Easter Wednesday

On the evening of the Resurrection, Jesus walked through locked doors and appeared to his disciples. A week later, with Thomas present, he appeared once more. What an incredible experience it must have been to see their crucified Lord standing among them. We are told that the disciples rejoiced because they had seen the Lord (Jn 20:20). This is probably a major understatement. Words couldn’t describe their joy. They had seen him die. They knew that he had been buried. Yet now he stood among them announcing a new peace between man and God. Then he commissioned them to be ambassadors of this forgiveness and peace, saying, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (Jn 20:21). Their old lives were gone. They were part of a new mission. They were no longer the disciples, the learners; they were now the apostles, the sent ones.

And then Jesus was gone, and they were left alone. The glory of his presence began to fade, and the reality of life began to set in once again. We’ve all experienced this to some degree. Perhaps your team won the championship and you were on cloud nine. But the next day you still had to get up and go to work. Yes, you had bragging rights for a while, but soon even that became old news. Or perhaps you bought a new car and couldn’t wait to drive it around. But long after the thrill was gone, the car payments kept coming. In a similar way, Christians all over the world celebrated Easter last Sunday. But now what? It’s Wednesday, and you might look around and wonder, “Did anything really change?”

Peter looked around. The Resurrection had been amazing. It was incredible to see Jesus alive in the flesh. But now Jesus was gone, and had anything really changed? Jesus could come and go as he pleased, walking through walls and locked doors, eating or not eating – but not Peter. The kids still needed food on the table, the bills still needed paid, and life still moved on. So Peter said, “I’m going fishing. I’m going back to my old life, to my old job, to the way things were before Jesus found me.” Peter wasn’t the only one. Earlier Luke tells us of two other disciples who left Jerusalem and were walking sadly back to their old lives in Emmaus, saying, “We had hoped that [Jesus] was the one to redeem Israel” (Lk 24:21a). And on this day when Peter said, “I’m going fishing,” Thomas, Nathaniel, James and John, and two other disciples said, “We’re coming with you” (Jn 21:2-3a).

They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing (Jn 21:3b). When the disciples first left their nets to follow Jesus, they never expected to go back to them. And now, as they returned to their old lives, they found that they’d lost the knack. They toiled all night and caught nothing. Had anything changed since the Resurrection? Yes, it seemed. Things were now worse than ever. Disciples are supposed to have a master, and fisherman are supposed to catch fish. The disciples had no Jesus and no fish. Two strikes. And there was more. They had all forsaken their Lord and fled. And Peter had denied him with oaths and curses. Strike three, Peter.

It’s true, Jesus had appeared briefly and said, “Peace be with you,” but once he was gone, the doubts began to grow. Put yourself in Peter’s shoes. “Why am I not catching any fish? Why is my life not blessed? It must be because of that sin I committed. God must be punishing me. Yes, I heard the pastor say, ‘Your sins are forgiven. The peace of the Lord be with you always,’ but he doesn’t know what I’ve done. Perhaps forgiveness is real for everyone else, but not for me.” This is the dark night of the soul, and the devil will tell you that you’re the only one, but it’s not true. Every Christian will find themselves in the same boat as Peter. No joy, no peace, no fish, and no Jesus.

But God’s Word tells us, “Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning” (Ps 30:5b). Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that is was Jesus (Jn 21:4). Where did Jesus come from? When did he get there? Oh, he was always there, but they didn’t recognize him. This had happened before. Once they were in the boat at night during a storm; they saw Jesus, but they thought he was a ghost. After the Crucifixion, Mary Magdalene was weeping in the garden; she saw Jesus, but she thought he was the gardener. The disciples on the road to Emmaus saw Jesus, but they thought he was only a fellow traveler. They thought that they walked alone, wept alone, toiled through the night alone, but Jesus was there, only they didn’t recognize him. He was there because he promised to be there. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among [you] (Mt 18:20). And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Mt 28:20b).

Jesus’ promise is not conditional. He didn’t abandon Peter because of his doubt. He didn’t wait for Peter to leave his nets a second time and follow him. Jesus came looking for Peter. He found him in his vocation, in his mundane struggles, and in his doubts. Jesus wasn’t content to have purchased the forgiveness of all sins for all people at the cross. He wanted to deliver that forgiveness in person to Peter, and to you. So Jesus didn’t wait for you to find him. He came looking for you. He says, “I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me (Is 65:1). He found you in the darkness of your doubt, hoping against hope that his forgiveness was real, not daring to believe that it could truly be for you.

Jesus stood on the shore and called out, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No” (Jn 21:5). We’ve got nothing and that’s the truth. Unless Jesus shows up today and every day, we’ve got nothing except sore backs and frustration. We’ve got nothing except sin and doubt. You fish all night long, what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt. But we serve a God of miracles. One word from him and everything changes! [Jesus] said to them, “Cast the net on 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 of the quantity of the fish (Jn 21:6). This is how Jesus is. He doesn’t take us out of the mundane world. Instead, he transforms the world we live in. His word makes our labor fruitful. His peace transforms our lives and gives us purpose. His forgiveness gives us comfort and joy in the midst of the troubles of this life. Perhaps you still have doubts; perhaps your faith is weak. Take courage! For when your faith is weak, even when you are faithless, he remains faithful. The burden of your salvation is not on you, it’s on Christ. He is the source of your faith. He bled for all your doubts. His victory over death and the grave transforms your life, your marriage, your vocations. His peace and his forgiveness are real and they are for you.

Jesus comes to you today, and once again, perhaps you didn’t recognize him. Instead of a gardener, maybe you saw only bread and wine. But Jesus speaks and a miracle happens. That bread and wine is his body and blood for the forgiveness of all your sins. Perhaps you only heard a man in a robe speak the words of Absolution. These words leave the pastor’s mouth and come to your ears. But they are not the pastor’s words; they are the words of Christ, and he is the God who speaks. He spoke in the beginning and the universe was created out of nothing. He speaks today and creates faith out of the nothing of doubt and unbelief. He speaks today and your sins are forgiven. He speaks today and all things are made new (Re 21:5). Jesus is risen, he has come looking for you, and now everything has changed. He is risen! Amen.

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