Sermon - Easter 3

Sermon – Easter 3
John 21: 1-19
April 18, 2010
“radical conversion”

In the movie American History X, Derek (played by Edward Norton) is a skinhead involved in hate crimes, and he goes to jail for killing. In prison there is a scene of Derek in the laundry room with an African American man named Lamont, at first Derek angrily ignores him. Eventually Lamont says to Derek: “will you chill out, no matter how fast you go through them, they’ll keep bringing them in.” Derek calms down and Lamont says: “there that’s the ticket, now we can ignore each other in peace”
As their days together in the laundry room continue, Lamont engages Derek in a way that causes him to confront his hate and racism. Soon enough they form a relationship and start joking around.
Then Lamont helps Derek out by protecting him from other black prisoners.
At the end Derek tells Lamont “I’m thinking the only reason I’m outta here in one piece is you.” Derek goes on converted, and takes down his racist posters and tries to live life in a new way, loving all people.
At this turning point in the movie, Dr. Bob Sweeny (Derek’s counselor) tells Derek: “your anger is consuming you, shutting down the brain God gave you. There was a moment, when I used to blame everything and everyone for all the pain and suffering and vile things that happened to me, that I saw happen to my people. Used to blame everybody. Blamed white people, blamed society, blamed God. I didn't get no answers 'cause I was asking the wrong questions. You have to ask the right questions: Has anything you’ve done made your life better?” Derek shakes his head “no” and breaks down. It’s a story of radical conversion.

In our lesson from Acts, we see an appearance of the resurrected Christ.
Saul was persecuting Christians, breathing threats of murder – and then Christ appears to him. “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” After his conversion, the Apostle Paul went on to proclaim the good news of Christ all over, making disciples in distant lands. Talk about your radical conversion. The persecutor of Christians becoming one of the most prominent disciples.
In today’s Gospel lesson from John, the disciples are back fishing, after having seen Jesus appear twice. It is a funny scene, Peter is sitting around naked, then when Jesus appears, he puts his clothes on, and then jumps in the sea. What was he doing? Why was he sitting around naked? Was he just lounging around? Whatever it is, it appears as though Peter and the other disciples are in a stupor… and then Christ appears and snaps them out of their stupor.
Then Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him, and Peter replies back each time, “I love you.” Peter, the one who denied Jesus three times, comes face to face with the one he denied, and is reconciled with him. So, no matter how many times Peter denied Jesus, we see here the abundant forgiveness and unrelenting grace of the Risen One.
Once again, this is a story of radical conversion, the one who denied Jesus three times now tells him three times: “I love you”

So we have Saul and Peter…
Saul’s hatred was keeping him down, was consuming him, keeping him held captive.
Peter’s guilt for having denied Jesus was keeping him held down.
How are we like Saul breathing evil things, causing harm to our neighbor?
How are we like Peter having denied Jesus, sitting around naked, going about business as usual?
What is holding us down? Is it our hate? Is it a grudge? Our inability to forgive someone? Our inability to forgive ourselves?

In the midst of Saul’s hate and Peter’s denial, Christ appears and frees them from what is holding them captive with relentless grace. In the same way as the grace of God through the Risen Christ came breaking into Saul and Peter’s lives, it comes breaking into our lives.
It snaps us out of our stupor, wakes us up, and calls us out. Jesus says to Peter “feed/tend my sheep/lambs” three times. And from there, then Peter goes out and makes disciples and builds the church.
In what ways is the Spirit of the living Christ doing crazy things in our midst
Turning us around 360 degrees, pulling us out of our evil acts or negative routines, into a new way of living.

When the resurrected Christ manifests himself, and grace of God comes breaking into our lives, crazy and radical things happen.
No matter what we’ve done (EVEN Peter who denied Jesus, and Saul who persecuted and killed Christians)! This is how unrelenting the grace of God is. The grace of God in Jesus penetrates our lives and calls us to live the mission of Christ.
Christ comes bringing grace to our brokenness, and then calls us out into the world to proclaim the good news to all. Amen.