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Weekly Sermons>
Third Sunday of Easter
Apr 18, 2010 --
April 18, 2010
The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same
1.
So why has our average weekly attendance remained static?
We have a vibrant congregation,
a friendly congregation
strong leadership,
and a desire to witness to the love of Christ.
Yet, when you look at the numbers of our average Sunday worship attendance,
for ten years now that number has stayed around 145.
The status quo has been maintained.
The Alban Institute, a church consultant organization, has an answer.
Our problem is not unusual.
They claim that healthy, vibrant congregations are able to grow up to 150 average Sunday worship attendees,
but precious few are able to clear this benchmark and grow beyond this number.
Why?
The Alban Institute says that some churches are limited by their building.
Some are limited by finances.
Some are limited by demographics.
But most churches are limited by their inability to break old habits.
From the pastor, to the lay leadership, to the congregation as a whole;
churches are unwilling or unable to change their way of doing church.
2.
We are creatures of habit.
These habits are tough nuts to crack.
This is true of all of life, isn’t it?
Why do most diets fail?
Even after we’ve lost the weight,
even after we’ve experienced how great we feel;
most people gain it back.
It’s hard to break our eating habits.
Think about victims of domestic abuse.
After the abuser is removed,
after they see how good life is without him or her;
why do many victims still welcome the abuser back?
Hard as it is to explain,
the answer is that victims don’t know how to live without the abuser.
Why to exercise regiments, New Year’s Resolutions, and vows to live better fail?
We are creatures of habit.
Whether our habits are destructive, or just annoying;
we can’t break them.
Even after we’ve seen the light and learned our lesson,
even after life has improved;
so often we go back to our old ways.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
3.
If we are beating ourselves up this morning about our inability to change;
we are in good company.
In this long post resurrection story from John’s gospel one line stands out.
Simon Peter said to the disciples, “I am going fishing.”
Peter here is not seeking a little rest and relaxation.
This statement is Peter’s intent to go back to his old life.
It’s shocking when you think about it.
Peter’s story began on this same Sea of Galilee three years earlier when Jesus invited him to follow.
Follow me and I will make you fishers of men, fishers of women.
We all know that Peter dropped his nets and followed Jesus.
He witnessed Jesus healing the sick, feeding the hungry, casting out the demons.
In these last few weeks Peter followed Jesus to Jerusalem,
he witnessed the crucifixion.
On Easter morning Peter ran to the see the empty tomb.
Easter night the resurrected Lord appeared in person to Peter.
But this morning where is Peter?
He’s back at the Sea of Galilee.
He has returned to his old life as if nothing had happened.
I am going fishing.
The rest of disciples fall into line.
We will go with you.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
4.
Out on the Sea of Galilee that night, in the dark, all alone,
things did not go well.
They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Peter and the rest were failures.
No longer disciples and no longer fisherman
these seven didn’t know who they were.
When we return to our old ways, our old habits;
life usually does not go well.
But at daybreak,
in the midst of the morning fog as the disciples row their boat back to shore,
they see someone standing on the beach.
The stranger shouts out.
Children, you have no fish, have you?
Who was this guy?
How does he know we have no fish?
Next he shouts,
Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.
So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.
Next is the key verse of our gospel this morning:
That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”
5.
In the moment of the disciples’ failure,
in the middle of their decision to go back to their old ways;
in the mundane, ordinary lives of fisherman;
there stands Jesus.
The more things change the more they stay the same?
When we buy into this,
when we resign ourselves to believe that we cannot change destructive habits;
we do not believe in the power of resurrection.
This morning’s gospel will not allow Jesus’ disciples to return to their old ways.
Jesus follows them back to the Sea of Galilee and there reminds them of the abundance of life in Christ.
After their failure Jesus’ advice led to so many fish that the disciples were unable to haul it in.
On these Galilean shores,
the resurrected Jesus again calls these disciples away from their old ways that are life draining,
and instead he calls them to a new way,
a way of faith,
a way of discipleship,
a way that is life giving.
6.
Life has a way of beating us down.
Still there is comfort in the old ruts of life.
So often we regress.
We refuse to break old habits
We continue lifestyles that promotes failure, scarcity, and eventually death.
But Jesus does not accept such a life for those who believe in his name.
This is why Jesus appears on the beach when we’ve gone back to our old ways.
This why Jesus provides an abundant catch after we have failed.
And finally this is why Jesus calls us to share this abundance with a world that too often drains life away.
Three times after Peter professes his love for Jesus,
Jesus calls Peter to feed his sheep.
7.
What old habits drain you?
Easter is not just about the empty tomb.
Easter is about Jesus standing on the beach when we row back to shore tired, alone, and feeling like miserable failures by our inability to change.
It is in this place and in this time that Jesus shows us the abundant
The resurrection changes everything.
What does this mean for Zion as we begin a new chapter this year in our storied history?
When we get bogged down in the old way of doing things,
we need to see that Jesus is on the beach.
The Jesus who once was dead,
the Jesus who provides the abundant catch,
the Jesus who invites us to feed his sheep,
is alive!
God changes everything.
He changes death to life;
He breaks our old life draining habits,
And gives us faith so to believe in that which is life giving.
Amen
Please contact us by phone at : (908) 876-3547 or via Email at : zionlongvalley@comcast.net
© 2010 Zion Lutheran Church of Long Valley New Jersey
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