THE SHORE AND THE SEA
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 3rd Sunday after Easter is, “The Shore and the Sea.”
Today’s 3 readings - especially the Gospel - got me
thinking about this topic and this theme
And I want to spell shore both “SHORE” and “SURE”.
And the shore - s h o r e - is a metaphor for the
sure - sure.
What? What are you talking about here? Hopefully, by the
end of this sermon you’ll get what I’m trying to get at. And I hope I will too.
Picture a person at the ocean - Ocean City or Rehoboth -
and they are about 20 or 30 yards from the
shore - the beach - and the ocean becomes rough and pounding and the
person gets caught in an undertow and is tossed a bit - and says inwardly “Uh
oh! - I better get out of this water.”
How many situations have we found ourselves in - when
things got antsy or angry - nasty and nauseous - and we didn’t see it coming?
Life has it’s “Uh oh moments” - when we want an “Aha
moment” - on how to get out of there.
We want to get out of the unsure and onto the sure. We want to get out of the shaky and onto the
steady.
So the title of my homily is, “The Shore and the Sea.”
I preached on this yesterday at the 4:30 and I began
saying to myself during the sermon, “”Uh oh, this is getting muddy. A better title would be, “The Sure and the Unsure of Life” - yet I want
to bring in the water …. because of today’s gospel.
ON THE WATERFRONT
We who live in this part of Maryland are lucky to live
near the water - that is, if you like the water - that is, if you like sailing or boating or paddle
boarding or fishing or crabbing.
How much does geography form the personality? Do we become where we come from? Do people
who live in the Quad cities in the Midwest - on the Mississippi and its tributaries - do they
get a creeping inner fear because of spring flooding every year?
I lived on the Jersey Shore for 7 years and
Nor-easterners could cause anxiety. What about people in the Caribbean in
hurricane season? What about people in India who live right on the coast in the
path of possible typhoons?
The coast has benefits - but also it has its worries.
In Israel the Mediterranean doesn’t show up that often in
the scriptures, but it’s there. In the Gospels, the Lake of Galilee - or the
Sea of Tiberias as it’s called in today’s gospel from John - is more central.
It’s 13 miles north to south and 7 miles from east to west. It’s there and Jesus was brought up not that
far from it.
And in the gospel we have stories about storms at sea -
when the disciples start to panic - and Jesus becomes the sure when things are
unsure - and they are far from shore.
LIFE HAS ITS SURE AND ITS UNSURE
What does your list of the sure and unsure look like?
Death and taxes always makes the list for sure things.
So too marriages and babies.
So too wars and family feuds.
So too food.
So too sickness
and health.
So too addictions and sin and recoveries and resolutions.
So too unsure things like the weather - more or less
depending upon where you live. I hear
that a weather reporter’s job in Arizona ain’t that desirable.
The whole insurance industry is based on the unsure - as
they promise a surety - if there is a crash or a crisis.
The possibility of surprise - is the secret of humor and
horse races - and the lottery.
People repeat themselves - but sometimes they don’t.
Some people ask the same question every time we see them:
“What’s new?”
Sometimes it’s not the sermon we expected.
Which is more you: wanting the same or wanting the
different?
I remember preaching a week long parish mission in Ohio with my buddy Tom. We were near where
Bob Evans started and that’s where the pastor ate every night. Well for 6
straight nights I got Cobb Salad - which Tom started to needle me about. I
discovered Cobb Salad - and with extra blue cheese dressing it was a sure
thing.
Is there a psychological test to find out if we like same
or if we like different - the sure or the surprise?
TODAY’S FIRST READING
Today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells about some people in the Mediterranean
basin - some 2000 years ago - who told about someone - named Jesus - who was
killed - especially for some of the things he said - and rose from the dead.
Now that coming back from death was a surprise.
And for the past 2000 years people called Christians base
their life after death on his life and death and resurrection.
That’s some insurance policy.
They were told to shut up about this - but they didn’t -
and somehow either we or our ancestors
joined this belief - and here we are right now.
TODAY’S SECOND READING
Today’s second reading from the Book of Revelation talks
about the hereafter. It tells about a throne on which the Lamb that was slain
sits - the Christ - and countless people - angels and humans - are praising him
- giving him the glory - and all pray out and cry out, “Amen.”
In New Orleans you’ll hear the song this way: “I want to
be in their number when the saints come marching in.”
That’s a song and a hope for that surety.
TODAY’S GOSPEL
In today’s gospel we have this Jesus - the Risen One - on
a beach - at a fire - with bread and fish - and he wants to have breakfast with
his followers.
That’s an interesting image.
They are out in the water - fishing - but they caught
nothing.
Bummer.
But the man on the shore tells and yells to them where to
cast their nets.
Don’t we all want to know where to cast our nets?
Don’t we all want to make a catch - when it comes to life?
And they catch a great catch - 153 large fish - and they
had a great meal - a great feast - a great breakfast - a great communion.
And starting with Peter - our first papa - Jesus asks us
if we love him more than anyone else -
and Peter - the one who denied him 3 times - says 3 times - you know I love
you.
And three times Jesus tells Peter - and he tells us: Feed
my sheep - take care of each other - love me, love me, love me.
CONCLUSION
The title of my homily is, “The Shore and The Sea.”
Coming to Mass is coming ashore time - eating with Jesus
- communion with Jesus - being asked, Have you caught anything?
And then we’re
told the sure things are love and the feeding and caring for each other
- and then going into the unsure of the next - singing. Amen.
Not bad.
