A Sermon by The Rev. Dan Rondeau

Follow Me

The Rev. Dan Rondeau

St. Margaret's Episcopal Church & School

Sienna and Jordon you have gotten two of the longer stories we ever share on a Sunday morning today on the conversion of Paul wrote to Damascus and Peter. Usually it’s much shorter and these are two powerful stories. Parents, family, all of you who have gathered here this day - two really important stories for us to look at in terms of Paul and conversion, and I’m going to focus on the second story, the one you just heard, more about Peter, but for each of these, my hope is that this will be a beginning and introduction so that during the week you can open to the Acts of the Apostle’s and read the account of Paul again of Saul that you may open the Gospel of John and read this account again.

The stories will keep us here all morning quite frankly, we could look at them, ask questions and wonder at God’s grace and actions in the lives of these two men - but I don’t know if Jordan and Sienna will be good that long. So, these two very different stories about Paul and conversion demand our attention, not only today, but throughout the week.

If we look at Simon, we need to go back when he was first called, shortly after Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River, he went looking for disciples and among the first that he found were Simon and his brother Andrew and He said follow me, and they did. Having witnesses, as they followed, the many healings, having witnessed the expulsion of demons, the delivering of people otherwise trapped. Having witnessed the feeding of the 5000, Simon was the first to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, confessed on the road. Simon was singled out shortly after that as leader, and Jesus gave him the name Peter. Said on this rock, Jesus was going to build. Peter had listened to Jesus throughout his journey to Jerusalem, he was there for the Sermon on the Mount, and he was there in the house as Jesus opened the parable to his disciples. He listened to Jesus throughout his teaching ministry. Peter was there when Lazarus was raised from the dead, Peter was present at the meal when Jesus took bread and gave thanks, blessed the bread, broke it and gave it to Peter to the others and He gave it to us, generations later "this is my body." Peter had seen the empty tomb and more importantly.

Peter had met the risen Lord already as you heard in the account; this was the third time that Jesus appeared. But in between the meal and the empty tomb and meeting the risen Lord in Jerusalem, in between, Peter had done what he said he would never do. Peter had denied even knowing Jesus and not just once, it wasn’t just a slip of the tongue, he did this three times! I don’t know the man. Leave me alone. He had not been present to witness the Via Dela Rosa; he was not at the foot of the cross as Jesus died. Peter was hiding, shame, humiliated, afraid, my guess is he felt more like quick sand than a rock. In that moment.

Now we are at the Sea of Tiberius having been fed again by Jesus, Peter, humbler now, aware of his flaws, short-coming, seemingly a failure, expects, fears, the worst, as Jesus prepares to speak to him and he can see clearly that Jesus is going to address him. Simon, and notice he uses that word Simon, not Peter, not the rock, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than thee? Not a word about Peter’s denial, about his hiding, about his abandonment, not a word of recrimination or condemnation, do you love me? Yes, Lord, You know that I love you. Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." Was Peter relieved? Was he thrilled? Surprised? That’s where I am, he had to have been surprised, first by the question and then by the response. Jesus still wanted him to serve – "feed my lambs," surprised, but Jesus wasn’t finished, (oh great) now comes the condemnation, now comes, I want you to remember Peter. But it wasn’t - a second question: A second time Jesus said to Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He said, yes Lord, you know I love you - Jesus said to him "tend my sheep." He said to him a third time, Simon son of John do you love me? Peter felt hurt, we’re told, because Jesus said to him a third time, do you love me? And he said to Him, Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you. Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep." After this He said to him, "Follow Me."

So despite Peter’s hurt, here in my heart is one of the most grace-filled moments recorded by the evangelists -- questions, do you love me? In the ministry "tend my sheep, feed my lamb, feed my sheep."

I believe we have much to learn from our older brother Peter, we have much to learn as we tell and retell this story, year after year and Brett and Ashley and I hope you get to share this story often with you daughter and with your son. This isn’t just a story about a man long ago and far away, it’s our story, this is us, it’s you and it’s me and it’s now, 2007, all of us have been following Jesus for sometime now, just like Simon. Like him, we’ve witnessed the power of Jesus to heal, to forgive to deliver others from evil; we have heard the teachings of Jesus from this spot in our own Bible study. We have been fed like Simon from this table, this is My Body. Like Peter the Lord offered an invitation to you and to me and it was uniquely shaped -- each of us heard this differently, and each of us have responded, "follow me" at some point we heard follow me, and we did and we have and here you are this morning presenting your children to be baptized into the same faith.

The Lord says, "Follow me" and here is Jordan and Sienna, their parents have heard and now present this for baptism. But each of us at some point, hear "follow me" and so we have, called by Jesus we have followed and then so like Peter, we have set high ideals for ourselves, we’ve imagined ourselves, strong and sincere and capable of following any promise that we make to our Lord and to each other. Promises like those in our baptismal covenant. And so like Peter, we have failed, we’ve failed ourselves, failed others, failed our God. We fallen short and we know it. And yet here we are just like Peter at the Sea of Tiberius. Like Peter, we may be afraid that our Lord will highlight our failures. Condemn our pathetic efforts to be a good disciple, expose us as a fraud to the rest of the group. We may believe we deserve this kind of treatment, we may put ourselves in God’s place and we know just what to do with the kind of failures that we know so well about ourselves. But then thanks be to God, like Peter we will find God more eager to give us what we need than what we deserve. God, more eager to give us what we need, and to give us what we deserve, to feed us instead of telling us "no you’re not worthy, go away." To share the word, rather than hide it, to only be initiated in here and now, and give us what we need.

As you listened today about the two very different stories about Paul and conversion, take to heart what is revealed about our God in these stories - in and through the risen Lord --- take to heart what is revealed about being a disciple when you look at Peter and Paul and their response. First be attentive, God’s constantly desires our companionship our attention, our love, our willingness to serve others. Be attentive for at the right time in God’s time, a conversation will begin. It always does, because the second one is closely related to that, the second learning. Not to worry, God will use our attentiveness to take the initiative, God always does. Took the initiative on the road, didn’t he? Dramatically with Saul, knocked him down, blinded him, a little less dramatically with Simon. Spoke to him, "do you love me?" And this submits the routines of everyday life that this is the pattern throughout our sacred story. God takes the initiative, and if we are attentive, the right time, the conversation will begin. There will be an opening for grace and that’s the third one. Believe that God will give us what we need, not what we deserve. And that is Paul’s grace. Saul was forced to take a deeper look in his quest for the truth. He was so focused on the law and fulfilling every little part of the law and wanted others to do the same, that he was in fact blind to a bigger truth about God’s love, God’s grace. He certainly was attentive, God took the initiative, knocked him down, blinded him, in order that Saul could see this bigger truth. And he did. Peter discovered the enduring quality of God’s love, not like a human love, if you do all these things just right, I’ll just keep loving you, God’s enduring love, a love focused on the best, not the worst in Him, Jesus called forth and Simon, not only the evangelist, that happened some days, weeks, months, ago, I will make you fishers of men, now at the Sea of Tiberius – he calls forth the shepherd, feed my sheep, tend my sheep --- and then the fourth part, God will use our best -- serve others, give God the glory, and also save us perhaps? As we spread the kingdom. So be attentive, be ready because God will take the initiative and into your attention, things will happen and they will be the things that you most need and then just like Saul and just like Peter, God will use you, God’s glory for the spread of the kingdom --- for the good of others.

So Sienna and Jordan, I have put them to sleep, oh my gosh, no this is a good thing. Each of you please, please open the story in Acts, open the story in John, let it speak to you throughout this week, not just this day. Let it inform you as you live as a disciple in Christ, and let me pray for you and let me pray for me.

Come Risen Lord, come as with Paul on the road to Damascus, and help us to see you more clearly, come Risen Lord, come as with Peter at the seas edge and help us to love you more dearly, Come Risen Lord, as you did to our brothers Peter and Paul and help us follow you more nearly, day by day.

Amen.

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