April 13, 2013

Actions Speak Louder than Words!

3rd Sunday of Easter, 4/14/13
John 21:1-14


Actions Speak Louder than Words!
I. Jesus displayed his divine power.
II. Jesus revealed his divine care.


It’s apparent even to young children. If what a parent does is contrary to what a parent says, the child quickly gets the message that what the parents says matters little. For instance, if the child hears the parent encouraging honesty but then later witnesses the parent’s dishonesty, the message is clear. It’s OK to be dishonest. Actions speak louder than words.

On the other hand, what the parent says is dramatically reinforced when his or her actions follow suit. When the child listens to a parent speak about being kind toward others and then actually witnesses the parent being kind to someone, that lesson can have life-long effects. Actions speak louder than words.

Jesus never had any natural children, but he still makes a perfect parent. We see it in the event before us this morning. Truth be told, it’s a rather peculiar event in that there is precious little dialogue. Whereas we might expect Jesus to use what little time left he had with his disciples to instruct them at length in preparation for his departure, instead he speaks very little and the disciples who were present do the same. Actions speak louder than words.

Even though Jesus said little on this occasion, he was doing a perfect job of teaching a lesson to his disciples. Actions speak louder than words. Join me as we see what Jesus wanted his disciples and us to know by his actions on that morning so long ago.

Part I.

Do you enjoy returning to a place that you first enjoyed a few years earlier? Many of us do. Perhaps it’s a vacation spot. You had a wonderful time there 5 or 10 years ago. In the meantime, you’ve enjoyed other places, but you’re drawn to the idea of returning to it. So you do, and all those wonderful memories come flooding back into your mind and you enjoy the place all over again.

As the disciples waited for further instructions from the risen Jesus, seven of them decided to return to a familiar place. Peter told them, “I’m going out to fish,” and they told him, “We’ll go with you.” John tells us the familiar place they went to. It was the Sea of Tiberias, better known to us as the Sea of Galilee. For these men, most of whom were professional fishermen, this place couldn’t have been more familiar to them, although they had been too busy following Jesus the past three years to fish there as much as they had before they met Jesus. But, as familiar as the place was to them, what happened there this time was out of the ordinary.

John simply tells us that the seven disciples “got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.” I’m not sure how often in their professional fishing lives that had happened, but I don’t get the impression that it happened very often or they wouldn’t have been professional fishermen very long. I don’t know if the disciples would agree with the modern saying, “A bad night of fishing beats a good day at work.”

And then something even more peculiar happened. John writes, “Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.” First, they get skunked in their fishing efforts and now they don’t recognize Jesus. What’s going on? It’s possible there was some morning fog. It’s also possible Jesus prevented them from recognizing him at first, just as had happened with the Emmaus disciples on Easter evening. Perhaps Jesus had changed his appearance. We just don’t know. It’s one of the things that make this event peculiar.

But it gets even more peculiar. This stranger calls out, “Friends, do you have any fish?” When they reply, “No,” he instructs them, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” John adds the comment, “When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.” The disciples instantly recognized that they had witnessed a miracle.

And the light came on. “Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’ As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, ‘It is the Lord,’ he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.” Peter couldn’t wait for the boat to make its way to Jesus. He had to get there first. As the other disciples followed in the boat full of fish, suddenly the memories of this familiar place came flooding into their minds.

Jesus’ intent was for them to recall the miracle he performed when he first called them to be his disciples with the promise that he would make them fishers of men. They had experienced a miraculous catch of fish 3 years earlier. A lot had happened since then. Over the past few weeks they had witnessed the risen Jesus, and they knew that because of his resurrection everything had changed. Thus they might have wondered just what Jesus had in store for them. Jesus wanted them to know that his intentions for them hadn’t changed at all. By an act of his divine power Jesus not only reinforced his intention, he also empowered them for their work.

You see, it wouldn’t be long before Jesus would lead them away from the friendly shores of Galilee and the familiar confines of the temple in Jerusalem and out into the world. He would give them the Great Commission to take his gospel to the ends of the earth. That was no small task. Humanly speaking, it was overwhelming and couldn’t be done. But the disciples would have the power of the almighty and risen Son of God going with them. Oh, how they needed to be certain of that truth! But Jesus doesn’t tell them that, he shows them.

Actions speak louder than words. Jesus displayed his divine power.

I’m certain that, before Peter announced his intention to go fishing, the disciples were wondering just what Jesus had in store for them. They may have had their doubts, their fears, perhaps even some reluctance to follow Jesus any longer. So Jesus came to them and with his actions he reassures them.

I’m also certain that our situation isn’t much different. We, too, wonder what Jesus has in store for us. We have days and nights filled with doubts and fears. We worry. We may even complain. And then Jesus does it again. He acts. He turns things out for us. He makes us realize how foolish and unfounded our doubts and worries were. He dramatically reminds us that he does have a plan for us, but he unfolds it only one day at a time, just as he did for his disciples. Think about it. His actions on the cross, where he suffered for your sins and mine, reinforce the truth that he loves us with a perfect, eternal love. And the action of his resurrection assures us that, indeed he has the power to accomplish what he plans for us. Actions speak louder than words!

Part II.

There are times when we need an amazing display of Jesus’ power to assure us that nothing is beyond his control. Surely his resurrection on Easter is that kind of display. Not even death can hold him. But it’s also true that there are times when we need to know that Jesus cares about the little things in our lives, too.

That’s exactly what his actions on that morning on the shores of the Sea of Galilee tell us.

Jesus cares about every situation in our lives. How do I know? Look at what he did. While Peter waded the 100 yards to the shore and the rest of the disciples sailed the short distance, Jesus was busy. We read, “When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.” The risen King of kings and Lord of lords has a very limited time left on this earth, but he’s not too busy or too pre-occupied to meet the immediate needs of his disciples. After spending perhaps 9 hours fishing, they were hungry. Jesus takes care of it, likely by a miracle.

So that there’s no mistake, John emphasizes that at this point, the disciples were certain who was standing there before them. It was the risen Lord Jesus. None of the disciples even dared to question it.
Ever the one who had come to serve, not to be served, Jesus goes one step further. “Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.” He’s the cook and the waiter as well. Jesus cared so much about what his disciples needed at the moment, that he himself made sure he met those needs. By his actions, he cares for them.

Again, actions speak louder than words. Jesus revealed his divine care.

The disciples learned an important lesson that day. They now trusted, that, when Jesus would ascend into heaven and they would go out into the world, the power of the risen Jesus would go with them and, if necessary, he would use it to meet their simple needs, such as food. They learned their lesson.

If only we would! And yet each hour of the day I worry about something. I doubt the power of Jesus in my life. I cower before the threats and challenges I face. You too? So what does Jesus do? He comes to us just as he came to his disciples on the Sea of Galilee. He comes to us in word and sacrament to wash our sins of worry and doubt away, a forgiveness he himself won in his display of sacrificial love for us. He deepens our trust in him. And in the power of resurrection—a power he gave us at our baptisms—he leads us forth each day.

With actions like that, why would we ever doubt him? Instead, trust him for the Savior that he is! Amen.