3rd Sunday in Easter

Have you ever noticed:
That important things happen in threes?
A genie grants three wishes.
There’s three little pigs:
And goldilocks and three bears.
The third times the charm!

The holy Trinity of father, son, and holy spirit:
The Devil tempts Jesus three times in the desert.
And on the third day Jesus rose again.

There’s tons more examples.
Three is a powerful number:
Not only in the Bible—suggesting significance in its imagery:
But also in the secular world:
In other stories that surround us.
Three has always been an important number for humans.

And its no different for us today.
Today’s readings might even suggest that three is a sort of “Easter Number.”
First of all: they provide us with three different appearances of the Risen Christ in
today’s readings.
And each of the three is quite unique.

In Acts:
Saul: who will be renamed Paul:
Begins his transformation and conversion after Jesus appears to him on the road.
But Jesus doesn’t appear in bodily form:
As the image of Jesus we might hold in our minds.

Instead, Jesus appears as a bright flashing light.
This bizarre appearance of Jesus is so bright:
That Paul is blind for THREE days afterwards.
Three days of blindness precede the completion of Paul’s transformation and
conversion.

The number three is important.

The second appearance in today’s readings is in the book of revelation:
John—the writer of the book—describes the risen Christ as a lamb enthroned as
King:
The lamb whom every creature on earth, under the earth, and in the sea sings
and worships for ever and ever.

And finally:
The third appearance of the day.
The one that at first seems the most normal:
Jesus in bodily form:
Appearing to the disciples and cooking them breakfast.

John:
The Gospel writer:
Even tells us that this breakfast on the beach was the THIRD time that Jesus
appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Important things happen in threes.

But that’s not even all.
After breakfast on the beach:
The risen Jesus will give Peter:
Silly, wacky, imperfect Peter:
Three opportunities to right his wrongs.

Before his arrest and crucifixion:
Jesus told Peter that he would deny him three times:
And sadly, the prediction came true.

Peter is accosted repeatedly by bystanders as he waits outside while Jesus is
being interviewed, and each time, he denies knowing Jesus.
Peter is absent at the crucifixion.
Peter is among the disciples who meet behind locked doors out of fear.
Peter is wackier, crazier and nuttier than ever in today’s story:
When he’s apparently naked in a boat:
And then hearing that Jesus is there, he puts on his clothes:
But then jumps in the water fully clothed.
It’s a silly detail in today’s story.

But it also reminds us that Peter is consistently a bit wackadoo.
He messes up.
He does things without thinking:
Out of both eagerness and shame.

Maybe Peter is a bit like us.

And yet:
Jesus STILL forgives him:
Jesus STILL gives him three opportunities to make things right:
Three positive parallels of his previous three denials.

After Breakfast, Jesus speaks to Peter directly saying:
“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Jesus asks him three times:
And THREE times:
Peter affirms his love for Jesus:
In an opportunity to undo his previous denial.

And Each time, Jesus says:
“Then feed my sheep.”

Important things happen in threes.
This is Peters moment of redemption.
This is when Peter gets to truly SEE what resurrection means:
That it means MUCH more than Jesus merely rising from the dead in bodily form.

Resurrection is also about forgiveness.
Even though the word “forgiveness” never appears in this story:
Forgiveness is certainly a large part of what is happening.

When Jesus asks Peter the same question three times:
And responds each time with “Feed my sheep,”
Jesus is extending Peter his forgiveness,
And also commissioning him to go further.
THREE times:
Peter is given the opportunity to face his risen lord and begin again.

It’s the real reason for resurrection:
The real reason for forgiveness.

There’s an old hymn, called
I come with joy to meet my Lord.”

“I come with joy to meet my lord:
Forgiven, loved, and free.”

That’s the reason for it all.
It’s what makes resurrection so important.
It’s true for Peter, and it’s true for us.
These are the deepest implications of the resurrection:
We are forgiven:
We are invited to start over.
We are completely loved.
And we have a job to do:
To tend and feed the sheep.

It isn’t just Peter’s story.
It’s our story, too.

When fear holds us back:
Love calls us forward.

When we’re naked, and exposed on the boat:
Bearing all of our shame and mistakes:
Jesus STILL comes to us.
Forgives us:
Loves us:
And invites us to Follow him in perfect freedom.

The resurrected Christ invites all of us:
To feed the sheep:
And to feed them as one who is completely forgiven:
Completely loved,
And completely freed.

Those are the three true implications of the resurrection.
That because of Christ:
We meet the risen lord
Forgiven,
Loved,
And freed.

Important things happen in threes.
And so if you remember anything:
Remember the three powerful things that resurrection has done for you:
Forgiven you.
Loved you.
And Freed you.

Amen.