Sunday 1 May, 2022

Reflection:   "​Mysterious Callings"

​Psalm 30

​Acts 9:1-20

John 21:1-19

Revelation 5:1-14

Following the tumultuous entry by Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, his shocking crucifixion on Good Friday and his miraculous resurrection on Easter Sunday, Peter and some of the other disciples had gone back to doing what they knew best – fishing – and, early one morning, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, a man appears on the shore asking if they’ve caught anything.

They actually hadn’t had any luck at all that night, so, when the man tells them to throw their nets onto the other side of the boat and assures them that they’ll catch some fish over there, they were extremely doubtful.
 
But, when they did – my goodness - they could hardly pull the nets in, because there were so many fish in them.
It was only then that John recognised the man as Jesus and said to Peter “It’s the Lord!”
 
This was the third time that Jesus had appeared to Peter and the disciples.

The number 3 may have been significant, as Peter had denied knowing his Lord three times on the night of the trial of Jesus and it’s also consistent with the number of times on the shore that Jesus then asks Peter if he loves him.
When Peter assures Jesus three times that he does, the Lord gives Peter a call to action.
He tells Peter to “Look after, feed and tend my sheep.”
The sheep in this reference are the growing band of people who were becoming followers of the Christ.
 
Peter did, in fact, go on to demonstrate his love for Christ, becoming the head of the church in Jerusalem, and also preaching the Gospel widely, as far away as Antioch and even in Rome.
 
He would eventually be taken somewhere that he didn’t really want to go - to his death on a cross - for proclaiming that Jesus Christ was the Son of God.
His obedience to the task that Jesus gave him, would bring glory to God, and help to spread the Christian message throughout the known world.
 
We can see that the events of Easter dramatically changed things for the disciples.
Not only for those left behind when Jesus ascended to be with his Father, but for all of us, too.
 
We’ve been charged with the responsibility of looking after others, feeding and caring for them, both physically and spiritually.

There’s no going back once a Christian makes the decision to follow Jesus Christ.
We can only move forward as a response to the call of our risen Lord.
 
When things get difficult in our lives, we, too, like the disciples, find it tempting to go back to safe, familiar surroundings, but Christ calls us to go out, commanding us to go forward into unfamiliar territory, onto shaky ground.
 
We’re called to obedience, to put ourselves and our own security, to the back, pushing on in Christ’s name.
 
We know that Peter wasn’t perfect, before or after this encounter with Jesus, but he was obedient and he moved forward, unafraid of whatever would come his way.
 
This passage from John’s gospel can also be a great text for personal prayer.
I encourage you to read it that way and try imagining Jesus asking you “Do you love me more than these?”
Then ask yourself whether you can respond as Peter did.
 
Listen in silence to hear what God reveals to you.
Then determine who you know that’s in need of love and your help.
Form a plan of action for how you can assist them.
 
Ok, it might seem difficult, even scary at first, but going forward will glorify Christ and we should remember that he told the disciples (and us) that he will go ahead of us and prepare the way.
 
Our calling might not be exactly what we had imagined, and it might take us to some strange places.
It’s all part of what I’m referring to as “mysterious callings”.
 
In a similar way, as we hear from the book of Acts, that Saul, also known by his Roman name Paul, was another one who couldn’t possibly have imagined the future that God had in mind for him.
He was a Jew’s Jew, a Pharisee, well trained in the Jewish religious ways and at the time following the death and resurrection of Jesus, he was actively persecuting Christians.
He’d even been implicated in the stoning of Stephen, one of the disciples.
 
We read in the book of Acts about his miraculous and mysterious encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, where Jesus asked Saul why he was persecuting him.

This encounter left Saul blind for 3 days and during that time, he fasted and prayed to God. 
When the Lord commanded Ananias to go to Saul, tasking him with the power to restore Saul’s sight, Ananias was understandably hesitant, because he’d heard of the many bad things Saul was doing to the Christian brothers and sisters around the land.
 
Despite his hesitancy, Ananias did as he was instructed and from that time on, Paul’s eyes were opened (in more ways than one) and he proclaimed Jesus as the Son of God, preaching far and wide around the Mediterranean, reaching out to both Jews and gentiles, telling them of God’s love for them all.
 
Paul was so convinced of the truth about Jesus, that he endured many hardships, including times in prison and under house arrest, finally dying in Rome around 66AD.
 
He was also a prolific writer to the fledgling churches he’d established, and these letters make up a large section of the bible’s New Testament.
 
Maybe we don’t feel called in the same ways as Peter or Paul were, but I’m sure that God has a plan for all of us and we’re charged with the responsibility of determining just what our role is in God’s Kingdom, here on earth.
 
I’m sure we won’t find these plans written down anywhere, but I believe that in our prayerful conversations with God, he will reveal them to us.
Then, with his help, we can start putting the plans into action.
 
Remember that Jesus assured us we won’t be asked to do anything that God hasn’t prepared us for, so we need to have faith, trust him and move forward with the support of the Holy Spirit.
 
So, let me ask you: “Do you love the Lord?” 
“Are you prepared to follow him?”
“Will you help spread the gospel, the good news about Jesus?”
 
I pray that you can answer the Lord by avowing “You know that I do and that I will”,
​to which he will say “Follow me”.
 
Go now in peace to love and serve your Lord……………Pastor Rick