Choose to Follow, Choose to Be Changed - Sermon for the Third Sunday of Easter (May 4, 2025)

Scripture Readings: Acts 9:1–20 | Psalm 30 | Revelation 5:11–14 | John 21:1–19

“Jesus said to them, ‘Children, you have no fish, have you?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ He said to them, ‘Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.” (John 21:5-6).

This passage holds a special place in my heart, and it also played an important role in my decision to move to the Maritimes and become an Anglican.

As some of you know, I grew up in the Free Methodist Church, a branch of the Christian Church that’s more concentrated in Ontario and further West, and that would have some similarities to the Wesleyans. And when we moved to Toronto so I could study at Wycliffe College, an Anglican seminary, I was in the process of pursuing ordination as a Free Methodist pastor. But as graduation approached, a challenge was becoming apparent: there did not seem to be any Free Methodist pastoral positions available for me to serve in. At the same time, I had come to really appreciate the Anglican Church throughout my studies at Wycliffe, and some of my classmates and professors encouraged me to consider pursuing ministry as an Anglican. 

As I prayed and wrestled with all this, I spoke to a wise leader in the Free Methodist Church, and they reminded me of this story, and that sometimes God leads us in surprising directions: “Try casting your net on the other side of the boat”, they said to me “and see what God brings up.” And to make a long story short, here I am with you at St. Luke’s. 

I can honestly say I would never have imagined that my path in life would lead me to where I am now. But I am so glad that it has, and I thank God that He knows how to get us where we need to be.

God often calls us to do things that seem very different from what we had expected. It might seem strange, or risky, or frightening… but if we will listen… if we choose to do what He asks of us… if we will let His will take charge, and change us… and place our lives completely in His hands and trust Him, that’s when all sorts of new and surprising possibilities begin to arise.

And that’s what our Scripture readings today are inviting you and I to do: to place our trust in the Risen Jesus… to let go of our own expectations for what comes next, and to follow His life-changing lead.

In our reading today from the Gospel of St. John, we hear about the final appearance of the Risen Christ to some of His closest disciples. This story takes place sometime after Christ appeared to Thomas, and the others, convincing them that the resurrection was real… that their Master really was God’s Messiah… and that He had been raised to new life in a way that would change the world forever.

But now what? 

I mean, what happens now for them? What were the disciples themselves supposed to do now that Jesus had done something so world-changing? In John’s Gospel, it’s not quite clear what the Risen Jesus expects Peter and the rest to do. 

And so, in this moment of uncertainty, Peter speaks up: “I am going fishing.” He says, and the others follow his lead. Peter goes right back to what he was doing before Jesus called him. Ever wonder why? 

Well, we don’t know exactly. The text doesn’t say. But as this episode unfolds, it might be worthwhile to remember what happened the last time that Peter and Jesus had spoken face to face in John’s Gospel: that is, the night of the Last Supper, just before our Lord was betrayed, arrested, and crucified.

That night, Jesus had told His disciples that He would soon be leaving them. 

John 13:36-38, “Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, where are you going? Jesus answered, ‘Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow afterward.’ Peter said to him, ‘Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’ Jesus answered, ‘Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.’”

And as Jesus predicted, Peter denies His Lord three times. Overcome with shame, he then hid himself and wept bitterly. And the next time we hear of Peter, he’s racing to the empty tomb… and then, he’s in the upper room at Easter when the Risen Lord appears beyond all hope!

But where does this wonderful turn of events leave Peter himself? His story has been left hanging.

At one point, he had been pretty confident that he could be a faithful follower of Jesus. He seemed sincere when he claimed that he would willingly lay down his life for his beloved Master… but then he had failed. He had backed down. Three times he had denied that he even knew Jesus. Now what was in store? There’s no resolution of Peter’s failure… that is, until the Risen Lord Jesus Himself brings home to him the power of God’s life-changing love.

As we heard, Peter goes back to his old ways catching fish… but with no luck at all. Then a voice from the shore calls out for those in the boat to do something new: 

John 21:4-6, “Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, ‘Children, you have no fish, have you?’ They answered him, ‘No.’ He said to them, ‘Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.’ So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.” 

Doing things their own way got them nothing. But simple obedience led to a miracle. The nets were so full of fish, they could not even bring them into the boat. 

Peter eagerly swims to shore, and finds Jesus preparing a meal for them to share, over a charcoal fire. I mention this detail because the only other time that charcoal is mentioned in the New Testament is when John’s Gospel describes the fire that Peter and the soldiers were warming themselves by when he denies Jesus. Imagine what was going on in   Peter’s mind this time, warming himself beside another charcoal fire made by the very Master he had let down. 

After the meal, the Risen Lord Jesus addresses Peter directly, and He gets right to the heart of the matter. John 21:15-17, “When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’  A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’  He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.’ ”

Three times Peter denied that he knew Jesus when our Lord was facing the cross. Three times the same crucified and now Risen Jesus looks at Peter and asks him: ‘Do you love me?’ Three times Peter replies ‘Lord… you know that I love you.’ What is going on here?

In a word, Jesus is confronting Peter with an opportunity to be reconciled. To receive His forgiveness for what is most likely Peter’s biggest regret of all time. Christ doesn’t heap shame on Peter for denying Him, or make harsh demands upon him. No, our Lord gently but directly invites His less than faithful disciple to draw near to Him again… to reaffirm his love for His Lord, who not only wants to forgive, but to also transform those who trust in Him.

Each time Peter responds to Christ’s question, our Lord tells him to do something: to feed Christ’s lambs, to tend Christ’s sheep, to feed Christ’s sheep.

And in doing so, He’s giving Peter exactly what he needed: a new purpose, and vocation. Out of renewed love for His Risen Lord, Peter was being called to care for the rest of the flock… the rest of Christ’s family. His devotion and love for Jesus was being reinforced, and directed towards the new Church community. Jesus takes his faltering follower, and turns him into a shepherd. He forgives him. He reaffirms him. And He entrusts him with a high calling. But He also warns Peter that this new life will also come at a cost. 

John 21:18-19, “‘Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.’ (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’”

Peter had a choice to make here: he could have once again gone back to fishing. He could have said no thanks to the high calling our Lord had entrusted him with… knowing that, if He accepted it, that would mean sharing in the sufferings of His Lord… surrendering his own independence, and in time following Jesus His Lord by faithfully facing death as well. 

Peter had a choice. And we have a choice too. When we falter and fail… when we don’t know what to do… we can just go back to our old ways… and keep on casting our nets the ways that make sense to us…or we can draw near to Jesus, and receive from Him the forgiveness and new life that He offers us all.

Yes, Peter had messed up, but Jesus had not given up on him at all. And thankfully, Peter listened to Jesus’ voice, and answered His call to follow Him. And in that moment, over breakfast by the shore, Peter’s life changed forever.

In our reading from the book of Acts, we see two more people that the Risen Jesus confronts, and listening to His voice changes both of their lives too.

Our passage tells the story of Saul of Tarsus, an infamous enemy of the early Church. He was a devout Pharisee, who saw Christians… or members of “the Way”, as they were called at the time… as a dangerous threat to God’s faithful people, and so Saul tried his best to get rid of them.

His zealous persecution of Christians caused most of them to scatter… to leave Jerusalem, and set up new church communities all across the eastern Roman Empire. Fully convinced of the rightness of his cause, Saul gets permission from the higher ups in Jerusalem to head to Damascus and have any Christians there thrown in jail.

But as we heard, on the way the Risen Lord Jesus stops Saul in his tracks. He sees light from heaven suddenly all about him, and hears the Risen Lord, confronting Saul for persecuting Him by persecuting His followers. 

Now that’s something to think about, isn’t it? How we treat those who belong to Christ, is how we treat Christ Himself. I wonder how many disputes and divisions in the Church would happen very differently if we took this truth a little more to heart. But back to the story.

Saul is blinded, and led to Damascus. This was not at all how he had imagined his journey to Damascus was going to unfold. Waiting there for three days for news of what to do.

Imagine being in his shoes… or sandals, I suppose. One moment you’re eagerly on your way to arrest some dangerous troublemakers, and the next, you’ve lost your sight, and have been told to wait with no clue when that waiting would end… or what was coming next.

Then again, I know for some of us it might be pretty easy to identify with Saul. When something in life hits us hard, and suddenly we can’t see a way forward anymore. And we have no idea when all the waiting will come to an end, or if it will ever improve. To his credit, Saul’s response in that time was to pray and fast. Not to give up and give in to despair, but to direct his full attention to God… in the hopes that, in God’s time, the answers would be given.

And it was. But not to Saul. No, instead, God draws into the story an unlikely messenger to come to Saul’s rescue: a believer named Ananias… one of the same Christians in Damascus that Saul had been on his way to arrest. 
This is who the Lord wants to work through to change Saul’s life around… and to change Ananias as well. 

Acts 9:10-12, “Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias.’ He answered, ‘Here I am, Lord.’ The Lord said to him, ‘Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.”

This all sounds great for Saul. But understandably, Ananias is not too keen on the Lord’s plan. He protests that this Saul of Tarsus is not to be trusted. 

Acts 9:13-16, “But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
 
Despite Ananias’ misgivings, the Lord knew all about Saul… all about the harm he had done to His beloved followers. Jesus knew all too well the pain and the grief Saul had caused… as we already heard, when Saul was persecuting them, Jesus Himself was being attacked.

But even so, Jesus had plans for Saul… plans to change his life for good. And to work through Saul to change the world. 

But to be clear, the suffering that Jesus mentions is not meant as a punishment for Saul… but as a sharing in Christ’s own suffering for the sake of the Good News. Saul, or Paul as he is later known… becomes an incredibly devoted Apostle of Jesus, and in a letter to the Christians in the city of Philippi, this is what he will say about suffering: 

Philippians 3:7-11, “Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

Like Peter, Saul would also come to see that following Jesus would mean facing hardship and suffering… but even so, Saul was convinced that it was all well worth it! 

And so when Saul receives his sight, he makes the choice to be baptized into Christ… to let go of his old ways, and devote himself completely to sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ the Risen Lord.

But before we wrap this sermon up, there’s one more person who made a life changing choice in this story: Ananias. This disciple from Damascus was being asked to do something difficult and dangerous: to listen to the Lord’s voice, and extend help to his enemy. To trust that the Lord knows exactly what He’s doing when He tells us to bless those who persecute us… and to forgive those who trespass against us… to not seek out revenge, or let bitterness become a barrier keeping those around us from encountering God’s grace. To know that God’s saving love for us is meant to work through us as well… often in the most surprising ways. 

And thankfully, like Peter, and Saul, Ananias obeys the voice of the Risen Jesus… and suddenly the man he once feared and mistrusted became a beloved brother in Christ. 

And this is how our Lord loves to work: turning all our expectations upside down… lifting up those like Peter who falter and fail, and transforming them by His mercy and love to care for others… confronting those like Saul who are on the wrong track, and inviting them to take part in His own mission of sharing God’s love with the world… and calling those like Ananias, who are hesitant and fearful to be open to extending God’s hospitality and healing love even to our enemies.

Who knows what the Risen Lord Jesus has in store for you and I here at St. Luke’s. But whatever it may be, let us be eager to obey His voice. 

Let us be willing to cast our nets on the right side of the boat at His command… to be open to the unexpected challenges and blessings that He has prepared for us… to face days of uncertainty and waiting with patience, and confidence in His saving love. And may His life-changing love work through us to change His world for good. Amen.