When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” (John 21:9-10)
I mentioned on Sunday that John 21 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. Verses 9-10 record one of the grace-filled moments that make me love this chapter. The disciples get to shore and see the fire and the breakfast that Jesus has prepared. Everything is ready for them. And yet, in that moment, Jesus invites them to contribute. “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”
Like all of John 21, there is more here than we expect. There is a picture of how our work in the kingdom interlocks with God’s—the two are not in competition; his comes first and is fully sufficient, yet we truly contribute. We see a picture of sanctification—Jesus is at work on our behalf before we know it; yet he invites us in and expects us to say yes to him. We see a picture of the sacraments—we offer God ordinary food and he transforms them into a meal in the presence of Jesus. Even the doctrine of election is hinted at! But the element of the story that grabbed my heart this week is offering as a movement of worship.
Jesus has no need of the fish, and yet he invites the disciples to bring them. Yet even what they bring they only have because he enabled them to catch them miraculously. Why does he invite them into this process? What does their participation do?
Psalm 50 bluntly says that God does not need our offerings. He is not hungry, and if he were, he already owns all the cattle. In modern terms, his bank account (if he had need of such) is full. Instead of thinking that he needs what we have to offer, we are to both offer him thanksgiving and call upon him to rescue us, both of which acknowledge our dependence on him.
He doesn’t need what we offer; instead, we need what he offers. But he cheerfully says, “Bring some of the fish you caught!” We protest, “But we only caught them because you showed us where to fish; you gave them to us!” He says, “Of course. So bring it in thanksgiving—let it be an act of worship! And then you will see me transform it into something that feeds the world.”
God does not need what we offer him—money, energy, time. He already owns all, even the portion of “all” that is in each of our bank accounts. He doesn’t want us to give it as if we were doing him a favor or he were dependent on us. Instead, the call is to joyfully offer what we have as an act of worship and thanksgiving, expecting that he will transform it into more than we expect.
Steven+
Walk for Life
On Saturday, April 30th, Incarnation will be supporting the Pregnancy Resource Center in its Walk for Life at Deep Run Park. We will be serving breakfast snacks and drinks to those in the walk and others at the park from 9am-12:00pm. We hope that as many people from Incarnation as possible come for an hour or two!
From 7:15am-8:30am, we need people to help set up by making coffee (at Cambridge). At 8am, we need help transporting supplies from Cambridge to the park and setting up our table and tent. At 9am, we need people at the table to serve drinks and snacks. And at 10am, we need people to arrive to help clean up. The event technically goes until noon, but most of the walkers are finished much earlier, and we will play the breakdown by ear.
We would love for there to be a team of people involved at each stage (as many as possible!) so that we can enjoy working together and encourage PRC and those walking. If you have a spare hour that morning, join the group! Please sign up as soon as possible so that we can organize the morning. Sign up by clicking here. If you have any questions about volunteering, please reach out to Erich or Katherine.
Lastly, if you want to join the walk to help raise money for PRC, visit their site at https://www.friendsofprcrichmond.org/
Holy Week
“For the average American Christian who is genuinely committed to his or her faith, the most a church can expect is 3 hours of participation each week.”
Before Incarnation opened its doors, I received this warning from a priest who reads surveys on church life and growth. Don’t ask me to cite the study (I don’t have it!), but the claim seems right. Sunday service, small group, Bible study—life is busy and most of us can only make two of the three (at least until retirement). Anything more endangers the balance on the scale and only dilutes participation at the rest. So why in the world are we about to enter a week where we have a Thursday evening service, a Friday evening service, a Saturday evening service (don’t forget the fasting on Good Friday and Holy Saturday!), a Sunday morning service, and a Sunday afternoon picnic?!!
We aren’t crazy, even if the full slate of services sounds a bit excessive!
Our hope is grounded in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. We have no hope except in what Jesus Christ has done for us. We cannot grow in the faith apart from his work, we cannot find peace except in him, we cannot be redeemed except by him.
We spend hundreds of hours every year making money, cooking meals, cleaning the home, going on vacation, watching TV, going to our kids’ activities, studying for school—the list of what consumes our time is large. But we cannot have hope except in the life of Jesus. Nothing else (as good and necessary as these things are) is a secure foundation for life.
We need a yearly moment when we rehearse and re-enter the foundation of our faith. During Holy Week, we are given the chance to center our life on Christ in an explicit way. Holy Week is when we remember our roots, rehearse our hope, and recenter our lives on the work of Christ. It is our yearly call to grow in the faith in the only way our faith can actually grow—through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The services work together to draw us into the week of Jesus’ passion and resurrection as we trace what he did that week. Each service is beautiful on its own, but together they are more than their sum as they give us the chance to follow Jesus.
Even though we are all busy, make a point to set aside every other pursuit during Holy Week. There is nothing more important for us to do! Let following Jesus from the Triumphal Entry to the empty tomb be the only goal for the week.
Steven+