"Lost in Translation" (John 21:15-19)

"Lost in Translation" (John 21:15-19)
Preached by Sam Locke on 5/5/19 at St. Peter's United Church of Christ (Carmel, IN)


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Jesus and Peter
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” 19 (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”

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We find ourselves this morning at the end of the Gospel of John. In fact, you might even say we are in the appendix. Most biblical scholars agree that the original text of John ends after Chapter 20. The words really do sound like the end of an epic story. The Gospel writer says at the end of Chapter 20:

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”

Sure sounds like an ending to me. We get another chapter abruptly added at the end to give us a little more context about two of Christ’s disciples. The story centers around Peter and is likely told from the perspective of one of his rivals. It has the makings of a biblical melodrama and, in the aftermath of Easter, we read through and heed the warm fuzzies and speed right past the drama. We’ve heard enough, it’s time to move on. But not today.

Peter is undoubtedly the most famous of the Disciples and we get the sense that he is Jesus’ favorite, even if Jesus - like any good parent - would never actually claim one. Peter is called to carry the torch of this fledgling religious community from Jesus and the rest of the story practically tells itself. Jesus must have made a good choice in choosing Peter because today he is revered as the first Bishop of Rome (that’s the Pope) and the first Patriarch of Antioch (the leader of the Orthodox tradition).

The passage read this morning is sometimes called the “Restoration of Peter,” Jesus brings him back into the fold of prominence despite his denial a few days earlier. How many of us would choose someone to carry on our legacy who mere days earlier denied they even knew us. Jesus must have perceived something exceptional.

Jesus chooses Peter for leadership knowing that is would likely create rivalries among the rest of the Disciples.  The rest of Chapter 21 highlights such a rivalry between Peter and the “disciple Jesus loved.” Many scholars believe this Disciple or one of his followers were the likely authors of the Gospel of John. The author cannot deny Peter’s prominence even in their own telling of the story but goes to great strife to highlight the importance of Christ’s relationship with him as well. He writes …

20 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; he was the one who had reclined next to Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!” 23 So the rumor spread in the community[c] that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”

24 This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. 25 But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

More simply, “Peter is alright, but I am pretty great too. And Jesus is greater still.”

We can relate to the insecurities of the beloved Disciple, you don’t need me to expand upon that, insecurities abound in our world today. We can relate to doubting Thomas, it is so hard to have faith. We can relate to Mary Magdalene, trying to make sense of unbelievable happenings in the midst of deep grief. It doesn't even take much effort to relate to Judas … at best, fancying ourselves as the agents that spark amazing series of events into motion and, at worst, taking the easy path forward and succumbing to corruption and injustice.

Relating to Peter, relating to the golden boy, is a little harder to do. He almost seems too good to be true. He sets a standard of excellence that we can stand in awe of, but can almost certainly never live up to - almost Christ-like in a way.

Lost in translation, however, lost in our desire to just be done with the Easter story, we find Jesus in a moment of vulnerability and discover a Peter who may have had just as much doubt as Thomas, who may have had just as much doubt as we do. We just have to look closely to find it.

I thought for a long time that different versions of the Bible all basically said the same thing, maybe nuanced things just a little differently - but the meaning and main points always stayed the same. I also believed the differences in language were just that - switch up the words and wha-la!, we’ve got the same basic book. Of course, it isn’t always that simple. One of my seminary professors likes to say that “translation is interpretation.” Over the course of the church’s history, in my view, we have elevated Peter to a level of inaccessibility that was never intended. Maybe it was to show the strength of church leadership, maybe it was purely accidental, but it makes for an interesting story.

We all know there are different types of love. You may say “I love you” to your best friend, your boyfriend, and your mother, but those are very different things. The phrase “I love you” reads the same in each of those scenarios, but it doesn’t mean the same thing. In the English language, we use one word - love - and discern the type of love based on contextual clues.

Context is important in ancient Greek, the original language of the Gospel of John too, but the Greek language also offers us more than one word that would translate into our word love. The different types of love each actually have a word of their own. Because so much of our language finds its roots in ancient languages, some of these words may sound familiar to you.

One Greek word for love is eros. This is the root of the word erotic and references romantic or sexual love. Another word for love is agape. Agape is unconditional love, the truest form of love. It’s the love you might have for your child or the love we believe God has for us. Finally, there is philia … think of this one as friendship or brotherly love. If you are a member of a Greek-letter organization, you might catch the start of that word … Phi, found in many fraternity and sorority names.

Without this context, the exchange between Jesus and Peter is still quite profound. Jesus asks Peter if he loves him three times, striking back into our memory Peter’s three denials. In an instant, it seems, Jesus forgives, moves on, and leaves the church in Peter’s hands.

With this deeper context of language, though, we are invited into a richer meaning of this passage. If we were to replace the English word love with the word used in the original Greek manuscript, the conversation would look sound like this instead. I’ve included it on a handout in your bulletin, seeing it printed helps to see the difference.

Jesus asked, "do you agapâis me?"

Peter replied, "I phileô you."

Jesus asked, "do you agapâis me?"

Peter replied, "I phileô you."

Jesus asked, "do you phileis me?"

Peter replied, "I phileô you."

Did you catch what happened there? Let me read through it again, translating the Greek word into our English meaning…

Jesus asked, "do you love me unconditionally?"

Peter replied, "I love you like a brother."

Jesus asked, "do you love me unconditionally?"

Peter replied, "I love you like a brother."

Jesus asked, "do you love me like a brother?"

Peter replied, "I love you like a brother."

This dialogue is breathtaking to me in what it reveals. Have you ever loved someone who didn’t love you back? Or loved someone, and you knew they loved you too, but not in the same way? Jesus, on his way out of the physical world is longing for unconditional love from his most prominent disciple and Peter isn’t able to give it to him. How that vulnerability must have felt. And yet, when Jesus doesn’t get the answer he wants from Peter, he chooses to meet him where he is, knowing he still has the best set of skills to lead the church.

And from Peter’s perspective, this too good to be true disciple is now on our level. He may not have needed to see the wounds in Jesus’ hands, but he wasn’t at 100% either. That tiniest reservation from Peter should give us the comfort of knowing that we don’t always need to be at 100% belief either. There is always room for grace, and Jesus shows us how to live that out.

And let’s not forget … this story is likely being told from the perspective of a rival disciple. So, we are left hanging with a church already fractured. It is easy to be overwhelmed by fractures and disagreements in the church today, but comforting to know we have always been a church in transition … a church always transforming … since the very start of our tradition. Strife is nothing new. It will pass and our faith will endure, emerging stronger because of it.

Some say it is a stretch to draw such an interpretation from the use of different Greek words, that the differences in translation are meaningless and interchangeable. They might be right. Who really knows. But we can learn so much more by being imaginative and sometimes the most revolutionary outlooks come not through radical change but by reexamining the words that have been on the page for 2,000 years. Sometimes we can best lead by following the example of Jesus, rather than forging a new path of our own.

How might we carry these lessons forward today?

What if we didn’t let the perfect get in the way of the good? When we don’t get the perfect answer, we often give up. It’s often not enough for someone else to believe the right thing. We want people to believe the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason and with the right amount of feigned righteousness. What if, instead, we thought back to the new commandment given on Maundy Thursday, that we simply loved one another. Feed my lambs, Jesus tells Peter.

What if we meet people where they are and not where we want them to be? I largely live in a big gay progressive bubble. I could go days without having to interact with someone who isn’t affirming of my identity and that feels really good sometimes. Last weekend, I led a retreat of conservative evangelical parents coming to terms with their child being gay. It was frustrating that they didn’t “get it” in the way we do … but isn’t there something to be said for taking this first step? Isn’t there something to be said for pastoring someone through a hard time, not just expecting them to already be woke? Tend my sheep, Jesus tells Peter.

What if we found ways to trust institutional knowledge … the words that have been on paper for 2,000 years...instead of trying to burn institutions to the ground. What if we recognize the talents of others … and maybe more profoundly, found a way to do so without discounting ourselves. What if we recognized that, sometimes, we are better equipped to follow than to lead. Follow me, Jesus tells Peter.

This business of faith is risky. We risk looking weak if we love too much. We risk looking cold if we ask too many questions. That comes with good news and bad news. The good news is, Jesus understands. Just look at Mary, Judas, Thomas, the Beloved and, even the golden boy, Peter. Grace starts at the top and flows to us all. The bad news is or, upon review, maybe this is good news too, our call remains the same - regardless of how much our love and faith wanes. Jesus tells us: feed my lambs, tend my sheep, follow me.  May we, like Jesus and Peter, have the vulnerability to move forward together. Amen.