Everyday partnership with Jesus

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NOTE: DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, WE LOST THE FIRST FEW MINUTES OF AUDIO FROM HAYLEY’S MESSAGE — SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE! — WE’VE INCLUDED HER NOTES BELOW!

Hayley demystifies regular, active experience of God with a look at some of the Bible’s stories of people experiencing the Risen Jesus. (Art by @scottthepainter)

Hayley’s Notes

Everyday Partnership with Jesus

Introduction:

In the church calendar, we are in the season of Easter. Often we think of Easter- the time we collectively celebrate Jesus’ resurrection- as just one day, but Easter actually traditionally extends to a whole season.
This year, I’ve been thinking of it as a helpful reminder of a few things:
- That while Jesus is seen as the pinnacle example of resurrection, resurrection is continually happening all around us. Life, death, new life again. We see it as the trees are budding and flowers bloom. As the seasons in our life change. And we heard some great examples in our kids video last week
- Viewing Easter as a season, rather than a day, helps get us in the mindset of looking for God’s active presence in the world. Not just as past tense resurrected, but ongoing and continually resurrecting.
The promise of justice and presence of hope that Vince walked us through last week, isn’t just something we can passively observe or notice. These are signs of God’s living presence that we can partner with.
The next few weeks we will be looking at stories in scripture that depict Jesus post-resurrection. The tail end of the gospels in the Bible that show Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Stories that show us the both/and of the Easter season:
- yes, God is mysterious AND God is also embodied and living.
- Yes, God can be experienced in the mystical and spiritual, AND God can be experienced in very physical and tangible ways.
- Yes, Easter is about victory and hope AND Easter is about grief and sorrow. ALL the both/ands. I’m looking forward to getting into it today and next week.

Transition:

A bit more like a traditional sermon, looking to scripture to guide us. Hope that this is a helpful window into what we are talking about. If you are someone who tends to have a harder time staying present when is scripture being read— or if you simply just want a different practice for reading scripture — I have a little exercise we can use today.

Exercise: Ignatian contemplation

Ignatius, God can speak through our imagination. Way of reading scripture and praying that invites you to imagine. Easy to use for something like reading parts of the gospel stories.
One description of this practice described it as: “Accompanying Jesus in the story”.
Visualize the events taking place- what do things look like, feel like, smell like? Place yourself in the story and imagine that you are experiencing it first hand.
Setting for today- On the water, we’re going fishing. So as you get settled, take a moment to imagine a familiar body of water.
I immediately picture the bay that my grandparents live on in Rhode Island (most familiar for me, put a picture up) Imagine the rocky shoreline, the feel of the saltwater in the air and how peaceful it is watching the waves meet the sand again and again.
If you’re picturing the Lake, that would look and smell a little different. (Not looking for historical accuracy here, unless you have some firsthand memories of the Sea of Tiberias, but playing up our imagination to help ground us in the story
Settle into being by the water and as I read from John, imagine yourself experiencing the story unfold in an embodied way (close your eyes or focus on a spot in the room) :

John 21:1-25 (NRSV)

After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.

That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he had taken it off, and jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.

When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 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. 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. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Three elements from the story that I want to highlight as we think more about what it means to be in everyday partnership with the risen Jesus:

Partnering with Jesus means allowing ourselves to be fully human
Portrayal of the disciples: grew up with Sunday school renditions of stories where the general mentality around the disciples was “those silly guys”.
- Constantly getting it wrong, doubting, missing the point, flaky.
- Surely if I was in the story I would have far wiser, far more trusting reactions to the bizarre experience of following around God incarnate thought my 8 year old self.
And this story was just another example that was cited. That somehow going back to fishing, which was what some of them had done prior to leaving their nets behind and following Jesus, was regressing and not faithfully moving forward in complete understanding and trust
Portrayed as a negative thing, that as Jesus is on the shore they don’t immediately recognize him. This wasn’t Jesus’ first appearance to them, according to the author of John, and yet I can’t imagine the confusion and grief would have worn off.
To witness your teacher and friend be crucified is horrific. Even after seeing the risen Jesus I can’t imagine that there woud have been complete clarity about what was taking place. They didn’t have the full picture, the complete arc of the story
As I’ve revisited the gospels over time- shifted away from “those silly guys” and toward recognizing how often the disciples are just coping and being human. There isn’t a superhuman need for them to predict the future as the story unfolds, fully know what’s going on, and respond appropriately at all times
Maybe you didn’t inherit this approach to the disciples but I think we do this to ourselves as well! We regret how we responded to something, we feel like we should’ve known better/done better. We should all be mind readers and future tellers and in complete control at all times. Wow are those unfair expectations!
And watching their reactions in this passage and how Jesus comes alongside them is a really helpful reminder of how Jesus walks with us in our humanity- he doesn’t expect us to transcend our humanity.
Great podcast episode I listened to this week- the Bible for Normal People has a relatively new “offshoot” called Faith for Normal People (so if you’ve been like wow Vince and Hayley reference this podcast a bunch but I’m not super into biblical study, this could be something slightly different you might enjoy!)
Interviewed K.J. Ramsey— trauma-informed counselor and author. Great conversation around listening to our bodies, healing and coping through trauma, and what Jesus being human means for our own humanity, our own human experiences.
Helped me think more about how the cross— the crucifixion and resurrection — is traumatic!
In this story in John we have a community responding in the wake of trauma by seeking out what is comfortable, what is familiar.
Want to recognize the traumas we all carry within our own bodies, in our own stories. Sometimes, religious commentary doesn’t set us up well for us to actually validate how we’ve needed to cope, how we’ve needed to survive.
KJ Ramsey says that it can be hard to tell the truth about how much we’ve been affected by what we’ve lived. Admitting that we have been impacted by trauma and change can be hard when we want to appear unmoveable and strong.
Spiritually bypassing grief, putting trust on a pedestal and leaving no option for doubt. Even beyond the religious world, there are many voices telling us not trust our own feelings and emotions or that we can overcome our own needs or “weaknesses” through discipline and hustle.
In countering all of the loud voices saying otherwise, Ramsey suggests slowing down to listen to our feelings, listen to our needs, and letting them guide us rather than seeing our humanity as something that needs to be overcome. She says:

“To dare to witness our own overwhelm, our own grief, our confusion without judgment actually gives our bodies the chance to feel safe enough to hope, to feel safe enough to be soothed back into strength.”

Love that she includes confusion in this list- talk a lot about direct struggle and hardships but confusion— not knowing— can be really disorienting
When was the last time you slowed down and really listened to what your body was telling you? If you are someone who deals with pain or chronic illness, if you’ve caught whatever has been going around for what seems like an endless eternity lately, if you’re growing a human you may have been forced to listen more than usual. Hard to ignore when there’s a baby kicking your bladder
But for many of us, even as we experience something traumatic, even as the horrific news is plastered across our screens, as we encounter personal struggle we feel like we can’t slow down. It can be easier to become numb. To keep pushing through.
Love that this quote shows that hope and strength are something we soothe ourselves back into. Not an armored stance we are expected to automatically assume in the wake of overwhelm, grief and confusion
Honoring your own humanity can look like piecing together self care and recognizing what you need. How’s your sleep? Have you eaten today? Had enough water? Talked to a friend? Is there something comforting and familiar that could bring you stability today?
One of the most powerful responses in this passage is a line I’ve overlooked in reading the story before. Simon Peter says “I am going fishing” and the rest say “We will go with you.”
I can think of countless times when people in my life have said “We will go with you” so that I did not have to face my own overwhelm, grief, and confusion alone. The disciples are caring for their own needs, maybe looking for a distraction, finding a way to move forward and they are doing so communally.
I wonder if you can think of a time where someone else has said “We will go with you.” When you have felt accompanied by community or accompanied by Jesus in the midst of your overwhelm, grief, or confusion. (Could prompt to share on discord)
A line from the podcast episode that has really stayed with me—
“Pain becomes a portal when people are present with us in it. And that is not a silver lining, that is a fierce honesty. It’s a willingness to sit in the dark and not run away from it that actually transforms it.”
Second reminder from the passage: Partnering with Jesus means expanding our definition of the miraculous
This has recently become one of my favorite stories of Jesus. I love the water, I love a good waterfront brunch
The part of this story that gets a lot of hype is the part when Jesus instructs them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat.
The sudden miracle of catching all the fish! Simon Peter leaping into the water after knowing it was Jesus
And I get it, it’s showy and impressive. But in the more recent times I’ve read this story I’ve shifted my understanding of what really makes the story miraculous
The fish thing is showy and cinematic but when you keep reading you get to the good part. I’ll refresh your memory:

For me, the most beautiful and miraculous part of this passage is that first line- when they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish and bread
Not quite as showy. But I like to imagine Jesus patiently and tenderly building a fire on the beach while the disciples made their way to shore. It’s powerful and humble that the divine embodied would get his hands dirty to feed his friends breakfast on the beach.
And I’m not one to place an limits on the power of God and the scale of miracles that can take place- there can certainly be moments of overwhelming provision and healing, hauling in 153 fish. but I would venture to say that maybe a more sustaining version of hope could be found in looking for the moments when you feel cared for, at peace, well fed even and labeling those as miracles too.
The miracle of having a God that is close, a God that cares, a God that meets us in the midst of confusion, uncertainty, and grief, not just victory and clarity.
What a miracle! Truly. That we can experience a God that is actively involved in the world and cares about our wellbeing and belonging. A God that is responsive and patient and compassionate
So often Easter gets reduced to victory over death. What if that’s not the whole story? Another both/and. The trajectory of life, death and resurrection that Easter shows us is a story of victory over death AND solidarity in life.
When Jesus is resurrected he does the most human of things- he walks and he eats and he gathers with others
And so partnering with the risen Jesus may look more like naming God’s presence in the very human ways we experience hope and love, not just looking to otherworldly provision
This can be an anchoring and sustaining practice: Can we get in the habit of naming more things as the miraculous presence of God. Maybe this image is a helpful one for you to think of in the days ahead- to picture Jesus patiently building a fire, inviting you to eat breakfast by the water. Maybe there’s another version of the divine that feels more comforting. Whatever offers you sustaining hope.

Recap: In partnering with Jesus, we can honor our full humanity and we can expand our understanding of the miraculous. Last reminder from the story that we’ll consider today:

Partnering with Jesus is not a passive observation but an active practice
Gets at why I think partnership is such a helpful framework here
(Without it) On one end, you have messaging that will try to convince you that you are in this alone- pick yourself up by your bootstraps, hustle and get ahead at whatever cost. And on the other end you have messaging like thoughts and prayers, it’s all in God’s hands anyways.
Neither of those feel particularly hopeful to me— either you are untethered to a source of hope and love or you are stuck passively waiting for God to intervene
When we look at the story we read today, we see that the disciples are actively involved in making the miracle happen. They are the ones casting the net, they bring the fish to shore, they share in the communion on the beach.
Change, provision, and justice are brought about in active partnership with God. I just find this to be such an encouragement that we are not in this alone AND we can be empowered to act in ways that matter now
We are not hopeless, passive observers but active agents of change because the story is still unfolding and God is experiencing that with us
In the full scope of the story— in the victory and in the dying, in the confusion and overwhelm, in the tender care and healing — you are not alone. You can experience belonging. You can have access to a sustaining and lasting hope.
And as we cope with the reality of being human, as we listen to our bodies, as we say “we will go with you” out of empathy and necessity, as we witness hope in the world, and as we partner with divine love— we find greater sources of meaning and belonging. Within community and within ourselves.

Closing

Simply put: we have to care
I don’t think I need to convince anyone here to care about injustice in the world but maybe, just maybe, some of us could benefit from the reminder that we need to take care of ourselves
- Not as an after thought, not only when we are burnt out or past a breaking point. As a really healthy starting point
In this podcast episode I keep coming back to, K.J. Ramsey actually talks about this connection we’ve talked about before between caring for yourself and having capacity to care for others
- She names that “When you are in a state of stress your body can’t actually access the parts of your brain that allow you to have perspective and extend compassion/empathy to others.” Not addressing prolonged stress can actually keep you from being able to be fully present in the world in a compassionate and empathetic way.
- The necessary starting point: believing what your body is telling you. If you are feeing stressed and tired and worn down this is your sign to slow down and listen to your own needs
Go fishing! If that’s your kind of thing. Or prioritize getting together with friends, read at a coffee shop alone, go for a run, take in the sunshine. Go to therapy! Return to what feels comforting and hopeful and know that God’s presence can be evident there.
You are inherently deserving of care and compassion; and being rooted in that fact increases your capacity to to bring about justice and change. Self care and community care go hand in hand, and Jesus partners with us in both.

PRAY

JohnVincent BrackettApril 18, 2023Comment