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Text: John 21:1-17 “Ever wonder what it would be like to be normal?” (1 of 4 people suffer from some mental abnormality; check 3 of your closest friends; if they’re OK, guess what?) “Ever think you’re the only normal one in the crowd?” (or, ever think that everyone else is normal and you’re ‘on the fringe’?) “What IS “normal”?” (we use phrases like, “Normal room temperature”, “perfectly normal child”?) * This is the real challenge…defining “normal”. It seems that we have a difficult time in agreeing upon what the means, exactly. Essentially, conforming to a type or standard; being approximately average. * It usually means “consistent with my point of view and experiences”. Anything that violates that is dismissed as “abnormal”. “So, is there any such thing as a normal Christian life?” Normal, for us is…“expected, predictable, comparable” (to others experiences). * Paul reminds us that there are some aspects of faith which are “common” to us all (it’s just part of being ‘human’) (1 Corinthians 10:13); but he didn’t say they were normal. They don’t become ‘normal’ to me unless they become part of my experience. * What he did say that the faith we have is a “shared” faith : “common”- (Gr) shared; process, resemblance (my experience of God as it is “fleshed-out” resembles yours, but does not mirror it).
* The apparent danger in determining “normalcy” is… … is causes me to resent what God is allowing in my own life which does not seem to be “normal” when compared to your life. … abnormality encourages isolation (see yourself as different from everyone else; out of the ordinary; unusual). * Automatically, our focus becomes, “What am I doing wrong?”, which is an indicator of our deep-seated belief that the uneventful life (or, “normal life”) is the reward of God for good behavior. God becomes limited to my own experiences; and limited by my experiences. * According to God, what is normal is what’s “expected”; “anticipated”; life according to God… the “kingdom”. But, the rub is, we naturally don’t do what is “normal” (expected). * We have assumed that because our behavior seems to be in keeping with the average, that it’s “normal”. What if the behavior that seems “abnormal” is, in fact, “normal”? (Matthew 5-6 “Blessed are the merciful, those who work for peace, turning the other cheek, going the extra mile, etc.) So, we are attempting to live “normally” in an “abnormal” world! (that’s the invitation of the kingdom!) John 21 is the story of Peter’s post-crucifixion and resurrection bout with “passionlessness”. * I have found that loss of spiritual energy is the result of: 1. DIVERSION: increased activity which moves us toward own personal pursuits (being disillusioned & disappointed with God) and away from our relationship with God. The result is a “neglected” spirit. 2. DEPLETION: expended energy drains us of what little passion remained and we are left “going through the motions”. Reflections… 1. Times of intense personal crisis often challenge the quality of our faith and leave us feeling “disoriented”. “I’m going out to fish” (vs.3): this is not to be interpreted as an abandonment of faith, but merely a desire to retreat to something more predictable… something “normal”. * This is what happens when “life according to God” gets too confusing! We need to find something which could afford a measure of stability; a necessary distraction. Something less demanding; with less risk of disappointment (i.e. like the losers on “American Inventor”; they had forfeited jobs, realized the loss of income for the pursuit of a dream…a bigger purpose! Now what?) These times usually involve… (we’ll call them…) … a “moment”- something unexpected. It interrupts our current level of comfort and completely demolishes “monotony”. … a “struggle”- with faith; with God; with my response. Our head is offering us all sorts of answers that our heart is just not ready to support! … a “collision”- the train-wreck or our preconceived notions of God and our present reality. Because in our moment, our circumstances ARE our reality! * What we are witnessing is Peter’s awkward battle with life from the heart. After all of those years of just “eeking out” a living, he had been chosen; selected out. Now feeling as if he had squandered his chances. In the midst of his own feelings of personal failure, he overlooked the context of his chosenness… it was by “grace”. Grace (as a divine influence or undeserved gift) ceases to be grace if it is offered as “gratuity” for our compliance; and grace ceases be grace if it can be withdrawn from us due to our inconsistency. * Do you imagine that while they were out on the boat that they were “reminiscing”? (focus on what I did, not what I’m doing!) Each almost “interrupting” the other with recollections of time spent with Jesus (Peter: remember that time when I walked on the water… or that time we went to the mountains… or that time I went to “whack” that dude and just got his ear!?) * At these moments when we are aware of our own spiritual inconsistencies, we desparately cling to past successes. When in this condition, it’s not about trying to regain what we used to have, but reaching for what we have never had before! * What they failed to realize (in their moment of disappointment) was that their faith was now more seasoned and more credible than ever due to the range of their experiences with Christ. While such reminiscing can offer some reprieve, it can also be debilitating because our future becomes forever limited by our dependence on the past (i.e. pathetic sight of old “rockers”). 2. Our condition is exaggerated by our lack of productivity. “…that night they caught nothing” (vs.3) * NOTHING seems to be happening. * I’m intrigued by God’s interest in nothing. How He seems to thrive in situations of human deficiency and unproductivity. How He delights in putting broken things back together; how He smiles when our human-effort inventory sheet comes up zero; how He seemingly “shines” in the presence of devastation. Could it be, then, that our feelings of emptiness are one of the Lord’s most valuable gifts to us? Emptiness simply indicates a realization of need: …It denotes a dissatisfaction with the current pursuits to bring the anticipated fulfillment. …It is this feeling of emptiness that finally allows me to confront all of the hollow distractions and my lifeless preoccupations. * It is the emptiness of a Samaritan woman, who brings an empty bucket to get more water than she bargained for… …the emptiness of a prodigal, who suddenly “comes to his senses” (glancing over at his dinner partners) and says “I will set out and go to my father”… We are often not as limited by our emptiness as we are by our lack of emptiness; our feelings of being full. * And if I am to expand the limits of His potential in my life, I must admit to this enormous void and not just some insignificant shortage (i.e. when are we most fully conscious of our need for fuel: when we are on ¾ tank or suckin’ fumes?!) The truth is, whether I realize it or not, I am always in desperate need of Jesus. It is when I don’t sense that need that I am most overrun by selfishness and most prone to pursuing the frivolous things in life.
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