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Redford Aldersgate
United Methodist Church
Sermon
Close Encounters of the Risen Kind: Peter's Mother-in-law
May 14, 2006
During this Eastertide season, we have been looking at the encounters people had with the risen Christ as they are recorded in the Bible. We have used the venue of dramatic monologues to try to identify what might have been happening in the person’s mind and heart as they encountered the Risen Christ. We’ve met Mary Magdalene, Thomas, and one of the people on the Road to Emmaus. The encounter in today’s scripture is with Peter. We assume Peter had been present several times when Jesus had appeared to the disciples. In the Gospel of John, it says that the disciples were gathered together. We assume Peter was there or it would have mentioned that he was absent, just as it mentioned that Thomas was absent. In Luke when the people who were on the road to Emmaus came back they told them that Jesus had appeared to Simon. Most likely that was Simon Peter. So Peter had encountered the risen Christ several times. But when we think of Peter’s special encounter, we think of the story in John. Peter and several other disciples had returned home to Galilee. Peter said, “I’m going fishing.” The others said that they would join him. But they fished all night and caught nothing. However, in the morning, Jesus appeared on the beach and told them to put their nets on the other side of the boat. When they followed his direction, they caught 153 fish in one sweep of the net. When Peter realized it was Jesus, he dove into the water and swam to shore, leaving the other disciples to haul in the net full of fish. Jesus was waiting on the shore for them and had breakfast cooking on a fire. After breakfast, this conversation took place:
Monologue
Simon, where are you? Simon! Simon Peter! Where are you? Has anyone seen
Simon, the Big Fisherman? He’s a big burly guy, smells like fish most of
the time. Have you seen him? Have you seen him? That man, what AM I
going to do with him? I know you were expecting to see Peter, but he
must be out feeding sheep or catching more fish. Sorry about that. But
since I’m here, I’ll tell you all about him.
Let me introduce myself. I’m Peter’s mother-in-law. I’ve known that man
since he was a little boy. My husband and I knew right away that he
would be a good one for our precious daughter. So we arranged their
marriage when they were quite young. We’ve been pleased with our
decision ... well at least most of the time we’ve been pleased... there
are days... but then I suppose that would be true with anyone you’d
pick. He’s rather impetuous and he speaks without thinking things
through, but he has a big heart, that’s for sure! ... Like the time I
first met Jesus. I was really sick, had a high fever. I don’t know how
serious I was, but I sure was feeling low. I thought my time may have
come. I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t get out of bed. Then Simon came
back from the synagogue with Andrew and James and John and this man I’d
never met before. At first, I was a bit upset at Simon bringing company
home. Didn’t he realize I was sick. But he did realize it... actually,
that’s why he brought his new friend home. He just sensed that this new
guy could help me out. For as soon as they came into the house, they
told this man about me being sick. So he came over to my bedside and
took me by the hand. Then he lifted me up. What an incredible experience
that was! He was holding my hand with one of his hands and his other
hand was behind my back, and as he lifted me up it was like a huge
weight was falling off of me and suddenly the fever was gone. I was
fine! It was amazing ... just like that, the fever was gone! Well,
immediately, I got up and started fixing them something to eat. I felt
great and it just seemed like the right thing to do. Actually, the more
I served them, the better I felt. When you are healed, you respond by
serving. ... Healing...serving ... serving ... healing... it just all
goes together.
Well, anyway, that was the beginning
of an incredible time that we all spent with this man called Jesus. His
pet name for my son-in-law was Peter, which means the “rock.” Simon was
a rock for all of us. He was always ready to help and do things. You
could count on him, so we all began to call him Peter. Our house became
the headquarters for Jesus’ ministry. They would go out and he would
teach and preach and heal but then they would come back to our house
when they needed a good meal or a little rest. It was really an exciting
time. Lots and lots of amazing things happened. People were healed ...
thousands of people were fed with just a small amount of food ... storms
were quieted ... There were lots of amazing things that happened. Peter
was always coming home with some amazing story to tell. Like the time
they were in a boat and Jesus came walking toward them on the sea. Peter
said it was really amazing. Peter was so caught up in the moment that he
asked Jesus to command him to walk on the water too. So Jesus said,
“Come.” And Peter got out and started walking on the water toward Jesus.
He said he actually felt the water holding him up. But then he took his
eyes off Jesus and looked at the wind and the waves and when he became
frightened, he began to sink. But he held out his hand to Jesus and
Jesus caught hold of him and saved him. That Simon Peter, so impetuous
he was. He’d try anything. Things were exciting all right with Jesus
around.
But then, they all went to Jerusalem for Passover. At first it was
really exciting there too. People greeted Jesus like he was a big
celebrity. But then things turned sour... terribly sour. They ended up
crucifying Jesus. My Simon was there through the whole thing.
When Simon came back home from that terrible ordeal, he told me about
everything that had happened. He told me about how a whole crowd had
come to the garden at night when Jesus was praying and how they had
seized Jesus and taken him away. He told me how he had drawn his sword
and tried to protect Jesus. He even struck at the slave of the high
priest and cut off his right ear. Huh... that man was never very good
with a sword, cutting off an ear, what kind of attack is that? But at
least he was trying. Poor Simon, he tried to be helpful, but he just
wasn’t very strong that night. He told me how Jesus had asked him to
keep watch while he prayed and how he had gone to sleep ... I guess
Jesus woke him up three different times. That was really embarrassing
for poor Simon. And then there was the time at the High Priest’s house.
Simon Peter had followed the crowd into the courtyard. Then he sat down
by the fire with the guards while they took Jesus inside for a trial. I
guess one of the maids recognized Peter and asked him if he was with
Jesus the Nazarene. But he denied it saying that he didn’t know or
understand what she was talking about. Then he went out to the gateway
and two other times when people asked him about being with Jesus, he
denied it. I can’t imagine why he did that. He loved Jesus so much. But
then, on the other hand, it was a dangerous situation. If he’d been
arrested too, how would that have helped Jesus. Poor Simon, he felt so
guilty about saying that he didn’t know Jesus. I guess Jesus had told
him earlier in the evening that he would do that, but Peter had
passionately declared that he would never deny Jesus even if he had to
die with him. So when Simon came home, he told us all about the whole
thing. As he told us about how weak he had been, we tried not to show
him how shocked we were. He was being rough enough on himself. He was so
weak and so vulnerable.
He also told us the incredible news about Jesus’ resurrection and about
how he had appeared to them in the room behind closed doors. There were
the stories of him appearing to the women and Mary Magdalene. Also there
was the appearance to our two friends as they walked to Emmaus. As Simon
Peter told us about all this, he would be animated and joyous, but then
his countenance would just go back to that defeated weak guy that seemed
so unlike the Simon Peter I knew. He just couldn’t get over the fact
that he had let Jesus down. He would go around muttering, “I went to
sleep in the garden and I said I didn’t know him.” Over and over he
would say the same thing. It seemed like he was drowning in guilt. I
wasn’t there that night when he had tried to walk on water, and then
started to sink, but it sure seemed like he was sinking before my eyes.
I kept telling him to get over it. I knew he could swim, but he just
didn’t seem to have the will to do it. I said, “O.K. O.K. So you were a
wimp. Get over it. That was then. This was now. Jesus is alive. He
understands that you were weak. He still loves you. Get over it. Get
busy continuing Jesus’ work. Go help someone. You know what Jesus wants
you to do.” But my words fell on deaf ears. Listen to his
mother-in-law?... Are you kidding. He’d have been better off... but he
just couldn’t get over it.
Finally, there was that morning when he and some of the other guys went
fishing. They fished all night and didn’t catch anything. But in the
morning, Jesus came and walked along the shore. He yelled out to them to
cast their nets on the other side of the boat. When they did, they
caught so many fish they could hardly haul the net in because there were
so many fish. John figured out right away that it was Jesus, so he told
Peter and Peter jumped in and swam to shore. He was so excited to see
Jesus. Then after they ate, Jesus had some one on one time with Simon.
Three times he asked Simon if he loved him. And three times Peter had to
say, “You know all things, you know that I love you.” And three times,
Jesus told him to feed his sheep and tend his lambs. I think that was
Jesus’ way of letting Simon make up for those three times he denied him
and the three times he went to sleep. Whatever it was, it really worked.
From that time on, Simon was his old Peter self... actually, he was a
new-Peter-self. He was strong like the old Peter but he was also more
compassionate. He really seemed to get what Jesus was talking about. He
knew Jesus was not literally talking about feeding sheep. He was talking
about caring for his people. Peter was healed... he was healed from his
guilt... he was forgiven and loved and he accepted it. He got over it
and went on with his life. He was healed so he served.
Healing...serving.... serving ... healing... It all goes together. He
learned, like I learned at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, healing and
serving go together.
And as Peter has gone about helping others and following Jesus by
serving, he has grown stronger and more confident. The healing
continues. The same is true for all of us. We goof up, just like Simon
Peter did. But Jesus comes to us again and again giving us opportunity
after opportunity to declare our love for him. As we do, and as we
accept that love and forgiveness, then we can respond by serving others.
Is there any part of you that needs healing today? ... body, mind, soul,
spirit, relationships? Christ is here ready to take you by the hand, to
lift you up, to drive away that fever ... to keep you from sinking ...
to forgive you for goofing up ... take his hand... accept his healing
and then respond by serving. Healing... serving ... serving ...
healing... they go hand in hand. I know I’m only a mother-in-law ... but
we mother-in-laws know a few things ... Now I must go find that
son-in-law of mine. If you see him, tell him his mother-in-law is
looking for him.
.