John 21:1-19
Gospel Reading for Third Sunday of Easter (Year C)
Apostle Peter, allow me to introduce you to Barry Allen. Now the two of you typically would not be keeping company together. You're one of the most famous figures in the history of the Christian church and he's a fictional superhero known as The Flash. But I got to thinking about the two of you this evening.
In the most recent episode of his TV show (and let me interject Pete, if I can indeed call you that, that The Flash is a delightful television show), Barry had to go back in time in order to figure out how he could move forward in defeating the villain Zoom. Yes, I know that is seems like a juvenile pile of comic book tomfoolery, but it is high quality tomfoolery.
Barry had to revisit some mistakes he made. He had to stare down some of the ghosts of his past (and a ghost that apparently polices the time stream). The trip was difficult and dangerous. Going into the past can seriously mess up the future. Yet in revisiting the past, Barry was able to get the key he needed in order to be a better version of himself in the future.
Peter, the gospel text for this week centers around the ghosts which haunted you. You did not literally time travel. That would have been interesting, but you had to face the past in a more pedestrian way if we can call your teacher returning from dead pedestrian. We can't call it that. The resurrection was way more interesting than time travel, but I digress.
When Jesus came back from the dead, you were likely overjoyed. Yet you were also held captive by what happened the night that he was arrested. Three times you denied him. Did you toss and turn at night? Did you still here the rooster crow? Did you constantly see the crestfallen look in Jesus's eyes? The resurrection was the greatest thing to ever happen and you weren't able to fully celebrate.
And so you had to go back. Rather, Jesus brought you back. Three times you denied him. Three times Jesus asked you if you loved him. It had to be painful to go back. Yet that was the only way to move forward. You would not have become the Peter that we see in Acts if not for that quiet moment on the shore. You likely would not have preached so boldly. You had to take a step back in order to go forward. Past, present, and future all touched in that instant.
Ultimately, it was not just going back that changed you. In fact, if you mucked around enough in that past--if you wallowed in it--it could have seriously messed you up. The change was in the grace that you received. Grace can change the future in ways of which time travel or any other kind of fictional shenanigans could only dream. It was the key that changed you. Grace leads to redemption and redemptive stories are the best stories. They are the stories where good triumphs over evil and love saves the day. It's even better than an entertaining episode of one of my favorite shows.