“By Grace and Love Transformed”             2010

John 13:36-38            John 18:15-18            John 21:13-19, 25-27

 

John 13:36-38    Jesus Foretells Peter’s Denial

36 Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, where are you going?’ Jesus answered, ‘Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; but you will follow afterwards.’ 37Peter said to him, ‘Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’ 38Jesus answered, ‘Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.

 

John 18:15-18               Peter Denies Jesus

15 Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, 16but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. 17The woman said to Peter, ‘You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ 18Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing round it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself.

 

John 21:13-19, 25-27   Jesus and Peter

13Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. 15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ 16A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ 17He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the 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. 18Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.’ 19(He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ 25But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

 

I'm not sure,            if they still show it on the ESPN channel anymore,

            but there used to be a late night TV program  called,

                        “The World’s Strongest Man Competition”;            in which

                                    these huge muscle-bound behemoths  would compete à

                 in the most unusual races and contests of extreme strength.

 

There was one race, in which there were some old cars,

            that the had cut holes down through the floorboards,

                        and the contestants would

                                    run them around the track like a  Flintstones cars.

 

In another contest they would strain & stagger under the awkward weight,

            of trying to race while carrying a full length telephone pole.

 

Or one of my favorites    was when they had to pick up a refrigerator,

            build up some momentum by running with it for a few yards,

                        and then suddenly stop,  and heave it as far as they could.

 

It was amazing to watch these giant athletes stagger and struggle,

            burdened with objects heavier than most of us could even lift.

 

     The weight and size of those burdens were amazing – astounding…

 

… but an even  more awkward and difficult,  an even heavier burden,

            than an old car, or a telephone pole, or even a refrigerator,

                  or any of the other world’s strongest man competition objectsà

 

   à  had to be   the terrible guilt and shame, the sorrow and regret,

                           that Peter must have felt    after he denied Jesus 3 times,

                                    and then his Lord was beaten, scourged and crucified.

                       

            Peter was in the inner circle traveling with Jesus for three years.

                        He was one of the first disciples  Jesus called to follow him.

He was the  one who walked on water with Jesus amid the raging  storm,

            and the first to declare Jesus, the Messiah, God’s Anointed.

* He loved this man, this miracle-worker and teacher from Nazareth.

 

And when Peter proclaimed that despite what anyone else might do,

            that he would be   unwaveringly faithful, even to death;

                         he really meant it.              Peter wasn’t just boasting,à

                                    he truly loved Jesus and never  expected to fail him.

 

How it must have stung and hurt Peter,  when Jesus insisted,

            that before the cock would even crow twice    that very day;

                        that Peter would deny even knowing his Lord, three times.

 

*   Imagine Peter’s resolve,   that he would never do   such a thing.

 

Then, what terrible shame and guilt, what sad remorse and regret,

            Peter must have felt and suffered;

                        when despite his certainty and assurances to Jesus,

                           he heard himself, his own words 3 times  denying his Lord,

                                                just as Jesus had foretold,    and warned him.

 

What a terrible burden it must have been when Jesus died.

            And what bitter regret, what a soul-crushing burden of guilt;

                        as he wondered if he could have changed what happened à

                                                                had he been a little stronger

                                                                        and a little bit more loyal to his Lord.

 

From our own life experience,  can’t we all   identify with Peter?

 

Don't we too

            know what it is to carry the heavy load of guilt and regret,

                        and to struggle under the burden   of shame   for the past.

 

Sometimes you can even see it in a person’s weary troubled eyes,

            or in their stooped shoulders and faltering uncertain steps;

 

Who doesn’t cringe a bit,  remembering some of their own history?

 

            Who doesn’t have some memories of regrets that still haunt?

 

But the real problem  

            with the guilt and shame that we feel over our past,

                 is the terrible & negative impact it can have on our lives à

 

                        à as even in the present,

                                    it can still inflict its damage,  on into our future.

*    Remorse, guilt and regret    make a very poor companions in life.

 

As a pastor I see the sad effects of guilt and shame all the time…

            … in people who feel isolated, insecure, alienated & lonely;

 

            -  who remain in the shadows,  uninvolved along the edge,

                        fearful, uncomfortable at being known and appreciated…

          holding back from other people or using their gifts … and missing the joy.

 

The vast majority of all the crisis counseling I do   mostly involves

            people who are weary from dragging around the burden of guilt,

                        who come hoping & needing desperately   to find & receive

                                    the healing relief of God’s love, mercy and grace;à

 

à        to stop living in fear,  staggering under astounding burdens,

                        afraid of drawing nearer to God and other people;

                                    terrified that someone might find out something                                                       they've hidden from their past … and reject them.

 

     In our world there is an urgent desperation   for love and mercy

                  – that is hampered and blocked by fear,   by shame and guilt.

 

*   And I believe  that  to be accepted, to be appreciated, and loved,

            those    are the world’s most rare,  most wonderful commodities.

 

Our world  is characterized by harsh judgment, revenge & jealousy,

            and for many, God’s grace seems far too wonderfulà

                        to possibly be true  --  its too far from their life experience.

 

And yet what an amazing, what an overwhelmingly wonderful thing

            when someone does finally grasp how much God loves them,

                        and they begin to experience the authentic joy and peace

                                    of a growing and deepening   relationship with Jesus.

            Have you ever seen             the face

              of a new Christian awash  with the grace & joy of Jesus Christ?

 

What a total change

            in a person's whole attitude and their sense of self worth;

                        when rather than fearing harsh judgment and condemnation

                            they begin see & recognize themselves through the lens

                                    of the truth and reality  of God's gracious mercy and healing love.

 

And suppose as a church family, that we,  this congregation,à

 

            put all our efforts into encouraging and affirming people

                        instead of trying to point out their failings and faults;

                                    if we did everything we could

                                                to show and display God's love and grace,

                                    if we did all we could to practice & reveal the truth

                                              of how precious and truly loved by God we humans really are…

… my guess is à

            that the walls of the largest church building in the world,à

                        could not contain all the people, all the hungry & hopingà

                                     people desperate to experience the reality and truth

               à            of God’s unconditional, unrelenting and unlimited grace.

 

Nothing is so terrible and so painful, so isolating and alienating,

            as the heavy & awkward burden of our feelings of guilt & shame;

                        for nothing  can make us   so fearful,  so distant & lonely.

 

I so identify   with Peter in this passage today, feeling ashamed

                        and being afraid, hesitant even to say anything to Jesus.

I am sure Peter wanted to ask Jesus for forgiveness…

            … that he so wanted   to restore his relationship with Jesus,

                        but then, he was silent,  because     he didn’t know how.

 

I sense a tension, a hesitation;  as fearfully he waits in silence;

            or maybe he jabbered on  making small talk   

                while the burden of his shame and guilt continued to ferment.

 

Then Jesus pulls Peter aside,  finally   to clear the air,

            and  deal with Peter's guilt and shame, his remorse and regret.

 

The focus of the conversation, and the questions Jesus asked Peter,

            were not accusations about Peter’s denials and failure;

                        but rather centered the attention  on their relationship –

 

  - Jesus wanted to restore Peter in a healthy and healing way,

                by providing some space for  truth and reconciliation,

                        an opportunity to release Peter from   his burden of guilt.

 

Yet, it was not the cheap grace of denying or ignoring his past failure.

 

            Three times, when asked, Peter had denied knowing Jesus.

                        So, three times, Jesus asked Peter, ‘do you love me?’

 

            Three times Jesus invited Peter re-declare his love,

                        and three times,  Jesus then commanded Peter,

                                    to serve, to tend, and to feed his flock.

 

*  “If you do love me, then come back, & use your gifts for ministry.”

 

When Jesus first called Peter from fishing, he said, “follow me”.

 

            In this story, when Jesus calls Peter back to work at the end,

                        he uses those same words again, “follow me”;à

 

                                    signifying that in the forgiveness and pardon

                                                so, their relationship has been restored ---

*                  and so Peter was called and equipped, made ready to serve.

 

So what can we draw from this for our lives?

 

First, ‘repentance’ and ‘guilt’  are not the same thing.

                        The one is healthy, leading toward reconciliation,

                                    the other, destroys and distorts our relationships.

 

God wants and requires our repentance,

            but then to wallow in guilt and shame,  is not of the Lord;

                        for that denies the reality;  the meaning & power of grace.

 

God’s focus is always beyond the failure  focusing instead on the future,à

            toward a new and deeper  relationship  and call to follow Jesus.

 

And whatever it is   that we secretly hide and fear of our past,

            it does not disqualify us

                        from the wonder & joy Jesus intends for us;à

 

                for the question isn’t   what happened in our past,

                         but, what   from our failures our mistakes, our struggles,

                                    does the Lord God intend

                                                to rebuild and reconstruct for our future?

 

Although we cannot go back; change, cancel or correct the past,

            we can let God redeem the past, 

                        that is, allow the past to be resolved in a beneficial way.

 

Now that does not mean that there won’t ever be hard consequences,

            or that we won’t suffer and struggle from our failure & sin;

                        but it does promise that God can and will redeem them.

 

 

One time as an adult,

            some regretful things,   mercifully, I'd forgotten of my youth,

                        the memory suddenly came crashing and crushing in on me

                                    as I was brought back what had happened long ago,à

 

               and I saw the hurt,

                        the harm and pain that   youthful me   had caused…

                                    … - and I felt ashamed and crushed,

                                                I was so sorry    as I remembered it,   and I cringed.

 

I felt the burden of my guilt and remorse,

             that didn't bother me at the time, it was nothing back then,

                        but as I was remembering – perhaps re-feeling …

                                    I was desperately wishing I could go back for a redo --

            -- knowing that today I never do or say something like that.

 

And then I experienced a voice of grace and hope, comfort and pardon

            saying, "No, I know you wouldn't still do or say that now,

                             for you have   grown,

                                    and by my grace and love   been transformed."

 

* That is how God handles our failures & mistakes, our brokenness.

 

 

Jesus didn't ask,

            "Peter are you really , really sorry?

                         Do you feel sufficient guilt, are you feeling remorse?"

Jesus did ask,

            Peter do you love me?   Do you love me?   Peter, do you love me? à

                                    à  will you let me love you?

 

            The question is, will you let the Lord take away your burden,

                        and will you let   that love and grace transform your life?