Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the devotion I shared with the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church .  John 21:4-14 ( The Message ) 4  When the sun came up, Jesus was standing on the beach, but they didn’t recognize him. 5  Jesus spoke to them: “Good morning! Did you catch anything for breakfast?” They answered, “No.” 6  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. 7-9  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. 10-11  Jesus said, “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught.” Simon Pete

This is the sermon I wrote for St. Timothy Lutheran Church for Easter Sunday, 4/12/20. The text was Acts 10:34-43 . Easter turns the world upside down. It defies our expectations. We see radical reversals—prophesied in scripture, revealed in Christ’s life and ministry, culminating in the good news we proclaim today. Christ has triumphed over death! We see the resurrection at work in Peter and ultimately in us. First, there’s a back story to today’s lesson from Acts. Peter just had a vision that abolished the Jewish food laws, which God interpreted for Peter. Then he understood that “What God has made clean, you cannot call unclean.” This is the basis of God’s impartiality. Cornelius had a vision to call for Peter. Peter goes and preaches to and among Gentiles. This sermon takes place at Gentile Cornelius’ house with his family and friends (Eric Fistler & Robb McCoy, pulpitfiction.com). Peter was sure, as were most Jewish people of his day, that God had an exclusiv