We're preoccupied with our jobs, our finances, and our circumstances. We're preoccupied with what others are doing and how that may impact us. We are so absorbed in our daily routine and concerns that we wander through life having little positive impact in our families, our neighbors, and the world around us.Definitions:
- absorbed or engrossed to the exclusion of other things;
- so lost in thought as to be unaware of one's surroundings.
We may try to blame it on the times -- the economy, the pace of the world. The preoccupation of mankind is not new.
The disciples had lived with Jesus for three years. They had seen him perform great miracles. They had sat under his teaching and learned from him. They themselves had been given power to perform miracles. Then, Jesus died and they scattered -- fearful and confused. When they heard of his resurrection, they had gathered back together. Jesus appeared to them to provide them encouragement and to give them a new purpose. In John 20:21, Jesus said to them, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." Jesus was clearly calling them from the routine of their life into a life of purpose. Matthew 28:18-20 clarifies this purpose -- the disciples were to "go and make disciples." The purpose is reiterated again in Acts 1:8 where Jesus tells them, "you will be my witnesses."After Jesus had appeared to the disciples and communicated this purpose to them, John seemingly closes his book with these words (John 20:30-31):
30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
The disciples are ready to "go" now, right? Wrong. Following Jesus' appearance in John 20 and these words from John, we find this story.
1 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 "I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Preoccupied with our routine.
These disciples were caught up in their old routine. When Jesus found these disciples and called them three years ago to follow him, they were fishing. They were fisherman. In spite of the three years with Jesus; in spite of his command to "go;" they returned to the familiar; they returned to fishing.
How often do we get caught up in our routines? We favor the familiar, the comfortable -- so much so that we become preoccupied with it. We become irritated if our routine is disrupted. We fear change; we fear the unknown. We shy away from the challenge. We may be consumed by our jobs - burying ourselves in our work. We may be consumed by our hobbies -- losing ourselves in our play. Our habits drive us to do the same things in the same way that we've always done them. Our busy-ness keeps us from focusing on the purpose and the work of God in our life.
Jesus does not call us to the "same old" way of life. He didn't sacrifice his life and die a cruel death for us to remain caught up in the routine busy-ness of life. Jesus had called these disciples to be more than mere fisherman -- he called them to become "fishers of men." He called these men to lead a change into the world -- to reach the world for a relationship with Jesus Christ and with God.
What did this routine bring them? The passage says, "... that night they caught nothing." Furthermore, with their preoccupation in their work, they missed Jesus standing on the shore.
"Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus."
Our routines will cause us to miss Jesus.
Not only are we preoccupied with our routines, we are ...
Preoccupied with our self.
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
16 Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.19 ... Then he said to him, "Follow me!"
As we read this story, there is strong implication that this encounter of Jesus with his disciples was for Peter's benefit. Peter had denied Jesus three times. Peter was feeling the guilt of his denial. He longed for the "way things were." He searched for the familiar -- the comfortable. Peter is the one who led the way back to the routine of life. He said, "I'm going out to fish," and the others followed him. Peter was hurting. Peter was thinking about himself.
There is a lot of symbolism in this story. In verse 14 of this passage, we find that this was the third time that Jesus had appeared to the disciples after his resurrection. Peter had denied Christ three times. In his dialogue with Peter, Jesus asked Peter the same question three times. After the third repeat of the question, the passage says that "Peter was hurt." Jesus was calling attention to Peter's focus on himself - to his holding on to his guilt. Peter, because he was thinking of himself, had returned to the old way of life.
We are preoccupied with our routine; we are preoccupied with our self. We are also ...
Preoccupied with what others are doing.
19 Then he [Jesus] said to him [Peter], "Follow me!" 20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (...) 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?" 22 Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?
Peter had just received a call -- a command -- from Jesus to care for people and to follow him. His first response is "what about him?" How often do we do that? We worry about what others are doing. We compare ourselves to others. We look at how others perform at work. We gauge our level of involvement in the church by what others are doing. We want someone else to do the work. We want to make sure that we don't do more than our "fair share."
Jesus tells Peter and he tells us, "what is that to you?" In other words, that is none of your business. We're preoccupied with what others are doing and we miss the call of God on our life.
What does this story teach us about overcoming our preoccupations?
First:
We overcome being preoccupied with our routine by responding to Jesus.
We overcome being preoccupied with our routine by hearing Jesus, recognizing him, running to him, and spending time with him.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered. 6 He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. 7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. 10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish you have just caught." 11 Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast."When Jesus finds the disciples caught up in their routine, he calls out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" He is basically asking, "How's that working for you?" How is your routine working for you? Are you fulfilled in life? Jesus doesn't simply leave them there. Notice that they were not looking for Jesus. He went looking for them. He then offers to perform a miracle in their life. He offers to perform a miracle in your life. But, he will not do it without you responding to his call.
Through this miracle, they recognized Jesus. Note Peter's response. He leaps into the water and swims 100 yards to get to Jesus. He doesn't wait for the slow row of the boat pulling the load of fish. He immediately does what it takes to get to Jesus. We need to have that same urgency. Run to Jesus. Throw aside your routine and run to Jesus.
When the disciples gathered around Jesus they had breakfast with him. The meals with Jesus were meaningful. Jesus often used these as teaching moments. We see this in the Lord's supper with his disciples where he showed them how to serve with the washing of their feet and revealed the purpose of his death through the bread and the wine. In Revelation 3:20, scripture tells us that Jesus knocks at our door. Jesus pleas with us to open up to him. To whoever opens the door, he says, "I will come in and eat with him." When the disciples break their routine and spend time with Jesus, this provided the opportunity for Jesus to teach them. We need to spend time with Jesus. Allow him to teach us, to mold us, to change our lives so that we may have abundant life in him -- not routine.
Next:
We overcome being preoccupied with our self by focusing our attention on the needs of others.
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."Peter had claimed his love for Christ and had testified as to who Jesus was. Yet, at this point in his life he was stricken with guilt and had returned to his routine of life. His feelings had the best of him and he was focused on himself and his needs.
16 Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.
Jesus asks, "Do you truly love me more than these?" This love is true love -- more than a feeling. Does your love for Jesus consume you? Is he the focus of your will and your life? Or, do the "things" of life capture your attention. Peter had allowed his guilt to capture his attention. Peter had allowed his fishing gear and his fishing occupation to capture his attention.
Jesus is showing Peter that his focus needs to be on loving Jesus by loving others (the two great commandments -- to love God and to love others). That love, if true love, translates into action. We love others when we serve them, feed them, take care of them, and point them to life in Jesus Christ. Jesus had commanded them to "go and make disciples" -- to extend God's kingdom on earth and to reach people for a relationship with Christ.
Through these questions, Jesus restores Peter. In the third and final question, Jesus asks Peter again if he loves him. This question of love is an emotional one -- one which brings Peter's hurt to the surface. In spite of Peter's failure, Jesus restores him by calling him -- "follow me."
We overcome our preoccupation with ourselves when we focus on Jesus and we truly love him. And, this love translates into love for others. We care more about others and we are concerned with addressing their needs. We will have a positive impact for Jesus in our family and in our community.
Finally:
We overcome being preoccupied with what others are doing by focusing on God's call in our life and following him.
21 When Peter saw him, he asked, "Lord, what about him?"
22 Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me."
Immediately after Christ asked Peter to follow him, Peter shifts the attention to John -- "what about him?" Why?
Maybe Peter was concerned about going it alone. He didn't want to do this by himself.
Maybe he was fearful of the cost and was acting from the old cliche' "misery loves company."
Maybe Peter felt like Jesus was singling him out -- because of what he had done.
In any case, he had lost focus. In our lives, we compare ourselves to others. We spend way too much time worrying about what others are doing. We look at how others perform at work. We gauge our level of involvement in the church by what others are doing. We want someone else to do the work. We want to make sure that we don't do more than our "fair share."
We can learn from Jesus' response to Peter. Jesus basically tells Peter that what John does is none of his business. When it comes to God's call on our life, it doesn't matter what others are doing. Jesus repeats his call to Peter even more emphatically, "You must follow me." He issues that call to us -- my plan for others is none of your concern, you must follow me and the plan that I have for your life. God wants us to focus on his purpose for OUR life.
Our Challenge
Throughout scripture Jesus has called us to "go and make disciples." We are to be his witnesses to the world -- to reach them for Christ so that he can restore their relationship with God.
Our families need us.
Our churches need us.
Our neighbors need us.
Our communities need us.
Our world needs us.
Jesus is calling us -- commanding us.
YOU lead your family.
YOU use your gifts within the church and get involved.
YOU love and help your neighbors.
YOU get involved and serve your community.
YOU become engaged in making a difference in the world.
It doesn't matter what others do ... YOU must follow Jesus.
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