May 4, 2025 "Heroes of the Faith"

Third Sunday of Easter

Acts 9:1-20

Psalm 30

Revelation 5:11-14

John 21:1-19

Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ,

grace and peace to you from the one who continually calls us anew Amen.

All good super heroes have an origin story;

you know that moment in time

that changed their life forever

leading them to fight crime or do whatever it is they do.

Spiderman was a mild mannered kid

until he was bitten by a radioactive spider,

 Bruce Wayne was just a rich kid

until he witnessed his parents’ murder

leaving him orphaned and angry

leading him to become the vigilante Batman,

 Superman’s parents put him on an experimental rocket

 and sent him toward earth to save his life

 as their own planet was collapsing around them…

And it doesn’t even have to be super heroes,

other heroes or hero figures have origin stories too,

 like Harry Potter, the boy who lived,

who survived Voldemort’s attack even when his parents didn’t.

These origin stories underpin everything these characters do,

 who they become,

 to understand the character you have to understand their origin story.

Today in our readings we have origin stories

 for two of the heroes of the Church, Paul and Peter

 and while they were real people

 they have become larger than life

 in the story of Christianity.

 According to the New Testament

 the vast majority of the early converts to the Way of Jesus

 were because of the ministry of these two men,

these heroes of the faith. 

Paul’s story has all the elements that make for great drama,

 Hollywood could really work with this,

Saul, as he is known then

 starts out as an enemy of the Way

he’s made a name for himself around Jerusalem

as a persecutor of the followers of Jesus

 and now it’s time to spread farther afield,

 so he sets off to Damascus

with the intent of arresting any believers he finds in the synagogue there

and bringing them, bound, back to Jerusalem,

 I can hear the dramatic music swelling in the background

 as the camera follows Saul on his quest

until the music reaches the height of a crescendo

 and all of a sudden there’s a flash of light

 and Saul falls to the ground

as a voice booms out around him

 ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’

and Saul finds himself conversing with the very Jesus

 he has been persecuting.

the now blind Saul is led into Damascus

 to wait until the Lord sends a disciple to pray over him,

 and when the disciple comes and prays

 something like scales fall from his eyes

he is baptized and begins proclaiming that Jesus is the Son of God

 and goes on to make several missionary journeys

founding churches all along the way

 and writing letters to those communities,

 letters we still use today to help understand our own faith.

This is a heroic story.

Peter’s story is a bit more convoluted.

 He’s one of the first disciples,

he follows Jesus,

takes part in his ministry

 and is so enthusiastic

that Jesus tells him that he is the rock

 upon which he will build his church.

And yet when push comes to shove

and Jesus is arrested and put on trial

Peter denies knowing Jesus,

 three times.

This is something he’s not proud of

but he’s still with the disciples

when Jesus comes to them in the room with locked doors,

 and he’s still a leader of the disciples

 when we see him in our gospel today,

though it seems that he has once again given up on the mission of Jesus

 because he tells the others,

“I’m going fishing”

- not for people, for fish,

 like he did before Jesus called him

and the others join him

they are fishing but not catching anything,

and at dawn someone on shore calls out to them

 and suggests that they try fishing on the other side of the boat

they do

 and all of a sudden the net is full of fish

and they realize that it is Jesus on the shore.

 So of course Peter puts on his clothes and jumps into the water to run to Jesus,

 letting the others follow in the boat.

 Good old Peter,

 so impetuous he always seems to act first and think later,

why would he put his clothes on?

Why jump out of the boat?

He’s so anxious to get to Jesus he has to do something

Even if it doesn’t make the most sense.

Peter wades ashore

And the rest of the disciples follow along in the boat with the huge catch of fish

And reunited on shore Jesus feeds the disciples breakfast

 and afterword Jesus pulls Peter aside

 and asks him ‘do you love me?’

three times Jesus asks Peter this

 and three times Peter says yes,

 redeeming himself for the three times he denied Jesus,

and after each yes,

Jesus affirms him

 and gives him a mission,

to feed and tend the sheep of the good shepherd.

 And forgiven and reaffirmed

 Peter goes on to proclaim Jesus

 and we hear in Acts how thousands believe

and are baptized after hearing his sermons.

Paul and Peter,

heroes of the faith,

it can be daunting to consider them

when thinking about our own faith and discipleship

 especially if we are at a time in life,

when the future,

while unknown

 is painted with great possibilities,

graduates everywhere right now

are wondering what their futures will hold

wondering if they have experienced the event

 that will shape the course of their lives forever

to be fair you don’t have to be graduating to wonder this

we all hit points in our lives

 that cause us to reflect on the past

and wonder about the future

and most of the time

our lives seem more modest than those of the heroes of faith,

we might wonder if we can really make an impact.

Actually, Jesus knows that most of us

will not be like Peter or Paul,

 rather we’ll be more like Ananias

 the disciple in Damascus

who Jesus called upon to heal Saul,

who has misgivings

and yet follows Jesus’ instructions,

prays over Saul,

and heals him,

 and then we never hear about him again,

but his small act of faith is necessary

 for Saul to become Paul

and the spread of the good news of Jesus.

It’s the small acts of faith

 often in support of others

that ultimately change the world,

often in ways we never fully understand.

And the only origin story we need

Is the one where in the waters of baptism

Jesus claims us and promises to love us always

That sin and death no longer have the last say

but that there is forgiveness and new life,

and because there is forgiveness and new life in Christ,

 our future is not determined by a single action

or set of actions in our past

or even choices we might make in the future,

 but at the right time,

Jesus comes to us,

feeds us, and asks, do you love me?

And the answer ‘yes’ is the only thing about us that matters in that moment.

No matter what we have done or left undone,

the love of Jesus carries us forward,

 the love of Jesus makes a difference in our lives

and the lives of those around us.

And Jesus comes to us as many times as necessary

Forgiving, affirming, and calling us anew

To love and serve the Lord. Amen