Following the story about faith in
John 20, we now have an account that is about provision. When our nets are
empty (or our hearts or our plans or our bank accounts), who will provide for
us? The gospel points us to Christ. – John P. Fairless
John 21:1-19
Whatever it is that we lack, Christ
has not abandoned us—though we may not immediately recognize his presence in
the day-to-day experiences of our lives. When faced with the evidence of our
emptiness, we can choose one of two responses: we can acknowledge and face that
lack, or we can lie to ourselves and say that we have what we need, even when
we do not. In making the sometimes painful or embarrassing admission that we
cannot help ourselves, we make it possible for help to reach us from any number
of possible sources. Christ's loving provision is certainly not the least of
these!
Finally, in one of the least noted
lines of this story, there remains an intriguing hint of the role Jesus would
have us play in our own well-being. “Bring some of the fish that you have just
caught” is Christ's invitation to participation in the process. While Jesus is
evidently completely capable of providing all that we need, he repeatedly
reveals a predilection for asking us to assist ourselves, as well. We are not
alone, and it is true that Jesus is all that we need. But it is also true that
his invitation to follow him is a shared journey; part of the blessing is that
we are allowed—and expected—to help bear the burden with him. – John P.
Fairless
Acts 9:1-6[7-20]
For those who are assigned this
portion [Acts 9:1-6] for reading in worship, it is helpful to note the
connection between the experience of Saul, as he is called to follow the risen
Christ, and the other disciples. Notice that when Christ speaks to Saul on the
way to Damascus, Saul responds with the question, “Who are you, Lord?” That
really is the key to any response that a disciple must make. No one will truly
follow Christ until they have settled the issue for themselves of who Jesus is.
Though this account of Saul's
“conversion” is dramatic, he really receives no further or different
instructions than any other disciple. He is called to obedience, and is
expected to respond in faith. “Get up … you will be told what you are
to do.” Like all other disciples, he really has nothing else to go on but
Christ's call to “take up your cross and follow me.” – John P. Fairless
For those who wish to include the entire story of Saul’s/Paul’s
experience on the Damascus road, the matter of obedience broadens to include
the support given by the whole church to each individual. Ananias, in this
case, is the church––sent to a dreaded foe who is to be made whole by the love
extended even to the enemy. Saul’s eyesight (his vision, as it were) is turned
and restored. He “sees” his enormous blindness about the followers of Jesus of
Nazareth. He makes the same proclamation we heard from Thomas last Sunday.
[T]he shaping of [Paul’s] faith is
like that of most of us who grew up in the faith. It is the story of ordinary
folks who break the bread, tell the story and care for their neighbors, in the
midst of what seems to be ordinary and uneventful. Except what springs from
such a routine may not be a “Damascus Road” story, but the product of
Christians such as you and me. That, my friends, is an extraordinary testimony.
– Sara Webb Phillips
Revelation 5:11-14
This reading from Revelation forms the language of the
classic Hymn of Praise sung at the beginning of the liturgy. It serves to make
the point that much of what is said and sung in worship in many of our churches
is biblical language. We hear and say the word of God in many ways throughout
the year in our assemblies, keeping its rhythms and images in our ears and on
our lips, forming us in faith.
Sara Webb Phillips
is a United Methodist minister serving North Springs UMC in Sandy Springs,
Georgia.
John P. Fairless
is senior minister of the First Baptist Church of Gainesville, Florida.
Homily Service 40, no. 5 (2007): 67-75.
