Rev. George Miller
March 8, 2026
John 18:12-27
Here we are, in a garden. A garden we have been to so many times
before. The garden Jesus would take us as
he prayed.
There are pops of color from scattered
wildflowers- yellow daises, blue lupines.
We stand with Jesus in this garden at the
foot of the Mount of Olives.
Rocky limestone, ancient olive trees that
have seen so much history, and a dry creek bed awaiting the winter rains.
We are among trees that are centuries old
with silvery-green leaves and twisted trunks.
Jesus is there, standing on dusty ground,
no weapon. Just words and a lust for
life and love for God’s kingdom.
But that does not stop Jesus from being
betrayed, arrested, bound, and taken before authorities.
Into this place of white lilies and
ancient olive trees, where we often went with Jesus to seek sanctuary and
connection with God, we now have violence, injustice, and rage entering in
which no one, not even the Son of God is safe.
What a long way from the manger of
Bethlehem in which the Baby Jesus was greeted with gold, frankincense, and
myrh.
Now he is greeted with betrayal,
brutality, and rough, scratchy ropes to bind him.
From the safety of the garden we now stand
outside the gates in the dark of night, with only a coal fire to keep us warm.
But even there, we are not safe.
While Jesus is before the High Priest,
Peter is amongst the slaves, servants and first responders.
He is vulnerable. If anyone notices who he is, and who he hangs
out with, he too can be arrested and brought before the corrupt leaders.
It is not long before a woman catches
on. “You’re one of his, aren’t you?”
Peter is too afraid to tell the truth.
To understand the enormity of this moment
is to realize that Peter is with people who are on the outside of the gates.
He is not with the popular or powerful; he
is not with the cool or the commanders.
He is among servants and slaves who would
be socially seen as less than. He is
questioned by a woman who would’ve had no say in a court of law, who would have
been seen as beneath him. Yet he is sooo
scared that he has to lie to this female servant outside the gates to feel
safe.
If we ever wondered how dangerous it is,
and was, to truly follow Jesus, this moment tells us all.
By a charcoal fire Peter feels so unsafe
that he denies being a disciple not once, not twice, but three times.
To deny Jesus is a painful thing. To know what is right, but to choose what is
wrong.
To dishonor a part of who we are; to
discredit the legacy we belong to.
How much this must have hurt Peter; how
much as this moment he must have felt like that lost sheep that has gone
astray.
How much, by the charcoal fire outside the
gates, did Peter wonder “Will the Lord forgive me? Will I ever be welcomed back in?”
…fortunately it would take just a few days
for Peter to find the answer, and the answer is “Yes.”
For after the torture of Good Friday and
the silence of Saturday, we are told in John 19 that Christ is Resurrected and
appears to the people. First to Mary,
then to the disciples, then to Thomas, saying word of “Peace” and talk of
forgiveness.
Then, in John 21:9-20, we have this
scene. It is daylight. Jesus is on the shore. He stands beside a charcoal fire. He invites them to eat; to have
breakfast. He nourishes them with bread
and fills them with freshly caught fish.
Then, besides that charcoal fire by the
water, Jesus engages Peter in conversation.
The very one who denied following Jesus in
the dead of night beside a charcoal fire, is now standing with the Resurrected
Lord in broad daylight, with a new kind of charcoal flames.
What does the Resurrected Christ say to
Peter? Does he condemn him? Fill him with feelings of shame?
Does Christ say to Peter “I don’t know
you?” or “Damn it all to hell?”
No.
By the charcoal’s light, Jesus says “Simon, son of John, do you love me?
Feed my lambs.”
Note how Jesus calls him by his new name.
By the charcoal fire, Jesus says “Simon,
son of John, do you love me? Tend
my sheep.”
Though Peter denied being a follower of
Jesus three times, the Resurrected Christ acknowledges a 3rd time who Peter
is. “Do you love me? Feed my sheep.”
If there is one lesson for us to glean
today is that Christ does not see us and judge us from one moment. Christ sees and knows us from the complexity
of all we are and all we have been through.
How easy it would have been for Peter to
forever be associated with the words of denial he said by the charcoal fire,
but instead we have Christ pointing forward to who he is and what he is capable
of doing.
This is a special moment because we have get
to glimpse others through heaven’s eyes.
That we are more than a moment, we are more than a poorly made decision,
we are more than what we do when afraid.
We discover that Jesus can see the
totality of who we are. Where we come
from. To whom we belong. What we have done. What we are capable of doing.
It is so easy to fall in love with this
idea that Christ does not judge us once and for all based on one thing or one
chapter of our lives.
Instead Christ is engaged with all that we
do and all aspects of our existence.
In Christ we see that one fire does not
define us or limit our place in the Kingdom.
In Christ we see that though we all may be
sheep who can go astray, the Lord is willing and able to meet us where we are
and continue the relationship.
So this Season of Lent, when we falter and
fall, when we do what we should not, may we look towards our brother, Simon
Peter, and know that in Christ we are indeed given that first, that second,
that third chance, and many, many more.
Amen.
