JOHN 21:15-19
TODAY I HAVE SOME BIBLE
QUOTES FOR YOU. HERE IS PAUL WRITING IN THE EPISTLE TO THE
GALATIANS: “RECOGNIZING THE GRACE THAT HAD BEEN GIVEN TO ME, JAMES
AND CEPHAS AND JOHN, WHO WERE REPUTED TO BE PILLARS, GAVE TO ME AND
BARNABAS THE RIGHT HAND OF FELLOWSHIP, SO THAT WE MIGHT GO TO THE
GENTILES AND THEY TO THE CIRCUMCISED.”
HERE IS ANOTHER FROM THE
SAME EPISTLE: “BUT WHEN CEPHAS CAME TO ANTIOCH, I OPPOSED HIM TO
HIS FACE, BECAUSE HE STOOD CONDEMNED. FOR PRIOR TO THE COMING OF
CERTAIN MEN FROM JAMES, HE USED TO EAT WITH THE GENTILES; BUT WHEN
THEY CAME, HE BEGAN TO WITHDRAW AND HOLD HIMSELF ALOOF, FEARING THE
PARTY OF THE CIRCUMCISION.…”
AND FROM THE SECOND
LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS: “FOR I CONSIDER MYSELF NOT IN THE LEAST
INFERIOR TO THE MOST EMINENT APOSTLES.”
AND HERE'S A QUOTE FROM
THE SECOND LETTER OF PETER: “ … JUST AS ALSO OUR BELOVED BROTHER
PAUL, ACCORDING TO THE WISDOM GIVEN HIM, WROTE TO YOU, AS ALSO IN
ALL HIS LETTERS, SPEAKING IN THEM OF THESE THINGS, IN WHICH ARE SOME
THINGS HARD TO UNDERSTAND, WHICH THE UNTAUGHT AND UNSTABLE DISTORT
...”
IF YOU READ THE ACTS OF
THE APOSTLES, YOU GET THE IDEA THAT EVERYTHING WAS REALLY WONDERFUL
IN THE EARLY CHURCH, AND ANY TIME THERE WAS A DISAGREEMENT, THE
LEADERS QUICKLY MOVED TO FIND COMMON GROUND. SAINT LUKE WANTED HIS
READERS TO LOOK BACK TO THE EARLY CHURCH AS A MODEL FOR HOW THINGS
SHOULD BE IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES. BUT WHEN YOU READ THE WRITINGS
OF PAUL AND THE QUOTATION FROM THE SECOND EPISTLE OF PETER, OR THE
THIRD EPISTLE OF JOHN – AND THERE ARE A LOT MORE – YOU MIGHT GET
THE FEELING THAT THINGS WEREN'T ALL WARM AND FUZZY. I SUSPECT WHEN
PETER AGREED THAT PAUL WOULD GO TO THE GENTILES AND HE WOULD WORK
WITH THE JEWS, THERE MAY HAVE BEEN A SENSE OF RELIEF.
I DON'T THINK PETER AND
PAUL WERE FRIENDS, EVEN THOUGH TODAY IS THEY SHARE A FEAST. I DON'T
THINK THEY WERE ENEMIES, EITHER. BUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THAT
ISN'T SURPRISING. PETER WAS UNEDUCATED, SPOKE ARAMAIC AS HIS NATIVE
TONGUE; KNEW VERY LITTLE ABOUT PHILOSOPHY OR THEOLOGY, AND PROBABLY
FELT MOST COMFORTABLE WHEN HE WAS WITH PEOPLE LIKE HIMSELF – DOWN
TO EARTH, PRACTICAL, FULL OF COMMON SENSE. PAUL, ON THE OTHER HAND,
KNEW HEBREW AND GREEK, AND MAYBE SOME LATIN AS WELL. HE WAS VERY
WELL EDUCATED, AND PROBABLY HAD THE EQUIVALENT OF A PHD. HIS
WRITINGS SUGGEST THAT HE KNEW SOMETHING ABOUT GREEK PHILOSOPHY AND
ROMAN POLITICS, AS WELL AS JEWISH LAW AND THEOLOGY. PAUL WAS A BIG
CITY KIND OF GUY, AND PETER WAS FROM THE STICKS.
BUT YOU WILL NOTICE IN
THE FIRST QUOTATION THAT PAUL REFERS TO THE “HAND OF FELLOWSHIP”
THAT PETER AND THE OTHERS OFFERED HIM. SO WHAT IS FELLOWSHIP, AND
WHAT IS FRIENDSHIP, AND HOW DO THEY DIFFER, AND WHAT DO THEY HAVE IN
COMMON?
FELLOWSHIP MEANS THAT YOU
AND I SHARE A WORLD VIEW; A BELIEF SYSTEM. IT MEANS THAT WE ARE BOTH
DEDICATED TO THE SAME GOAL. IT MEANS THAT EVEN IF WE ARE VERY
DIFFERENT, WE RECOGNIZE EACH OTHERS TALENTS AND GIFTS, AND ARE
WILLING TO WORK TOGETHER BECAUSE WE BOTH BELIEVE IN WHAT WE ARE
TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH. FELLOWSHIP MAY BE AS SIMPLE AS GETTING
TOGETHER AFTER MASS FOR COFFEE AND DONUTS – BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE
THAT WE ARE FAMILY, THAT WE HAVE THE SAME FATHER, THAT WE ARE
BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF JESUS. OR IT MAY BE MUCH MORE THAN THAT. IT
MAY BE THAT WE GET TOGETHER AROUND A MINISTRY, SO THAT WE FEED THE
HUNGRY, SO THAT WE COMFORT THE SORROWING.
FRIENDSHIP, ON THE OTHER
HAND, IS VERY DIFFERENT. ST. AUGUSTINE SAID THAT FRIENDSHIP WAS LIKE
TWO PERSONS WITH ONE SOUL. IF WE ARE FRIENDS WITH SOMEONE, WE CAN BE
OURSELVES WITH THAT PERSON. IF WE ARE APART FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND
THEN COME TOGETHER AGAIN, WE CAN TAKE UP WHERE WE LEFT OFF, AS THOUGH
THE INTERVENING YEARS NEVER HAPPENED. FRIENDSHIP IS MORE ON A
VISCERAL LEVEL. IT DOESN'T MATTER TO ME THAT YOUR LIFESTYLE IS
DIFFERENT THAN MINE, THAT YOU HAVE DIFFERENT BELIEFS – FRIENDSHIP
GOES BEYOND ALL THAT.
A LOT OF PEOPLE CONFUSE
FELLOWSHIP AND FRIENDSHIP. AS THE EXAMPLE OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL
DEMONSTRATE, YOU CAN HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITHOUT FRIENDSHIP. AND THAT'S
A GOOD THING. IF I BECOME PART OF A FELLOWSHIP WHICH IS MOVING
TOWARDS A GOAL, ESPECIALLY A GOAL RELATED TO THE MISSION OF THE
CHURCH, THERE IS A LOT OF SATISFACTION IN WORKING TOGETHER AROUND THE
COMMON END. BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO TAKE THAT RELATIONSHIP HOME WITH
US; WE DON'T HAVE TO DEVELOP DEEP FRIENDSHIPS WITH OUR FELLOWS.
FELLOWSHIP ALLOWS PEOPLE WHO ARE TOTALLY INCOMPATIBLE TO POOL THEIR
GIFTS AND TALENTS SO THAT THY ARE MUCH MORE THAN THE SUM OF THE
INDIVIDUAL PARTS.
FRIENDSHIP, ON THE OTHER
HAND, IS RELATED TO THE PERSONS INVOLVED, NOT THE TASK AT HAND. I
CAN BE FRIENDS WITH SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T BELIEVE WHAT I BELIEVE, WHO
HAS DIFFERENT VALUES THAN I DO, WHO MAY BE WORKING TOWARDS GOALS WITH
WHICH I DO NOT AGREE. OF COURSE IT'S POSSIBLE TO HAVE FELLOWSHIP
WITH FRIENDS, AND BE FRIENDS WITH THOSE WITH WHOM WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP.
BUT WE NEED TO KEEP THE TWO FORMS OF RELATIONSHIP DISTINCT.
IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO
HAVE BOTH KINDS OF RELATIONSHIPS. IF WE WANT TO ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING
IN THIS WORLD, IF WE WANT TO FURTHER THE WORK OF GOD, WE CAN DO SO
MUCH MORE IF WE ARE WORKING WITH OTHERS WHO HAVE THE SAME GOALS IN
MIND. WE NEED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE RELATIONSHIPS BECAUSE THEY
ARE POWERFUL. PETER AND PAUL DESPITE THEIR DIFFERENCES, WANTED THE
SAME END – TO BRING THE MESSAGE OF JESUS TO THE WHOLE WORLD, TO
BRING PEOPLE INTO RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. TO THAT END, THEY WOULD GO
TO GREAT LENGTHS TO SEE PAST THEIR DIFFERENCES, AND TO WORK TOGETHER.
PAUL WAS AWARE OF THE STRUGGLING CHURCH IN JERUSALEM, AND RAISED
MONEY FOR IT AMONG HIS CONVERTS. MANY OF PAUL'S COMPANIONS HAD
STARTED OUT AS COMPANIONS OF THE APOSTLES; PETER DID NOT STAND IN THE
WAY WHEN MARK OR SILAS OR BARNABAS WENT OFF TO WORK WITH PAUL.
SO BE IN FELLOWSHIP WITH
THOSE WHO WANT WHAT YOU WANT, AND WORK TOWARDS COMMON GOALS. BUT
DON'T BE AFRAID TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT LIKE YOU, WHO
HAVE DIFFERENT GOALS, WHO BELIEVE DIFFERENTLY. BECAUSE IT MAY BE
THAT THROUGH THAT RELATIONSHIP THAT THEY WILL BE BROUGHT TO CHRIST –
AND PERHAPS THROUGH THAT RELATIONSHIP YOU WILL COME TO KNOW JESUS
BETTER YOURSELF.
PETER AND PAUL HAD
FELLOWSHIP ON EARTH; BUT TODAY WE CELEBRATE THAT THEY HAVE FRIENDSHIP
IN HEAVEN. AND WE PRAY FOR GREATER FELLOWSHIP AMONG THE PEOPLE OF
THIS PARISH, AND WE PRAY THAT OUR FRIENDSHIPS WILL TRULY LEAD OUR
FRIENDS TO JESUS.
