Acts 9:1 – 6 / 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 1, 2022.
“NOT RECYCLED, BUT
REFITTED”
(Homily text: John 21:1 - 19)
Many veterans who’ve undergone the experience of “boot camp” or some similar entry-level training in the military recall their experiences vividly, even if those experiences were formed many years ago.
During
my Army basic training, I recall two words that continue in my consciousness
till today. The first one was “Trainee”. The second one was “Recycle”. Trainee
was the word used (often derogatorily, I might add) to describe those who were
going through the training, those who were, not yet, soldiers, Marines,
sailors, or airmen/women. Recycle meant that the individual had failed some
part of the training, and would have to repeat all the training, all over
again, from the very beginning. It’s safe to say that most of us in my Army
basic training unit didn’t particularly like the term “Trainee”, but we really
hated and dreaded the word “Recycle”.
Today’s
Gospel relates Peter’s transformation from being a “Trainee” to being a soldier
for the Lord. Fortunately, for Peter, he wasn’t recycled. Instead, the Lord
refitted him for effective service.
Today’s
encounter forms part of what has become known, in biblical scholarship circles,
as the “Epilogue” to John’s account.[1] It
seems as though the end of chapter twenty, just prior to today’s passage, is
the original end of the Gospel text. But chapter twenty-one adds information
about Peter’s rehabilitation (refitting), and about Peter’s eventual martyrdom
and about the Beloved Disciple (traditionally, John) and his future. Chapter
twenty-one also ends with a convincing conclusion, just as chapter twenty does.
It
would be worth our while to notes two aspects of the encounter with Jesus that
Peter and the other disciples who’d decided to go fishing had on the shore of
the Sea of Galilee.
The
first notable aspect of this is John’s telling us that Jesus had prepared a
charcoal fire on the seashore. If we think back into chapter eighteen, we remember
that Peter stood around a charcoal fire as he was asked, three times, if he
knew the Lord. (I can’t resist saying that a person who reads the Scriptures
from a strictly literal point-of-view might miss the connection to the Lord’s
asking Peter, three times, over a charcoal fire, if he loved the Lord. Here,
context is extremely important, it seems to me.) What we have, then, is three
denials and three affirmations of love, all made by Peter, and all made over a
charcoal fire. The two events are linked. The Lord’s questions reverse and do
away with Peter’s denials.
The
second notable aspect is the Greek word for love which flows back and forth
during Peter’s conversation with the Lord. The Lord uses the word agape
in the first two times He asks Peter if he loves Him. Agape love is often seen
as a purer, higher form of love, a self-giving sort of affection. Peter
responds using a different Greek word for love, phileo. Phileo love is
seen as a more brotherly/sisterly sort of love (as in Philadelphia, which is
the city of Brotherly Love). But the Lord switches, in asking the third
question, to using phileo. Does the change mean anything? Scholars aren’t sure.
Some seem to think that Jesus changes His use of the word to match Peter’s, as
if He is meeting Peter where he was at the time. That could be. On the other
hand, it is often noted that agape and phileo are both used in
John’s writing, seemingly interchangeably. It will continue to be a mystery to
us until the time when all is revealed, I have the feeling.
The
Lord is willing to take Peter where he was at the time. There was no need for
Peter to go back to the very beginning in his training, to be “recycled”. But,
Peter did need some redirecting, some refining, some refitting, in order to be
an effective agent for the Lord. Peter then became an eloquent, powerful leader
for the infant Church.
Considering
our own situation, we would have to admit, I have the feeling, that we, each of
us, is in need of some sort of refitting, retraining, or refining of those
things that hinder or limit our witness to Christ. In that predicament, we are
in company with Peter. Thinking of Peter’s career in the Lord’s service after
his encounter with the Lord by the shore of the Sea of Galilee, we can see that
it turned out well for the Good News of God in Christ, and it will for us, as
well, if we’re willing to undergo the sort of spiritual basic training that is
required to weed out those unproductive parts of ourselves, in order that we
may become effective soldiers for Christ.
AMEN.
[1] If it seems as though there’s an Epilogue to John’s account, there is also a Prologue. It is found at the beginning of the Gospel, John 1:1 – 18.
