God's Heroes Have a Heart

Introduction

            We are starting a new message series at my church based on our upcoming VBS curriculum “Hero Central”.  For each of the next five weeks, I will share a message based on the daily VBS themes about how we can be God’s superheroes.  The message today is about having a hero’s heart.

            If we're going to talk about a hero’s heart, we should start by defining what we mean by “heart.”  Obviously, we’re not talking about the muscle that beats in your chest and pumps blood throughout your body.  When we say heart, what we mean is “the essence of who you are.” Your heart is the core of who you are, your passions, your interests, who you really are as a person and what you’re made of.  Your heart is what you're dedicated to; what you would fight for, live for, and even die for.

God’s heroes have a certain kind of heart and the Bible tells us what kind.  I want to share a story about David—a person described as a man after God’s own heart—and we will see what kind of heart we should have to be one of God’s heroes.  But first, let me set the stage for the story.

The story comes from the Old Testament Book of Samuel, named after the prophet Samuel.  The people of Israel wanted a king like all the other nations around them.  So they asked Samuel to anoint a man named Saul to be their king. 

Saul was an obvious pick for king.  Saul looked like a king.  He was very tall.  The Bible says he was “head and shoulders” taller than everyone else.  So Samuel anointed Saul and he became Israel’s first King.  However, Saul had some serious character flaws.  He looked like a king, but his heart was not right.  He disobeyed God several times.  He was selfish and deceptive.  God was sorry He ever made Saul king.  So God told the prophet Samuel to anoint a new king to take Saul’s place.  And that’s where our story picks up. 

1 Samuel 16:1-13

¹Now the Lord said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.”

² But Samuel asked, “How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”

“Take a heifer with you,” the Lord replied, “and say that you have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. ³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint for me.”

⁴ So Samuel did as the Lord instructed. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town came trembling to meet him. “What’s wrong?” they asked. “Do you come in peace?”

⁵ “Yes,” Samuel replied. “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then Samuel performed the purification rite for Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice, too.

⁶ When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”

Notice here, that Samuel thinks Eliab would make a good king.  Eliab was the first born son of the family and he looked like a king.  Like Saul, Eliab was a taller than most men.

⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

⁸ Then Jesse told his son Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “This is not the one the Lord has chosen.” ⁹ Next Jesse summoned Shimea, but Samuel said, “Neither is this the one the Lord has chosen.” ¹⁰ In the same way all seven of Jesse’s sons were presented to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” ¹¹ Then Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.”

“Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

¹² So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes.

And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him.”

¹³ So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah.

The Heart of a King

            The key verse in this passage is verse 7 - “People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” We can see what a difference heart make by comparing David to Saul.  Saul looked like a king.  He was head and shoulders taller than everyone else.  But he had a no heart.  In fact, the Bible story most people know is the story of David and Goliath.  Goliath’s most striking feature was he was a giant.  Goliath challenged the armies of Israel to choose one man who would face him in one-on-one combat.  The one man in Israel’s army who should have accepted the challenge was Saul.  He would have been the best choice.  Saul was a very tall man and a warrior.  He was the only one who could come close to matching Goliath physical stature.  But Saul didn’t have the heart to face Goliath.  The one who ended up fighting Goliath was the little boy David.  And David was so small, the Bible says he couldn’t even wear Saul’s armor.  Saul had an impressive physic, but David had heart.

            A study of David life reveals the heart of a hero.  He was brave, because he depended on God to fight his battles.  He was full of faith.  He believed God could overcome any obstacle and he was willing to wait on God to work things out in God's way according to God's timing.  David was compassionate, merciful, fair, and consistent.  When he made a mistake, David was quick to take responsibility, repent, and ask forgiveness.  David heart lead him to be faithful to the end of his days.  David had the heart of a hero.  The ultimate accolade the Bible attributes to David is this.  It says he was a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).

            But that's why Samuel 16:12 is kind of confusing to me.  It seems out of place.  It says David was "dark and handsome".  Now, if this passage is about looking at a person’s heart and not their physical attributes, why would it mention anything about David's appearance?  Translators have struggled to translate that verse.  The key words that cause trouble is the Hebrew for "ruddy" and "countenance."  Ruddy can mean dark or hairy or red or other things.  The sense is that David was a rough, unrefined looking fellow.  It’s not that he was ugly, but maybe he didn't fit his society’s beauty standards.  My grandmother was a red head.  She used to say kids picked on her when she was in school.  They would chant, “I’d rather be dead than have a read head!”  Kids can be mean to other kids they see as different.  And most kids are either brunette or blonde; and the less common red headed kids often get picked on.  They don’t fit the norm.  Neither did David.

            But the scripture also says David had a good countenance—another word that’s hard to translate into English.  Have you ever known someone who was beautiful, even though they didn’t fit the typical beauty standards of society?  Maybe they were short or a little on the heavy side or had something else unusual about them?  They weren’t the kind of person you would see in a beauty pageant or the cover of a magazine, and yet something about them was especially attractive.  If you only looked at a 2-dimensional picture of them, you wouldn’t think there was anything special there.  However, when you meet them in person, there is just something exceptionally beautiful about them.  I've seen this often in very godly people.  Their godly hearts give them a beautiful countenance.

I think that is what verse 12 is trying to tell us about David.  He didn’t fit the typical standards of what a handsome man of the day was supposed to be (and obviously, his family didn’t think he was anything special; they didn't even invite him to the dinner).  And yet, David had a good heart, and it just exuded from him and made him handsome to anyone who was willing to look at his heart instead of just his physical appearance.   

It’s All About Your Heart

You can’t tell a hero by the way they look.  I love the way this is often portrayed in movies and comic books about superheroes.  Superheroes often have an alter ego.  Take Superman, for example.  He is handsome and muscular and “able to leap over tall buildings in a single bound” and yet in his everyday life he dresses as the unremarkable Clark Kent.  Clark dresses kind of nerdy and wears glasses.  Clark’s love interest—Louise Lane—hardly even notices him.  And it’s ironic, because Louise has the hots for Superman.  All the while, Clark (Superman in disguise) is right there beside her and she doesn’t even notice him.  You can’t tell a hero by the way they look.

We tend to focus on all the external things when we judge a person.  We look at things we think are good.  We say:  “They look good. They wear nice clothes.  They have a big house and drive a new car, so they must be good people.”  Or we think they fit in with everyone and are popular and everyone likes them, so they must be special.  We also look at things we think are bad.  We say, “That person is rough looking, drinks, has a bunch of tattoos, cusses a lot or doesn’t use proper English, wears the wrong clothes, drives a dirty car, etc…”  And so we think they are not a very good person.  We are focusing on all the wrong things when we look at these external factors.  It’s your heart that makes you a hero or not.

The core problem of humanity is the human heart.  In Jesus day, the religious teachers said if you ate the wrong food or didn’t wash your hands or touched someone who had leprosy or was unclean, it would make you unclean and sinful.  Jesus knew this was nonsense.  He said it is our hearts that make us sinful and unclean.  Jesus said in Matthew 15:19, “For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.”  Jeremiah 17:9 – “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” 

We Must Focus on the Heart

So, we need to focus on the heart and worry less about all those outward things.  And remember what is your heart? It is the core of who you are; it is your character; it is your passion; it is what drives you and motivate you; it is what is most important about you; it is what you live for and what you would die for.  And most of us, if we are really honest, realize our hearts aren’t right.  Our relationship with Jesus isn’t really what’s most important in our hearts.  When we look at what consumes most of our time, money, energy, resources, and thoughts, it is not God and His Kingdom and His righteousness.  We focus on our own selfish pursuits or our families or our careers or our security or our politics…  Christ may be part of our life, but he is not first in our life.  And anything that takes first place in your heart besides Christ is a problem. 

Accepting Responsibility

We like to make excuses for ourselves.  We say “That’s just the way life is.  That’s how the world works.”  But that’s just an excuse.  Or maybe we try to blame our shortcomings and our bad hearts on things that happened in the past.  “You know, it was the way my parents raised me” or “It’s the abuse I suffered as a child” or “It’s because I was bullied in school” or “I have a chemical imbalance…”  You can insert your excuse here: ________________________________.

It’s time to take responsibility for your own heart.  Until you take responsibility for your heart, you will never change.  You have to accept responsibility. It was not your parents' fault.  It is not the social class you belong to. It's not where you grew up.  It is not the way you were mistreated as a child or anything else. If you are not living up to God’s potential, if you are not living as a hero for God, it is because you have a sinful heart.  It is the Human Condition. And we must recognize this, confess it, and cry out to God for salvation! That is the only way. For as long as we continue to make excuses for ourselves we will never get to the heart of the matter and find healing for our heart. You will never become the hero God wants you to be until you admit your heart is broken.

Closing Invitation

            The Good News is Jesus came to give us a brand new heart.  If we will confess our sin, repent, and ask for help, Jesus will save us and give us a brand new heart--a hero's heart.  He said, “I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.” (Ezekiel 36:26) 

Is that what you want?  Do you want to be one of God’s heroes?  A hero that has a heart just like God’s?  Then why don’t you ask Jesus to give you one today.  I offer the following prayer to help you talk to Jesus about getting a new heart.  Let it be your words to Him today. 

Dear Jesus, forgive me for the ways my heart has not been right. 

Regardless of what I’ve done on the outside, the core of who I am has been off.

I have not loved You with my whole heart.  I have not loved my neighbor as myself.

I have not always put you first in my heart.  Please forgive me. 

Help me to turn from my wicked ways.  I want to have good heart, a hero’s heart.

Jesus, please give me a new heart and put a righteous spirit within me.

Help me to live for you whole heartedly from this day forward.

Thank you, Jesus.  Amen.

Jesus Appears to Stephen and Saul

Introduction
            There is a show on the History Channel called Ancient Aliens.  Have you heard of it?  During the show experts supposedly "investigate" ancient instances where aliens from outer space might have visited the earth.  For instance, one episode investigated the possibility that aliens visited the Earth and helped the ancient Egyptians build the great pyramids.  The main point was it would have been impossible for the Egyptians to build such massive, technologically advanced structures without the help of a more advance species.  Thus, aliens must have visited.  Perhaps I'm oversimplifying their thesis, but you get the gist of it.
            Maybe you like the show.  It's just not my thing.  I like history, but that's just not real history to me.  However, there must be quite a lot of people in America that like the show, because it's been a success and they keep making new episodes.  Well, we have such a thing we call "fake news" so I guess it's only natural that we would have such a thing as "fake history."
            The success of shows like Ancient Aliens is possible because a large portion of our population believes it is quite plausible that aliens exist somewhere in our universe.  A Newsweek article reported that 52% of Americans believe alien life exists.  The reasoning usually goes that our universe is so infinite with so many solar systems, that there must be a planet somewhere that has the conditions necessary to support life and, therefore, alien life must exist somewhere.  And if it does, there is a good probability it is intelligent, maybe far more intelligent than us, maybe intelligent enough that it can travel the universe.  And this reasoning is not limited to fringe groups and conspiracy theorists.   Even intelligent, highly educated NASA scientists argue in favor of the existence of alien life on other planets.
            And yet these same rational, intelligent, scientific people often will be the same ones who cannot accept the supernatural occurrences reported in the Bible.  They may believe in aliens or even that aliens crashed in the Nevada dessert at a place called "Area 51" as perfectly reasonable, but reject the idea that Christ rose from the dead as totally ludicrous.  They accept aliens as rational science, but reject a risen Christ as superstitious nonsense.
            I'm not saying that aliens do not exist.  Maybe they do.  My point is this.  There is absolutely no definitive evidence that aliens exist.  In fact, one could argue there is far less credible evidence for aliens than many of the supernatural miracles we find in the Bible.  So, it is not that aliens are more rational and reasonable than the Son of God rising from the dead.  Both ideas are really based on faith supported by a certain amount of mental reasoning.  However, in the end, it's what you choose to believe that makes the difference.  And it would seem that in our modern culture, it will soon be more fashionable and acceptable to believe in aliens than to believe Jesus Christ rose from the grave.  What do you choose to believe?  Do you believe in Jesus Christ?
            Those who are Christians, who are truly saved, believe that Jesus lived and died and rose from the grave.  True Christians believe Jesus is alive and has appeared to his followers and may still appear to us today (in one way or another).  I have discussed several stories about Christ appearing to his followers in bodily form during the first forty days after his resurrection.  But then Christ ascended to heaven and is no longer on the earth in bodily form the way he was in those first forty days.  Since then, the risen Christ is present with us in spiritual form, through the Holy Spirit.  And so today, I want to share two stories from the Book of Acts in the Bible.


Jesus Appeared to Stephen and Saul             The resurrection appearances we will examine today were witness by two very different people--Stephen and Saul.  Let me give some brief background on each before we read their accounts from the Book of Acts.
            First there is Stephen.  Stephen was one of the first deacons of the early Church.  The Church was growing and the Disciples had a problem.  There were so many new people joining the Church who needed nurturing and assistance it was consuming too much of the Disciples' time they couldn't focus on teaching, preaching, and leading the Church.  So they decided to select a few godly men to serve as deacons who would focus on caring for the needs of people in the church--especially assisting with outreach to widows.  Stephen was one of the godly men they chose.  We will also see Stephen became the first martyr of the church recorded in the Bible (a martyr is someone who loses their life for the sake of the Christian faith).
            The second person we will see who witnessed the risen Christ was a man named Saul.  Now, this is not the King Saul of the Old Testament, but you probably have heard of Saul, but by a different name.  This Saul in the New Testament is usually known by the name Paul, the Apostle Paul.  Paul has been called the most influential Christian figure of the New Testament (besides Jesus) and the greatest evangelist of the church.  The Apostle Paul wrote nearly half of the New Testament and he traveled all over the known world converting people to Christ and planting churches.  God used Paul to spread Christianity so it grew from a small Jewish sect to a world-wide religion (and the largest world religion today).  Saul and Paul were the same man, but before Saul became Paul, he was a very different man.  Before Saul became a Christian, he tried to destroy Christianity.  The Saul of our story was Jewish religious fanatic bent on wiping out Christianity, which he saw as a perversion of true religion and a rival threat to the Jewish faith.
            But first, let's read Stephen's account of seeing the risen Christ.

Acts 7:54-58

⁵⁴ The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen’s accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage. ⁵⁵ But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand. ⁵⁶ And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!”

⁵⁷ Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him ⁵⁸ and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Jesus Appeared to Stephen

            First of all, we see Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit.  People could tell there was something special about Stephen.  He was humble, giving, selfless, caring, and willing to serve others.  That's why he was chosen to be a deacon who would serve the widows and others in need in the early Church.  Stephen didn't need the spotlight to be on him.  He was a servant leader. 

            Wouldn't you like to be more like Stephen--to be full of the Holy Spirit?  Well, you can't be full of the Holy Spirit if you are already full of yourself!  If you want to be full of the Holy Spirit, you've got to empty yourself.  Get rid of your selfish attitudes, your selfish desires, your ego, your need to be the center of attention.  Then you will be empty and there will be space for the Holy Spirit to fill you.  You will be filled with the Spirit to the degree you are willing to empty yourself.

            According to Acts 6:5, Stephen was also full of faith.  And his faith helped him to see Jesus and to serve him, even when it was difficult, even when the stones were crashing down on him.  The reading makes no mention of him being afraid.  No. We have this sense that Stephen was at completely at peace and willing lay down his life.  And even as he was dying, his faith helped him to see Christ.

            Faith is so important to us.  It is essential.  Faith helps us to see the risen Christ--especially when we need it most, when everything is crashing down around us.  Faith helps you endure for Christ when serving and loving others us hard, when you are frustrated, when you don't seem to be getting anywhere.  Do you have faith?  Couldn't we all use a little more?  The time to strengthen our faith is now, especially before the trials and tribulations of life come.  Better to build that faith when everything is at ease, and then you will have a large store of faith to draw from when troubles come.

            There are ways to build your faith.  Ways that surely helped Stephen.  Prayer is essential to strengthen your faith.  Talking to Jesus everyday helps us  know him and trust him more.  Then when we need to cry out to him because of trials, we already have a relationship to draw upon.  Study and worship are also essential to strong faith.  This is not just going to church and going through the motions, but actually pouring out your heart to Christ and honoring him through your study and worship.  Fellowship is another key ingredient to strong faith.  It is more than just being around other Christians.  Real, vital fellowship is intimately sharing your life and struggles with other believers--trusting them, confiding in them, encouraging and being encouraged by them.  And finally serving others is a tremendous and indispensable way we build our faith.

            Stephen was full of faith and the Holy Spirit and it helped him see the risen Christ in the glory of Heaven even as he was being murdered because of his beliefs.  And the man mentioned at the end of the story, who was complicit in Stephen's murder, was the second man we will read about who had a very different encounter with the risen Christ-.  His name was Saul. 

Acts 9:1-9

¹ Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest. ² He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains.

            Saul was bent on destroying the Christian faith.  He was a very religious person, but his religion--which was supposed to lead him closer to God--actually blinded him to the truth and made him fight against the very God he claimed to serve.  Saul would do anything to destroy the Christians he supposed were threatening his religion. 

³ As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”

            The voice speaking to Saul is Christ. Christ asks Saul why he is persecuting him.  But Saul was not persecuting Christ; he was persecuting Christians.  Yet Christians make up the body of Christ.  So persecuting Christians is the same as persecuting Christ.  This is a clue for us if we want to see the risen Christ on earth.  Whenever Christians gather together as the Church, we are the Body of Christ in a very real sense.  One way we can see the risen Christ is through his people, the Church.  And if you turn your back I the Church, you are turning your back on Christ.

⁵ “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked.

            Notice, Saul doesn’t know who is speaking to him, but he calls the voice lord.  Saul doesn’t know the Lord, but he knows enough to see if this powerful person can knock him on his butt, he is a lord.  But Saul doesn't have a relationship with this Lord yet.
            The lordship of Jesus Christ is a central theme in both of the stories.  When Stephen saw Jesus, he saw him in a Kingdom. Stephen describes Jesus & God in glory and honor.  They are in the glorious Kingdom of Heaven.  Stephen knew Jesus was Lord and he knew the Lord.  What a contrast to Saul.  Saul is religious, but God is not really his Lord, let alone Jesus. Religion is Saul's lord. Religion is his idol.  He is willing to do anything for his religion, even murder.  But his religion has blinded Saul to the very presence of God.  He doesn’t even recognize Jesus when he appears.  He doesn’t even know he’s been persecuting Jesus, the Lord of lords, this whole time!  What about you?  Have you let religion become your god?  Your lord?  Your idol?

And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! ⁶ Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

⁷ The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone’s voice but saw no one! ⁸ Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus. ⁹ He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink.

Jesus Appears to Saul

            This story tells us something very important about the risen Christ.  Jesus doesn’t just appear to good people.  He will appear to a murderous, evil man like Saul too.  It’s far safer to be spiritually hot or cold than to be lukewarm.  There is hope if you are going down a very bad road; you can always change when Jesus convicts you.  It's even better if you are fervently racing down the right road.  But the truly dangerous path is indifference, complacency, and apathy.  These are the attitudes that lull us to our doom without us even knowing.  It is when we say, “Yeah, I go to church, but I don’t get all serious about it.  I'm not one of those fanatics.”  Or, it is when we say, “Well, I don’t go to church, but I’m a good person.  I'm just as good as the next guy.  I just don't think I need to go to church.”  These kinds of attitudes seduce us into thinking everything is just fine when really it is not, because we are really just not that interested in a genuine, heartfelt relationship with God.
            Saul was a Jewish zealot bent on destroying Christianity, but at least he was not indifferent.  And Jesus appeared to Saul and changed everything.  We find in Saul a man who experienced the risen Christ in a dramatic way and it completely changed the course of his life.  The change was so dramatic, he even changed his name.  Saul became Paul and he became a Christian Apostle, arguably the greatest of all the Apostles--not because of his ego, but because of his willingness to serve the Lord with everything he had and was.

Do You Know the King?
            The Kingdom of God is all around.  It’s everywhere.  But do you know the King?  You know, it amazes me to think we still have countries in this world who have kings and queens.  And it's not backwards, third world countries.  England still has a monarch!  So you can travel to England ans say you have seen the "kingdom."  But it would be really neat be in England and to see the king.  That's a whole new level.  But suppose you were in England and you were invited to a dinner with the king.  Now we are really getting serious!  And yet, that still wouldn't be as impressive as if you got to talk to the king.  It's one thing to see the kingdom, or even the king, but it's a big deal to talk with the king!  Could it get any better?  Yes!  What if you had an ongoing relationship with the king?  What if you had his personal phone number and could call him anytime?  And what if you friendship was so deep that you could ask him for help if you ever needed it?  And what if from time to time the king called you and asked you to do something?  What and honor!  What a privilege!  What if the king was your best friend?  Now we are really talking!
            Well friends, that is what it means to be a true Christian.  The Kingdom of Christ is all around and Jesus is Lord.  But it's one thing to see the Kingdom (or even to see the Lord), but it's a whole new level of spectacular when you have a real relationship with Jesus, when the Lord is your best friend.  When you can call on him in your time of need and when he can call on you to ask you to do something for him.  That is a real honor and privilege.
            Have you seen the risen Lord?  Do you know Him?  Would you recognize Him if he spoke to you?  Do you talk to Him every day?  Do you have a real relationship with Him?  Could you call Him up if you had a real need?  Could He call on you?  Would you obey if He did?  Perhaps He's calling on you today.

The Truth As Far As I Can Tell... Mary, Mother of Jesus

The Truth As Far As I Can Tell…

 

Luke 1:46-49

⁴⁶ And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
    Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name.”

 

            Mother’s day is coming—May 14^th—a wonderful opportunity to honor our mothers for giving us life and for all they have done to make us who we are.

Mary was the mother of Jesus, our Lord.  Little is written about Mary after the stories of Christ’s birth, but she exemplifies many of the traits of motherhood.  Mary was always part of Christ’s story—nurturing, supporting, and encouraging—even if she was not mentioned by name.  Our mothers’ influence is always part of who we become.

Mary was not the central character in the Gospel, but that’s OK.  Mary never needed the focus to be on her.  Mary knew the focus should always be on her son Jesus instead.  Jesus is Lord, not Mary.  Jesus is the Savior, not Mary.  Jesus is the Son of God.  Jesus is the one who takes away our sins, who answers our prayers, who directs our path. 

I think it would disturb Mary if we spent too much time honoring her.  She would say, “Why are you giving me all this attention?  Don’t look to me!  Don’t worship me! I’m just a person like you.  Please! Please, look at my Son over there!  Isn’t he wonderful?”  Oh that we all had that attitude.  This life is not about us!  It is about Christ!

 

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus!

Look full in his wonderful face

and the things of earth will grow strangely dim

in the light of his glory and grace!”

 

However, Mary was important.  She was faithful, devoted, loving, and true.  She raised our Lord and helped him grow into the man we read about in our Bible, and the man who rose from the grave, and who walks with us today.  And Jesus loved his mother. There was a special bond between Mary and her son.

So as we come to Mother’s Day, let us honor the women who have helped make us who we are.  And let us learn humility, faithfulness, and devotion from Mary who loved her son sacrificially and always pointed away from herself toward him—the only One who is truly worthy of praise.  She said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”   Of course, I’m no expert and certainly don’t claim to know everything, but that’s the Truth as far as I can tell…

 

God loves you and so do I!

 

 

 

Jesus Cooks Breakfast

Caution Fish Stories Ahead             One Sunday, a man woke up and told his wife, "I'm not going to church today." 
            His wife replied, "But you have to go.  You always go to church on Sunday." 
            "Well I'm not going today!  I'm going fishing!" 
            "You can't go fishing.  You have to go to church!  It's the Lord's Day!"  She said, very irritated.
            "I don't care.  I don't like those church people.  They're a bunch of hypocrites.  They're mean.  They're judgmental and rude.  I don't like them and I'm not going to church!  I'm going fishing!"
            "But you have to go to church!  You're the preacher!"

            So a preacher was fishing one morning when a drunk came stumbling by carrying a fishing pole.  He looked up and nodded to the preacher as he stumbled by.  The preacher just shook his head in disgust.  The preacher fished all day long and didn't catch a thing.  The drunk came back by that evening lugging a full stringer of fish. He looked up at the preacher and ask, "Preacher, you catch anything?" 
            "Nope," said the preacher.
            The drunk just shook his head in disgust and said, "You ain't livin' right."

            Some people have said Easter is just a fish story.  You know how fishermen tell exaggerated tales about the "biggest fish I ever saw."  Well, I'm here to tell you, the Easter story is true!  Jesus really did rise from the grave.  He is not dead.  He is alive and we can still see him if we have faith to see.
            Jesus appeared many times to people in many places the days immediately following his
resurrection.  He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, and then to the other Mary, Salome, Joanna, and other women.  He also appeared to Simeon Peter, Cleopas and his friend, to the Twleve Disciples (minus Thomas) and then again to the Twelve when Thomas was there.  (By the way, the term Twelve became a term used to describe any collection of the original twelve disciples, even if it was only a partial group.)  Jesus also appeared to the disciples and a large crowd of followers on a mountain, to his half-brother James (who started out as a skeptic, but became a believer after seeing the risen Christ), and to the Disciples when he ascended back to Heaven.  Jesus also appeared to Stephen (who was the first Christian martyr) and Paul who had a hand in Stephen's murder.  And Jesus has shown himself in many ways over the centuries since.  We can still see the risen Christ today if we have faith to see.
            The Easter story says that Jesus rose.  He is alive, not dead.  Easter is not a fish story.  But Easter does have a fishing story.

John 21:1-14 ¹ Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. ² Several of the disciples were there—Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples.

³ Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”
“We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.

⁴ At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. ⁵ He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?”
“No,” they replied.

⁶ Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.

⁷ Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore.

⁸ The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore. ⁹ When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.

¹⁰ “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,” Jesus said. ¹¹ So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn.

¹² “Now come and have some breakfast!” Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. ¹³ Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. ¹⁴ This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.

Jesus Cooks Breakfast
            This was the third time Jesus appeared to his Disciples; not the third time he appeared, but the third time to the Twelve (remember, the Twelve was a title that indicated a group of the original twelve Disciples even if some were missing).

            In this story, five of the disciples are named and two are unnamed.  I kind of feel bad for those two who were not named and wonder why John didn't name them.  I guess it wasn't important.  However, God knows who they were.  Do you ever feel like you are forgotten or unrecognized?  Don't feel bad.  It happened in the Bible too.  But God knows who you are and He will recognize you in the end.  Count it a blessing, like these two unnamed disciples who got to see the risen Christ.

            Now the disciples couldn't see Jesus.  Perhaps it was still to dark or there was some morning fog or they were too far from shore.  They didn't know it was Jesus at first.  But then John realized it was Christ when they caught so many fish.  It reminded him of another time they had caught so many fish because of Jesus.  Once John's faith kicked in, he knew it was Jesus directing them from the shore.  Faith helps us see the risen Christ.  Peter had faith too.  When John told him, "That's Jesus!"  Peter was convinced enough to leap in the water and swim to Jesus to say hello.

            There on the shore, they found Jesus cooking breakfast and they all gathered around to share the meal.  Some have speculated Jesus was just a ghost or spirit.  But ghosts and spirits don't cook or eat.  Clearly, Jesus wanted everyone to know he was real flesh and blood and very much alive and healthy and walking around in a real body. 

            Food is always held up as a central element of God's Kingdom.  Jesus taught stories using food.  He described the Kingdom of God as a grand banquet.  Jesus gave us the sacrament of Holy Communion to remember him with bread and wine.  And here in this story, we find Jesus cooking and eating with his disciples.

 

Fish for Breakfast

            Where I live, we are not accustomed to eating fish for breakfast.  I was in Jerusalem a few years ago and they had a breakfast buffet for guests of the hotel.  I expected to find the usual fare--pancakes, fruit, cereal, etc.  I did find those, but also there was plenty of fish to choose from.  Fish is a big part of the Mediterranean diet--even for breakfast.  And it was so for the Disciples as well.

            Fish are an important element in the story of Christian faith.  Half the disciples were fishermen.  Jesus performed several miracles using fish and also used elements from the fishing industry to make his points.  And Jesus said the disciples would become fishers of men. 

            Early Christians adopted the fish as a secret symbol of their faith.  Even today, Christians often attach a fish symbol to the back of their car.  Why is that?  The Greek word for fish is ΙΧΘΥΣ and is the acronym for "Iēsous Christos, Theou Yios, Sōtēr", which translates to "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior."  Sometimes, when a Christian met a stranger and wanted to find out if they were a Christian too, the Christian would draw one half of the fish symbol on the ground.  If the other person drew the other half of the symbol, it confirmed that they were also Christian and they could talk openly about their faith without fear of persecution.

 

Luke 5 vs. John 21             Our fish story from John 21 resembles another fish story from Luke 5.  Comparing the two stories is enlightening.  They both took place on the Sea of Galilee, but the one from Luke was at the beginning of Jesus' ministry where the one from John is near the end.
            In both cases, the Disciples fished all night long without success.  And in both cases, Jesus brought a miraculous catch.  From this we can see that Jesus is the source of the Christian's success.  If we are struggling and toiling and don't seem to be getting anywhere, perhaps we should pause and look for the risen Christ.  Perhaps we should listen more closely for his instruction and try something different and then we will find a great catch.  And just like the Disciples, our faith can be renewed.
            Peter responds very differently in the two stories.  In Luke, Peter is convicted of his sin and says to Jesus, “Please leave me--I’m such a sinful man.”  But look how far Peter has grown since the beginning.  In this story (after three years with Jesus), Peter leaps into the water and swims to be the first to greet Jesus. Peter knows he is still a sinful man, but he also knows that is why he must swim toward Jesus and not away from him and that Jesus will accept him unconditionally.  Do you realize Jesus accepts you unconditionally?  Are you swimming toward the risen Lord with hope or running away in fear?
            In Luke's story, the net starts to break because it has so many fish.  In the resurrection story from John, there are just as many fish but the nets don't break.  I think this is a symbol of what Christ's resurrection has done.  On the cross, Christ accomplished everything that needed to be done.  Now his “fishers of men” can fish with strong, unbreakable nets.  We can drag in the catch with perfect confidence.  Because of Christ's resurrection, we can live and serve unhindered and with full strength and purpose.
            John’s story is very specific.  153 large fish were caught.  That's so specific, it stands out like the smell of fresh fish cooking in a kitchen.  John did that on purpose because he had a secret, symbolic meaning to share.  Unfortunately, we have lost that meaning over the centuries.  Many have speculated what it could be.  Some came up with interesting ideas, but the we don't know of sure.
            One thing we can say is that a fishing net is indiscriminate.  You don't pick which fish you catch.  The net just drags everything up all the same.  But John says all 153 fish were large fish.  They were all "keepers" in modern fishing lingo.  And so it is in the Kingdom of God.  We are not called to discriminate about who comes into the Kingdom.  We are called to cast the net.  And whoever believes and swims into our Gospel net, we are to drag ashore.  Some will be slimy and smelly (all of us really are), but we are called to love them just the same.  Besides, it is Jesus' job to receive them, clean them, and prepare them for breakfast.  And he will make each one who is willing perfect in God's sight.

 

Breakfast is Served

            I want to leave you with three practical ideas to take home from this story.  First of all, have you been dragging up empty nets?  Look for Jesus.  Listen for his voice.  Maybe he’s telling you to try something different. 

            Second, have you had a miraculous catch?  Then, look for the risen Christ.  A miraculous success is often a sign he is near.  In those times, be thankful, and seek to swim even closer to him.

            And last, this story reminds you that you count.  The only way the Disciples could know the exact number of fish in the net is if they counted them.  Each one was numbered.  And so it is with each of us.  Jesus picks each one of us up, looks us over, and records us in the Book of Life.  He knows us by name.  He knows everything about us.  And he loves us.  We are all keepers in his sight.

            You are one of the 153 fish the Disciples caught.  You may be a little smelly and slimy.  But Jesus loves you.    And he loves that guy over there too--the one who has piercings and tattoos, the one who is gay, the one who uses vulgar language, and everyone else too.  It is not our job to decide who makes it in.  Our job is just to cast the Gospel net and let God decide who gets caught up in the Kingdom.