, still trying to steer? Instead of being insistent on the boat going
where you want it to, try being thankful for the people in the boat with you,
and find in them a source of blessing and joy.
If you do, the journey will be a lot more enjoyable for everyone,
yourself included. Let Jesus be the
captain, and live the life of faith that gives thanks for friends in the boat.
Another place I
had one of those experiences was in Capernaum; a town on the northern shore of
the sea of Galilee. In Jesus’ day, it
was one of the busiest towns and the center of Jesus’ Galilean ministry. In fact, it is referred to as the Town of
Jesus. This was his homebase during his
ministry. We often think of Jesus as
being “from Nazareth,” which is true in that it’s where his family lived and
where he grew up. But Jesus was “from”
Nazareth in the same way that I am “from” Buffalo - I don’t live there anymore. I’ve said that its a great place to be “from”
- Nazareth is a great place to be “from,” as well!
If you remember,
Jesus’ teaching didn’t go over so well in Nazareth. They didn’t care for his message - partway
through his first sermon there, the good folk rose up and angrily drove him to
the edge of the hill on which their town was built because they intended to
kill him. Talk about a strong reaction
to a sermon! All I get are blank stares,
frowns, and the occasional shaking of an angry fist at the door!
And so, the
scriptures tell us that Jesus withdrew from Nazareth and Capernaum is called
“his own city,” he made it his new hometown (Matthew 4:12-17, 9:1). Capernaum was a crossroads city with people
coming to it to trade from the east and west. The people of Nazareth had closed
off their hearts to anything new, and as a result Jesus withdrew from
them. But in Capernaum, they were open
to the words of hope, healing, and reconciliation that Jesus taught.
The ruins at
Capernaum are incredibly well-preserved.
We went to the ruins of the synagogue.
This was actually a synagogue built in the fourth century, but like so
many things in the Holy Land, it’s built on the site of the previous synagogue,
where Jesus would have gone to worship and teach, and give the people a glimpse
of the abundant life of God’s kingdom like they had never seen it before
From several
places in and around the ruins of the synagogue, you are overlooking the ruins
of the rest of the town, and you can see the layout of the streets, the
buildings, all of it. I looked over it,
and I could see Jesus, coming in from the shore, walking through the streets,
talking to people, laughing with them, buying things in the market. This was his town, and these were his
neighbors. He knew this place, and this
place knew him.
In Capernaum,
Ashley just wandered away and went exploring on her own, because she said it
was clear I was having a moment. I was
lost in my own little world - Jesus’ world, actually - and she was going to let
me hang out there as long as I wished.
Capernaum was
also the town where Peter’s mother-in-law had a house. Her house was homebase for Jesus and his
disciples. Can you imagine her cooking
for and cleaning up after 13 men who had been traipsing around the countryside
or were off fishing half the night?
Her house likely
became the meeting place of one of the earliest churches in existence. The first churches were house churches, they
just met in someone’s home rather than construct a building. Early Christians in Capernaum began to
worship in the home of Peter’s mother-in-law, and they have continued to
worship on the very same site for nearly 2000 years. Today, there is a church constructed right
over the ruins of Peter’s mother-in-law’s house. This was one of our favorite churches of the
trip - believe me, we were in and out of a lot of churches! - but the church at
Capernaum was exceptional. An open,
modern design, flooded with natural light, and at the center of the church was
an open window to the ruins of the house below - connecting the worship of
Christians today with those who met in the house Jesus likely called home, and
you could see his footsteps everywhere in this little town by the sea.
Later, Jesus himself
appeared again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberius. This is how it happened: Simon Peter, Thomas
(called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two other
disciples were together. Simon Peter
told them, “I’m going fishing.”
They said, “We’ll go
with you.” They set out in a boat, but
throughout the night they caught nothing.
Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples didn’t
realize it was Jesus.
Jesus called to them,
“Children, have you caught anything to eat?”
They answered him,
“No.”
He said, “Cast your net
on the right side of the boat and you will find some.”
So they did, and there
were so many fish that they couldn’t haul in the net Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to
Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter
heard it was the Lord, he wrapped his coat around himself (for he was naked),
and jumped into the water. The other
disciples followed in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they weren’t
far from shore, only about one hundred yards.
When they landed, they
saw a fire there, with on it, and some bread.
Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you’ve just
caught.” Simon Peter got up and pulled
the net to shore. it was full of large
fish, one hundred fifty-three of them.
Yet the net hadn’t torn, even with so many fish. Jesus said, “Come and have breakfast.” None of his disciples could bring themselves
to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it
was the Lord. Jesus came, took the
bread, and gave it to them. He did the
same with the fish. This was now the
third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
The Sea of
Tiberias, named for the large town on the western shore, is just another name
for the Sea of Galilee. So, on that hike
I was telling you about as we came down from the Mount of Beatitudes, we ended
up at the Church of the Primacy of Peter on the shoreline.
This church
commemorates the commission that Peter received from Jesus - “If you love me,
feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). In that
story, three times Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” And each time Peter responds, “You know I
do!” However, we only have one word in
English for “love,” whereas the Greek had several, each denoting a different
type and depth of love. Jesus is
referencing agape love - that deep,
abiding, sacrificial, perfect love. He
says, “Peter, do you agape me?” and Peter
says, “I phileo you” (brotherly
love); Peter basically says, “Jesus, I think you’re neat.” The last time Jesus asks, he softens the word
for love from agape to phileo, the same type of love Peter’s
been talking about all along.
What does that
mean? Jesus meets us where we are, and
works with the best of our understanding.
For our part, we
need to listen to Jesus. Sometimes we
are so insistent on doing it our way that we are like the disciples who have
been fishing all night, are worn out, and haven’t caught anything. Jesus says, “Cast your nets on the other side
of the boat” and they do, and they catch the biggest haul of fish you can
imagine. The disciples could have ignored
Jesus, but my guess is they’d still be out there in that boat, and they’d still
be hauling in empty nets.
So here’s what I
want you think about: are the nets of your life full, or do you keep pulling
them in empty? Can you hear Jesus asking
if you’re worn out yet, and if he told you to, are you willing to change what
you’re doing, and put your nets down somewhere else?
As dusk settled and our surroundings took on
beautiful purples and golds, we gathered along the shore, some standing, some
sitting, some kneeling, some wading, and we considered these challenges from
Jesus - to feed his sheep, to cast our nets where the fish are. It’s not something we can do on our own, but
must fully rely on the grace of God to accomplish what he wants - for us to
love him fully, to feed his sheep, to let down our nets and bring more fish -
more friends - into the boat.
The sun may be
setting, but it’ll be back up in the morning.
His call on us is the same as it’s always been, and it’s always a good
time for following, feeding, and fishing.
No comments:
Post a Comment