Robert L. Allen
I do not usually eat a big breakfast. Most of the time I just have a bowl of cereal, a piece of toast and a glass of juice. A couple of weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, we were out of milk, so I just headed off toward the church. On the way, I decided to go to a restaurant, grab a bite to eat and look over my sermon notes before church services.
When the waitress came to take my order, I ordered the cereal, toast and juice. The waitress smiled and said, "Dr. Allen, that puny little breakfast won't get you through today's services."
I looked up at this waitress, smiled, and asked, "What would you recommend?"
"Oh," she said, "you need something that will stick with you all morning. I would suggest some scrambled eggs, hash browns and biscuits and gravy."
"That sounds pretty good," I said. "I think I'll try your suggestion." She smiled and started to walk away and I asked, "Do we know each other?" "Oh no," she said, "we've never met. Since I work on Sundays, I don't get a chance to go to church very much. So, sometimes I watch your service on television."
"What do you like about our services?" I asked.
She said, "I like the fact that you remind people that, regardless of what they have done, they are still loved by God."
And this is the message that John's gospel is proclaiming in the story of Jesus fixing breakfast for the disciples along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Now, to be honest, many scholars question whether this chapter was added at a later date. Many scholars say this chapter was an appendix to the gospel.
Regardless of when this chapter was written, it is a story vividly told of the disciples spending the night fishing. They had worked hard all night and had caught nothing. As they rowed the boat back toward the shore, they were tired, they were hungry and they were discouraged. After all, they had seen the risen Lord. They had been given some bold and audacious promises by him. They had been called to a high service for him and the world. And yet, day after day crept by and nothing had happened. As they rowed toward shore on this calm morning, they were discouraged and silent. Each person seemed to be lost in their own thoughts as someone standing on the shore called out: "... have you caught anything?" And when they replied in the negative, the person on shore called out: "Throw your nets on the right side and you will catch some."
When they followed this advice, they caught so many fish they could barely haul them into the boat. It was at this time that they recognized it was the Lord. Impulsively, Peter jumped in the water and waded ashore. The others brought the boat ashore and Jesus invited them to a breakfast along the shore of Galilee by saying, "Come and dine." Apparently, Jesus had prepared this meal with his own hands. He had used hot coals to build a good fire. He had baked some bread. He used some of the fish they caught and Jesus cooked a breakfast for these tired and hungry disciples that fed their bodies and nourished their souls.
Now, why is this story about Jesus cooking breakfast in Galilee here? There are, of course, many reasons suggested.
Today, I want us to look at and examine some of the reasons that Jesus had breakfast in Galilee with the disciples.
I. Jesus Had Breakfast In Galilee To Remind The Disciples That He Was Who He Said He Was.
After Hubert Humphrey lost the presidential campaign of 1968, he returned to his home state of Minnesota. He took a job teaching at a university and began making plans to regain his seat in the U.S Senate.
One of his longtime friends and advisers was Judge Miles Lord. They went on a fishing trip in northern Minnesota and stopped at a sporting goods store in a small town to buy some supplies. While in the store, Judge Lord noticed a tour bus from California had broken down outside.
The judge decided to play a practical joke and sneaked out to the bus and introduced himself as the mayor of the town. He said to the people on the bus: "Folks, I'm sorry you're having trouble in our town. If there's anything we can do for you, just stop by my office. And by the way, there's something you can do for us. We have a fellow here in town who looks like our former vice president, Hubert Humphrey. He sounds like Hubert Humphrey. He even thinks he is Hubert Humphrey. Now, you probably won't even run into him. But, if you do, don't give him any money. Just be nice to him and humor him. He doesn't do any harm."
The judge excused himself and went back into the store. He said, "Hubert, there's a bus load of California tourists out in the parking lot dying to meet you."
Of course, Humphrey went out and climbed on the bus and began shaking hands. When he went back in the store, the judge asked him how it went. "You know," Humphrey said, "those California people are kind of strange. Every time I shook hands with one of them and told them I was Hubert Humphrey, someone would start to giggle."
Mistaken identities can make people laugh and giggle. Although the disciples had encountered the risen Christ, they probably had to face the ridicules, the scorn and even the jeers of the other people of Israel. They had seen the risen Lord and their hopes were high for the future. But, then he was gone and they were left to sit idly around. They were left to sit around and wait. They were left to sit around and wonder if they had been dreaming. They were left to sit around and wonder if Jesus really was who he said he was.
Into such a moment of doubt and discouragement, Jesus came and fixed them breakfast along the shores of Galilee. Jesus came to remind them that the resurrection was not some romantic wish which had taken control of their imagination. Jesus came to remind them that he was who he said he was -- the resurrected Messiah.
II. Jesus Had Breakfast In Galilee To Remind The Disciples That Their Mission Was To Salvage Souls. Years ago, when I was in school, I took a class in archaeology. One of the things that we had to do in that class was go with the professor to one of his digs along the Brazos River. The site was the location of an ancient Indian village. The village was abandoned hundreds of years ago, but lying buried there under many layers of dirt was the evidence of the ancient civilization. With careful digging and sifting of the dirt, the professor and the other archaeologist involved in the project were salvaging ancient pieces of pottery. They were salvaging ancient artifacts. They were salvaging bits and pieces of an ancient civilization.
Such attempts at salvaging have added significantly to the wealth of the world. The treasures found in ancient ships, lost at sea, make the finder rich. The treasures found in ancient pyramids, buried by the sands of time, tell us of long forgotten kingdoms. The treasures found in ancient cities, abandoned or destroyed, tell us how people long ago lived. The finding of these treasures capture our imagination.
However, there is another kind of salvaging which is more important than digging up the relics of the past. And that is the salvaging of human souls. This is important because each person -- each soul -- is more precious in the sight of God than all the silver and gold in this world.
The salvaging of human souls was Jesus' mission in our world. Throughout his ministry, he said over and over again: "The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." As he traveled up and down the dusty roads of Palestine, the salvaging of souls was the driving force behind every sermon he preached, behind every miracle he performed, behind every personal encounter he had and even the ultimate explanation, behind his willingness to face the cross of Calgary.
Because our Lord gave himself so completely to the work of salvaging souls, is it any wonder that here, just before his ascension, he would come to be with his disciples? Is it any wonder that he would come to share a meal with them? Is it any wonder that he would come to remind them that their mission was to continue the work of salvaging souls by proclaiming the good news? Is it any wonder that he would come to remind them that their mission was to turn the world upside down proclaiming God's love for everyone?
And this is our challenge if we are to be his disciples in today's world. We are to proclaim the good news of God's love in Jesus Christ. We are to take seriously the work of salvaging souls. We are called to turn our world upside down by proclaiming God's love through the living of our faith.
Out of all the stories I've ever told, my favorite is one told by J. Wallace Hamilton in his book What About Tomorrow? It is a story about a Baptist minister, Dr. Gordon Torgerson, sailing across the Atlantic one summer. He noticed a dark skinned man sitting in a deck chair reading the Bible. He sat down beside him and said, "Forgive my curiosity, but I'm a Baptist minister. I assume you are a Christian, and I'm interested to know how it happened."
"Yes," said the dark skinned man, setting aside his Bible. "I'm very glad to talk about that. I'm a Filipino. I was born in a good Catholic home in the Philippines. Some years ago, I came to the United States to study law. My first night on campus, a student came to see me. He said, 'I've come to welcome you to the campus and to say that if there is anything I can do to help make your stay here more pleasant, I hope you'll call on me.' Then he asked me where I went to church and I told him I was a Catholic. He said, 'Well, I can tell you where the Catholic church is, but it's not easy to find. It's quite a distance away. Let me make a map.' So he made an outline of the way to the church and left.
"When I awakened Sunday morning, it was raining. I thought to myself, I'll just not go to church today. I'll get some more sleep.
"Then there was a knock on the door and when I opened it there stood that student. His raincoat was dripping wet and on one arm he had two umbrellas, and he said, 'I thought you might have a hard time finding your church in the rain. I shall walk along with you and show you the way.'
"As we walked along in the rain under the two umbrellas I asked, 'Where do you go to church?'
" 'Oh,' he said, 'my church is just around the corner.'
"I said, 'Suppose we go to your church today and we'll go to my church next Sunday.'
"I went to his church and I've never been back to my own. After four years, I felt it was not the law for me, but the ministry. I went to Drew Seminary and was ordained a Methodist minister, and received an appointment to a Methodist church in the Philippines. My name is Valencius. I am Bishop Valencius, Bishop of the Methodist Church in the Philippines."
That is a fascinating story of one of the most important people in the world -- not the bishop, though he is important -- but the man with the two umbrellas. In back of every convert to the Christian faith, in back of every church that was built, in back of every Christian enterprise and movement in history, you will find someone like that unnamed fellow with two umbrellas. An ordinary man or woman, a person who believed that the salvaging of souls was important, a person who dared to make his faith so useful, a person who dared to make her faith so attractive, that other people said, "I want the kind of faith you have!" We can turn the world upside down when we dare to live out our faith because we believe that each person is precious to God.
Will you dare to do that?
Will you dare to be the person with two umbrellas?
Will you dare to make your faith so attractive that others will be willing to walk with you to the foot of the cross?
Prayer: O God, may your love shine in us and through us so that others may come to know your Son, Jesus Christ. In his name. Amen.
I do not usually eat a big breakfast. Most of the time I just have a bowl of cereal, a piece of toast and a glass of juice. A couple of weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, we were out of milk, so I just headed off toward the church. On the way, I decided to go to a restaurant, grab a bite to eat and look over my sermon notes before church services.
When the waitress came to take my order, I ordered the cereal, toast and juice. The waitress smiled and said, "Dr. Allen, that puny little breakfast won't get you through today's services."
I looked up at this waitress, smiled, and asked, "What would you recommend?"
"Oh," she said, "you need something that will stick with you all morning. I would suggest some scrambled eggs, hash browns and biscuits and gravy."
"That sounds pretty good," I said. "I think I'll try your suggestion." She smiled and started to walk away and I asked, "Do we know each other?" "Oh no," she said, "we've never met. Since I work on Sundays, I don't get a chance to go to church very much. So, sometimes I watch your service on television."
"What do you like about our services?" I asked.
She said, "I like the fact that you remind people that, regardless of what they have done, they are still loved by God."
And this is the message that John's gospel is proclaiming in the story of Jesus fixing breakfast for the disciples along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Now, to be honest, many scholars question whether this chapter was added at a later date. Many scholars say this chapter was an appendix to the gospel.
Regardless of when this chapter was written, it is a story vividly told of the disciples spending the night fishing. They had worked hard all night and had caught nothing. As they rowed the boat back toward the shore, they were tired, they were hungry and they were discouraged. After all, they had seen the risen Lord. They had been given some bold and audacious promises by him. They had been called to a high service for him and the world. And yet, day after day crept by and nothing had happened. As they rowed toward shore on this calm morning, they were discouraged and silent. Each person seemed to be lost in their own thoughts as someone standing on the shore called out: "... have you caught anything?" And when they replied in the negative, the person on shore called out: "Throw your nets on the right side and you will catch some."
When they followed this advice, they caught so many fish they could barely haul them into the boat. It was at this time that they recognized it was the Lord. Impulsively, Peter jumped in the water and waded ashore. The others brought the boat ashore and Jesus invited them to a breakfast along the shore of Galilee by saying, "Come and dine." Apparently, Jesus had prepared this meal with his own hands. He had used hot coals to build a good fire. He had baked some bread. He used some of the fish they caught and Jesus cooked a breakfast for these tired and hungry disciples that fed their bodies and nourished their souls.
Now, why is this story about Jesus cooking breakfast in Galilee here? There are, of course, many reasons suggested.
Today, I want us to look at and examine some of the reasons that Jesus had breakfast in Galilee with the disciples.
I. Jesus Had Breakfast In Galilee To Remind The Disciples That He Was Who He Said He Was.
After Hubert Humphrey lost the presidential campaign of 1968, he returned to his home state of Minnesota. He took a job teaching at a university and began making plans to regain his seat in the U.S Senate.
One of his longtime friends and advisers was Judge Miles Lord. They went on a fishing trip in northern Minnesota and stopped at a sporting goods store in a small town to buy some supplies. While in the store, Judge Lord noticed a tour bus from California had broken down outside.
The judge decided to play a practical joke and sneaked out to the bus and introduced himself as the mayor of the town. He said to the people on the bus: "Folks, I'm sorry you're having trouble in our town. If there's anything we can do for you, just stop by my office. And by the way, there's something you can do for us. We have a fellow here in town who looks like our former vice president, Hubert Humphrey. He sounds like Hubert Humphrey. He even thinks he is Hubert Humphrey. Now, you probably won't even run into him. But, if you do, don't give him any money. Just be nice to him and humor him. He doesn't do any harm."
The judge excused himself and went back into the store. He said, "Hubert, there's a bus load of California tourists out in the parking lot dying to meet you."
Of course, Humphrey went out and climbed on the bus and began shaking hands. When he went back in the store, the judge asked him how it went. "You know," Humphrey said, "those California people are kind of strange. Every time I shook hands with one of them and told them I was Hubert Humphrey, someone would start to giggle."
Mistaken identities can make people laugh and giggle. Although the disciples had encountered the risen Christ, they probably had to face the ridicules, the scorn and even the jeers of the other people of Israel. They had seen the risen Lord and their hopes were high for the future. But, then he was gone and they were left to sit idly around. They were left to sit around and wait. They were left to sit around and wonder if they had been dreaming. They were left to sit around and wonder if Jesus really was who he said he was.
Into such a moment of doubt and discouragement, Jesus came and fixed them breakfast along the shores of Galilee. Jesus came to remind them that the resurrection was not some romantic wish which had taken control of their imagination. Jesus came to remind them that he was who he said he was -- the resurrected Messiah.
II. Jesus Had Breakfast In Galilee To Remind The Disciples That Their Mission Was To Salvage Souls. Years ago, when I was in school, I took a class in archaeology. One of the things that we had to do in that class was go with the professor to one of his digs along the Brazos River. The site was the location of an ancient Indian village. The village was abandoned hundreds of years ago, but lying buried there under many layers of dirt was the evidence of the ancient civilization. With careful digging and sifting of the dirt, the professor and the other archaeologist involved in the project were salvaging ancient pieces of pottery. They were salvaging ancient artifacts. They were salvaging bits and pieces of an ancient civilization.
Such attempts at salvaging have added significantly to the wealth of the world. The treasures found in ancient ships, lost at sea, make the finder rich. The treasures found in ancient pyramids, buried by the sands of time, tell us of long forgotten kingdoms. The treasures found in ancient cities, abandoned or destroyed, tell us how people long ago lived. The finding of these treasures capture our imagination.
However, there is another kind of salvaging which is more important than digging up the relics of the past. And that is the salvaging of human souls. This is important because each person -- each soul -- is more precious in the sight of God than all the silver and gold in this world.
The salvaging of human souls was Jesus' mission in our world. Throughout his ministry, he said over and over again: "The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." As he traveled up and down the dusty roads of Palestine, the salvaging of souls was the driving force behind every sermon he preached, behind every miracle he performed, behind every personal encounter he had and even the ultimate explanation, behind his willingness to face the cross of Calgary.
Because our Lord gave himself so completely to the work of salvaging souls, is it any wonder that here, just before his ascension, he would come to be with his disciples? Is it any wonder that he would come to share a meal with them? Is it any wonder that he would come to remind them that their mission was to continue the work of salvaging souls by proclaiming the good news? Is it any wonder that he would come to remind them that their mission was to turn the world upside down proclaiming God's love for everyone?
And this is our challenge if we are to be his disciples in today's world. We are to proclaim the good news of God's love in Jesus Christ. We are to take seriously the work of salvaging souls. We are called to turn our world upside down by proclaiming God's love through the living of our faith.
Out of all the stories I've ever told, my favorite is one told by J. Wallace Hamilton in his book What About Tomorrow? It is a story about a Baptist minister, Dr. Gordon Torgerson, sailing across the Atlantic one summer. He noticed a dark skinned man sitting in a deck chair reading the Bible. He sat down beside him and said, "Forgive my curiosity, but I'm a Baptist minister. I assume you are a Christian, and I'm interested to know how it happened."
"Yes," said the dark skinned man, setting aside his Bible. "I'm very glad to talk about that. I'm a Filipino. I was born in a good Catholic home in the Philippines. Some years ago, I came to the United States to study law. My first night on campus, a student came to see me. He said, 'I've come to welcome you to the campus and to say that if there is anything I can do to help make your stay here more pleasant, I hope you'll call on me.' Then he asked me where I went to church and I told him I was a Catholic. He said, 'Well, I can tell you where the Catholic church is, but it's not easy to find. It's quite a distance away. Let me make a map.' So he made an outline of the way to the church and left.
"When I awakened Sunday morning, it was raining. I thought to myself, I'll just not go to church today. I'll get some more sleep.
"Then there was a knock on the door and when I opened it there stood that student. His raincoat was dripping wet and on one arm he had two umbrellas, and he said, 'I thought you might have a hard time finding your church in the rain. I shall walk along with you and show you the way.'
"As we walked along in the rain under the two umbrellas I asked, 'Where do you go to church?'
" 'Oh,' he said, 'my church is just around the corner.'
"I said, 'Suppose we go to your church today and we'll go to my church next Sunday.'
"I went to his church and I've never been back to my own. After four years, I felt it was not the law for me, but the ministry. I went to Drew Seminary and was ordained a Methodist minister, and received an appointment to a Methodist church in the Philippines. My name is Valencius. I am Bishop Valencius, Bishop of the Methodist Church in the Philippines."
That is a fascinating story of one of the most important people in the world -- not the bishop, though he is important -- but the man with the two umbrellas. In back of every convert to the Christian faith, in back of every church that was built, in back of every Christian enterprise and movement in history, you will find someone like that unnamed fellow with two umbrellas. An ordinary man or woman, a person who believed that the salvaging of souls was important, a person who dared to make his faith so useful, a person who dared to make her faith so attractive, that other people said, "I want the kind of faith you have!" We can turn the world upside down when we dare to live out our faith because we believe that each person is precious to God.
Will you dare to do that?
Will you dare to be the person with two umbrellas?
Will you dare to make your faith so attractive that others will be willing to walk with you to the foot of the cross?
Prayer: O God, may your love shine in us and through us so that others may come to know your Son, Jesus Christ. In his name. Amen.
