Grace Notes 2025-05-07

Some Sundays I am especially torn between two lectionary readings as to which one I will preach on. Last Sunday was a case in point. I chose to preach on the first reading which was the narrative of Saul’s Conversion. But I was also drawn to the Gospel reading and the account of seven disciples who chose to go fishing after two consecutive Sundays of the Risen Christ appearing to them. This Grace Note address gives me the opportunity to comment on that reading.

Some Sundays I am especially torn between two lectionary readings as to which one I will preach on. Last Sunday was a case in point. I chose to preach on the first reading which was the narrative of Saul’s Conversion. But I was also drawn to the Gospel reading and the account of seven disciples who chose to go fishing after two consecutive Sundays of the Risen Christ appearing to them. This Grace Note address gives me the opportunity to comment on that reading.

I often quip with the reading from John 21 that when you don’t know what to do the decision to go fishing sounds like a good idea to me. That is what Peter, and six other disciples decided to do a couple of weeks after Christ’s resurrection. But I must set the record straight. Despite my attempt at humor, fishing for them was not recreational. Instead, it was a job and means of making a living.

As you might imagine the disciples were in a state of uncertainty. For three years they had been led around by their master. Jesus called all the shots. Now what are they supposed to do? Sure, there were the occasional brief appearances of the Risen Christ. For this they had great joy. But during those brief encounters the Lord was seemingly taking His sweet time in laying down definitive directions. Doesn’t this always seem to be the case! His timing is not ours. Someone should mention ‘patience’ as an attribute required and honed for the life of a disciple!

One thing made clear by the end of 40 days of appearances by the Risen Lord was that His followers are not to go back to their former way of life. In their case, they are to continue being fishers of men, and not any longer of fish. In our case we may not need to leave our occupations, but we do need to leave our self-centered, self-directed, sinful past behind. We are to live for Christ in resurrected newness of life.

Since You Asked

What do Lutherans believe is given in Holy Communion?

“We believe, teach, and confess that in the Holy Supper the body and blood of Christ are truly and essentially present and are truly distributed and received with the bread and wine. We believe, teach, and confess that the words of the testament of Christ are to be understood in no other way than in their literal sense, and not as though the bread symbolized the absent body and the wine the absent blood of Christ, but that because of the sacramental union they are truly the body and blood of Christ” (Formula of Concord, Epitome, Art. VII.)

The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10 that the bread is “a participation in the Lord’s body.” If the Lord’s body were not truly present, the bread would perhaps be a participation in his spirit. But Paul says it is a participation in his body!