Third Sunday of Easter

John 21:1-19

Have you ever had that dream? You know the one: you're at a party, or maybe walk into a important meeting, or see the cue for your appearance on stage only to realize that…you forgot something this morning. The dream comes in various ways. Sometimes you're in your PJs. Sometimes, especially for guys, you realize you somehow left your pants hanging on the back of the chair. And then there's the time where you must've been in a really big hurry because you forgot to put anything on at all.


Now some commentaries try and pretty up this week's Gospel and say that Peter had just stripped down to his underwear. But that's not what we hear, is it. Hearing that Jesus is the stranger on the shore Peter tosses on his clothes "for he was naked." It makes sense that before greeting someone important like Jesus, Peter felt the need to look a bit more presentable. But it does seems kind of silly to put your clothes on before going for swim, doesn't it? That's what Peter did, though.


Even without a book on dream analysis, we all know that getting caught naked in front of people (dreamt or real!) isn't so much about being undressed. Sure, it's embarrassing for people to see that we haven't been keeping up our workout schedule, but that's not the worst of it. The worst of it is the vulnerability. Being naked or even just improperly dressed in front of others just feels so…well, naked. We feel like we're exposed. It's as if every part of us is suddenly on display for everyone. And we can't hide anything.


Peter tried to cover up his vulnerability. He arrived wet and out of breath, but he was not quite so vulnerable as he had been. To stand before Jesus, the one he'd denied and abandoned, naked would have been too much to take. But clothes aren't enough, he finds, to hide him from that gaze.


"Peter," Jesus asks, "do you love me." Peter tries to hide his vulnerability, this time behind words. "You know I do," he answers twice. But the question probes deeply. It strips away all his effort and leaves him, in the end, naked—emotionally and spiritually—before Jesus. And he must admit that there is no hiding. He must admit that before Christ he is completely vulnerable.


Jesus' question to Peter isn't just for him, it's for us as well. It leaps off the page and makes us want to run for our clothes—our excuses, our list of accomplishments, our busy schedule. But no matter how much we throw on, we find that Jesus is still there loving us and asking "Do you love me?"


God of love, you know that we love you. You also know all things. Help us as we tend to the sheep we find along our way.