Today’s Gospel presents a moment that is at once extremely encouraging and most somber.

Not long ago I received a call from a young woman who is getting started in life, early 20’s. She was in tears because she had been reading about terrible suffering that some children endure, especially in human trafficking and especially in developing nations. That got her thinking about other awful things. She wanted to know why God allows such evil in the world.

When Judas leaves Jesus and the other disciples that night of the Last Supper, it is one of the most awful moments in human history. We spend a lot of time and energy trying to figure out the best ways to help people learn about Jesus. That includes introducing his story and him for the first time, helping people to grow in their knowledge and love of him, and helping people who have drifted away from him or been wounded by life or even the Church in some way. We view all of that in terms of progress; if only they knew, or if only we knew better.

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In October of 2018 I was working for the bishop and I had a meeting with the search committee at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Eustis. On my way home, I decided to grab a quick dinner at the Panera Bread restaurant in Apopka. I’d never been in there before nor have I been there since. I walk in, order my food, take my drink to my table and this elderly man comes up and asks me, “Are you my rector?” No one has ever asked me that before and no one has ever since.

It was a pregnant question. At the time, I wasn’t anyone’s rector. I was the bishop’s Canon to the Ordinary. I served the whole diocese and it wasn’t unusual for people to see me in a restaurant and speak to me. I had just accepted the call to come to Lake Wales, but this was Apopka. When was the last time you went to Apopka? So I answered, “Maybe. Where do you go to church?”

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This morning’s readings give us two prime examples of how Jesus restores and redeems people for purpose. Peter and Paul are, of course, extremely vital to the ministry of the early church. Peter is the designated leader and Paul the great missionary and teacher. Their stories are quite distinct.

Peter experiences restoration. He is coming face to face with Jesus again. He has already recognized Jesus, recalling their early days by instructing them to cast their empty nets on the other side of the boat to reel in an abundant catch.

When he gets to shore, there is a charcoal fire. That smell wafting into his nostrils surely took Peter back to that awful night, the night of the last supper, his confident pledge to stay with Jesus no matter what, their prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane, the arrest, the trial – and his denial. John gets it, but it was Peter who denied Jesus three times that night.

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