Third Sunday of Easter
Acts 9:1-6, (7-20); Psalm 30; John 21:1-19
May 4, 2025
There is a scene in “The Big Lebowski” that I cannot help but recall when reading Acts 9:1-6, (7-20), Psalm 30, and John 21:1-19. The Dude and his friend Walter Sobchak have been charged with bringing a ransom to the people who kidnapped Jeffrey Lebowski’s wife and then returning safely with her in tow. Everything goes horribly wrong and as they stand in the street watching the kidnappers drive away, having failed to achieve this modest task, Walter turns to The Dude and says (I’m paraphrasing), “Ahh screw it, dude. Let’s go bowling.”
More than we’d care to admit, we are all Walter Sobchak, desperately trying to pretend like none of this is really happening. Rather than engage with the wreckage of our present circumstances, we do what we’ve always done. Thankfully, the saints who have come before us who faced similar situations did not keep their heads in the sand for as long as we may want..
John 21: 1-19 doesn’t include it, but it’s not hard to imagine Simon Peter saying, or at least thinking, “Ahh screw it” after the crucifixion and the strange visits from a resurrected Jesus to the hiding disciples. What else is there for him to do? But upon recognizing the resurrected Jesus on the beach, Simon Peter does something completely different, jumping from the boat and swimming to shore. And then the resurrected Lord puts an even finer point on it: there is a belt fastened around you, and it will take you where you do not wish to go (v.18). Peter’s life will be different now.
Both Saul and Ananias in Acts 9:1-20 would be a lot safer if they did what they’ve always done after their encounter with God. Saul’s blindness would be a considerable impediment, but at least he would have the protection of the high priest and the camaraderie of his gang. And as for Ananias, it remains an extraordinary act of faith that he ever entered that house on the street called Straight among the people who sought to kill him and to so brazenly name-drop the Lord Jesus. Their lives will be different now.
Even in Psalm 30, the writer, calling out to God for help and healing, was prepared to change his circumstances. It is an act of courage, even when our soul is in Sheol and we are in the pit, to make our supplications to the living God and say, “I want to get better.” The psalmist is transformed – mourning is turned to dancing; the sackcloth is off, and he is clothed with joy. His life will be different now.
Indeed, one of the challenges we face in extraordinary circumstances is whether we will just act normally. Maybe one of the overarching discipleship tasks of Eastertide is letting the extraordinary nature of the resurrection work on us and, in so doing, challenge us to do something different in response. But even more so, maybe the ongoing meditation on the extraordinary events of Easter will give us the discernment skills we need to tell when other things are extraordinary and, by extension, must not be responded to with imposed normalcy. I wonder if maybe the resurrection and the responses of God’s people to an encounter with the resurrected Christ help us to see other extraordinary things more clearly.
When we allow ourselves to be transformed by the miracle of Easter, we are also able to be transformed by extraordinary suffering, oppression and cruelty. When we model our lives after those who jumped out of a boat and swam to shore, or those who went into the house of people who wanted to kill them, or those who stopped doing wicked things cold turkey, or those who begged God for help, then we can also resist the strong urge in our own extraordinary moment to say “Ahh screw it. Let’s go bowling.”
Questions for reflection on the Third Sunday of Easter:
- What do you rely on to impose normalcy in your life, even when things are extraordinary?
- What extraordinary things are happening in your life or context that you’d like to respond to?
- What are some new responses you’re considering trying in response to extraordinary circumstances like Jesus’ resurrection?
View the corresponding Order of Worship for the Third Sunday of Easter
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