The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul

I just finished my sermon. The sea of Galilee was the setting for the gospel reading from John. I haven't achieved the courage to speak to the Palestinian situation in my sermons yet, but it's certainly a backdrop and on my mind. So, I just thought I would share a portion of my sermon- because even though I don't address the issue of our Palestinian brothers and sisters, I am telling my congregation to be active! (Even that is a little scary for me.)




-------

You see, it seems that after the death and resurrection of Jesus and after the disciples had returned home, returned north to the Galilee- they tried to go back to life as it was before Jesus called them. Prior to our reading this morning, Peter announces that he is going fishing, and so some of the disciples accompany him. They were out all night long and they didn’t catch anything. In the morning, a man appears and tells them to throw their nets over the other side- and of course- they catch so many fish they can’t bring the net back into the boat.
At this point the disciples realize it is Jesus- Peter jumps out to get to Jesus and once they all arrive on the beach, Jesus makes a breakfast of grilled fish and bread for the guys.

I don’t know if you’ve ever wondered it- but I want to ask the disciples what they think they’re doing going fishing after all the things that have happened to them. Sure there could be a variety of explanations- they needed to make some money, they didn’t really believe Jesus’ other resurrection appearances and think he’s still dead so they go back to the life they know. Fishing for people didn’t seem to work so well- so they went back to a job they knew how to do. Although they weren’t so successful until Jesus showed up.

But here we have Jesus appearing to the disciples for a third time. A third time- third time is the charm?
John uses threes quite a bit- especially in this passage.
For the third time Jesus appears. We know, and certainly the disciples must have known it, things are never going to be the same.
And after breakfast Jesus has a conversation with Peter. He asks Peter three times, three times- do you love me. And Peter responds in turn, three times, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. And Jesus tells Peter three times to feed his sheep or lambs.

If you recall during Jesus’ trial, it was Peter who denied Jesus three times, claiming that he did not know Jesus and was not affiliated with him.
Three times then, three times now at Jesus’ third resurrection appearance.
It does not seem to be a coincidence.

There are some who suggest that Jesus' questions and Peter’s response serve to forgive and exonerate Peter’s denial of Jesus. When Peter denied Jesus he was not being who he truly was- the ever zealous disciple, the first one called by Jesus, one of the first leaders of the church. So, Jesus asks him- after the crucifixion and in the light of the resurrection. Peter, do you love me, do you love me, do you love me? Yes, yes, yes, you know I do, Lord. So, go and be who you are Peter, who you have been called to be, go and be the shepherd, you’ll go where you don’t want to go- but also this- Jesus ends his conversation with Peter, Follow me.

This story, and this feast day, for that matter become important for us because Peter and Paul both, who once denied Jesus, have been called by him and have been completely transformed because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Their lives were never the same when they began preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now, I don’t think God is expecting you to abandon the life that you know and go and be missionaries in the world. But, I do think things have been fundamentally different for us as Christians- at our baptisms we were claimed by God- just like Christ called Peter and Paul- to do God’s work in the world. To become who it is that God calls us to be- to follow our vocation as Christians no matter what it is that we have done or have not done. If we have denied that we know Jesus, if we have persecuted or done harm to the church- God continues to call us to serve him. Because of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, because Christ shows up again and again- maybe not on the beach to make us breakfast- but certainly in the word we hear today, in the meal that we will share- each time we remember that we are baptized we hear Christ’s call to us. You have been marked by the cross of Christ and sealed with the holy Spirit.

And you will go out from here, you will go out in peace and you will bring Christ’s peace to the world- if that means holding the door for someone, giving a monetary contribution to the church or a charity, volunteering your time, being a good mother or child or student, doing your job well- if you do it in the name of Christ, you’re doing your job- your Christian vocation.

Jesus asked Peter, Do you love me? And Peter responded. Lord, you know I do. So Jesus commanded him, feed my sheep.

Peter is our brother in the faith. Jesus asks us- do you love me. Lord, you know we do. So, Jesus commands us, feed my sheep. Do my will, serve Christ in the world- volunteer, give your time, give your money away, love all people as if they were yourself. It’s your call- your baptismal call- the waters that save you also expect you to serve. We’re not saved by God to serve ourselves- we’re saved by God to serve God and to serve God’s good creation. So, go and do it.

Breaching walls

I got new contact lenses today. It's always amazing to me how such a slight change (in this case new contact lens technology) can affect my vision. Certainly in this case I mean it literally- but somehow that literal change also has affected me metaphorically.

As people have asked me about my trip and how it was- and I respond, "Good, difficult, terrible, wonderful... the Palestinian people are the most beautiful people I have ever met..." I also find myself talking a lot about the separation wall. Partly because it's the most unbelievable thing I have ever seen. And to top it off- besides the fact that it creates prisoners out of the Palestinians and blocks them from their own land and farms, the Israelis built the wall past their own borders into Palestinian land and on either side of the wall there is land known as the "seam zone" - all for the sake of "security."

This is a photo of the wall I took in East Jerusalem at Abu-Dis. In the rear of the picture the wall cuts the road right off.

Anyway... in my thinking the last few days the "seam zone" has been juxtaposed to my experiences of forgiveness and relationship. You know, when you're in conflict with someone, often times the person on the defense creates a seam zone in order to be more protected and somehow the one who is seeking reconciliation has to broach that seam zone. And it always seems to me that it's the person who thinks the relationship is more important than the principle of the conflict that broaches the seam zone and seeks an end to the conflict. But it's always a risky thing to do- broach that zone- since the other side is well-defended and appears to operate from a more secure place.

I don't want it to sound as if I'm saying that the Palestinians have to somehow peacefully broach that seam zone (God knows they have tried and some have been shot for it). But, the metaphor gives me a better understanding of relationship and how to give a little.

For the other thing about walls is: they all fall. They can't last forever- so they can and will be breached (even peacefully to bring about reconciliation).

I sat by a Holocaust survivor on the plane

On my flight from Tel Aviv to Frankfurt I had the privilege of sitting next to an ex-pat Holocaust survivor who now resided in Tel Aviv. It was certainly one way to book-end my trip, as our first event when we got to Jerusalem was to visit the Yad Vashem (the Jerusalem Holocaust Memorial). Sonja was eight years old when she went into a work camp (Perhaps Camp Gurs or Rivesaltes in southern France as Sonja indicated they escaped through the Pyrenees into Spain). She was lucky in that her whole family survived and made it out of the camp because the man who ran the camp ("a good Christian man") let them go when he found out the camp would be closed and all prisoners would be sent to Auschwitz.

Sonja knew I was not a Jew but had no problem with me being a Christian. In fact, she seemed quite pleased. We talked about faith a bit. She said she believes in God but she doesn't understand him. Why would God allow all these awful things to continually happen upon the earth? "When I look at what happens in Africa..." She did not directly adress the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza but she did say she did not judge people based on skin color or race or origin. "Arab or non-Arab, it shouldn't matter."

I reflect on this because of Sunday's lectionary text. In the Revised Common Lectionary we read Romans 6 and Paul's thoughts on sin and grace. It would seem that the world has continued to sin inspite of the grace show to us through Jesus Christ.

Like Sonja, I don't understand why God "lets" things happen and doesn't stop the apparent evil and sin we perpetuate as human beings. Perhaps we chalk it up to difficult questions regarding theodicy or deposit it into the realm of mystery surrounding God. What I told to Sonja and what I still try to cling to in my tenous faith is the knowledge that it is part of our human nature to be broken-in big and little ways. Sin and evil are ever present in the world. But at the same time, God's love is ever present and superior to sin and evil. Sonja's life has been completely affected by her experience in the work camp but it didn't stop her from living her life or telling her story or entering into relationship, even with those who are different from her. The occupation, the settlers, the wall don't stop the Palestinians from living their lives, from continually striving for some sort of solution to the evil that is visited upon them, from being the happy people they are and demonstrating kindness to those who visit them.

Paul asks, "Shall we sin so that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?" We live with two realities. People are only interested in serving themselves and their own interests which inevitably leads to sin and brokenness. People are only interested in working for peace and love and an end to sin and brokenness. Death is certain in the realm of sin. But life is certain when grace is juxtaposed to that realm of sin and in the end will turn the realm of sin into grace and death into life. It simply has to be that way.

Home from Palestine and Israel

For some reason coming back from Israel and Palestine and trying to get back to central time has inspired me to start a blog. I've thought about it for awhile and perhaps now I think I need to put my thoughts down and this might give me more impetus to do so!

It was an amazing trip and I think I'll be thinking about and processing all of the things I experienced for a long time.

Probably one of the most powerful things I experienced was spending a couple of hours at the Deheishe Refugee Camp in Bethlehem. This is one sqaure mile (the same size as Old Jerusalem) that houses 11,000 Palestinian refugees. These refugees have been displaced since 1948 when the UN set up this camp. The camp is really a small town and half of the population are children. When we arrived at the camp we were not able to go through the main entrance as the Israeli army had gone in with 14 jeeps and surrounded a house looking for a 16-year old Muath Abu Aker. Apparently he was thought to be involved in a Palestinian armed resistance group. The army did not find him at home after they arrested all the residents and lined them up outside. Through binoculars we were able to see all the people lined up and we heard tear gas canisters going off and rubber bullets being fired. A few times we also heard live ammunition; or as our host at the camp put it, "killing bullets."

I couldn't stop the tears flowing. Our host was incredibly gracious as he told us his story, unabashedly. He has two daughters and he explained that he doesn't really leave the camp as to be detained or questioned or humiliated in front of his family would be too much. His family was arrested for sixteen hours once and they were made to stand outside for that length of time in front of guns. His baby daughter was a week old at the time.

After our introduction to the camp and when it was deemed safe to go outside, we received a brief tour. News traveled fast that we were walking about and we were soon accompanied by numerous children who were glad to see us and to practice their english on us.

I have never seen more beautiful people in my life than I have in the West Bank. I was treated with more hospitality and welcome in Bethlehem and Deheishe than I experienced in Israel proper, where at one place (Sepphoris) we were spit upon by Jewish kids who were accompanied by an armed guard (hopefully they were just kids being kids).

In spite of it all, Israel and the West Bank are beautiful places. As I experienced seeing and meeting the children of Deheishe Refugee Camp it filled my heart and broke it at the same time.