The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish. When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” (John 21.8-15)
For the eleven years between 1933 and 1944, encompassing the tumultuous years of the Great Depression and World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt offered the citizens of the United States over thirty radio addresses that became known as his fireside chats, the name given to them because they were meant to be casual conversations as one might have in the living room as the fireplace provided warmth to the people in the room.
Taking advantage of the new medium of radio, combined with his own calm voice, Roosevelt used these chats to converse and to connect with the American people, his addresses covering a wide range of topics that were important to them during these difficult years. As a result, the fireside chats helped to alleviate some of the anxiety that people were experiencing and also allowed the President to offer them support in a relaxed, conversational way.
The gospel for this Third Sunday of Easter provides us with a fireside chat in its own right, this one done almost two millennia before Roosevelt offered much the same to the American people. Interestingly, this post-resurrection scene occurs only in the Gospel of John and, somewhat importantly, only at the end of the gospel in a chapter unanimously accepted as an add-on to the original text.
This additional chapter–21–contains three blocks, units, or stories, however one wants to look upon them, all of them weaved together into a post-resurrection appearance by the Risen Lord to seven of his disciples who have gone back to their old business of fishing on the Sea of Galilee. The first block tells of a miraculous catch of fish that occurs when the disciples heed Jesus’ suggestion that they fish from the right side of the boat.
Once the catch has been made and the disciples have returned to shore, they see a charcoal fire ready and the Risen Lord tells them to bring some of the fish so that they might eat breakfast together with him around the campfire. Once the meal is done, the Risen Lord addresses the same question to Simon Peter three times in succession. “Do you love me?” Simon answers each time with the response, “Yes, Lord you know that I love you.”
The final block which is not included in this Sunday’s selection concerns a question that Simon asks Jesus about the destiny of the Beloved Disciple to which Jesus answers, “What concern is it of yours?” While the identity of the Beloved Disciple is never told to us in the gospel, most biblical scholars believe it is John, presumably the author of the gospel and the leader of the community that put together the text after the death of John. A long-standing tradition calls him John the Beloved.
The fact that it was not part of the original construction of the gospel does not lessen its importance, but only argues that this collection of stories contained in Chapter 21 was considered important enough by the early Christian community that they were attached to John’s earlier writing so that they might be preserved. The proof that they were not part of the original is discernible by differences in style, expression, and structure, all of which point to a later author.
It should be noted that the first part of the chapter that contains the story of the miraculous catch of fish is also told in Chapter 5 of Luke’s gospel, but Luke does not include a shared meal afterwards. The fireside chat only occurs in John. Also, Luke uses the story at the start of the public ministry of Jesus, not after his death and resurrection. For Luke, the abundant catch of fish serves as a catalyst for the call of the disciples who drop their nets and follow Jesus.
For our purposes today, I would like us to consider the possibility that John also wants us to understand the story much the same as the call narrative in Luke, even if it is presented as a post-resurrection appearance that occurs long after the initial call of the disciples. I would suggest several reasons to support this proposal, none of them conclusive, but all of them together making a strong argument that we find here the most important call by Jesus to follow him.
For one thing, the call of the disciples in John’s gospel does not occur at the Sea of Galilee as fishermen are working on their boats as it does in the synoptics, but instead takes place when two of John the Baptist’s disciples see Jesus walk by and decide to follow him, passing along the word to others who also decide to follow “the Lamb of God” as John the Baptist refers to Jesus. In fact, Jesus only extends the call to Philip at that time (1.43). In short, it is an entirely different call of the first disciples than we find elsewhere.
Another thing. John is pointing us to the call nature of the post-resurrection scene at the campfire by the Risen Lord telling Simon Peter twice, “Follow me.” The first time he issues the command is after the three part affirmation of love on the part of Simon and the Risen Lord’s prediction of the nature of death that Simon would eventually endure, one very similar to the death of Jesus. We need to remember that Simon’s death had occurred by the time that this gospel had been written, so everyone was familiar with the fact that he had been crucified in Rome during the persecution of Christians by the Emperor Nero.
The second instance of the Risen Lord instructing Peter to follow him happens after Simon Peter shows curiosity about the fate of the Beloved Disciple, asking Jesus “What about him?” We have seen that the Risen Lord makes it clear that it is basically none of Peter’s business. After telling him as much, the Risen Lord says, “You follow me.” So, we have in these two instances the Lord telling Peter to follow him, the same words always used in the call narratives.
The question, of course, is why should the Risen Lord issue a call to Simon Peter to follow him when he has already followed Jesus at the start of the gospel. The answer is found in the fireside chat when Jesus asks Peter three times in succession to affirm his love for him. The questions are not incidental or coincidental.
Our memories are not so short that we do not remember the only other instance of Peter sitting around a charcoal fire. That instance, of course, is found in the courtyard of the High Priest’s house as Jesus is being arraigned before the High Priest, accused of multiple crimes, soon to be sentenced to death by Pilate. Peter has followed at a safe distance and hides in the shadows around the fire prepared by the servants of the High Priest to warm themselves (cf. 18.18).
And what takes place when the others begin to quiz Peter about his association with the accused man Jesus? Three times the people around the charcoal fire announce that Peter is one of Jesus’ followers and three times Peter denies it, answering “I am not one of his disciples.” In denying any association with the accused, Peter has ruptured the bond between him and Jesus, destroying in effect the initial call and response that had occurred earlier in the gospel.
The link between the two charcoal fires should be crystal clear. Around the first charcoal fire, Peter denied Jesus three times. Around the second charcoal fire, Peter affirms his love for Jesus three times. With his denial, Peter had disclaimed his following Jesus. With his affirmation of love, Peter has reclaimed his bond with Jesus.
It makes sense then that Jesus should say to Simon Peter afterwards, “Follow me.” The invitation is offered to Simon, repairing the break that he had made in the bond and initiating now a following of Jesus that would not deviate, this time not even when the prospect of being crucified is presented to Simon as an out. In effect, the Risen Lord restores Peter’s standing as a disciple even after his abject failure to follow him unreservedly when first invited to be a disciple.
Here, at the charcoal fire, Peter who once disclaimed any knowledge of Jesus at a similar charcoal fire a few weeks earlier is given a second chance, an opportunity to redeem himself and to prove himself worthy of the call that the Risen Lord now issues to him for a second time. In this instance, he fully understands the cost of discipleship and he accepts that high cost, willing to follow Jesus all the way to the end, not breaking away at the first sign of danger as he had done once before.
As we see, the Risen Lord, the giver of second chances, commissions Peter to feed and to tend to the sheep, asking Simon Peter to cede his role as a fisherman and instead to become a shepherd, someone who cares for the sheep entrusted to him by the Lord Jesus, someone who will lay down his life for them as the Good Shepherd does. The task now before him is one of love and service to Jesus’ lambs and sheep.
It is a much more seasoned and mature Simon Peter that receives the call here around the campfire. He has come face to face with his cowardice when his closeness to Jesus was cause for distancing himself from the accused, and now, repentant and remorseful, he is ready to embrace the call, fully aware of the consequences and the cost. He leaves his cowardice behind at the campfire, affirming his love for Jesus and ready to prove he is worthy of being called a follower of the Risen Lord.
For us, the selection today offers much to consider, particularly in regard to the actual depth of our love for Jesus. We have before us someone whose commitment was put to the test and who failed miserably in that moment. He is offered a second chance, an olive branch of sorts, after he has reaffirmed his love for Jesus, promising that nothing will break the bond between them ever again.
As we surely have found ourselves with Simon as he sat at the charcoal fire in the high priest’s courtyard, denying Jesus with our words and in our actions when we were put to the test, we again sit with him around a second charcoal fire, answering the question put to Simon by the Risen Lord, “Do you love me?” Time will tell if we have answered him honestly and if we truly deserve to be called one of his followers.
–Jeremy Myers
Sunday Brunch 