April
29, 2001
John 21:1-19
After this [appearance to Thomas], Jesus appeared again to the
disciples, this time at the Tiberias Sea (the Sea of Galilee).
This is how he did it: Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed "Twin"),
Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the brothers Zebedee, and two
other disciples were together. Simon Peter announced, "I'm
going fishing."
the rest of them replied, "We're going with you." They
went out and got in the boat. They caught nothing that night.
When the sun came up, Jesus was standing on the beach, but they
didn't recognize him.
Jesus spoke to them: "Good morning! Did you catch anything
for breakfast?"
They answered, "No."
He said, "Throw the net off the right side of the boat and
see what happens."
They did what he said. All of a sudden there were so many fish
in it, they weren't strong enough to pull it in.
Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, "It's the Master!"
When Simon Peter realized that it was the Master, he threw on
some clothes, for he was stripped for work, and dove into the
sea. The other disciples came in by boat for they weren't far
from land, a hundred yards or so, pulling along the net full of
fish. When they got out of the boat, they saw a fire laid, with
fish and bread cooking on it.
Jesus said, "Bring some of the fish you've just caught."
Simon Peter joined them and pulled the net to shore -- 153 big
fish! And even with all those fish, the net didn't rip.
Jesus said, "Breakfast is ready." Not one of the disciples
dared ask, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Master.
Jesus then took the bread and gave it to them. He did the same
with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus had shown himself
alive to the disciples since being raised from the dead.
After breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of
John, do you love me more than these?"
"Yes, Master, you know I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
He then asked a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you
love me?"
"Yes, master, you know I love you."
Jesus said, "Shepherd my sheep."
Then he said it a third time: "Simon, son of John, do you
love me?"
Peter was upset that he asked for the third time, "Do you
love me?" so he answered, "Master, you know everything
there is to know. You've go to know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. I'm telling you the very truth
now: When you were young you dressed yourself and went wherever
you wished, but when you get old you'll have to stretch out your
hands while someone else dresses you and takes you where you don't
want to go." He said this to hint at the kind of death by
which Peter would glorify God. And then he commanded, "Follow
me."
<The Message >
=======
1.
"... I kept running up against the triad that is described
in Enneagram literature as the middle of the body (gut), head,
and heart.... The triad appears most clearly in the three figures
of Peter, Thomas, and Mary Magdalen, who when they meet the resurrected
Lord reveal their character by their typical ways of reacting
and responding: jumping the gun/facing the crucial question (Peter,
in John 21:15-18, "Do you love me?"), running away/accepting
the invitation (Thomas in John 20:24-29, "Put your finger
here"), clinging to others/freeing oneself and turning to
others (Mary Magdalen, in John 20:17, "Do not hold me, but
go to my brethren and say...")....
"Middle of the Body (Gut): EIGHT - NINE - ONE
For this center the characteristic defensive posture is the resistance
that can be expressed in a lack of respect for others (EIGHT),
oneself (NINE), or God (ONE). These types tend to become locked
up inside themselves. This defensive attitude fits into the realm
of survival, where it shows its full effectiveness. But when it
comes to the encounter with the redeeming God who offers life
in abundance (John 10:10), this self-willed attitude manifests
itself as stiff resistance. All of Jesus's disputes with his opponents
reflect this battle, in which the body center of the person putting
up the resistance is laid open and the armor is shattered, so
that reverence becomes possible. But Jesus doesn't wage this battle
on the level of his adversaries, with the "sword," as
Peter does when Jesus is taken prisoner (John 18:10), or as the
men do who wish to kill him (John 8:37), but with the Word, which
has, of course, the impact of the sword (cf. John 12:48, Heb.
4:12-13), In the meeting with Simon Peter after the resurrection
Jesus shows how this defensiveness is overcome, this stiff resistance
broken, and the energy stored up in this protective posture set
free. This is the question, "Do you love me [more]?"
In this way the instinctive reaction that "kills" or
"destroys" -- that is, weakens or breaks off communication
and relationships -- is undone. This makes it possible to respond
to others, oneself, and God, and thus (re)creates relationship
and communication."
from "The Enneagram and the Bible" by Wolfgang Muller
in Experiencing the Enneagram
2.
The questions which keep coming back to haunt us are questions
which go to the heart of our resistance. Our response, in one
form or other (including affirmations such as Peter's), are either
straight-forward avoidances or more subtle acknowledgments. We
are famous for our "Yes, but ...." type responses which
try to put the question(er) in its place.
So a question for the day is what question keeps coming back to
us. This is one way of discerning a call.
3.
From John Wesley's notes on the "New Testament"
Verse 15. Simon, son of Jonah -- The appellation Christ had given
him, when be made that glorious confession, Matthew 16:16, the
remembrance of which might make him more deeply sensible of his
late denial of him whom he had so confessed. Lovest thou me? --
Thrice our Lord asks him, who had denied him thrice: more than
these -- Thy fellow disciples do? -- Peter thought so once, Matthew
26:33, but he now answers only- I love thee, without adding more
than these. Thou knowest -- He had now learnt by sad experience
that Jesus knew his heart. My lambs -- The weakest and tenderest
of the flock.