Robbie McDonough

John 21:9-19 (NRSV)

9 When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” 19 (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”

 Reflection:

The defining trait of my career, so far, has been shepherding (or persuading) people. It actually started at St. Luke’s, where I was blessed to be a part of the team that showed two congregations (now the Westheimer and Gethsemane campuses) that they could be better together than apart. I then worked for a midstream company as a landman where I convinced landowners to sell a piece of their property so a pipeline could deliver precious energy to market. At that same company, I took on government and tribal relations, where I asked local, state, federal, and tribal leaders and bureaucrats to support the company’s projects. Still later, I took on business development where I courted new customers for the infrastructure projects we developed. And today, my wife and I run our own small business, where we spend the vast majority of our brain power thinking about our employees and how we can encourage them to produce and earn more. 

And I know I’m tooting my own horn, but gosh darn it, I’m pretty good at persuasion. In a “Jack of all trades, but master of none” career, it’s the skill that sticks out.

If I taught a class on shepherding, I’d title Lesson One: “Form Meaningful Relationships and Care About Them”. While being relational comes natural to me, investing in relationships is not as instinctual. Investing requires intentionality. Jesus is intentional about his relationships. He calls disciples, and he invests his time, knowledge, and love in each one of them, even when they can’t comprehend it all.

I’d title Lesson 2: “Break Bread Together”. There is something about food that binds folks together. The care that it takes to make. The physical need it fulfills. The pleasure it brings. I have often used the breaking of bread to make introductions, celebrate, mourn, and (as we’re about to discuss further) have a difficult conversation.  

In John 21, Jesus makes his third appearance to the disciples after his resurrection. And where does he find them: Fishing – and not for men (see Matthew 4). After a lackluster night fishing (that is, lackluster until Jesus told them where to fish), they find Jesus back on shore ready to barbecue. I love the image of Jesus as the pitmaster. He lovingly makes the disciples their breakfast. But there is more to the menu then just fish. Before Jesus can depart to the Father, he needs to have a difficult, course correcting conversation with Peter. Three times he asks Peter “do you love me?”, each time more awkwardly and perhaps more confrontational than the last. Its likely no coincidence that Jesus asks three times after Peter denied Jesus three times in the hours following Jesus’s arrest.

This isn’t the first time Jesus breaks bad news while breaking bread. Remember the Last Supper (see Matthew 26:17-29; Mark 14:12-25; Luke 22:7-38)? I find it is easier to stomach bad news when you’re also stomaching good food. So, is Jesus just utilizing a sales technique to gloss over an uncomfortable reality? Of course not. He cares about Peter and wants to deliver bad news in a way it will be well received.

And then there is Jesus’s response. Three times Peter affirms his love for Jesus and Jesus responds: 1) feed my lambs; 2) tend my sheep; 3) feed my sheep. Peter’s affirmation and reconciliation is important to Jesus, but its not the end. He’s helping Peter course correct. He wants Peter to fill his stomach with fish and his heart with compassion. He wants Peter to take all that time, knowledge, and love that Jesus invested in him and pay it forward to all of God’s children. Remember, Peter has a Church to establish (see Matthew 16:18).

I often see Peter as the rhetorical everyman/everywoman- very relatable. How much has God invested in me? Can I even count the blessings? And how often do I deny him by my actions, go back to my routine life, and fail to feed and tend his sheep? Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t think Jesus is asking me to “sell everything and follow [him]”, at least, I don’t believe he is today. But God’s “sheep” are all around me. They are the people I break bread with all the time. What if I let my heart fill with Christ’s compassion and invested more? Where would it take me? Where would it take them?

 Prayer:

Almighty Father,

Thank you for caring enough to invest in me. Break bread with me and give it to me straight. Help me to course correct. I want to tend and feed your sheep, but I am so easily distracted. Open my eyes to the opportunities to invest and form deeper relationships with those around me. Fill my heart with compassion and make me a servant of your will. Amen.