Sermon 5th May 2019
Text: John 21:1-19 – When you least
expect it, expect it
When you least expect it, expect it.
It’s a saying that inspires hope into
a hopeless situation.
When you least expect it, expect it.
It’s a saying that inspires us to
never give up hope.
For Christians it has often seen God
acting in his timing rather than ours.
Like Abraham and Sarah.
Promised a child by God they had
given up hope and took matters into their own hands by Abraham having a child
with his housemaid Hagar.
But not long after that God sends his
messengers to tell Abraham and Sarah to expect the child that God had promised
–
At the ages of Abraham 100 years old
and Sarah 90 they did not expect God to come through with his promise.
When you least expect it, expect it.
Today’s readings are a message to the
church to never give up hope.
To expect God to act when we least
expect it.
In our first reading it is a message
of hope to never give up on someone you’ve been trying to bring to the
Christian faith.
Saul, a leading Pharisee, an enemy of
the Christian is hell bent on destroying the emerging church and arresting
every Christian in sight.
He’s already seen how much joy it
brought to the people when the first Christian martyr, Stephen, was stoned to
death.
This is the last person you would
expect to be converted to the Christian faith.
But not for God.
On his way to Damascus a blinding
light hits Saul and the voice of Jesus reveals the truth of the Christian
faith.
Saul is converted and will become the
one we know today as St Paul, the great missionary to the Gentiles and
establisher of the first Christian Churches.
No one would have expected Saul to
become a Christian.
Even Ananias who was directed by God
himself to take Saul in and look after him didn’t believe that even God could
do this:
“Lord, I have heard many reports about this
man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has
come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your
name.”
Ananias shows how God can act totally
against our expectations.
So this reassures us that if there is
someone that you’ve given up hope on ever believing in God – don’t give up,
because God never does.
With God, when you least expect it –
expect it.
If it’s your will for that person to
believe and it is also God’s will for that person to believe – keep praying as
Jesus did – your will be done.
God will not give up just as he did
not give up just before the thief on the cross would breathe his last and was
assured of living in Paradise.
Like many people, if not all, I have
loved ones, friends and family, that I pray for and I will not stop praying and
I will not give up hope.
Our Gospel reading is similar in
expecting the unexpected when you least expect it.
And there are 2 examples here.
First is with the fishing experience.
Peter and the others had been fishing
all through the night and had caught nothing.
A stranger tells them: "Cast the
net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some."
You would have to ask, wouldn’t they
have already tried there?
And yet at the request of this
stranger whom they soon discover is Jesus they do so and are unable to haul in
the net because of the huge catch.
Firstly we should never give up even
if we’ve tried before.
Have you shared the Gospel with
someone with no result?
Have you invited someone along to
church or an event and they’ve said no?
Have you prayed for someone and not
seen any result?
Try again.
Don’t stop.
Who knows when the fish may start to
bite?
I’ve been fishing many times in my
younger days.
Sometimes you go to the same spot and
have different results.
Who knows whether the person you’ve
been trying to share the Gospel with has had something happen in their life and
they’ve been waiting for someone to speak with them.
Maybe they weren’t ready the last
time you spoke with them.
Surely the disciples would have
fished from the right side of the boat earlier that night – but now the time
was right.
When you least expect it – expect it
with God.
But the other part of that story is
God’s grace that is shown to Peter.
Totally unexpected by Peter – and
maybe us.
Peter had denied Jesus 3 times at his
arrest.
No doubt Peter had felt dejected and
unable to understand how Jesus could possibly love him after his denial.
I’ve mentioned this before but I’ll
mention it again – there are 2 different forms of love in this exchange between
Jesus and Peter – agape love – a deep sacrificial love and philos – a general
form of love from which we get words like philately – a lover of stamps and
philosophy – a love of wisdom.
Jesus asks Peter – do you “agape”
love me – and Peters says – yes Lord I “philos” love you.
Peter seemingly cannot accept or
understand Jesus’ gracious act of love towards him and perhaps is ashamed to
accept it.
Jesus asks a 2nd time the same
question.
Agape – to which Peter responds
Philos.
But the 3rd time Jesus sees that he
needs to meet Peter where he is and asks him to “philos” love him – start
there.
Maybe you’ve struggled to understand
how God can love you.
Maybe you’ve struggled to understand
what there is in you that is of value to God.
Maybe you’ve been ashamed of how
you’ve lived your life and couldn’t possibly expect God to still love you.
Well, when you least expect it,
expect it with God.
God loves you and gave his one and
only Son to assure you how much he loves you.
God is a God of the unexpected.
Israel expected an all-conquering
King – God sends a baby to an unwed mother.
The Jewish leaders expected one like
themselves and received one who ate with sinners and tax collectors.
The disciples expected a valiant king
to lead them into battle and received Jesus riding on a donkey.
They expected Jesus to fight against
the roman leadership and reinstate Israel as a mighty nation – and he dies on
the cross.
They went to the tomb expecting to
bury a lifeless corpse and found the tomb empty.
God is a God of the unexpected – when
you least expect it, expect it.
Maybe you’ve expected differently
from God in your life – that doesn’t mean God hasn’t forgotten you or does not
have something special in store for you.
When it comes to God, don’t settle
for the everyday norm but expect the unexpected.
That huge haul of fish may be just
around the corner on the other side of the boat.
But you won’t catch them if you’ve stopped
fishing.
That Damascus Road conversion may
arrive when you least expect it.
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