🐮 Easter 3

Readings: Acts 9:1-20; Psalm 30; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19.

Transcript

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Acts chapter nine verses one through six. Meanwhile, Saul still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. Went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, said if he found anyone who belonged to the way men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him Saul, why do you persecute me? He asked, who are you Lord? The reply came, I am Jesus. Who, whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city and you'll be told what you're to do. The many who are traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice, but saw no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus for three days, he was without sight and neither ate nor drank. Now, there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, an Ananias, he answered, here I am Lord. The Lord said to him, get up and go to the street. Called Straight at the house of Judas. Look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment, he's praying and he has seen a, in a vision, a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, said that he might regain his sight, but Ananias answered, Lord, I've heard from many about this man, how much evil has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has the authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name. But the Lord said to Ananias, go for, he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and Kings, and before the people of Israel. I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name. So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, brother Saul, the Lord Joshua, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized and after taking some food, he regained his strength. For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Joshua and the synagogue saying he's the son of God. Psalm chapter 30, I will extole you, oh Lord, for you have drawn me up and did not let my foes rejoice over me. Oh Lord my God. I cried to you for help and you have healed me. Oh Lord. You have brought my soul up from sheel, restored me to life among those who have gone down to the pit. Sing praises to the Lord. Oh, you his faithful ones, and give thanks to her holy name. For her anger is, but for a moment, his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning. As for me, I said, in my prosperity, I shall never be moved. But your favor. Oh Lord, you had established me as a strong mountain. You hid your face and I was dismayed to you. Oh Lord, I cried. And to the Lord I made supplication. What prophet is there in my death if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness here? Oh Lord. And be gracious to me. Oh Lord, my helper. You have turned my morning into dancing. You have taken off my sat cloth and closed me with joy so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. Oh Lord, my God. I'll give thanks to you forever. Revelation chapter five, verses 11 through 14. Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders. They numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands singing with full voice worthy is the lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might, and honor and glory and blessing. Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them singing to the one seated on the throne and to the lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever. And the for living creature said Amen. And the elders fell down and worshiped the gospel of John Chapter 21 verses one through 19. After these things. Joshua showed himself again to disciples by the sea of Tiberius, and he showed himself in this way, gathered. There was Simon Peter Thomas called the twin Nathaniel of Cana and Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and the two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to him, I'm gonna go fishing, and they said to him, we'll go with you. They went out and got into a boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just after daybreak. Joshua stood on the beach, but the disciples did not know that it was Joshua. Joshua said to them, children, you have no fish, have you? They answered him. No. He said to them, cast the net on the right side of the boat and you'll find some. So they cast it and now they were a not able to haul it in because there were so many fish that disciple whom Jesus loved, said to Peter, it's the Lord. When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord he put on his outer garment for, he'd taken it off and jumped into the sea, but the other disciples came in the boat dragging the net full of fish for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. When they had gotten as shore, they saw charcoal fire there with fish on it and bread. Jesus said to them, bring some of the fish that you've just caught. So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore full of large fish, 153 of them. And though there were so many, the net was not torn. Joshua said to them, come and have breakfast. Now, none of the disciples dared to ask him, who are you? Because they knew it was the Lord. Joshua came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with a fish. This is now the third time that Joshua appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. When they finished breakfast, Joshua said to Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He said to him, yes, Lord. I know that I love you. Joshua said to him, feed my lambs. A second time, Joshua said to Peter Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Joshua said to him, tend my sheep. Joshua said to Peter a third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter felt hurt because he had said to him the third time, do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you. Joshua said to him, feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and go wherever you wished, but when you grow old, you'll stretch out your hands and someone else will fasten the belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go. You said this to indicate kind of death by which you would glorify God After this, Joshua said to his followers, follow me. Good morning and welcome to the third Sunday of Easter. This is Brother Logan Isaac, broadcasting from Albany, Oregon. Our readings come to us today from Acts chapter nine, Psalm 30, revelation five in John 21. And this is, i, the last couple I've had this thing, I'm really fascinated that the early Christians called the thing that they did the way they don't call it Judaism. I mean they do, but it's it's clearly something distinct within Judaism that it's there, but it's also not quite Judaism and in Greek, which is what all of these were written in. It, this word is hodo. And hodo isn't like a noun. It isn't, it doesn't have the substance of a noun or a verb. It's just the way it's the journey and the way it's always fascinated me.'cause they acquired this title Christiano in Antioch, and I think we heard about that last week, I think. I can't remember. But. Cristianos is this amalgamation of Greek and Latin. Kristos is Greek meaning smeared or anointed or chosen not for the Greek audience, but for the Hebrew audience using Greek. Kristos is the closest you come to being smeared or anointed. And then anos is this Latin suffix, meaning a servant of that thing or a slave of that thing, or owned by that thing. So christiano means a servant or a slave, or owned by Christ, the smeared one, the dirty one but their own self identified name or nomenclature, whatever is. Hodo the way, and if anybody's ever been on a marathon or like a 5K walk, one of those things, Johon, I don't know, like you're moving on the way. And it makes me think of road March when I was in the military.'cause nobody wants to road march. It's your feet hurt. I was in North Carolina for a long time and then I was in Hawaii where it's really humid and it's nobody wants to road march. Nobody wants to do it. I'd rather sit in the shade and sit my tee and play, read or play check. I don't know, something like, I don't want to be walking, I don't want to be moving. I don't wanna be working. And I say that because the way is work. If you're on a journey, you better be walking. If you're not walking, if you're not burning calories, you're not on the way. And I say this because I in particular probably have some sensitivity around what do we mean when we say I'm a follower of Jesus? Because I've seen a lot of Christians, a lot of Christian institutions, a lot of Christian organizations, a lot of Christian individuals. Not really reflect what I assume must be meant by going on the way, on a journey. If you gotta take a rest, a break, hey, do it. But I. Don't call that the way, call that a rest from the way. When I was in, at Schofield Barracks, I was at Fort Bragg first, and I reenlisted after nine 11 to go to Hawaii. After I learned I wouldn't deploy following the towers on nine 11. And I got to Hawaii and it was really easy compared to Fort Bragg or Fort Liberty, whatever the heck it's called. And I had invested all this like personal energy in 82nd Airborne, this really elite unit. Not special forces, not Ranger, but like the most elite regular Army unit. And you have to be airborne qualified. You have to jump out of a plane five times to be able to serve in the 82nd. And that was a certain point of pride. It was work. Think of the parable of the vineyard or the parable of the prodigal sun. Like work should produce fruit work should feel good. And here I am going to Scofield and nobody cares as much about the military or, the 25th as much as paratroopers care about the 82nd. And I remember a guy had gone there before me and he was like, oh my, my last name at the time was military. He's oh, military, you're not gonna like it, that you can't make anybody push you. I was an E four. And I was worried. I was worried like nobody would care about the work that I put in. And I would, there's, there'd be another, definition of work in Hawaii and. So when I got to Hawaii I learned I'd deploy. I settled into it, but I bring that up because I went to Airborne school in Hawaii, or I'm sorry, a assault school in Hawaii. And airborne is like this whole thing. A assault is a different thing. But the big thing for aero assault school at the end is a 25 mile road, March 12 Mile Road March, but it's timed and you have to make it in under a certain time and you have to do it. And if you've ever been on a road march, every so often, you'll take a break. Like you take a water break, you, I don't know, you might have to pull security for a moment but in aerosol school, I just wanted to be done. I knew my mission. I was just gonna, I woke up that morning. Not sure I'd finish because I don't know. I don't know if I'm any good at road marching and I get up, I distinctly remember this. I remember waking up'cause the school was on the same base. I didn't have to fly somewhere and live in a barracks or whatever. I just went from home to airborne aerosol school and I remember waking up thinking I just wanna finish. I think the time limit was like two hours and I'd never timed myself on road marches. I've never done one at my own pace. It's usually as part of a formation, a group. And I say this because what we mean by the way is up to us. We get to name our own journeys. We aren't the authors of our story, but we are the editors. We get some amount of control even if we don't have full control. And this air assault road March was the first time where I just had to do 12 miles and I could finish it as quickly or as slowly as I wanted, and I wanted to. I wanted to get done. I didn't want to do it, and I just, I don't know. I just wanted to get it done. And in at Schofield, it just happened to be an out and back, and Schofield is known for being very hilly in terms of aeros assault schools. And so depending on who you ask, Aeros assault school is most difficult in Hawaii or most difficult in. Kentucky or wherever they might have it. I don't know, but that was the rumor we said. And so that this, I'm saying this because I was not sure I was gonna make it. And so we, we form up, we they ring the bell or blow the whistle or whatever and we all just take off. In high school, I was a cross country runner for one or two years and I never really committed to any sport, but I did learn in cross country don't take off like a jack rabbit'cause you'll tire out and then you really won't finish, or you'll feel like shit when you do. And so I would just, when they blew, when they fired that little. Blank. I would just, just start trotting along and I try and kept the same pace and I'd speed it up at the end just'cause the end is near and I get to, I finally get to finish. And that was my tactic at Aero Assault School. Everybody was like, yeah, I'm gonna do it. And I was like, okay, here we go. Just trotting along. Do. And I just want to keep the. Most consistent pace I can think of. And I get to the halfway mark after 45 minutes or whatever and I've only seen one other person come down and I'm like, oh shit, I'm in second place. And then I felt like then there was a certain kind of rush of shit, do I try and do I really try and win, quote unquote, or do I like, or maybe there was like three or four in front of me, but I was like, holy shit, I'm a lot, I'm doing a lot better than I thought. And. Then the pressure was like, oh, do I want to win or do I still just want to finish? And I, I remained completely undecided. I just kept up my pace and I passed somebody here and there and it came down to the last mile and it was the most open, brutal, sunny mile, in the whole course.'cause it was on a landing zone, so it was. No shade. But there was a sergeant air assault or an air assault instructor, the senior air assault instructor, and he was going up and down in a truck and he noticed that I wasn't there to win it. I wasn't there to prove anything to anybody, but I was thinking about it and he knew where the guy in front was, and he told me, you've got this if you want it. I've seen the other guy and he is sucking. If you could, if you manage to pick up your pace, you will pass him and you'll come in first. And he knew I wasn't infantry, I was artillery. And that's a big deal. Like infantry is supposed to win all these things. And if I wanted just, if I, there's a certain, it's a paradox, right? I could be humble and just finish, or I could be humble and see what my own limitations, my own capacity is. And with. The senior instructor's kind of encouragement I still run into this day'cause it was just so meaningful. Like he believed in me. He saw something in me that I didn't recognize until he saw it. And then when I saw it too, I was like, yeah, I can do this. And I picked up my pace to where I was almost jogging, not sprinting, more than just pattering along. And sure enough. About a half mile out. I see the guy on a ridge and I'm like, oh, I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna win, quote unquote win aerosols in school. And I remember passing him and seeing that look on his face of just absolute exhaustion. And I wasn't, not exhausted, but like I was accustomed to being exhausted by that point when I ran cross country. You're just tired the whole time. You just get used to it. And an air assault school is your. Going along your way, you just have to embrace the suck. And once you embrace the suck enough, the suck doesn't suck as much. And that was where I was at. Like I was not, loving life, but like this is the life that was handed to me. This is what I'm doing. I'm gonna do it to the best of my ability and the best of my ability. It turned out to be much better than I could have anticipated. And I came in first for air assault school, the last air assault rotation before. They shut it down for all the Iraq deployments. And I came in and did like a whole platoon move at the end where I threw my hands up. I was like, I did it and there was like a photographer and somebody asked me from the base paper and I can't find it, but that's what I think of when I think of the way. If you need to slow down and take a break, that's fine, but recognize when you're taking a break and you're not going along the way actively, and recognize those times when you are on the way and do the best that you. Can possibly do and don't believe that the best in your mind is the best in reality, sometimes you need people outside you to show you how much better you are at something than you ever thought you were. And that was me listening to someone else in my community tell me that they knew more about me than I knew about myself. And that's a certain kind of humility. That's why I say win. Like you just have to finish and you get the stupid. Badge, the award para whatever, aerosol badge. But I also got, I got an AAM out of it from my artillery unit because the, we, I beat the infantry unit and they, my artillery commanders were like, yeah, whatever. But I, I have a plaque on my wall, foot March champion. And I kept it. It was one of the few things that my old roommate didn't happen to piss on. But whatever your way is. Whatever direction God is leading you, do it to the best of your ability and listen to others when they tell you, you can be doing this better. If the way is not work, it's not the way, it's just resting and you need that's fine. But just be able to tell the difference between the two, whether you're giving it your good, your own good faith, best effort, or if you need to step back and relax and rest and recuperate some of us. I need more recuperation time than others. I don't. I still to this day do not understand how I finished first in the road March thingy, but I wouldn't have known if I hadn't done it. You won't know if you're on the way if you're not struggling because that is what the way means. It means work. It means going the way that God is leading you and listening to God and giving God more. Airtime than sometimes your own inner dialogue, which can be deceiving sometimes. God knows you and your community knows you better than you know yourself.