My Galilee
[chart] Can you guess what chart is
this about? It looks like the chart that describes my past week with my children.
But in fact, it is the chart that describes my spiritual journey so far.
I did it recently again, and I found a very interesting fact this time. I suddenly
realized that “the downs” were the places where I met Christ, knew him more
deeply. I would call those places my “Galilee.”
The Sea of Galilee is captivating. Jesus loved that place. The name Galilee is mentioned more than forty times in the Gospels. In the Gospels many beloved stories occurred at the Sea of Galilee. But, it is also a painful place, especially for Peter and the other disciples. Today we are going to explore three of “Galilee” stories from Peter’s perspective, because Peter is you, Peter is me, Peter is us. [*Stone ritual: I want to invite you to hold a small stone in your hand for the next ten minutes.]
Working Hard All Night (Luke 5:1-11)
Peter’s first story is his call
story at the Sea of Galilee. When was the first time you felt Jesus
personally came to you? I want you to think about it. For Peter, it was
when he hit rock bottom in his life. He was so desperate that he had to work
all night. Perhaps he was not able to pay his taxes to Rome and in danger of
bankruptcy. Perhaps he couldn’t afford
to buy medicine for his mother-in-law living together. Though we don’t know
details, what we know is that Peter had to fish hard all night, but he caught
nothing. It was when Jesus came to him, used his boat for a pulpit, then said, “Put
out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Peter replied, “Master,
we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say
so, I will let down the nets.” When he did it, a huge haul of fish,
straining the nets past capacity. After this, Peter fell to his knees and said,
“Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man.” Peter just realized that Jesus was
more than a carpenter, or a teacher. Awe overwhelmed him. Then Jesus said, “Don’t
be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So Peter left everything and
followed him. That’s how Jesus came to Peter. That’s how Peter was converted
and called at the Sea of Galilee.
In the Storm (Matthew 14:22-33)
Peter’s second story involves a
storm at the Sea of Galilee. After feeding the five thousand, Jesus made
the disciples get into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while
he went up on a mountain by himself to pray all night. It was about three in
the morning, shortly before dawn, the darkest hour. This dark hour also refers
to Peter’s and the disciples’ spiritual darkness. Mark 6:52 says that
after feeding the five thousand, their hearts were hardened. They were puffed
up after a big successful ministry, thinking, “I’m somebody.” That was when Peter
hit another rock bottom in his life. But again, our compassionate Savior Jesus
supernaturally saw Peter out on the water, struggling, battered by the waves,
and came to him, walking on the water. But Peter, spiritually blind, didn’t
recognize Jesus, crying out in fear, “It’s a ghost!” But Jesus said, “Take courage! I AM.
Don’t be afraid.” Peter said, “Master, if it’s really you, tell me to come to
you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But
when he saw the wind, he was afraid and started to sink. He cried, “Lord, save
me!” Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed him. The two of them
climbed into the boat, and the wind died down. After this, Peter and the
disciples worshipped Jesus, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” In the
midst of the storm at Galilee, at the bottom of his life, Peter came to know
Christ more deeply and personally.
After Backsliding (John 21:15-19)
Peter’s third Galilee story is
written in John 21. It’s his healing story. Have you fallen so hard and felt you
would never bounce back? Or do you know someone who was deeply hurt and has
been backsliding? Even though Peter had seen the risen Christ twice, he went
back to Galilee for fishing, knowing that he would never deserve to work for
Christ again. But, Jesus was already there ahead of him, waiting for him,
coming to him. Jesus made a charcoal fire and prepared breakfast for him. When
Peter saw a charcoal fire laid, perhaps he remembered the moment when he had
denied Jesus three times in the presence
of a charcoal fire (cf. 18:18). When Peter was asked a question three
times, “Do you love me?” he must have felt hurt, because it was so painful, so shameful
for him to remember how he disowned his Master three times. But here, you see Jesus is not asking the questions to
embarrass or humiliate Peter. Rather, Jesus is asking the questions to heal him, restore him, reinstate him. Jesus has already paid the price
for Peter’s guilt, shame, sin with His own life! So the context of the question
is this: “Simon son of John, I love you. I died for you. I was raised to give
you life. No one or nothing can separate you from my love. Do you love me just as I have loved you?” Jesus keeps
coming to Peter at the Sea of Galilee, where he is desperate, where he is afraid,
where he is backsliding. At the Sea of Galilee Peter is called, healed, transformed.
Our Galilee
Where is your Galilee – the time
and place you encounter Jesus? For me personally, the year 2018 was my Galilee.
Around that time, I felt stuck, hit rock
bottom, but didn’t know exactly why and where to turn. But while I was at a
Methodist conference, God graciously revealed to me what the root cause of the
problems was. It had to do with my “effectiveness-driven” mentality – “Make an
impact and change the world” mentality. I grew up in a large city – near Seoul,
South Korea, and unconsciously I always had that mentality. So when I was
appointed to Houlton and Hodgdon in 2014, my initial goal was to shake things
up and change the church, the culture, the community for Jesus. But apparently,
it didn’t work. As a result, after three years, I felt “stuck,” and my sense of
significance and self-worth diminished. And I asked myself: “Am I effective? Is
my ministry here effective? When am I going to make an impact on more people in
a larger ministry setting?
But while I was at the conference, the word given to me was “abide.” I thought I did abide, but in fact, what I did was to endure, but not to abide. I did not make my home among the people and the community. Then, God showed me what Jesus did: “The Word became human and made his home among us.” (cf. John 1:14 NLT). He chose to abide with us. He brought God’s kingdom to earth. Then, God gave me assurance that I was called to abide, to stay put, to be present to people where they are, to love them as they are. The encounter with the abiding Christ changed everything. That changed me.
So far, you have held the stone in your hand for 10-15 minutes. How did you feel? Suppose you hold it for 10 hours; how would you feel? I carried a sense of failure, a sense of resentment, for more than three years. I was exhausted, frustrated, afraid, wounded. But when I opened my hand, Jesus came and took my burdens and rolled them in the Sea of Galilee. Jesus changed my burden, my sorrow, into joyful dancing. So this stone is no longer a burden. It’s a reminder of Jesus’ abiding presence, God-with-us. It’s a reminder of who I am – I am steadfast, strong in Christ like a rock. So that’s my story, Peter’s story, and our story. Now I would like to invite another Peter who met Christ at the Sea of Galilee. [Joyce’s story continues…]
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