Jesus cared, so should We!
Sermon given on Green Sunday, April 18, 2010 ,by the Rev. Cesar Olivero, St. James Episcopal Church, Port Charlotte, Fla.
The story of Jesus' appearance by the sea in the Gospel of John is one of the great stories in the whole Gospel tradition. The description of the disciples who were gathered there in Galilee are of seven. Seven of twelve are listed and they are: Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, James, John, and two others of the disciples. Thus most of the disciples have gone back to Galilee and are sitting around doing nothing by the sea of Tiberius. They are "sitting by the dock of the bay…wasting time." The implication of this is that the disciples had returned back to their old ways, back to life as usual, as fishermen.
Simon Peter's decision to go fishing is as if he is trying to generate some energy: to paraphrase, he might have said something like, "Well, I'm going fishing. I'm not going to just sit around here and be depressed." The others then say, in effect, "All right, we'll go with you." So they go out and they fish all night and catch nothing. The atmosphere of discouragement is only heightened by their inability to catch any fish.
As fishermen, the disciple’s livelihood rested on their ability to catch fish. They relied on the oceans for sustenance. The scriptures tell us in Genesis chapter one, "And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, and it continues by stating that "God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas,"
This was a gift from God to humankind. Today we also have come to rely on the world's oceans for sustenance but we have allowed much abuse to happen. Many of our oceans are threatened with pollution. Many of the treasures of the oceans such as Blue whales, manatees, certain types of porpoises, and sea turtles are now endangered.
Why are we allowing these things to happen? What can we do to stop the abuse? As a young person I remembered a commercial that was shown on television of a Native American returning to the shores of our great cities. As he looked around and saw all the pollution, the camera did a close up of his face and there were tears coming down his cheeks. That stayed with me until this day. As a young man I would never allow people to toss garbage into the lakes or oceans and would actually pull out of the waters any debris that I would find. We need to do what we can do to save these precious bodies of water that God has placed in our care.
Now back to our Gospel passage. "Jesus appeared on the shore." Jesus' appearance is told as a surprise: His appearance is not to be taken for granted. It is a very unusual thing that someone who had died would appear on the seashore. So it is not something to be stated as a matter of fact, but rather with a tone or gesture of surprise.
We see our risen Lord, on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias. He addresses the disciples with affection and says, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" I remember the times when I went fishing with my Dad, and we both struggled to find a way for the fish to bite. Who likes to go fishing without catching something? So after we tried every lure we had, after we tried every kind of bait we had, we would keep on trying, why? Because most often the key to catching fish, is great patience.
However, the disciples came to the realization that if they were to catch fish, they had better listen to the Master. They obeyed Jesus’ instructions. As we consider this story, I would like us to examine Christ’s questions to His disciples? Christ’s first question reminds us to…Open our Hearts to the Lord. Notice what Jesus asked the disciples in verse 5, “Children you have no fish, have you?” These men were hungry, tired, and discouraged, for they had fished all night and caught nothing. Many of us experience what they were feeling daily…
Many times we feel discouraged. Many times we feel depressed Many times we feel exhausted. Jesus called to the disciples, asking His life-changing question…“Children you have no fish, have you?” He already knew the answer, but He wanted them to share their need. The scripture says that the Lord knows our need even before we ask Him. He knows how things are in our lives, but He longs for us to tell Him about them. Jesus works miracles when we share with Him, our need.
You see before one can be saved, one must admit that they are lost; you see before Jesus can fill us with His power, we must admit that we are empty. What kind of need do you have in your life today? I can think of a great need in our country today. The need to recycle! Just to name a few facts let's start with Aluminum; Recycling one aluminum beverage can saves enough energy to run a 100-watt bulb for 20 hours, a computer for 3 hours or a TV for 2 hours. The aluminum can returns to the grocer's shelf as a new, filled can in as little as 90 days after collection, re-melting, rolling, manufacturing and distribution. An average of 113,204 aluminum cans are recycled every minute of every day. Recycling one ton of aluminum saves 37 barrels of oil.
How about glass? It takes approximately 1 million years for a glass bottle to break down in a landfill. Glass never wears out - it can be recycled forever. Glass containers save 9 gallons of fuel (oil) for every ton of glass recycled. Paper is also a very recyclable product for example. Americans use over 67,000,000 tons of paper each year, or 600 pounds per person. It takes more than 500,000 trees to produce the newspapers Americans read each Sunday, yet only 30 percent of all newspapers are recycled. Recycling one ton of paper saves 17 trees, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 2 barrels of oil, 7,000 gallons of water and 4,100 kilowatt hours of electricity - enough energy to power the average American home for 5 months. Every day, Americans buy 62 million newspapers and throw out 44 million. That's the equivalent of dumping 500,000 trees into a landfill every week.
Last but not least, plastic. It can take up to 700 years for plastic to decompose (break down) in a landfill. On the other hand, PET plastic can be recycled into: clothing, fiberfill for sleeping bags, toys, stuffed animals, rulers and so much more. Deacon Jane mentioned in her beacon article months ago how long many of these recyclable products would take to decompose. And we here at St. James have begun to do our part to encourage recycling.
Our office has recycle bins and you will note that we have identified some trash bins in the parish halls. However we must be careful how we identify these receptacles. One fellow testified to the following. “Trying to do my share to help the environment, I set up a trash basket at my church and posted above it this suggestion: "Empty water bottles here.” “I should have been a little more specific, because when I went to check it later, I didn't find any bottles in it. But it was full of water." We are truly grateful to those of you who have volunteered to help with this recycling effort. A big way you can help is with the cost of disposables that are environmentally friendly.
Now back to the shore with Jesus and his disciples. Jesus was there to meet the need. Do we have needs? Do we need strength, do we need deliverance, do we need encouragement, do we need joy? The Lord is the only one who can meet our needs. Philippians 4:19 reads, “My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” James 4:2 read, “You have not, because you ask not.”
If you have a need God has an answer. Bring your need to the Lord in faith and He will grant you the answer to your request. I’m convinced that if we will take our needs to the Lord He will provide us the answer to our request.
Christ’s second question reminds us to…We are to allow the Lord first place in our hearts. Notice Jesus’ question to Peter in verse 15, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” Jesus was asking Peter if he loved Him move than the things around him. Peter do you love me more than the sea? Do you love me more than your boat? Do you love me more than fishing? Do you love me more than your friends?
Doesn't Jesus deserve first place in our lives? He wants us to love Him…more than we love our possessions, more than we love our jobs. Jesus wants us to love Him more than we do anything else. Jesus wants us to place His will, His work, and His desires above our own. And he wants us to be responsible for the things he places in our charge, like this precious island home, we call earth.
Now some of you might be thinking, I can't control what people do, I will be gone from this earth soon, so why should I care about recycling? In Genesis chapter 1 verse 26 God says, " "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." So you see, we are given a great responsibility to care for the earth and all that is in it. We have to be mindful of the future of our kids, our grandkids and others who will inherit the earth.
Christ’s third question reminds us to…Serve the Lord with all our heart. Jesus told Peter that if He truly loved Him he would feed his sheep. Is our love for the Lord moving us to be servants for the Lord? We can all give something in our service for the Lord. God expects us to give Him our time. God expects us to give Him our talents and gifts. God expects us to be faithful, faithful to do His work, faithful to do His will. If we will give what we have to the Lord – God will greatly reward us for all our efforts and together, we will save the world for those who are coming after us.
We manifest our love to Christ by serving others. God called Peter to care for His flock. This is the chief work of a pastor. This is also the task of every Christian. By serving others we serve Christ. Jesus wants us to be nurturers, to meet the needs of those we can help.
Conclusion:
Take a moment to recall the story of the Potter and the Clay as told in Jeremiah 18. Try to capture the image of the potter sitting as his wheel. He is working the treadle with his feet and on the tray that spins before him is the making of a clay vessel. The clay vessel has taken shape and looks promising. He holds the vessel between his hands as it spins… he wets his hands and the vessel smoothes under his graceful touch. But suddenly the vessel takes an ugly turn…
The story says, “The vessel did not turn out as he had hoped, so the potter squashed the vessel into a lump of clay and started over again” (Jer. 18:4.) God is a master at recycling lives and reshaping them into something good and useful. We would do well to see others and ourselves as recyclable. And we would do much good if we see ourselves as recyclers. There is no one of too little worth or too far-gone to be reclaimed and recycled for the glory of God and the good of others. Amen!
