2 Visions of Jesus

Honour be to the one seated on the throne

Glory be to the one seated on the throne
So say the fish of the sea and the birds of the air
Forever and ever may the lamb that was slain be praised
So say all of us, man and woman and child
Creatures of God one and all
Praise the risen and ascended Christ

The disciples went fishing and caught nothing
Meanwhile Jesus made a fire on a beach
He made bread and cooked fish
And then invited his friends to come
They were to share what they had caught too
A miraculous catch!
Jesus broke bread and had breakfast with his friends

And then he gave Peter and all of us responsibilities
Feed my lambs,
tend my sheep,
feed my sheep!

Which picture of Jesus do you connect to on this day!

Jesus in heaven worshipped by all living things?

Jesus amongst the disciples with charcoal and the smell of fish on his hands from the breakfast fire?

The risen Jesus Christ is no less than both of these

The heavenly being around which the creation ultimately will gather to give praise eternally

For we are made by the eternal Word of God who was with God in the beginning and who is God and will be God forever more

But the Word was made flesh and has dwelt among us;
He has made himself known to us in Jesus of Nazareth:
There is an earthiness
There is an ‘everydayness’
In our relationship with a God who walked the earth and even after dying and rising from among the dead can take the time to light a fire and cook some bread and fish for some mates on the beach.

This is a God who we know we can meet and follow in our daily lives:

Doing the washing
Cooking the meals
In shared friendships
Driving to work
Helping others
Taking care of our family

Yet, not only is this Jesus of Nazareth a fellow created citizen but he is also the one for whom ultimately the whole creation declares its praise and honour.

We long for the privilege of catching a glimpse, of our ascended and glorified Lord, and being swept up to join our voices in the unending praise.

Holy is the Lamb.
Praise be to the Son.
Glory and power and honour be to one seated on the throne.

For this otherness of the risen Christ and God’s future sets our hopes beyond the earthiness and everydayness that can appear to be all that there is.

The vision of the heavenly praise of Jesus suggests to us there will be a time when all things are made right and we as people are completely at peace and in harmony with the whole creation in our praise of God.

On that day after his resurrection when he appeared to the disciples on the beach the disciples knew him though none dared ask who he was

I wonder do you dare ask who the risen Christ is in our midst for Christ is present now!

In the person beside you, behind you and before you

We long for the privilege of being asked by our friend

Simon, son of John, “Do you love me?”

And so Jesus says to each of us at different points in our life:

X, “Do you love me?”

It is indeed a privilege to be asked this question.

For to be loved by Jesus and to love Jesus is truly a blessing as we walk through our lives.

The risen Jesus offers us gifts beyond compare
And invites us to share in caring for others just has he has done
‘feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my lambs’

Jesus who cared and showed compassion and shared meals and pointed to God’s promised future as he was raised from the dead and invites us to help others glimpse that future through our word and actions.

This is a God we can know and meet and follow in our daily lives but this God also gives us a glimpse that there is more yet to come.

We can see and experience and share such signposts of hope:

In the love shared between friends and family
In incredible acts of compassion and healing
In the wonder of worship where God comes to us
In the Holy places and Holy times of our lives
In the bread and in the wine

Jesus is here in the Word being proclaimed and in bread and in wine and in each other

This is a holy place and a holy time and here we long for that encounter with our living Lord, an encounter that can change our lives.

God’s generosity is witnessed to and experienced by the disciples in a miraculous catch.
God’s generosity is witnessed to and experienced by John in the gift of a heavenly vision.
God’s love and generosity are there for us as well to encounter, to embrace and to share.

Thanks be to God.