This is the final chapter of the Gospel according to John. You know the one which starts with "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.". And then goes on, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us."

John's Gospel begins with profound theological statements about who Jesus is, and ends with the Risen Christ, sitting on the seashore, eating a meal of bread and fish; not with the 5000, but with his group of fishers whom he has called to be his mission in the world.

Peter is with him, the beloved disciple (John) is with him, and the other fishers are there too. And along with them we hear these challenging questions. "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" The question is really personal. "Do YOU love more than these?" It is a painful question for Peter whom we know abandoned Jesus three times. And so three time Jesus asks these questions of commitment to Peter; Do you love me, do you love me, do you love me. To which Peter answers, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." At the third repeat of the question Peter is hurt, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.

Peter surely must be confused at this point. He knows that Jesus is not insecurely wanting to receive assurance that Peter loves him. He knows that Jesus is the Risen Christ, the searcher of hearts, the Word made flesh, Emmanuel, God with Us. Jesus knows whether Peter loves him so why all these questions? Perhaps Jesus mysterious respond to Peter's hurt is telling, "Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." You see, these questions really aren't for Peter, they are also for the "more than these folks." Do you remember Jesus first Question," Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."

As we overlook the text, we too are asked the question, "Do we truly love Jesus"? "Yes, of course." Feed my lambs. Feed the little ones. Feed the children with the way of Jesus. "People don't live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Prepare children, prepare the new Christians to follow me. Be careful here, he is not saying, "Do this work to be saved." He is saying, "Those of you who have been saved, in gratitude and love, do this work." That is so important, especially those of you who find it difficult to understand the central truth of the Gospel; that salvation is a gift to you, that you don't have to earn it. You don't have to overcompensate by justifying your existence or do something wonderful or important to "make your life meaningful" or to "at the end of your life made the world a better place" in order to die well. No, "you are beloved to God, through Jesus Christ." And in response for the life Jesus gives, and even eternal life, he asks of us to be his church.

To be a community which prepares people to be followers of Jesus. Not the rubber stamp kind of church which welcomes people to be part of the mission, but never prepares them to be followers of Jesus. If this text is true, that is not grace and not love. Churches that love Jesus and love each other prepare the lambs, and feed the sheep.

In the early church, communities of faith generally had a 1-3 year preparation for new members of the community. They wanted to ensure that they knew the basics of the faith. Such was the level of commitment, that when the time of persecutions came, people would not give up on following Christ, and many were killed. We know from the text, that John interprets Jesus statement about being "led where you do not want to go", to be a foreshadowing of Peter's crucifixion. We know that indeed he was crucified for being part of Christ's mission.

We forget in this age that Christianity was an illegal religion. A religion of slaves, of outcasts, and a host of others who rejected the violence of the gods of Rome. Remember, in the beginning, if you were a Roman family, having a son or daughter become a "Christian" would have been a scandal. "They reject real gods in favour of their invisible god! Christianity is not a real religion! They defy the laws of nature and eat with slaves." Surely these sorts of things were said about new converts. There was a price to pay for being a follower of Jesus.

So the people prepared the new converts and the children, so they would be prepared by the temptations to turn back to a religion where one "appeased the gods". They fed them with the stories of Jesus, so they would be fed with "belovedness". They taught them how to pray, so they could listen for the love of God in their lives and in others lives. They taught them how to be with the poor, and thereby "enlargen their hearts" to love.

Three times Jesus asks whether we love him. And three times he tells us how to follow him. Feed each other. Feed the little ones. Be his mission for the world. Wash each others feet. Be bread for the world. Be light for the world. Prepare each other to be this mission.

Dare I say it but Churches don't need paid clergy to be the church. Look at the text, they are a bunch of fishers. No degrees, no special preparation, no special ordination ceremonies. Jesus uses ordinary people to be his mission. Who, as they prepare one another to grow in their faith and understand, call upon God to help them be the body of Christ for the world.

We are going to have communion for this service, since I thought it appropriate for the last full service at Shiloh. And I thought it important that we also use the old communion set for this service, since we not only share this heavenly meal with each other, but those who have gone before us, and those who go after us. The old ones who have passed on, fed us, and we feed each other, and we feed those who will carry on following Jesus, long after we have gone to join Christ in the presence of God. To follow Jesus is to feed each other, and feed the world with the love of God through acts of loving kindness. And why do we do this? Why do we give up our Sunday mornings to worship this strange cross shaped God? Why do we gladly learn the ways of Jesus through Bible study? Why do we give our time for leadership in the church? Simply because in Jesus we have discovered a new way of life based upon the love of God. Through Jesus we live the life of beloved creatures, led by a Divine Shepherd, a host of people who, if all the books could be written about the good things Christ has done in our lives, the world could not hold them all.

Hymns
626 I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
896 Blest Are They
642 Be thou my vision
651 Guide me O thou great Jehovah