breakfast on the beach
There must have been no greater lament than Peter’s after he denied Jesus three times right before Christ’s crucifixion. After three years of following Jesus, the disappointment must have been profound… and even though he had seen the risen Lord, he must have felt such self-loathing. At least he still knew how to fish.
But fishing didn’t go well either. Fishing all night, he and his friends had caught nothing, until they were sailing back to shore empty handed, and this mystery man on the beach told them to cast on the other side of the boat. The haul was enormous, and they knew immediately that this was supernatural. It was Jesus who had come out to meet them. And he had provided their breakfast and had it waiting for them when they climbed out of their boat.
What an act of grace. Jesus offered the disciples his presence in the breakfast on the beach. And he offered Peter forgiveness. But this is not cheap grace. It had cost Jesus his life. Now it would cost Peter something in response. Jesus asked him the same question three times, and each time gave him the same instructions. The question was, “Do you love me?”
It seems an easy, straightforward question which any of us who are believers would immediately answer, “Yeah, sure, of course I do.” Especially Peter who had just leapt out of his fishing boat and had swum/waded 300-400 feet to get to Jesus on the shore. He was so eager that his body language was screaming YES even before he’d been asked or had answered the question. But Jesus told him, “Loving me will require you to take care of others.” You can almost see Peter stopping to consider this demand. What does Jesus mean? Can I do that? Before Peter could answer, Jesus asked him again, “Peter, do you BURN with love for me?”
Peter answered, “Yes, I have great affection for you”. This sounds almost like Han Solo when Princess Leia confesses that she loves him, and he says, “I know.” Jesus was waiting for more; he’s hoping that Peter, and that we too, will understand that the cost of loving him is not just that we will sit on a beach, in our homes, in a church pew praising him, but that we will take care of those around us. So, he asks it once more. And this time Peter says, “Yes, I burn with love for you.” This is not tepid-sounding affection…this is sold-out commitment. And here’s what Jesus doesn’t offer him: peace, joy, contentment or self-fulfillment. He offers him work—the hard work of loving—loving those in our circle, our tribe, our family…the ones who are hard to love because they don’t always give us what we want from them, they mess up our lives, our plans, our agendas, by calling us on our stuff.
But don’t stop there, because Jesus says, “I have other sheep from other sheepfolds, and I want you to feed them, tend them, love them, too.” They are the ones who don’t look like us, who have bigger needs than we think we can safely meet.
The good news is that if we agree to this demand, we won’t have to do it alone. Jesus promises to be with us empowering us until the end of the age. But it will cost us. Jesus told Peter, “You won’t be in control. Others will push you around and it will be uncomfortable.” He tells us that others will look like they are getting more from Jesus: longer, better lives, healthier families, more money. That isn’t to be Peter’s or our concern. Our only concern is to follow Jesus in the way of love.
Peter must have really absorbed this encounter, because later in his letter to persecuted Christian believers in Asia Minor he wrote, “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” That was what Jesus had done for Peter.
I need that kind of examination, that kick in the pants and that hope that there is a purpose in all of it. I need it now.
Love, Liz
