Pastor Timothy Patoka “Going Home: A Family Meal” May 5, 2019 A Family Meal John 21:1-14 1) Rejoice In Easter’s Blessings 2) Regularly Review Jesus’ Promises Today, the 5th of May, is a day of celebration. Here at Grace we have the opportunity to confirm 3 young people in the Wisconsin Lutheran faith and invite them to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion for the first time. For years these confirmands have looked forward to this day when they would come before the congregation, confess their faith with an essay and the Apostles Creed, and enjoy a wonderful reception afterwards with friends and family. What happens today will be long remembered and treasured by many people. But it’s not just within our church family that we are celebrating today. Coincidentally today is also Cinco de Mayo, one of the days in a calendar year when Mexican-Americans celebrate their south-of-the-border heritage. But it’s not just those from Mexico who celebrate it. Friends and family of Mexican food and culture are likely to gather today and celebrate today as well. While the celebrations of confirmation and Cinco de Mayo seem quite different, there are similar in this – friends and family are gathering around some delicious food, spending time with each other, and strengthening relationships for the future. As it so happens, our verses for this morning from the Gospel of John chapter 21 show us a similar scene – Jesus and 7 of his disciples are celebrating a family meal together by the Sea of Galilee. As we continue in our Easter worship series called Going Home, we are considering how Jesus prepared his disciples to follow him to their home in heaven. To, first of all, rejoice in the blessings we have because of Jesus’ resurrection on Easter and, secondly, to regularly review these promises all our lives. 1) Rejoice In Easter’s Blessings It’s been a couple of weeks since Easter’s happened, both in our lives and in the timeline of John chapter 21. Since that blessed morning, Jesus’ disciples have gone north to Galilee as directed (Matthew 28:10; Mark 16:7) and are waiting for Jesus there. While waiting, Peter decides to take up his old occupation of fishing. So he and 6 other disciples get their gear together, put out into the Sea of Galilee, and fish the whole night. And they’re coming up empty. As they make their way back to shore in the early morning a figure in the distance, about a football field’s length away, says to them across the water, “Boys, don’t you have any fish?” (John 21:5) The disciples say no, they have nothing to show for their night of fishing. The distant voice then says, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” (John 21:6) And as happened years before when Peter, James, and John became full-time disciples (Luke 5:1-11), the disciples immediately catch a miraculous amount of fish.
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Pastor Timothy Patoka “Going Home: A Family Meal” May 5, 2019 Beforehand the disciples didn’t know who this distant person was. But after this miraculous catch, it becomes clear – it’s the Lord! It’s Jesus! Simon Peter, ever impulsive and headstrong, is overcome with joy. He ties his outer garment around himself, jumps in the water, and swims the 100 yards to get to Jesus as fast as he can. The other 6 disciples, also full of joy, realize they can’t just leave this net with 153 large fish in it behind. So they make their way to Jesus in the boat, pulling the net of fish behind them. Once they get to shore, they enjoy an unexpected breakfast of bread and fish freshly grilled over charcoaled flames with their beloved Lord and Savior. Now, it may not surprise you to see the disciples acting this way. We expect the disciples to be happy to see Jesus, even if this is already the third time he’s appeared to them since Easter. We aren’t questioning why Jesus had breakfast with his disciples in the 40 days because Easter and his ascension. But there’s more going on here than a happy family meal. Jesus is also assuring his disciples that what they witnessed back in Jerusalem was no accident or a figment of their imagination. Jesus had truly risen from the dead just as he said! And what Jesus has promised is theirs because of his resurrection is likewise a guarantee – they have forgiveness from the same Savior who died for them; they have a God whose will is the salvation of their souls. When we see the disciples rushing to Jesus, it is not just something they automatically or mindlessly do. It’s an active rejoicing they are doing. Jesus’ resurrected appearance assures them of the blessings they have because of Easter. It’s been 2 weeks since we observed Easter, 2 weeks since we’ve celebrated one of the biggest days in the Christian faith. When you came here this morning, did you come with the same joyful spirit you had on Easter? The further we progress past important days like Easter or our own confirmation, the harder it becomes for us to retain that same joy. We go back to daily lives that are full of the same responsibilities, commitments, and frustrations that were there before. We continue to go through life with bodies and minds that don’t allow us to do all that we want to do. We are bombarded by the world around us which gives a thousand and one explanations about how this world can operate without the God of the Bible. And when we come back to God’s Word and review truths that we have already learned, such as Jesus’ resurrection on Easter morning, the temptation lies there for us to do with a joyless heart. It becomes an automatic activity or mindless response. And once this happens, it’s not much further to fall out of the habit of Sunday morning worship or studying God’s Word at another time. The disciples were right to rejoice when they saw Jesus this third time by the Sea of Galilee. They had yet another piece of evidence that Easter truly happened and its blessings were theirs. We don’t expect to eat fish and bread with our risen Lord any time soon. But we can be sure that our Lord is with us as he was with the disciples because of what Jesus said earlier in Matthew’s Gospel, “where two or three have gathered together in my name, there I 2
Pastor Timothy Patoka “Going Home: A Family Meal” May 5, 2019 am among them.” (Matthew 18:20) He can only do that if he’s risen from the dead. And as our Savior comes among us, he brings with him the forgiveness of all our sins. Even though our lives will continue to be what they are after we leave here this morning, there’s one thing you can be sure of – you are at peace with God. No matter how well you handle all the things that life throws your way or what you’ve taken upon yourself, you don’t have to worry about the most important thing of all – your status before the Lord. You are not guilty for your sins. You are loved by the God of unconditional love. And not only does Jesus’ resurrected appearance assure you of what blessings you now have from God, but also of what will be yours – an eternal life in God’s own home, in heaven above, in your home. This is just a portion of the blessings we have because of what happened on Easter and is assured ours because of Jesus’ resurrected appearances. 2) Regularly Review Jesus’ Promises And we have ample opportunities to review these promises from Jesus. While we do not expect to hear these promises from Jesus’ own lips over breakfast as the disciples did, we do have the Bible. As we look in God’s Word, we read firsthand accounts of all that our Lord has assured is ours. We can be sure that these words are as true as if Jesus himself spoke them to us. But it’s not just in the Bible we can review Jesus’ promises, but also in the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion that he has blessed his church with. When we see God’s Word used in connection with the water of Baptism, there the Holy Spirit is alive and active in a sinner’s heart. When we come to the table and receive the bread and wine, we are also receiving Christ’s true body and blood in a family meal of our own with brothers and sisters of the same faith communing together. With these three means of grace – the Bible, Baptism, and Holy Communion – we are personally receiving the blessings which Jesus won for us with his death and resurrection; we are renewing ourselves in the joy that the disciples had when they saw their risen Lord. It is these means of grace that we ought to regularly review throughout all our lives. Today is a special day for 3 of our young members because it is their confirmation day. Yet there can be a danger once a person is confirmed to think that now they are communicant members, they don’t need to keep learning or making time for God’s Word. As we learned last week in Confirmation Class, “Confirmation is not graduation; confirmation is the beginning of an adult membership in our congregation.” While it’s safe to say you three intellectually know a lot about God’s Word, there’s still room to grow. But where your Christian education will especially begin to develop is in the heart. Ask any of the older members here and they’ll agree from personal experience. As you head off to high school and see walks of life that question and oppose your Christian worldview, as you mature and become more independent, as the Devil tempts you in new and enticing ways, you’ll need to come back to the truths you’ve already learned. These are the pillars that give you eternal hope in a hopeless world, the anchors that 3
Pastor Timothy Patoka “Going Home: A Family Meal” May 5, 2019 keep you grounded when sin and the Devil try to knock you around. And it’s not just during your high school years that this is the case. It’s what’s going to happen as long as you call this earth your stepping stone to heaven. It’s because of that I remind you again what we learned last week, “Confirmation is not graduation; confirmation is the beginning of an adult membership in our congregation.” But this reminder of a life-long Christian education is not just for those who are receiving Holy Communion for the first time. It’s a reminder for Christians of all ages. As we pass through the seasons of life, we never escape the struggles of this sinful world. There will always be unmet expectations, stressful situations, unforgettable regrets, challenging people, and sinful temptations to lead us away from the truths we’ve learned in the Bible, from the promises we have because of Jesus’ resurrection on Easter. As I pray for our youth confirmands to remain strong in their faith by staying in God’s Word, so I pray the same for you all. Don’t let excuses separate you from your Lord. Don’t let the wisdom of man dictate what God can or can’t do. Instead take it upon yourself to ground yourselves in the truths that our confirmands have learned so that you can model to these young people how you too rejoice to come before your Lord and receive his blessings as did the disciples at the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Today is a day of celebration. For those who like Mexican food and culture, Cinco de Mayo gives you plenty of opportunities to gather with friends and family in a fun-filled atmosphere. For those connected with our confirmands, today will be an even greater because we are welcoming 3 young people to receive Jesus’ body and blood with the bread and wine in the sacrament of Holy Communion for the first time. While it probably did not happen exactly 2 weeks after Easter, the disciples celebrated a family meal with their risen Lord by the Sea of Galilee. They had great reason to celebrate as they were rejoicing in the assurance they have of Easter’s blessings. Jesus truly rose from the dead and because of that all the blessings that he promises his children are surely theirs. We receive these promised blessings through the means of grace which are the Bible, Baptism, and Holy Communion. It’s important that we come to these on a regular basis, regardless if we were recently confirmed or not, because it is in these that we will have joy in our hearts both in this life and the one to come in heaven. Amen.
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