So, I recognize I have gotten a little behind here. My apologies to those of you who actually pay attention to what we do here. The last couple of weeks have been crazy. Two weeks ago, I put April and JB on a plane first thing in the morning and then preached at UCRP. Two days later, I got on a plane myself to fly to New Orleans. Got back last Sunday late in the evening and then had interviews at the seminary most of the week. But anyway, that's not why you are here.
On the third Sunday of Easter, the focus is on Jesus appearing to his disciples. This year, we read about Jesus appearing to Saul/Paul in Acts and then we read a story of Jesus appearing to some of the disciples while they are fishing in the Gospel of John. There are two great pieces to the story in John. First, we have Peter getting so excited when he sees Jesus, that he actually pauses to pull his clothes on before jumping into the sea. Though there had been rumors that Jesus had appeared to others (such as Mary Magdalene and the two from Emmaus), Peter becomes so flustered that he can't think straight. Instead of immediately jumping into the water to swim to shore, or disrobing as many would do so as not to get their clothes wet, he actually re-dresses before jumping in.
The second great thing here is the conversation between Jesus and Peter after they have eaten. Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him and when Peter responds each time that he does, Jesus tells him to care for his sheep. To express his love to Christ, he has to care for others, to continue the ministry that Jesus had begun. This same thing holds as true for us today as it did for Peter nearly 2,000 years ago.
Turning to our song for the week, I am tempted just to post the full lyrics here. At any rate, the song begins with a recognition that life is now better than the days just left behind. That could be something of understatement, from either point of view in our Gospel story. The second line is just as profound - "What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine." This speaks directly to both our inheritance in Christ and our call to continue his mission. Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, "any time...is good enough when we love like we do".
Full lyrics:
Love Like We Do
music and lyrics by Edie Brickell
(from the album Shooting Rubber Bands at the Stars)
Life is better than the days behind
What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine
No aggravation that we can't get through
A situation for the lucky few
And everyday is just a little more
Of time together to be happy for
I'm happy even when the times are rough
'cause anytime with you is good enough
when we
Love like we do
I don't believe in hatred anymore
I hate to think of how I felt before
When anger overwhelms your very soul
It's hard to realize you'll ever know
Love like we do
No comments:
Post a Comment