1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,440 Hello, and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity Sermons. 2 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:14,840 We are continuing our sermon series around the table looking at the meals that Jesus 3 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:16,720 shared. 4 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:23,240 Jesus shared the most important meal of the day, breakfast, with a group of folks from 5 00:00:23,240 --> 00:00:27,600 many different walks of life, each one with their own stories and failures. 6 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:33,920 Yet, despite these differences, Jesus welcomed each person into fellowship, offering reconciliation 7 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:40,480 with one another and with God. 8 00:00:40,480 --> 00:00:46,120 A reading from the Gospel of John, chapter 21, verses 1 to 17. 9 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:51,080 Afterward, Jesus appeared again to his disciples by the Sea of Galilee. 10 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:52,560 It happened this way. 11 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:58,920 Simon Peter, Thomas, also known as Deutimus, Nathaniel from Cana, and Galilee, the sons 12 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:01,520 of Zebedee and two other disciples were together. 13 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:07,080 I'm going out to fish, Simon Peter told them, and they said, we'll go with you. 14 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:11,840 So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 15 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:15,480 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it 16 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:16,940 was Jesus. 17 00:01:16,940 --> 00:01:19,600 He called out to them, friends, have you any fish? 18 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:21,380 No, they answered. 19 00:01:21,380 --> 00:01:25,720 He said, throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some. 20 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:31,000 When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. 21 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:35,860 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, it is the Lord. 22 00:01:35,860 --> 00:01:40,340 As soon as Simon Peter heard him say it is the Lord, he wrapped his outer garment around 23 00:01:40,340 --> 00:01:44,200 him for he had taken it off and jumped into the water. 24 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:48,120 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish for they were 25 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:51,600 not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 26 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:55,000 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals. 27 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:57,560 There were fish on it and some bread. 28 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:00,960 Jesus said to them, bring some of the fish you have just caught. 29 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:04,760 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. 30 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:12,280 It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many, the net was not torn. 31 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:14,960 Jesus said to them, come and have breakfast. 32 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:18,060 None of the disciples dared ask him, who are you? 33 00:02:18,060 --> 00:02:19,680 They knew it was the Lord. 34 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:25,200 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them and did the same with the fish. 35 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:29,400 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from 36 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:31,360 the dead. 37 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:36,640 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon son of John, do you 38 00:02:36,640 --> 00:02:38,280 love me more than these? 39 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:40,080 Yes, Lord, he said. 40 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:41,920 You know that I love you. 41 00:02:41,920 --> 00:02:44,040 Jesus said, feed my lambs. 42 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:47,600 Again, Jesus said, Simon son of John, do you love me? 43 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:50,400 He answered, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. 44 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:53,360 Jesus said, take care of my sheep. 45 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:58,320 The third time he said to him, Simon son of John, do you love me? 46 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:02,840 Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, do you love me? 47 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:05,280 He said, Lord, you know all things. 48 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:07,160 You know that I love you. 49 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:10,120 Jesus said, feed my sheep. 50 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:12,220 The word of the Lord. 51 00:03:12,220 --> 00:03:16,200 So in the middle of the 1980s, this movie came out. 52 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:18,120 It's called The Breakfast Club. 53 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:20,400 How many people remember the movie The Breakfast Club? 54 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:22,240 It is kind of an iconic movie. 55 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:25,120 I have to say, I have not watched it in a long, long time. 56 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:30,240 And I have a hunch that it's probably one of those movies that did not age really well. 57 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:32,860 And that it's even though it's probably I don't even know what it's rated. 58 00:03:32,860 --> 00:03:36,880 But I have a feeling that there's probably stuff in there that we would find questionable 59 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:38,620 today if we were to watch it. 60 00:03:38,620 --> 00:03:42,520 So I'm not vouching for the movie by referencing it this morning. 61 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:48,000 But it's an interesting movie because in this movie, five high school students who are very, 62 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:50,860 very different, they come from different backgrounds. 63 00:03:50,860 --> 00:03:52,680 They belong to kind of different cliques. 64 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:55,240 They kind of fulfill different stereotypes. 65 00:03:55,240 --> 00:04:01,800 These five students all have to serve detention for a whole Saturday together. 66 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:04,740 I mean, as if that would ever happen today, right? 67 00:04:04,740 --> 00:04:10,480 But they all kind of have these these nicknames, these kind of cliches that they fulfill. 68 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:12,600 One of them is called the brain. 69 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:14,880 The other is called the princess. 70 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:16,560 The other is called the basket case. 71 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:20,320 One of them is called the criminal and one of them is called the athlete. 72 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:26,680 By the way, just let's just see which one of those do you think up there is fits the 73 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:28,400 stereotype of the criminal? 74 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:30,880 Who's the criminal? 75 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:33,280 The bad guy, Judd Nelson played the criminal. 76 00:04:33,280 --> 00:04:34,360 That's right. 77 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:36,920 Which one of them is the athlete? 78 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:38,400 Emilio Estevez. 79 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:39,400 That's right. 80 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,000 Which one of them is the princess? 81 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:43,280 Molly Ringwald. 82 00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:44,720 Who is the basket case? 83 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:48,560 Yeah, the one that Ali Shidi played the back. 84 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:55,800 And that means that the brain is Anthony Michael Hall, who is sitting right there in the middle. 85 00:04:55,800 --> 00:05:01,000 Now, throughout the movie, at first, these these kids differences are really, really 86 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:02,560 apparent. 87 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:07,400 But over the course of the day, what happens is they begin to open up a bit to each other 88 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:11,080 about their personal struggles and their personal failures. 89 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:17,280 And they soon realize that beneath all the bravado and the exterior appearances, they 90 00:05:17,280 --> 00:05:19,520 aren't that different after all. 91 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,880 Now, the movie is called the Breakfast Club for two reasons. 92 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:27,040 I think one because the VP who gives them detention calls the kids who have to serve 93 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:28,480 Saturday detention. 94 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:32,000 They call it the Breakfast Club, probably because it starts so early. 95 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:36,760 But breakfast, in a broader sense, can symbolize something else. 96 00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:40,680 It can symbolize the new beginning of something. 97 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:48,720 Breakfast represents a new start for these relationships. 98 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:58,420 Jesus said to his disciples, come and have breakfast. 99 00:05:58,420 --> 00:06:02,760 When Jesus says these words, he's inviting another group of oddballs, another group of 100 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:08,520 people who just come from different backgrounds and different social groups to gather around 101 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:14,800 a fire with him, to gather around breakfast with him and begin something new. 102 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:21,360 Now, Jesus ate a lot of meals with a lot of people, but it's hard to overstate the importance 103 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:23,660 of this meal. 104 00:06:23,660 --> 00:06:30,680 This meal was so important because this is actually the first meal that Jesus ate after 105 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:33,280 rising from the dead. 106 00:06:33,280 --> 00:06:36,840 I think probably I need to stop right there because for some of you, the whole idea of 107 00:06:36,840 --> 00:06:40,120 Jesus rising from the dead is very hard to believe. 108 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:44,760 Secondly, even if Jesus rose from the dead, you would find it very hard to believe that 109 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:50,800 he chose to spend his first appearances after rising from the dead by eating breakfast with 110 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:52,580 people on a beach. 111 00:06:52,580 --> 00:06:55,320 We may wonder, have we got the right story here? 112 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:56,600 Is this story believable? 113 00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:59,640 Is this story trustworthy? 114 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:00,640 Can we trust it? 115 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:04,920 Well, I actually want to say that there's a few little Easter eggs in this story that 116 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:09,180 actually give us a lot of confidence to say we're dealing with a real story, something 117 00:07:09,180 --> 00:07:10,960 that really happened. 118 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:13,240 Let me give you a little example. 119 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:18,840 First is this, we're told that when the disciples dragged this net of fish to the shore, there 120 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:22,720 was 153 fish in total. 121 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:27,920 Now, why did the gospel writer John say there's 153 fish? 122 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:33,420 For centuries, and I mean centuries, everyone from St. Jerome to St. Augustine has been 123 00:07:33,420 --> 00:07:39,880 trying to figure out what is the meaning, what is the symbolism behind 153 fish? 124 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:45,100 What could John be trying to tell us by choosing that number of all numbers? 125 00:07:45,100 --> 00:07:50,560 Somebody actually said that, oh, it's because in those days there was only 153 species of 126 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:51,840 fish that were known. 127 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:57,080 And so this is some kind of a symbol about how the resurrection is for absolutely everyone. 128 00:07:57,080 --> 00:07:59,680 That sounds a little off to me. 129 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:01,900 Somebody else said, well, here's what 153 means. 130 00:08:01,900 --> 00:08:08,620 If you take one plus two plus three plus four plus five plus six, all the way up to 17, 131 00:08:08,620 --> 00:08:11,000 you get 153. 132 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:18,000 And 17 is 10 plus seven, and 10 is the 10 commandments, and seven is the perfect number. 133 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:20,840 Guys, all that sounds fishy. 134 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:22,840 It sounds very fishy to me. 135 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:28,600 They still haven't figured out why 153 is the number John mentions, but I actually have 136 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:29,600 figured it out. 137 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:31,240 I figured it out. 138 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:37,920 It's because somebody remembered there was 153 fish. 139 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:39,860 This is a memory. 140 00:08:39,860 --> 00:08:46,480 This is someone remembering something very significant, and they've just written it down. 141 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:48,200 I don't think there's any symbolism here. 142 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:52,040 This is a trustworthy story based on a trustworthy memory. 143 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:53,360 Let me give you another example. 144 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:55,560 I don't think this story is made up. 145 00:08:55,560 --> 00:09:01,560 In this story, as soon as Simon Peter hears John say, hey, it's Jesus, we're told that 146 00:09:01,560 --> 00:09:05,840 he wrapped his coat around him and then jumped into the water. 147 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:09,360 Now I don't know about you guys, but when I go swimming, I don't usually put clothes 148 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:12,100 on and then jump into the water. 149 00:09:12,100 --> 00:09:15,480 We normally take our clothes off down to our bathing suits, and that's when we jump into 150 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:16,480 the water. 151 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:17,560 Why would anyone do this? 152 00:09:17,560 --> 00:09:23,640 If you weren't making up a story, you would never write it this way. 153 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:26,240 But the answer is the story wasn't actually made up. 154 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:29,320 This is the weird thing that actually happened. 155 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:31,720 Peter, the knucklehead, right? 156 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:35,640 This impulsive guy on that day, for whatever reason, he was so excited. 157 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:40,440 He just, he put his coat on and then he jumped into the water. 158 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:41,440 I don't know. 159 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:45,400 I guess the point I'm trying to make is that I want us first, before we dig any deeper 160 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:49,240 into the story, to realize that the Bible is giving us the right story here. 161 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:55,320 This is a trustworthy account of something that happened shortly after Jesus had risen 162 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:56,680 from the dead. 163 00:09:56,680 --> 00:09:58,720 It has all the earmarks. 164 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:03,400 It has all the evidence of someone telling a story of things that really happened. 165 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:08,880 And if that's true, then what is this story all about and what's it trying to teach us? 166 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:15,040 Well, it's about how Jesus gives us right relationships. 167 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:21,920 You know, the Breakfast Club, both then and this, and the one, the movie, are about renewed 168 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:22,920 relationships. 169 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:28,360 Specifically, this is telling us how we can have renewed relationships with each other, 170 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:30,720 within ourselves, and with God. 171 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:33,400 And those are the only three things I just want to look at this morning. 172 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:34,760 Let's first start with this. 173 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:40,480 This is a story about how we can have right relationships with others. 174 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:46,000 In the movie, The Breakfast Club, at the beginning, these students have absolutely nothing in 175 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:47,000 common with each other. 176 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:51,860 In fact, they really hate each other at the beginning of the movie. 177 00:10:51,860 --> 00:10:56,960 In the same way, I think that all of us have certain people in our lives who we do not 178 00:10:56,960 --> 00:10:58,440 get along with. 179 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:01,120 We may say we even hate them. 180 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:02,960 We're so different. 181 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:07,160 And you know, it could be family members, it could be colleagues, it could be old friends, 182 00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:08,760 things broke down. 183 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:13,360 There may even be broken relationships within this very church, right? 184 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:20,080 But the good news is, is that Jesus brings us into right relationships with each other. 185 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:22,160 Let me show you what I mean. 186 00:11:22,160 --> 00:11:24,160 Jesus had just died. 187 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:27,720 And so the disciples are heartbroken, and they go and do the only thing they really 188 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:29,840 know how to do, and that is fish. 189 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:31,080 Peter says, I'm going to go to fish. 190 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:33,880 The others say, I'm going to go out to fish with you. 191 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:38,280 And then we're told who went out in the boat with Peter. 192 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:42,280 I want you to take a look at this interesting assortment of people, right? 193 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:49,640 You've got Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples 194 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:51,320 were together. 195 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:55,080 Now let me start with Nathaniel. 196 00:11:55,080 --> 00:12:01,720 If you know the story of Nathaniel, you will know this guy was naive and way too trusting. 197 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:05,840 When Jesus first met Nathaniel, all he said to Nathaniel was this, hey, Nathaniel, I saw 198 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:12,040 you under the fig tree and Nathaniel said, you are the son of God. 199 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:13,040 Wow. 200 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:14,040 I cannot believe it. 201 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:16,320 I will follow you anywhere. 202 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:18,640 And Jesus says, whoa, Nathaniel, just slow down, man. 203 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:20,720 I just said, I saw you under the fig tree. 204 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:24,160 You're going to see much greater things than, than that. 205 00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:26,640 But that's what Nathaniel was all about. 206 00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:28,640 He was so quick to believe things. 207 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:29,760 He was so naive. 208 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:31,680 He was so trusting. 209 00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:35,960 But look at who's sitting right next to Nathaniel in the boat. 210 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:37,040 It's Thomas. 211 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:40,400 And Thomas is the exact opposite of Nathaniel. 212 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:45,280 While Nathaniel believed too easily, Thomas believed too difficult. 213 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:46,800 It was too hard for him to believe. 214 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:48,080 He was super skeptical. 215 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:53,200 You remember Thomas said that unless I see the nail marks in Jesus' hand, I will, I will 216 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:56,260 not believe that he has risen from the dead. 217 00:12:56,260 --> 00:13:01,240 I often thought, what if when Jesus rose from the dead, he didn't have nail marks in his 218 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:02,240 hands. 219 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:03,240 What then? 220 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:04,240 Thomas would never have believed. 221 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:05,240 He was so skeptical. 222 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:08,440 He was so reluctant to believe. 223 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:11,840 And Jesus has to show, show up and say, here, Thomas, take a look. 224 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:13,600 But look at the weird thing. 225 00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:17,880 Nathaniel and Thomas are sitting beside each other in the boat fishing together. 226 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:20,400 That is usually not how it works. 227 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:22,600 Nathaniels usually hate Thomases. 228 00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:25,200 They look at Thomas and say, oh, you're so skeptical. 229 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:26,200 You're such a downer. 230 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:28,120 I can't stand being around you. 231 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:30,720 And Thomases usually hate Nathaniels. 232 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:33,400 They look at Nathaniels and say, oh, my gosh, you're so gullible. 233 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:35,480 You believe anything. 234 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:38,400 These kind of people normally don't hang out together. 235 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:39,880 Normally they don't even like each other. 236 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:43,000 And yet here they are together. 237 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:44,480 How can that be? 238 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:47,920 I'll give you another example. 239 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:49,080 Think of John. 240 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:52,840 In this story, John comes off as the, the thinker. 241 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:57,600 John, they're out there in the boat and John sees this guy on shore and he thinks about 242 00:13:57,600 --> 00:13:58,600 it. 243 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:00,480 He says, Hey, I think, I think I know who that is. 244 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:01,960 I think that's Jesus on shore. 245 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:03,520 He puts it all together. 246 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:07,520 We have had this huge catch of fish, the nets, the right side of the boat. 247 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:08,520 It's early in the morning. 248 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:10,520 I recognize that voice. 249 00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:13,040 He says, I think it's Jesus. 250 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:14,520 And he puts it all together. 251 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:15,520 He's logical. 252 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:16,520 He's a thinker. 253 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:18,400 He doesn't do anything about it. 254 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:20,560 Mind you, he doesn't like do anything. 255 00:14:20,560 --> 00:14:22,400 He just says, I figured it out. 256 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:23,400 It's Jesus. 257 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:26,960 Now, on the other hand, Peter was the doer, right? 258 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:29,320 Peter, he wasn't the greatest thinker of all time. 259 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:33,780 No offense, Peter, but, but as soon as he heard that it might be Jesus, he puts his 260 00:14:33,780 --> 00:14:38,120 coat on and he jumps into the water and swims to shore. 261 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:40,000 Peter is absolutely impulsive. 262 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:41,640 He's, he's a doer. 263 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:42,640 John's a thinker. 264 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:47,680 And normally Peters and Johns do not get along well with each other. 265 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:48,680 Right. 266 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:52,000 And Peters normally look at John's and say, Oh, you just think, think, think, think, think, 267 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:53,900 but you never actually do anything. 268 00:14:53,900 --> 00:14:57,040 And John's look at Peter and say, Oh my gosh, you're so impulsive. 269 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:01,520 I wish you would just stop and think for a moment about what you're doing. 270 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:02,760 One says, you're a coward. 271 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:05,920 The other says, you're impulsive, blah, blah, blah. 272 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:08,640 This is normally how it happens. 273 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:09,800 Right. 274 00:15:09,800 --> 00:15:14,340 Such a mix of different people coming together is usually a recipe for disaster, but that's 275 00:15:14,340 --> 00:15:15,720 not what's happening here. 276 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:16,720 And here's why. 277 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:22,120 Jesus is able to bring together people from across all divides. 278 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:27,480 And those divides could be racial divides, they could be, you know, class divides, educational 279 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:33,160 divides, religious divides, personality divides. 280 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:39,920 Jesus has this ability to bring together people who we would normally never see together. 281 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:44,440 So for example, I could look around this room this morning and I could say, what on earth 282 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:50,440 is Aaron doing in the same room as Sue? 283 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:56,120 And on top of that, what is Abby and, and Johanna and Kate? 284 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:59,000 Why are they also all here in the same room? 285 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:00,440 What do these people have in common? 286 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:03,660 They actually have very little in common. 287 00:16:03,660 --> 00:16:08,920 The only thing that they have in common is they have heard Jesus's call on their life 288 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:11,240 and they have come to follow him. 289 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:13,960 Friends, this is our breakfast club, right? 290 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:21,400 It's that place where Jesus brings people together from across all different divides. 291 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:24,820 And so that is the very first thing that we learn in this story. 292 00:16:24,820 --> 00:16:30,240 It tells us about how we can have right relationships with each other. 293 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:38,640 When we come together around Jesus, he restores the relationships we have with one another. 294 00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:45,280 But the second thing this story tells us is that we can have right relationships with 295 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:46,280 ourselves. 296 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:51,640 You know, in the movie, The Breakfast Club, one of the most powerful moments is when the 297 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:59,000 athlete again, played by Emilio Estevez, he is the one who's always been so full of bravado. 298 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:06,440 In fact, he's also a bully, but he is brought to tears as he shares with his fellow students 299 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:10,520 about his struggle for identity. 300 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:13,880 And he shares about some of the horrible things that he has done to other students in the 301 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:18,720 school just to impress people, just to show off, just to try to get certain groups of 302 00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:22,360 people to like him. 303 00:17:22,360 --> 00:17:26,080 Sometimes the fights that we have on the outside really stem from fights that we're having 304 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:28,960 with ourselves on the inside. 305 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:34,520 If you can't be transparent with yourself, how can you be transparent with other people? 306 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:39,520 If you can't live at peace with who you are, how do you live at peace with the people around 307 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:40,520 you? 308 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:50,520 And if you can't admit to who you truly are, then how will you ever be real with the people 309 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:52,080 who are around you? 310 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:57,560 We need moments in our lives when we are reminded, when we are grounded, when we are even humbled 311 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:03,160 and brought back to who we truly are, and we admit to what we've truly done. 312 00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:05,600 Now, Jesus helps us do that. 313 00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:08,560 In this story, it happens this way. 314 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:11,440 Peter is not at peace with himself. 315 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:14,280 How could he be at peace with himself? 316 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:21,000 You guys probably know that during Jesus's arrest and trial and crucifixion, all of Jesus' 317 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:23,280 disciples kind of scattered and left him. 318 00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:26,920 But what Peter did was worse than all the other disciples. 319 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:27,920 Why was that? 320 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:30,480 Well, first of all, Peter was one of Jesus' closest friends. 321 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,000 He was part of the inner circle. 322 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:38,840 But secondly, it was worse what Peter did because Peter actually explicitly promised 323 00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:39,840 Jesus. 324 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:44,040 He said, Jesus, no matter what happens, I will never leave you. 325 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:46,860 Jesus, if they haul you off to prison, I will go with you. 326 00:18:46,860 --> 00:18:50,360 If they take you to the cross, then I will go there too, right? 327 00:18:50,360 --> 00:18:56,600 Though all others may flee, I will never leave your side. 328 00:18:56,600 --> 00:18:57,760 That's Peter. 329 00:18:57,760 --> 00:18:58,760 That's what he said. 330 00:18:58,760 --> 00:18:59,760 That's the bravado. 331 00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:01,760 Those are the big statements he's making. 332 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:07,480 But you know what actually happened that night that Jesus was arrested. 333 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:12,720 Peter was scared to death and he denied even knowing Jesus. 334 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:16,720 He was around a charcoal fire warming himself with a few other strangers. 335 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:19,400 And they said, hey, aren't you with Jesus? 336 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:21,880 He said, no, I don't know the guy. 337 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:22,880 Never knew him. 338 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:23,880 Who's Jesus? 339 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:24,880 Jesus who? 340 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:26,760 What are you talking about? 341 00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:32,120 Peter does not have a clue who he truly is. 342 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:34,200 He's all bravado. 343 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:35,400 This is who I am, Jesus. 344 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:37,520 I'll never, never leave you. 345 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:45,480 But when push comes to shove on the inside, he's nothing like the man he claims to be. 346 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:49,540 But Jesus brings him back to himself. 347 00:19:49,540 --> 00:19:56,480 When Peter crawls to shore, he sees another charcoal fire, just like the one that was 348 00:19:56,480 --> 00:19:58,800 there on the night that he betrayed Jesus. 349 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:00,960 Oh, gulp, right? 350 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:06,160 And then when they had finished eating, Jesus says, Simon, do you love me? 351 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:08,480 Simon, do you love me more than these? 352 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:10,480 Simon, you failed me. 353 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:13,080 Simon, you let me down. 354 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:16,680 Simon, you broke your promise to me. 355 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:22,800 Three times he says this to Simon. 356 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:29,200 It may seem like Jesus is being cruel, but he is not trying to get back at Simon. 357 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:32,760 He's trying to get Simon back to who he is. 358 00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:35,020 He's not trying to bring him pain. 359 00:20:35,020 --> 00:20:39,600 He's trying to bring him home, back to his true identity. 360 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:41,560 Get real with yourself, Peter, right? 361 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:45,660 Peter, you've got some whacked out ideas about how great you are. 362 00:20:45,660 --> 00:20:47,320 Just get real. 363 00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:49,500 And I think we all need to do the same. 364 00:20:49,500 --> 00:20:53,280 We need to admit who we are. 365 00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:56,240 Stop pretending being people that we aren't. 366 00:20:56,240 --> 00:21:01,120 Sometimes we say things and we talk all sorts of junk and we make all sorts of promises. 367 00:21:01,120 --> 00:21:05,360 And we're just saying it so that we can impress people or so we can be liked by certain groups 368 00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:07,020 of people to make ourselves look good. 369 00:21:07,020 --> 00:21:09,640 But that is not who we are. 370 00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:14,920 We got to stop pretending being someone that we're not. 371 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:20,480 And on top of that, we need to admit to what we have done. 372 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:21,680 Stop denying our mistakes. 373 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:25,960 Stop denying our wrongdoing and admit things like, just say, I've screwed up. 374 00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:26,960 I blew it. 375 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:29,040 I made a mess of things. 376 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:30,360 I'm sorry. 377 00:21:30,360 --> 00:21:31,360 I'm sorry. 378 00:21:31,360 --> 00:21:32,360 Right? 379 00:21:32,360 --> 00:21:34,200 In this story, Peter is humbled. 380 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:36,360 He is brought back to reality. 381 00:21:36,360 --> 00:21:39,300 It is a very painful thing to watch. 382 00:21:39,300 --> 00:21:44,600 But when we admit who we are and when we admit what we've done, then we're finally starting 383 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:47,560 to get real with ourselves. 384 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:50,360 And when we're real with ourselves, do you know what? 385 00:21:50,360 --> 00:21:54,200 Then we can start to be real with each other. 386 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:59,380 If we have a right relationship within ourselves, then we can have a right relationship with 387 00:21:59,380 --> 00:22:00,480 other people around us. 388 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:04,120 It's like these two things actually go hand in hand. 389 00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:08,960 But that's not quite where the story ends. 390 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:14,760 During this breakfast club meeting, Jesus not only teaches us about how to have right 391 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:20,160 relationships with each other, not only how we can have right relationship within ourselves, 392 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:24,240 but how we can have right relationship with God. 393 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:25,920 Here's a question for you. 394 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:32,240 When Peter admitted his failures to Jesus, what was Jesus' response? 395 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:34,380 Did Jesus laugh at him? 396 00:22:34,380 --> 00:22:37,520 Did Jesus punish him? 397 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:42,080 Will Jesus go and break off the relationship and say, that's it, you screwed up, you're 398 00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:43,080 out, I'm done with you. 399 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:46,400 There's nothing you can say that will ever make things right again. 400 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:51,480 It is sad, but that is how some human beings treat each other. 401 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:56,200 When someone humbles themselves and admits their mistakes, do we let them off the hook? 402 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:59,400 No, no, we want to see them squirm. 403 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:01,600 We want to see them pay a bit more. 404 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:04,800 We want them to hurt because they hurt us. 405 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:06,280 That is not Jesus' style. 406 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:10,360 That should not be our style either. 407 00:23:10,360 --> 00:23:14,160 Jesus says, Simon, son of John, do you love me? 408 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:19,440 And then three times he says this, take care of my sheep. 409 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:22,520 What does that mean? 410 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:23,520 Take care of my sheep. 411 00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:25,440 I'll tell you what it means. 412 00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:29,560 Jesus is saying not just, oh, we're okay, don't worry about it. 413 00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:31,760 He's actually saying, I forgive you. 414 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:35,000 And on top of that, I want to promote you. 415 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:36,880 I want you to be a leader. 416 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:41,000 I want you to be a pastor in this new church that I am building. 417 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:43,480 I want you to take charge. 418 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:50,880 This is not Jesus just saying, I forgive you, but this is Jesus saying, I believe in you. 419 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:56,460 God sees the brokenness of who we are, but he comes at that with incredible love and 420 00:23:56,460 --> 00:24:01,680 incredible forgiveness and incredible affirmation in our lives. 421 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:04,840 This is the strangest conversation you have ever heard, but this is how the conversation 422 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:05,840 goes. 423 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:08,920 Jesus says, Peter, you failed me. 424 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:11,640 Peter says, I know. 425 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:16,600 And Jesus says, okay, now you're in charge. 426 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:17,600 That's how it goes. 427 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:18,600 Right? 428 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:19,600 That's all there is to it. 429 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:24,520 This is a crazy conversation, but it's essentially saying, okay, let's move on and now let's 430 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:26,600 get to work. 431 00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:33,280 When we admit our problems to God, God affirms our potential. 432 00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:37,600 When we come clean about who we are, God can finally use us. 433 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:41,520 He sees the potential in us. 434 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:46,400 So here's our little breakfast club moment here this morning at Trinity Streetsville. 435 00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:49,400 This story is first of all, it's a story we can trust. 436 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:50,480 It's a story we can believe in. 437 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:55,000 It's a story that reminds us the importance of right relationships with each other, within 438 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:57,520 ourselves and with God. 439 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:02,360 So just a few thoughts as you leave here today. 440 00:25:02,360 --> 00:25:05,680 Who are you having a hard time with? 441 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:11,960 What relationships do you have right now that just are not right? 442 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:13,840 That are broken? 443 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:16,440 Where are your relationships in trouble? 444 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:21,880 Today is the perfect day to say, Jesus, Jesus, I need to live in right relationship with 445 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:22,880 other people. 446 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:25,000 Jesus, you can bridge any gap. 447 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:28,920 You can come across any divide. 448 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:33,600 Would you heal the broken relationship in my life? 449 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:36,040 That's a prayer we can all pray today. 450 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:40,960 But secondly, we can also leave here today and make the decision that we are going to 451 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:42,760 be ourselves, right? 452 00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:48,040 Today is a day to stop acting, to stop pretending, to stop projecting ourselves as something 453 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:53,360 that we are not and instead to humble ourselves, to come back to who we really are, to admit 454 00:25:53,360 --> 00:25:56,520 to who we are and to admit to what we've done. 455 00:25:56,520 --> 00:26:03,880 And thirdly and finally, have you been hiding from God? 456 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:05,680 Are you like Peter in this story? 457 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:11,240 You are far from shore, out on the boat. 458 00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:17,380 I want to say, if you feel far from God, if you feel far from shore, jump in the water. 459 00:26:17,380 --> 00:26:18,640 Don't bother putting your coat on. 460 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:21,280 Just jump in the water, swim to shore and run. 461 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:22,280 Don't even walk. 462 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:27,560 Run to Jesus and fall before him because breakfast is waiting for you. 463 00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:36,000 A new beginning is waiting for you and you will find in his arms grace and mercy and 464 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,360 affirmation. 465 00:26:39,360 --> 00:26:41,360 Thanks be to God. 466 00:26:41,360 --> 00:26:43,600 Amen. 467 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:47,260 Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Trinity Sermons. 468 00:26:47,260 --> 00:26:53,000 This episode was recorded at Trinity Church, Streetsville in Mississauga, Ontario on October 469 00:26:53,000 --> 00:27:21,000 20th, 2024.