Dear friends in Christ, grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

The votive ship hanging over the baptismal font is a copy of the 1825 Restauration that brought the first Norwegian emigrants to America.  On July 4th, a replica of the original wooden sailing ship began its 98- day crossing of the Atlantic Ocean to commemorate the 200^th anniversary of the Restauration.  This past week the replica departed the island of Madeira off the coast of Spain where the sails caught the westerly blowing trade winds which will direct it to the West Indies and then on to New York City.  Today’s travelers are expected to arrive in the city that never sleeps on October 9^th where they will celebrate for a few days and then return home to Norway. But 200 years ago, it was the place where the emigrants would begin a new life. Soon afterwards, they were being asked by curious onlookers in New York, “So what are you going to do with the rest of your life?”

It is a frequent question in life often limited to job interviews.  But it is also an important question worth asking when you’ve made a long journey and safely disembarked in a new place. It is the question men and women ask when they retire; when they reach some great turning point in their life, perhaps an empty nest at home, or a big move, or the death of someone that has given their life direction.  It may be the question that a spouse asks after recovery from a major surgery or the miraculous survival story from an accident.

Interestingly, it was the question Jesus’ disciples were struggling with in the days and weeks after his resurrection. They should have been excited by the good news of their Master rising from the dead.  They should have felt overwhelmed by the possibilities of God’s amazing power, but instead, they were afraid and bewildered. And who could blame them?  They had been on an emotional rollercoaster and were exhausted when they finally returned to the Sea of Galilee to do what they knew best-fishing And now that Jesus was gone what else were they to do with their lives?  The great three-year adventure with Jesus was over and their thoughts were filled with regrets.  They had failed miserably. On that long, sorrowful Good Friday afternoon when Jesus was crucified they had deserted him and scattered like sheep.

Of course, the disciples are not the only ones who harbor such thoughts.  There are many men and women today who carry their own burdens of regret, moments they disappointed their own loved ones. Reluctantly they hide away where they are neither challenged by family, neighbors or the crowds.  Perhaps, you count yourself in that lowly chorus.  You have experienced the empty, dark night of the soul, when you wonder whether your life will ever be healthy and stable again, or when you can hold your head up high.  Poor choices, bad decisions, impolite words, and misdirected motives.  You wish you could put them all behind you, and so you regretfully ponder, “What else can I do with the rest of your life?” If things hadn’t seemed bad enough for the disciples, they had been fishing throughout the night and still hadn’t caught a thing. Nothing.

That’s precisely when the Jesus appeared on the shore. The disciples did not know who he was, but they thought about his words. It may have been their desperation for a catch, their sheer love of fishing, or their desire for success, or simply felt an awkward sense of accountability that someone was watching.  But for whatever reason, they ventured out onto the water again, and they did as they were told. They cast their nets out on the other side of the boat.

When I was a young chaplain at the University hospital 30 years ago, my supervisor told me I was a little too timid in my work. I had the early 6:00 in the morning assignment of knocking on the doors of patients preparing for surgery to ask if they would like to pray before they went into the operating room. My supervisor noted somewhat critically, “Arden, you look like a man knocking on doors, hoping and praying that no one answers.”  Of course, that’s exactly how I felt. I would have preferred a personal invitation directed to the chaplain, hand-written-and embossed on a silver platter.  Then I would have known that I was truly needed. Instead, I remember apologetically stopping and yawning at the nurses’ station and asking, “There isn’t anyone who needs to see the chaplain, is there?” Frankly, that may be how many Christians act when Jesus calls them to be his disciples and invites them to share the message with those they do not know and with those who have not heard. Silently, they pray, “Please, don’t let anyone be there.”

But my friends, that is precisely when miracles happen. So, whether out of curiosity, or simply wishing to humor the stranger, the disciples cast their nets to the other side, as he had said, and then suddenly they were unable to haul the net in because there were so many fish. It was reminiscent of the miracle at the wedding of Cana which unfolded at the beginning of John’s gospel.  Just as Jesus turned the water into the finest wine from the water hauled in by the servants and poured into the empty stone casks, Jesus turned the disciples’ labor, their sweat, and hard work, into a miraculous catch of 153 fish that should have torn the nets. Even though they had abandoned Jesus, he had not abandoned them.

It was in that moment of divine grace, that John, recognized their master, and cried out, “It is the Lord,” and Peter embarrassingly put his clothes back on and jumped out of the boat and into the sea. The others simply sailed their boat to land dragging the overloaded net with them.  When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus had prepared a meal for them and said, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord.  And at that blessed holy moment, they were confused; they were confused about the past and what exactly had happened. They were confused about the present. Had Jesus forgotten their abandonment of him on the cross and forgiven them and offered them a second chance?   And they were confused about the future.  Was Jesus truly sending them out again to be his apostles?

Ships in scripture serve a variety of purposes. They are means of salvation, grace, community, hope and direction. But ships primarily serve as a means of transportation bringing God’s people to the places where he needs them to be. For the disciples on the Sea of Galilee, the fishing boat brought them back to the place where their story had started, and they were being sent out again, refreshed, renewed, forgiven and restored. They were being sent out to be fishers of men all over again.  It was a task which meant putting their nets back into the sea over and over again, even though they were worn and tired. But they trusted that with Christ’s spirit and wisdom providing them with sustenance sufficient for each day, they could do amazing things. My friends, that is the invitation he offers you as well.  Regardless of your past, and your regrets, Jesus can use you, your efforts, your work and your gifts, to share the good news in this the world.

The emigrants aboard the Restauration leaving Madeira had a lot of time on their hands to meditate on what should happen next and what God had done already in their lives. During the storms, the little ship would rock violently from side to side or pitch upward and then plunge down into the deep.  The sea would hit it so hard it would shudder and the beams and planks would groan.  There were no comforts – no private places to go. All they could do was give them innumerable blessings and dream of what they would do with the rest of their lives in the new land.

My friends, as God’s forgiven and renewed, holy children, what are you going to do with the rest of your life?  Ponder the secrets that God knows of you and your heart.  Trust in his Easter promise of new beginnings. Like the disciples of old, the possibilities before you of serving him in new places are countless. Amen.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.