The saints remind you that your path is your path, that Christ’s call to you is yours and no one else’s, and that you are called to follow Christ and care for God’s sheep in your way.
Pr. Joseph G. Crippen
St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles
Text: John 21:15-19 (adding in 20-22)
Beloved in Christ, grace to you, and peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
It’s hard to know what to do with the saints.
The Church – with some differences between East and West – has a long list of faithful followers of Christ who are called saints. We remember those who have gone before us who modeled the Christian walk, witnessed to God by their lives, acted as Christ’s love. Today we celebrate St. Paul and St. Peter on the day tradition says they both were martyred for their faith.
It’s hard to know what to do with saints, though. Their stories are often moving and inspiring. Most did amazing things. Of today’s two, Peter was the passionate leader of Jesus’ disciples. Paul was the greatest preacher of Christ the Church ever knew.
But it’s hard to know what to do with saints because it’s hard to know what they can tell us about our life, our journey, our walk in Christ’s Way. Sure, Peter and Paul both had flaws, like us. All saints do. But we’re not going to be celebrated for our discipleship 2,000 years from now. Do we celebrate saints as examples of a faithfulness and Christly walk that we can never aspire to?
The answer lies in Jesus’ last words with Peter here.
After Jesus and Peter have a powerful and poignant triple exchange of questions, answers, and commissions, Jesus gives Peter a vision of his future.
Jesus says that while Peter makes his own decisions now, a time is coming when he’ll have his hands and body tied, and be led where he doesn’t wish to go. Peter’s Christly path will end in his death. Then Jesus repeats what he said when he first met Peter: “Follow me.” Regardless of his future, this is his call, to follow.
But Peter looks at the beloved disciple, at John, and asks, “What about him?” Peter wants to know how John’s path will look. Will John suffer and die? What will be his story?
And Jesus says “What difference is that to you? Follow me.”
Jesus will only tell you your story, only give you your call.
What others are called to be and do isn’t your business. And this isn’t just the official saints. It’s also those we call saints who were gifts of God to us in our lives. Their stories are their stories. Their path was their path. We remember them, celebrate them, honor them. But we do not compare ourselves to them.
You might know others that don’t seem to struggle as you do. You might see others do things you wish you had the ability to do. You might be awed by the faith that someone else seems to have so easily.
But Jesus says, “what difference is that to you? Follow me.”
This is what we truly celebrate about Peter and Paul: they followed Jesus.
That’s all. They both struggled sometimes, and while they’re remembered 2,000 years later as saints, note that their failures are also remembered 2,000 years later and written in Scripture. Being an anonymous saint in Christ’s Way is not necessarily a bad thing.
But these two loved Christ and tried their best to tend and feed Christ’s sheep. Both proclaimed that the flock included all people, not just the Jewish people, and Paul gave clear directions to us about God’s inclusive love embracing all cultures, genders, races, and nations.
But both ultimately trusted it was God’s love in Christ that mattered, not their successes or failures. They kept at it, knowing they were held in God’s love. Even if they were killed.
When Jesus asks Peter, “do you love me?” he asks you, too.
And if you say you do love Jesus, then he will say, “feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Follow me.”
It’s as simple as that. If the love of God in Christ that you know has reached your heart, please inform your face, your hands, your feet, your voice. Your choices. Your path. It doesn’t matter if you’re 13 years old, or 43, or 83, if you love the God who loves you, love the ones God loves. Take care of the ones Jesus cares about.
Follow Christ.
What will that look like for you? That’s the fun part. Start by committing to this way of Christ every day and asking the Spirit to guide you, give you strength and courage, and change your heart. Maybe you have a strong desire to stand with others at protests and make your voice heard. You might feel more gifted to help people one at a time. Or get involved in a local food shelf as a volunteer or regular donor. You might listen to how here at Mount Olive we’re engaged with our neighbors and decide you’ll try one of those ways. Maybe you’ve got time for phone calls or e-mails and you can constantly urge our leaders to take care of all God’s sheep. Or use your phone or email to organize others.
There are so many ways to tend Christ’s sheep, even if others seem to be better at it. That doesn’t matter to Jesus, and he doesn’t think it should matter to you, either. Your call to follow is your call, and no one else’s. Your journey is your journey, and no one else’s.
The saints aren’t ideals to put on pedestals. They’re companions on your path.
They walk alongside you, a great cloud of witnesses encouraging you to find your own journey, your own call. And they remind you the most important thing of all: if you follow Christ, you’re following Christ.
That is, Jesus is with you on your journey, holding your hand, guiding your choices at crossroads, filling you with the Spirit to be able to do this. Your biggest cheerleader and your constant companion in your following.
Peter and Paul understood that. So have so many saints before us. Now it’s up to you, because all Jesus has to say to you is, “if you love me, feed my lambs. Follow me.” What you do with that, well, that’s when it gets interesting.
In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
