2025 05 04 Easter 3C
Acts 9:1-6, (7-20) Psalm 30
Revelation 5:6-14 John
21:1-19
Quite often, when we read from the book of Revelation, we
find imagery and language which is mysterious and hard to understand. Today we read about a lamb that was slain. That part is easy; it is talking about Jesus,
who is the lamb of God, who was sacrificed for our sins.
All those unusual images in the book of Revelation have
references in the Old Testament scriptures and make a lot more sense to the
original readers who were predominantly Jewish and understood things such as
the seven-fold spirit. Seven is the
number of completeness and perfection, and it is God’s number – it tells us
that this Lamb with seven eyes is God – Jesus is God. Eyes in front and back is about the ability
to see the past and the future.
Revelation is the title of the book because there are truths revealed
about the plan of God. It is revealed
that Jesus, the Messiah, came and achieved what the ancient prophets said that
he would accomplish. In particular,
there is a prophecy in Zechariah 3:8b-9 that says; “For behold, I am bringing
forth My Servant the BRANCH. For behold,
the stone that I have laid before Joshua:
Upon the stone are seven eyes. Behold,
I will engrave its inscription,’ Says the Lord of hosts, ‘And I will remove the
iniquity of that land in one day.”
Jesus removed the iniquity of the land in one day. Jesus paid the price, and it is finished.
You may have heard me say this before, but it is something of
importance; “were your sins in the past or the future when Jesus removed the
iniquity?” They were all in the future
and we know that Jesus, who now sees both the past and the future, saw them all
and paid for them all.
This doesn’t meant that sin no longer matters. Sin has a consequence – a natural, physical
and emotional consequence. However,
every single sin – past, present and future, is paid for by the sacrifice of
Jesus. The spiritual consequence of sin was
separation from God, but Jesus has reconciled us to God.
It might seem that I harp on about this a bit, but it is
really important that we understand, because the difference is in being a Judas
or a Peter. Judas didn’t understand that
he could be forgiven. Peter did. Our future depends on us understanding the
Good News.
This doesn’t mean Peter didn’t feel rotten and experience
some natural consequences . Peter had
denied Jesus three times. In Jewish
thought, repeating something three times can signify confirmation, emphasis, or
the fulfillment of a requirement. When
we make a statement once we declare intention.
Twice, we confirm our resolution and the third time it is a done
deal. Peter didn’t know Jesus. He had really a truly sinned.
I think that we generally fail to realize the seriousness of
Peter’s denial, but today’s Gospel message is important for all of us mere
humans who fail to be perfect. May one
day we will find ourselves in some kind of denial of Christ. Maybe in our words or maybe in our
actions. It is serious. Scripture tells us 2 Timothy 2:12-13 “12 If
we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny
us.” This is about rejecting Christ and
it means that we are considered outsiders.
This is Peter. He really and
truly rejected Christ. But the following
verse says that Jesus is faithful even if we are faithless.
Turning away from God is serous BUT…. every sin has been
paid for…. Past and future.
If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend seeing the
musical Disco Inferno. The
show features awesome songs from the 1970s and tells the story of a wanna be
music star who works at a club. He makes
a deal with the Devil and all his aspirations come to fruition, but then things
go pear-shaped as his girl friend and best friend are dismayed at the changes
in him. Then there is a tragic
accident. In deep despair he cries out he
sorry he is and how he wishes he could take it all back, turn back time and go
back to being the simple person he was. Suddenly he is back where he was before it all
began. The devil, Lady Marmalade, sees
him again and explains that they – workers for the devil- spend so much time working on people only to
have them repent at the last minute, making the whole contract with the devil,
null and void.
Peter had denied Christ, but it was clear that he was
repentant. As far as Christ was
concerned, all was forgiven. I listened
to a great pod cast recently about building healthy relationships and they said
that forgiveness is free – but trust is earnt.
Jesus has paid the price and all is forgiven, but what do we need to do
to fix the mess in the physical? To say
that we are forgiven and not bother to change anything is not helping ourselves
or others. I suspect that Peter was
aware of this dynamic and felt that he no longer deserved his place of
leadership among the disciples.
Christ had appeared to him.
He was overjoyed, but probably unsure about where he fitted in. He did know fishing. He went back to where he was sure and
comfortable. It is probable that the
other disciples were somewhat unsure of what they were to do next also. They knew fishing too. In times of stress, it is natural and
probably good to go back to a safe place that we know. And Jesus knew where to find them.
The discourse between Peter and Jesus loses a lot in the
translation, but to make a long story short; when Jesus was asking Peter if he
loved him those three times, he began with the word love and Peter responded
that he liked him. The last time that
Jesus asks Peter he changes his word for love and matches Peter’s word. Jesus meets Peter where he is at. Peter was the one who previously boasted of
his great love and loyalty, but he is now humbled and knows the limit of his
love. Peter has given up the fisherman
trait of exaggerating, as he knows that Jesus knows him better than he knows
himself. He agrees with Jesus… and this
is what repentance is! It is to stop
pretending that we are better than we are, and to agree with God that we are
limited, and need his help.
Saint Paul learnt this lesson straight up. He had also been quite arrogant. He was a
perfect, law-keeping Pharisee. He was so
perfect that he was going to persecute and kill anyone who thought and believed
differently and was a threat to his belief.
Jesus appeared to him and the effect caused him to be blind. The men with him heard the voice from heaven
but saw nothing. What impact would an
event like this have on you?
I remember writing a song about this when I was 17…. “So many
people say you’re not there. So many
learned and wise, but I’ve felt your hand oh Lord, upon me, and I refuse to
compromise. Could Paul when struck down
blind, have said it was in his mind?
Could Thomas doubt, after seeing Christ’s wounds the nails had brought
about? They did not change their
mind. They stood and they
testified. Their faith was real, and so
is mine.”
Back then I was a bit like Peter… “I won’t deny you Lord”,
but life is tough and intimidations are a plenty and not to mention so many
other influences. Let me emphasize once
more; we need to know, that because of Jesus, the father only sees us as
perfect in him. We wear a white outfit
for baptism because the Bible tells us that we are clothed in Christ. Being clothed in Christ means that God
identifies us as His perfect son. He
will never turn his back on us. He has
already paid the price for every sin in our future. But we too may bear the scars of our own
actions. Best idea is to stay connected
to our Church community. This is why WE
are the body of Christ. We keep each
other focused and supported so that we can live the abundant life that God
wants us to live.
The sacrifice of Jesus is God’s gift to us. It is free.
However, there is a call. Peter
was restored and then Jesus gave him a future… a purpose, plan and
mission. St. Paul although temporarily
physically blinded, in that moment, his spiritual eyes were opened. He was also restored to a right relationship
with God and given a future… a purpose, plan and mission. All of us are restored to a right
relationship with God and given a future… a purpose, plan and mission. The question for today is; what is the
purpose, plan and mission that God is calling us into?
In this time between Easter and Pentecost, let’s make it our
task to come before God and seek His plan for our future. What is the mission to which he is calling us?
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