Acts
9: 1–20; Psalm 30; Revelation 5: 11–14; John 21: 1–19
This
is the homily given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania by Fr. Gene Tucker
on Sunday, May 5, 2019.
“MAKING EAGLES OUT OF TURKEYS (PART II)”
(Homily
text: John 21: 1–19)
Last
Sunday, we made use of the following saying: “It’s awfully hard to soar like an
eagle if you hang around with turkeys.” And on that occasion, I suggested that,
perhaps, this saying may have been one I heard during my service in the Army.
And,
last Sunday, I included this disclaimer….When this saying talks about turkeys,
it isn’t talking about wild turkeys, who are blessed with keen eyesight and a
high degree of intelligence, apparently. What is being described are the
domesticated ones, who don’t seem to have much intelligence at all.
Last
Sunday, we heard John’s account of Doubting Thomas, who told the other
disciples that he wouldn’t believe that Jesus had actually risen from the dead
unless he was able to put his fingers into the print of the nails in Jesus’
hands, etc. The Lord then appears, and grants Thomas’ demand. In the process,
Thomas no longer acts like a turkey. Instead, he became an eagle in the Lord’s
service, going as far as the subcontinent of India, carrying the Good News
(Gospel) of Jesus Christ with him.
Now,
today, we have before us John’s account of Peter’s transformation from a turkey
into an eagle.
The
setting is on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Peter tells some of his fellow
disciples that he’s going fishing. (Perhaps Peter’s decision is an indication
that he is returning to his earlier career. Or perhaps Peter didn’t know what
to do after he’d encountered the risen Lord….;maybe Peter was filling a void of
time until God’s plan became clearer….we don’t know exactly what Peter’s
motivation was.) After working all night, Peter and his companions have nothing
to show for their work, not, that is, until a stranger standing on the shore
tells them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. After a large haul
of fish results, Peter recognizes that the stranger is Jesus.
Once
breakfast is over, Peter’s transformation from a turkey into an eagle begins.
Jesus
asks Peter, “Do you love me more than these?” Peter’s response is, “Yes, Lord,
you know that I love you.” Jesus then says, “Feed my sheep.”
Two
more times, the question will be asked in a similar way, and with a similar
answer.
John
is indicating something to us, but we’re going to have to make use of our
memories and our knowledge of the Fourth Gospel to get what John’s point is.
Something
else happens three times around a charcoal fire: That would be Peter’s denial
that he knew the Lord while he was standing in the courtyard of the high
priest, Caiaphas, during the first phase of Jesus’ trial prior to His
crucifixion.
Now,
on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus asks Peter three times, around a
charcoal fire, “do you love me?”
Of
course, we know the rest of the story: Never again would Peter waver in his
service to the Lord. Peter, instead, became a fearless leader in the early Church,
standing up before the ruling council of elders and chief priests to declare
that a healing had taken place through the name of Jesus. (See Acts 5: 17–42.)
That incident wasn’t the only time that Peter was fearless and committed to
doing God’s work and will. And, as today’s text from chapter twenty one of
John’s account hints, Peter would follow the Lord even to death, a death –
tradition tells us – which involved being crucified upside down.
A
pattern emerges in today’s back-and-forth between Jesus and Peter. Here’s the
pattern:
1.
Jesus asks a question: “Peter, do you love
me?”
2.
Peter answers: “Yes, Lord, I love you.”
3.
Jesus tells Peter to do something: “Feed my
sheep.”
This
same pattern unfolds throughout Holy Scripture: 1. God takes the initiative. 2.
People respond. 3. God tells them of His plans for them.
If
we look a little closer, we might do well to examine these three steps in some
detail.
God’s
initiative: Can take the form of a question, as it does
with Peter. Or, it can come as an outright command, as in the case of Moses,
who was told by God to go to Pharaoh to tell Pharaoh to let God’s people go.
Or, it can come through the suggestion of another person, as is the case of
Philip’s invitation to Nathanael to come and see Jesus. (See John 1: 43–51.)
People
respond: This, too, can take many forms. For example,
sometimes those who are commanded or invited by God to do something refuse. An
example of this is the rich young man who was told by Jesus to sell everything
he had in order to follow the Lord. The young man refuses. (See Luke 18: 18–23.)
We have to acknowledge that God grants us free will. We
can say “No” to God. In other cases, people might respond, but not right away.
A good example of such a case is Jonah, who was commanded by God to go to
Ninevah, but who, instead, got on a boat and headed in the opposite direction.
But then, in other cases, people say “Yes” to God.
God’s
plan: God needs our cooperation in order to change
us from being turkeys (that is, those who live outside of God’s influence and
plan for our lives, like Peter, who denied knowing the Lord) into eagles (that
is, those who know God, who maintain an active and personal relationship with
Him, and who seek to do His will).
God
has a role to play. After all, it’s God who has the wisdom and the ability to
see the big picture for our lives and for the welfare of the world that He
created.
But
God wants us to be in service to Him. For whatever reason, God chooses to work
with us, even if we act like turkeys now and again. God’s love has the power to
transform us into eagles, if only we will accept God’s invitation to service.
AMEN.
