April 22, 2007, Easter 3
John 21

There was a lot of bad news last week. On Monday morning there was the tragedy at the University in Virginia. A disturbed student killed 33 students and then killed himself. Family and friends all over America mourned. On Monday evening the Mayor of the City of Nagasaki was gunned down and killed by a man dissatisfied about a traffic incident a few years ago. The citizens of Nagasaki mourned the popular Mayor and lined the streets as the hearse with the body of the Mayor they loved went by. During the week more soldiers and civilians were killed by terrorists in Iraq. During the week, spring storms and tornadoes killed more people.

This is the Easter Season. What does Easter say to all of this?

People ask what was going on in the mind of the gunmen and bombers. People think that if they understand the cause of the disaster then they will be able to be comforted. But psychological analysis will not find the real cause. However, Easter does tell us the cause. But who wants to hear the real reason?

There is grief and sadness and sorrow. People die all the time. But the tragedy at the university campus was more than sorrow, it was horror. It was horror because it showed how vulnerable we all are. People think that a classroom is safe. Kids feel safe there, their parents think their kids are safe there. Then a horrible tragedy like this happens and we realize that no one is safe anywhere. The surviving students know that it could have been themselves that got shot; and their parents realize that their own children could have been shot. It is horrible because it is so personal. It could have been me or mine!

And Easter tells us not only that it could have been us, but that it should have been us. The Bible teaches us that even though all people die, that death is not just part of the natural process, but that death is unnatural. Death is not the way God wanted for his creation. Death is because of the fallen state of humanity. That condition is sometimes called sin or original sin or the Law (with a capital "L").

Mass murder and war and natural disasters are so horrible because they remind us how each of us could so easily be killed. And death is so horrible because it reminds us of how we stand before God. We stand as sinners who will die. And so it is the time to repent.

Jesus died on the cross to forgive our sins, but he died because we all die. For Jesus to become man and die on the cross meant that he took the sin of the world upon himself. He died. Yet on the third day he arose again. Therefore if there is any hope or comfort at the time of death and tragedy, it is in Jesus, because he is the only one who has died and rose and lives forever. And as he rose, we all will rise.

Peter and the disciples had just gone through a time of terror and grief. Now Jesus had risen from the grave, but he was not with them all the time like he was before. For three years they had been together, traveling, teaching, healing, and sharing meals. Jesus was arisen, but he was not with them all the time. He would come and go, appear and disappear. The life of the disciples had changed. They tried to put their lives back together again the best they could, but they couldn't. "I'm going fishing," said Peter. But he didn't catch anything. He could not put his life back together by himself. It is just like when there is a tragedy or death in our lives, and we cannot put our lives back together by ourselves.

Jesus knew their situation. "You do not have any fish, do you?" This was not a question, but a statement that said they could not even catch a single fish without the help of Jesus. Then there was s miraculous catch of 153 big fish. The disciples saw that they needed the help of Jesus even for the most basic things of life. And this would be enough fish for the rest of their lives. Now they would catch people. Or rather, they would get a new occupation as shepherds. "Feed my sheep" was the new command by Jesus to Peter. In that command was the power for the disciples to start a new life. It was the love and forgiveness of Jesus that gave them power to live.

It is the love of Jesus that comes to us. We are struggling in our lives as how to live. "You do not have any fish, do you?" Jesus knows we cannot make it on our own. We are weak, our sorrow is too great, our pain is almost unbearable. When Jesus shows his love in our lives, like a great catch of fish or some other act of love, we say like the Apostle John, "It is the Lord!" Jesus gives meaning and a mission to our lives even the midst of fear and tragedy. This is the message of Easter!

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church