Our Money Story, a sermon series for Stewardship from A Sanctified Art, week 4 of 4, preached Nov 24, 2024
Children’s
Scripture
Message
Will you pray with me?
Context
The sermon series this November is called “Our Money Story.” We might try to tell our story without talking about money, but there’s money behind every big life event… wedding, birth, home, vacation, sickness, even death… and the money behind those events helps us see and share who we really are, what we really believe. Thanks to a group called Sanctified Art, we are using some wonderful liturgies, texts, and quotes to help us reveal our money story.
Jesus talked about money more than almost anything, to show us who we are, and how to live. Three weeks ago, we remembered how money can be used for bad or good, like when Judas and the religious leaders sell Jesus out, or how the disciples used money to prepare the Passover, the last supper. Two weeks ago, Caitlan explained how money shows us what we covet, and challenged us to release anything we can buy to have a closer walk following God. Last week, big sums of money were given to protect a broken system, but two copper coins from a widow helped us reimagine how temple, church can be a better example of God’s beloved community.
QUOTE of the Day
To get us warmed up today, let’s group up in 2s and 3s and discuss this quote from someone smart in the faith…
“God is always working to build community, and often intervenes so that we will forgive and be forgiven, and relationships can be restored... The simple lesson here is that I must avoid bitterness (no matter how well deserved), offer forgiveness, and seek reconciliation if I want to live in community.”
—Rains, Julie. “Lessons on Community from Jacob’s Reconciliation with Esau.” Working to Live Differently.
Does this quote sound true to you? Do you agree, or disagree, or have questions? Ready, Go!
(Open YouTube livestream, muted, on iPad, and chat with online attendees?)
Great! For anyone wishing to share, in person or online, what did you come up with?
Thanks for that. Let’s turn our attention to scripture.
We are at the very end of the Gospel of John, the very last chapter. Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried, but has already appeared twice to some of the disciples. Before we read the end of John and preach, let’s pray…
Prayer for Illumination
"God, We cannot do the work of restoration without your Word. We cannot do the work of remembering, releasing, or reimagining without your Word. We need you like the earth needs rain and a sailboat needs wind. We come to you in prayer to ask that you breathe new life into us. Grant us the clarity needed to hear your Word anew. And as you do, restore us to your breath. Restore us to your Word. Restore us to one another. Gratefully we pray. Amen.
Scripture John 21:1-19
21 After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he showed himself in this way. 2 Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin,[a] Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” 6 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. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he had taken it off, and jumped into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.
9 When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them, and though there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.
15 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.” 16 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.” 17 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. 18 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.” 19 (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”
This too is the word of God for the people of God… (Thanks be to God)
Sermon
I feel for these disciples of Jesus. Not too long ago, they had a normal life, of seeing the world and an understanding of how things work, how things are supposed to be. Then, Jesus. After that, many of their former ways and understandings are challenged and changed. When Jesus came along, they weren’t their jobs anymore or their role in their families as much as they were his, Christians.
A few days ago, they saw the empty tomb. They locked themselves away afraid. Jesus appears to them twice, then this third time. At least this time, they aren’t locked away. Peter is still afraid, but Peter’s not staying cooped up anymore. He declares, “I’m going fishing,” I don’t think it’s an excited “I’m going fishing.” It feels more like an, “Oh well, I don’t know else to do, but I’m not staying here, sitting still anymore. I’m going fishing.” When confused, afraid, tired, disappointed, running low on hope, human beings tend to fall toward old comfortable routines, maybe back to the same ol restaurant, maybe reruns of old shows or movies, maybe texting an old friend or even an ex. This feels like that, as if Peter and the others don’t know what to do, so, they go fishing. They sink back into old ways rather than risk going forward.
They take the cover off the old boat. Pull the nets out of the shed and push out into smart spots in the waters they learned to recognize in their former lives.
There’s a lot of time to be with your thoughts when you’re fishing. Prepare the net. Toss it nice and wide. Let it settle down catching whatever is below. I wonder if they blamed themselves for being so stupid as to believe, to set so much of themselves down for Jesus and his way. Pull the net closed at the bottom, and pull it up to the surface. Empty. Pull it into the boat. Loosen it again. Prepare it. Toss it wide, a little over this time. Jesus’ didn’t really change anything. He just got himself killed. If we follow him, believe him, nothing will change. We’ll end up like him. Pull the net closed, pull it back to the boat, nothing. Was it all a lie?
How many times did they go through the motion that night? How many times did they repeat in their heads the hopelessness, the negative talk? They went through the motions as if they didn’t really care if they caught anything at all.
I’ve lost hope before. I’ve lost hope, like when I worked so hard but didn’t close the big deal, or when I got a call and an interview, but didn’t get the job. I lost hope when we saved and stretched to buy a house, then the big crash of 2008 put us upside down in it, and we lost everything we had put into it. I’ve been beside people when treatments were not working. I’ve sat with people when they did everything they could think of, but the relationship still fell apart. Maybe you remember that feeling, like you believed and trusted and tried, but its just not working. Its too hard. Its too much. There’s too much resistance, and you just wanna stop and go back to how it was before.
Back in the boat, morning is coming. The son hasn’t fully risen, but there’s enough light for someone back on the beach to see their boat. A stranger calls out, “How’d the fishing go?” One of them hollers back, “NOTHIN’ Not a durn thing.” And the stranger from the shore has the audacity to offer unsolicited advice. “Hey, try fishing on the other side of the boat.”
Surely they were annoyed. “Who does he think he is? We’re the fishermen. Okay, we might be kind of rusty, but we know what we’re doing.” (Even though a nighttime of empty nets might have suggested otherwise.) But someone, someone in the boat must have said something like, “You know what? Why not?” Someone else on the committee probably poo-pooed the idea, “O good grief, we’ve tried everything. Nothing works. Nothing makes any difference.” But someone must have stayed open to trying, changing, and wondered, “What’s it gonna hurt? Lets just try again, a bit differently.” And they do, not all, but some, and the others at least don’t stop them.
Someone in the boat shakes their head. Someone else prepares the net. Someone grumbles under their breath, “this is stupid.” Someone casts it out wide on the other side. Someone says, “I don’t know why we’re even doing this.” It sinks down, and one pulls the net closed. Someone says, “Its just gonna…”
WHOOSH!
The pull, the resistance, its fish, a bunch of fish. “Somebody, help me pull it in. Its too heavy.” “Hold it! Keep it closed.” “Row us in. We can’t get it in the boat, just row us to shore.”
Then one of them remembers the stranger. It was his suggestion they try it differently. “Hey Peter, could that be Jesus?” Peter almost drops the line when that suggestion hits his ears. “Where’s my tunic?” Splash. Never mind the net of fish or the boat of buddies! Peter is getting wet, swimming to Jesus.
The others battle a net full of fish and 100 yards of sea to get themselves, the boat, and the net full of fish to the beach. Peter is with the stranger by a small fire, and a few other fish already cooking with some bread nearby. The stranger, he tells them to bring some of the fish they just caught. Let’s have brunch. Just for kicks, one of them decides to count. 153. “Wow. That has to be a record.” They gather around the fire, and don’t even ask his name. He tends the fire, and cooks the fish, and serves them, and gives them bread.
When brunch is over, he asks Peter, “Do you love me?” Peter says, “yeah I really like you.” (There are two different words here. When Jesus asks the question, he wants to know if Peter agape loves him. That’s the kind of love God loves with when God so loved the world. But Peter replies with Phile love, brotherly sisterly familial friend love.” Jesus plays along anyway. “Then feed my lambs.”
Jesus asks a second time. “Peter, do you agape me?” “Yes, Lord, you know I phile you!” Jesus doesn’t challenge Peter’s response just repeats a similar instruction. “Tend my sheep.”
The third time, Jesus relents, and asks Peter, “okay then, Peter do you Phile me,” and Peter gets a bit defensive. I mean, he’s already answered that twice. “Good grief, Jesus, why you gotta ask me three times.” Smething clicked in Peter’s head. Just a few mornings ago, as the rooster crowed, Jesus was dying and Peter was denying he even knew him a third times. Jesus tells him again, “Feed my lambs,” and adds a bit more.
“When yall were younger, you did what you wanted, went where you wanted to go. When you get older, someone else will drag you where you don’t want to go.” Jesus speaks about the past and the future, but he’s talking about the present. “It doesn’t really matter is you believe, or have hope. All that matters is if you love me, and if you do, Feed my sheep, tend my lambs. Go do the different things I showed you, that I taught you. Sure get back out there, but do it differently. Don’t go back to the old ways, the ways you wanted, and don’t wait to make the changes until you’re too old and someone else drags you into the changes against your will. Today, try it my way, and you’ll catch fish and then you’ll feed my sheep, and tend my lambs.”
As individuals, as a community, would we fish on the other side? Would we try new ways, even if we didn’t like them or understand them? Would we complain, try to make things go back to how they used to be when we were younger? Would we try to hold the line and stop any change now that we’re older? Would we resent anyone that drags us into change? What if that change would catch 153 fish? What if that calling to try something different is the unwanted ridiculous advice of God? Would we try it?
To get closer to the life Jesus lived and died for, and rose again to exhibit to all creation, we cannot keep doing things the ways we did when we were younger. The disciples knew how to fish, but after Jesus, they needed to try another way. The world around us is always changing. If we keep on doing things the way we like, the way we remember when we were young, or when this church was younger, the question becomes, why are we fishing? Who are we doing this for, for ourselves only, or for God and all God’s sheep?
To God be all glory and honor, now and forever more, Amen? Amen.
Prayer to Dedicate
Holy God, there was Eden, and then there was east of Eden; Which is all to say—this world is not what you intended it to be. You planted a garden and dreamed of Sabbath—and it was good. It was so very good. However, when we look around today, we know that we have lost our way. So today we bring our hearts, minds, and money back to you in hopes that you will sow good. This is the work of restoration, for we want to be a restoration people. Use these gifts for your hurting world. Restore us to you, oh God. Amen.
Charge
Benediction
Now blessing, laughter, and loving be yours, and may the love of a great God who names you and holds you as the earth turns and the flowers grow be with you this day, this night, this moment, and forever more. Amen? Amen.
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