It’s over…now what?
John Hilley
Scripture: Psalm 104; John 20:19-23 and John 21:1-14
Note to reader: from time to time we include the transcript draft of the podcast John Hilley and Nate Strasser record weekly. Usually, the podcast is a distillation or re-working of the sermon. So here is the manuscript of the episode in lieu of a manuscript for May 28, 2023. John takes the lectionary passage for that Sunday and then reads on looking at John 21.
Introduction:
John: welcome.
John to Nate: Have you ever heard the phrase “It’s over, now what?”
Nate: I’ve heard “It’s Over,” a song by Roy Orbison.
Lyrics:
All the rainbows in the sky Start to even say goodbye
You won't be seeing rainbows any more
Setting suns before they fall, Echo to you that's all that's all
But you'll see lonely sunset after all
It's over It's over It's over It's over.
John to Nate: I want you to put your composer and songwriter hat(s) on. You get a prompt to write a song around these words: “It’s over now what?” What comes to mind?
Nate: Haha, well my wife is a big Taylor Swift fan so when I hear “It’s over”, I immediately think of one of her many “you done me wrong, now I’m im movin on, it’s over” type break up songs.
John: Let’s reverse engineer a movie script and describe a scene that fits this phrase, “It’s Over Now What?” Describe the scene or the film.
Nate: Well, it could be one of those “coming of age” movies where the main characters start out as innocent high-schoolers and then they all graduate and go their separate ways. That’s sort of apropos because it’s the end of May and graduations are happening. It’s over. You hit the milestone of progress. Walking out the doors with the diploma in hand. Now what? The school year is over for some of you. Here comes summer. Now what?
Nate: But the “it’s over” moniker doesn’t have to be a young person’s game. It could apply to retirement as well. But I can’t talk much about that for multiple reasons….#1 .I’m 36 so I’ve got a ways to go , #2 I play the piano for a living so I don’t necessarily want to retire , and… #3 I play the piano for a living ……..not a career necessarily known for its great retirement and pension programs.
John: For kicks I googled the phrase “It’s Over Now What” and up popped any number of references to retirement.
It’s over, now what is today’s episode title and we hope there will be something that is said that will be helpful to those who are facing a transition, change, an ending. Or uncertainty.
I got the idea for what I am going to share from something I heard a speaker by the name of Barbara Lundblad say at a recent conference about the stories contained collectively in what we know as the Bible or the Scriptures. She said the book of Scripture - the Bible - is closed. Or is it? Yes, what we call the Canon - the Old and New Testament including the Book of Revelation was determined to be closed by the 4th Century, I like how Barbara Lundblad said “The canon is closed but the text is open. By that she meant that the Spirit of God is still working through our lives today creating new stories. That could include fresh starts following endings. Or next steps to guide us in a transition. And that sent me to the end of John’s Gospel where if you read after the story of Jesus’ resurrection in John 20 it seems like the writer of John tries to bring the gospel to a close but keeps on adding new stories. Especially the story of Peter in John 21 where Peter feels like “it’s over, now what” after Jesus’ death and goes back to what he knew. He’s been fishing all night. I think that story speaks to those of us in transition or feel like it’s over. If that sounds a bit unclear stay with us. I will come back after the music.
John to Nate: tell us what you are going to play?
Nate: This is the Day of New Beginnings. I think it’s a great song for graduates and newly retired alike. It’s a song about fresh steps if we continue to let the spirit of God continue to work in our lives
It seems John ends his Gospel with chapter 20. The Scripture passage the church reads at this time of the year is an appearance by Jesus in John 20:
19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.”
And then by the end of Chapter 20, it is as though John is putting a wrap on his gospel with these words:
"Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in Jesus name." (John 20:30-31)
That's the end. Close the book. But it isn't the end. After the conclusion, after saying that there are many other signs not written in this book, the evangelist writes more in the book!
Go to chapter 21. "After these things, Jesus showed himself again." Barbara Lundblad notices the postscript - the P.S. - the tendency of John’s gospel. “After all was said and done. After everything was written that needed to be written. A postscript, another chapter and another ending. Why did they leave both endings in? Surely a scribe, someone from John's school of disciples could have cleaned that up long ago. Let’s go to John 21. Why is the story here at all? It is after the resurrection. Clearly we have a postscript.” (Barbara Lundblad, “Living in the Postscript” Day1. April 26, 1998).
For today’s scripture reading, we read part of John 21 after P.S. the risen Jesus appears, yet again! The passage tells what the disciples did. And that is the focus and I invite you to go read chapter 21 for yourself.
Let me tell you what Peter and some of the disciples did: they went fishing.
Well, Simon Peter said,... “I am going fishing.” The others said…, “we will go with you.” Why would they do this? Why would they do that after the resurrection? I get it that Peter who had made his living fishing might consider it but he had just seen the resurrected Lord (mindblown) and certainly there are bigger things for Peter now). (It’s like someone winning the powerball and then going back to his shrimp boat Monday morning.) And some of those who said they would go fishing too - like Nathanial from Cana, no where near water - aren’t even fishermen. And besides, this fishing story should come at the beginning when Jesus was calling his disciples. That is where it appears in Luke’s Gospel.
Here’s the top line on the story.
They were fishing… all night.
Caught…nothing.
Stranger appears at the beach. Stranger tells them to fish. Where?... on the other side. What happens? …They pulled in a big load. How many fish?... 153.And who counted the fish? And why the 153 fish? What is the significance? Commentators love to opine about the significance of 153 fish. And finally Augustine said: “it is a mystery.” Did you catch that Peter was naked?
I know something about fishing. Anybody here like to fish? But I am having a hard time seeing how being naked is helpful when it comes to fishing. And then Peter does what? …He puts on clothes to swim to shore. Sigh. Head scratch. (Thank you Barbara Lundblad for describing the scene so well in our sermon at the Festival of Homiletics, May, 2023 in a sermon by the name “It’s Over, Now What?”) This is the thing about John’s gospel Lundblad relates to the listener. It should be at the beginning. Luke has this story at the beginning. It should be at the beginning but not at the end. But that is the gospel writer John for you. Switching things up. Here, when we think things are wrapping up, it is as though John is saying, “It’s over…but it’s not over.”
I think that is a message we need to hear. It may feel like it is over…but it’s not over. Did you catch the charcoal fire?
I was struck by the charcoal fire. We have a solo stove in our backyard and how over the last couple of years we have loved to go sit by the fire. A fire will mesmerize you. You can have wonderful conversations around the fire. When Peter saw the charcoal fire he stopped in his tracks. You remember the other time when Peter saw the charcoal fire.
“Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself and when he heard the rooster crow he knew that he had denied Jesus three times.” - John 18:18
It was over for Peter. But it wasn’t over. Whoever put the postscript together at the end of John’s gospel perhaps remembered the charcoal fire and put it here. Maybe the person put it there because Simon Peter and us would be drawn to that fire and need to hear it’s not over. We need to hear that it is not over…that there is a next.
Around that fire, Jesus has a chance to ask Peter a question. Do you love me? And then follow me. Not at the beginning but at the ending. Follow me comes at the end, not at the beginning.
The book of Scripture - the Bible - is closed. By around the 4th Century the Bible - with its Old and New Testament books had been formed. Inside the canon of scripture are wonderful stories and teachings and texts of terror in terms of trauma and the treatment of people such as women. I thought it interesting what Barbara Lundblad said in light of John’s Gospel: “The canon is closed but the text is open. John’s gospel concludes: “But there are also many other things that Jesus did…”John 21:25. And you wonder what those stories were? Maybe John in these two endings gave us a model for adding to the life affirming, life restoring stories of the Spirit of God blowing in our lives.
So here’s a thought: maybe we can add postscripts to the scriptures with the texts of our lives. Maybe we have modern day versions to add what Peter experienced. The futility of doing something where we have felt like we’re just spinning our wheels. But then, the Spirit of God invites us to re-think, re-do. We are reminded that even when we feel like we're at the end of our rope, God is still with us. God still provides for us, even when we don't see how. Is there a situation like this you are facing?
We can add our stories as postscripts to the canon as we are modern day Peters who deny and betray God, but the Spirit of God offers grace and around our own charcoal fires of life are given powerful reminders that God's love is unconditional. No matter what we've done, God still loves us. God's always willing to forgive us, and he's always ready to welcome us back.
It’s over…what next? There are a lot of us who aren’t sure what to do with ourselves. We don’t have to be “retired” to feel this way. What with the feeling of uncertainty all around us, especially as the world is changing so fast, faster than we can keep up. Uncertainty and change. I want to refer you to a podcast by Kate Bowler in which she interviews Adam Grant who has written about uncertainty. It is about how we need to lean into uncertainty. Adam Grant said “if you lived a thousand years ago, you could basically stick to the same beliefs throughout your life and you’d be OK. Whereas now with an accelerating pace of change, the longer it takes you to admit that you were wrong, the more wrong you become. And I think that’s a dangerous place to live. Right. It might mean that you’re an expert for a world that doesn’t exist anymore. It can mean we cling to thoughts and opinions that are just out of date. So like Peter, we want to go back to what we knew – fishing. We don’t know what’s next and yet the Spirit of God invites us to repair, rethink the kind of self we need to cultivate.
And another thing. So often we think that all that we do is about blissful, personal experiences. This story of Peter is a “calling story” that comes at the end, not the beginning. It is about vocation: you calling. What is interesting in what Adam Grant says is that calling has become so secularized when calling is really about figuring out how God’s gifts (you’ve been given), help you to serve. Calling was actually answering a call from someone in need. Vocation - that which is not attached to a job or a career -is about what you have to contribute, not maximizing the bliss of your own experience. “Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep.” Jesus said this to Peter, the fisherman. Peter knew fishing, not sheep herding.
Which is to say we often don’t step forward to respond to God’s invitation for something new in our life because we think we have to be perfect in this society. There is an exchange about this in Kate Bowler’s podcast with Adam Grant where Adam says:
“Somebody holds up a perfect mirror and you probably won’t like your reflection that much. And if it’s just about you, like no, it’s probably a little bit easier to just say, all right, I’m good enough. But if you’re thinking about what you can do for others and who’s depending on you, then all of a sudden it’s not about your own ego. Right. It’s about saying, OK, can I can I get out of the mode of trying to prove myself and into the mode of trying to improve myself? And I’m doing that because I’m not here to to try to convince anyone I’m the best. I’m trying to help other people get better. And the only way I can do that is to make myself better. And I think there’s a sense in which it’s much easier to recognize your own limitations and then want to overcome them if that’s going to help other people.” https://katebowler.com/podcasts/adam-grant-leaning-into-uncertainty/
Conclusion
It’s not over.
“I will not leave you orphaned,” Jesus said, “I will come to you.” So it was after all that was said and done, after the book was closed, after our minds were made up one way or another, Jesus came to the lakeshore. “It is the Lord!” shouted from the boat.
God’s Spirit ever seeks to blow through your life, rustling up life-giving stories…what next stories, in your life. Amen.
O God, we often wonder “what’s next.” We, the ones who don’t have all the right answers. We who realize that we don’t know the best response and posture. Blessed are those who have lost things that they can’t get back and are learning to learn new ways to live here now. O God, may we have the trust to lean in unafraid to learn and change and be wrong along the way. Bless us, we who are being stretched and pressed and pulled by the uncertainty that surrounds us. May we have the wisdom of Thy discerning Spirit as we discerning “what’s next” in our life. Spirit of Gentleness, stir us from placidness because we do not stay the same, but seek deeper faith and practices. Blessed are we who are trying to live with courage, with humility and kindness. Amen.