Hello my friends,

Thank you so much for all your thoughtful responses to my last couple of newsletters, not only for your insights on doubt and faith, but for your condolences for the loss of my dog. I am truly thankful for all of you and the community we have built. I appreciate you all very much.

I have been contemplating a lot about the role shame and revenge play in all that is going on in our world today. It has left me asking the question about how we can pursue making things right in the days and years ahead without resorting to shame and vengeance ourselves, but stay true to love and justice. I think the example of Jesus in John 21:1-19 speaks to this really well, so I want to invite you to think with me about this theme today.

Resources to consider:

​-Love in the Time of Extinction by To The Best Of Our Knowledge. As a fly fisherman, backpacker, and someone who has a deep love and respect for our planet, I often find myself experiencing both grief and joy in the outdoors. I will feel the river rushing past me, watch trout rise, snow fall, and deer run by, completely caught up in the profound beauty of it all. Then suddenly I catch myself thinking about how jeopardized our world is due to climate change and how those in power are doing so little to confront it and the grief sets in. This podcast touches on that very experience. I found it insightful, encouraging, and thoughtful. I hope you do too.

​-A Message To All Of You by Adam Kinzinger. I've had the honor of being able to talk with Adam one on one a lot over the last several months. I have always admired his integrity and leadership from afar and I admire it even more after hearing his heart in our conversations. He shared a video on hope recently that I found really encouraging and so I wanted to share it with all of you.

​-Doubt and Thomas by Into The Gray Podcast. My sermon last week focused on doubt and Thomas in the days after Jesus rose from the dead and how it might be helpful to see Thomas and doubt in a different light today than we have traditionally done. I thought I would share it here for those who may not have gotten a chance to listen yet.

​-You Are Not Alone: Your Roadmap to Effective Political Action (Unite and Take Action - The American Unity and Integrity Project) by Gary Lucks. I will get questions from people almost daily about what they can do to proactively get involved. This book was recently published and provides a handbook of sorts for pursuing productive and meaningful political engagement. You can read more about it through the link above.

​-Poor people’s campaign as you may have seen, Rev. William Barber was arrested in Capitol Rotunda after praying against Republican-led budget in solidarity with the millions of people it will adversely impact. In support of Rev. Barber's work and advocacy, I wanted to share his organization as an opportunity for you to support or get involved in grassroots efforts to help bring good news to the poor.

​-Help Us Seek Justice for a 5-Year-Old Facing Racial Hate. On April 30, 2025, in a City of Rochester public park, a white woman launched a racist and hateful verbal assault on a defenseless 5-year-old Black child—who, according to reports, is also on the autism spectrum. She called him the n-word, and when confronted by a bystander, she didn’t back down. Instead, she repeated the slur multiple times and attempted to justify her actions by blaming the child. At no point did she show any remorse. To make this even more shocking, she has started a fundraising campaign on a Christian fundraising website for people to support her and she has raised more than $561,536 as I write this today. She has since raised her desired amount to $1 million. Many of the comments on the site are praising her for what she did. I thought the best way to respond to this was to share the GoFundMe posted by the Rochester Branch of the NAACP who are raising funds for the little boy and his family. It is currently at $338,098. Events like this are such a tragic testament of where we are right now. Lord, have mercy.

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The way forward is by love and justice, not shame and revenge.​
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​John 21:1-19 (MSG)

21 1-3 After this, Jesus appeared again to the disciples, this time at the Tiberias Sea (the Sea of Galilee). This is how he did it: Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed “Twin”), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the brothers Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. Simon Peter announced, “I’m going fishing.”

3-4 The rest of them replied, “We’re going with you.” They went out and got in the boat. They caught nothing that night. When the sun came up, Jesus was standing on the beach, but they didn’t recognize him.

5 Jesus spoke to them: “Good morning! Did you catch anything for breakfast?”

They answered, “No.”

6 He said, “Throw the net off the right side of the boat and see what happens.”

They did what he said. All of a sudden there were so many fish in it, they weren’t strong enough to pull it in.

7-9 Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Master!”

When Simon Peter realized that it was the Master, he threw on some clothes, for he was stripped for work, and dove into the sea. The other disciples came in by boat for they weren’t far from land, a hundred yards or so, pulling along the net full of fish. When they got out of the boat, they saw a fire laid, with fish and bread cooking on it.

10-11 Jesus said, “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught.” Simon Peter joined them and pulled the net to shore—153 big fish! And even with all those fish, the net didn’t rip.

12 Jesus said, “Breakfast is ready.” Not one of the disciples dared ask, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Master.

13-14 Jesus then took the bread and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus had shown himself alive to the disciples since being raised from the dead.

Do You Love Me?

15 After breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Master, you know I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

16 He then asked a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Master, you know I love you.”

Jesus said, “Shepherd my sheep.”

17-19 Then he said it a third time: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was upset that he asked for the third time, “Do you love me?” so he answered, “Master, you know everything there is to know. You’ve got to know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. I’m telling you the very truth now: When you were young you dressed yourself and went wherever you wished, but when you get old you’ll have to stretch out your hands while someone else dresses you and takes you where you don’t want to go.” He said this to hint at the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And then he commanded, “Follow me.”

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My Reflection​
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I’ve heard many people say that our sense of smell is strongly tied to our memory. I have certainly found that to be true in my life. The moment I smell the unique aroma of Ponderosa pine trees I am immediately taken back to to my boyhood experiences camping with my family in vivid detail. The moment I smell my mom’s orange rolls baking, my mind conjures up so many Christmas memories. The moment I smell a particular kind of aftershave, I am immediately taken back to meaningful conversations with my uncle and then my eyes fill with tears as I grieve his passing that came suddenly when he was far too young. I am sure you have your own list as well of memories that only certain kinds of smells can bring back for you. It is such a powerful and unique experience.

I can’t help but think of this tie between smell and memory every single time I read this passage from John 21:1-19. In verse nine, John makes special mention that Jesus was cooking fish over a fire. The Greek word we translate as “fire” here is anthrakian, which is very unique and shows up in John chapter 18 as well. In that passage, it is used to describe the fire that Peter warms himself by as Jesus was being handed over to die. It is the fire that Peter stands by and denies any affiliation with Jesus. It is the same fire he is now standing by as the one he denied and watched die stands there resurrected and cooking him a meal. As the smoke of that fire filled the air, the aroma of Peter’s denial and grief filled his nose and the memories of that time filled his mind. I can only imagine what Peter was experiencing in that moment.

Then, just as Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus asks Peter three times, “do you love me?” This isn’t just about Jesus asking about Peter’s love for him either. This is a sacred rite of reconciliation. For every act of denial, Jesus is giving Peter an opportunity to declare faithful love instead. Jesus is providing a way forward in love.

What is more, Jesus shows how that love is meant to be lived out, by feeding his sheep. Peter is not only being reinstated by Jesus and trusted with tending to the needs of those who follow Jesus, but he is yet again being taught that caring for the needs of others is directly tied to loving Jesus the way he desires to be loved.

Personal love for Jesus is directly tied to seeking justice for others.

I have been reading through Obery M. Hendricks “The Politics of Jesus: Rediscovering the True Revolutionary Nature of the Teachings of Jesus and How They Have Been Corrupted.” I read this the other day and I felt it connected to our passage today so deeply. Hendricks writes, “…fighting for the liberation of those who are oppressed is as important a responsibility of our faith as developing sound personal piety. It appears that this principle has largely been forgotten in Christendom. Yet it is repeatedly echoed by Jesus in his insistence that in addition to striving to better know the will of God in their personal lives and conduct, his hearers should also do justice in the world. Jesus stressed this point in such sayings as "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after justice" (Matthew 5:6) and "Seek first God's kingdom and God's justice" (Matthew 6:33). You'll note that I have rendered the Greek word dikaiosune in these verses as "justice" rather than the usual "righteousness." As students of biblical Greek know, the term can be translated either way. However, unlike "righteousness," with its strictly one-dimensional personal moral implications, "justice" connotes more than individual piety. It also means holistic, collective-that is, social—righteousness. Because of Jesus' holistic spirituality, his use of dikaosune in these and many of the other sayings in which it is found should be understood as encompassing both of the term's meanings, that is, personal righteousness and social justice.”

Loving Jesus is directly tied to seeking justice and well-being for all his sheep. In a world where so many in power right now say “if you want to be taken care of, love me” Jesus says, “if you love me, take care of others.” What a stark contrast.

Being Counter Cultural

This passage resonates with me on a really personal level right now. With all that is going on in the world, I will often have people tell me they find it so hard not to fall into feelings of contempt for those who are blatantly denying the teachings of Jesus while claiming to follow him. They will tell me that they can’t help but imagine themselves shaming them in a verbal debate for the views they hold or wondering when they will “get what they deserve.”

If we are honest with ourselves, I think we will discover that these thoughts and feelings come from moments of deep anger and hopelessness at the state of things right now, wondering why anyone would want to support decisions that cause so much harm, especially people who claim to follow Jesus. It is such a natural and truthful impulse to want things to be made right, to want those who harm others to be held accountable, and for those harmed to be healed. This is a good and truthful hunger, but how will we purse satisfying this hunger?

The way Jesus responds to Peter in our passage today really helps shed light on this. Jesus shows us how to truly bring about the restoration, accountability, and healing we desire. Jesus had every right and opportunity to shame Peter in this moment by the fire for denying him and abandoning him as he did. Jesus could have used his cosmic power to seek revenge against Peter and anyone else who did him wrong. Yet Jesus shows us yet again that the way to restoration is not through shame and revenge but through love and pursuing justice. Jesus held Peter accountable for his denial and gave an opportunity for repentance and to pursue justice.

This is yet another timeless lesson of not repaying evil with evil, but responding to evil with good. So much of the actions from those in power right now are built on shame and revenge towards people and beliefs they despise. Those who oppose these actions might also be tempted to respond to them with their own brand of shame and revenge from the “other side.” But isn’t this just to make shame and revenge an endless cycle from which we will never break free? You see, I just can’t help but wonder how much of the current outpouring of shame and revenge stems from people being shamed and harmed by revenge themselves. The tragic reality is that shame and revenge are always such a poor substitute for love and justices, which is what I believe we all truly desire. It is only when we give up on love and justice that we resort to shame and revenge instead.

I believe that Jesus is asking all his followers right now “do you love me?” and I believe he responds to our “yes” in the same way, “then feed my sheep.” I believe this calls us as his followers to respond to the cruelty and injustices we are witnessing, not with a desire to shame and seek revenge towards those who support what is happening, but with a bold love and desire for justice for those these actions are harming the most. I believe when we do this faithfully, it brings us the clarity for the work that needs to be done, it gives us vital strength that can only come by serving others, and it creates opportunity for accountability and reconciliation.

When we band together in this effort of love and justice, we cannot help but become more hopeful that we will overcome the darkness with the light that only restoration and resurrection can bring.

In our world of darkness, we need to shine all the more brightly.