Issue 423
You will go to work this week, as many weeks, dealing with regular, ordinary, tangible realities. If you go to work with Jesus of Nazareth, you will work with mysteries, surprises and shocks at the same time.
We are taking our final look at John and Mary’s gospel. I make no apology for calling it such, for the Bible does not call it John’s gospel. The clue to its origin is found at the cross when John is asked to take Mary into his home and he does. There you have the genesis of the gospel. If you will but look you will see Mary’s gentle and firm hand everywhere, helping John to write, through the laughter and the tears, their testimony at the end of which they say ‘we’ – yes ‘we’ – know it is true.
Our guide through the pages has been Jesus’ haunting, piercing and penetrating question ‘what do you want?’ Now we reach the last pages. The 21st chapter sees a workplace miracle as Jesus empowers his freinds to land 123 fish on a night when the fish had gone AWOL.
It’s a moment went Peter is reinstated -in triplicate. Each moment is dripping with lessons for the workplace and any other place.
But our eyes will be drawn to the matrix. The code that makes it all makes sense. There is plenty of wanting going on in these encounters. Jesus tells Peter he will be led where he does not want to go. Jesus explains that he will do what he wants with John. Meanwhile all of them want to rub their eyes after seeing Jesus eat bread and fish – nothing remarkable except he was supposed to be dead.
Now the code is found in a few words of the earlier chapter. What you are about to read may sound like heresy, but it will not be so.
The teachings of Jesus were not enough. The example of Jesus was not enough. Being a witness to the death and resurrection of Jesus was not enough. It could not make sense. If you don’t believe me, try for one hour to obey the sermon on the Mount. Try for two hours to obey the teachings of the carpenter. Try for a month to put Jesus’ working practices into practice.
You can’t do it. You were not intended to. You will, if you try, find yourself locked up, fearful and powerless.
Here is the difference. Inside your locked doors, full of fear, Jesus of Nazareth will appear – not by your imagination, but by his intention. He simply shows up. Then he gives you the highest form of commission – one which takes you even higher than that which we call the great commission. ‘As the Father sent me, I am sending you’. Can you come up with a greater commission? Now try doing it – you can’t – you were never supposed to.
Finally the puzzle is solved. At last the whole story makes sense. For the first time reality will set in. Four words, just four words, breathed into their nostrils. ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’.
Now you have a solution. This moment cannot be overemphasized. WORKTALK and WORKTALK FOUR ZERO is all about the seven sentences or 58 words from the cross. Within those words you will find seven key skills and over 200 working practices, all of which you cannot do – you were never intended to. Try it and you will end up locked in a room and full of fear.
The way it works is this. Jesus just appears, alive and well. Then he breathes on you and gives you the Spirit, then you can go as the Father sent him, then you can operate from an inner, breathed in, built in, inside out working Spirit.
Why is it that we want to be followers of Jesus by trying to copy him? You may as well try copying an Olympic pole vote champion.
Jesus’ strategy always involved the injection of an inner power, an inner teacher, healer, guide – a panoply, a paraclete (look them up) who would take what was his and bring them to you.
Why then do you go to work and attempt to copy Jesus? You can’t. You never were intended to.
The words are ‘eat’; ‘drink’; ‘receive’; ‘come to me’. Jesus was the greatest teacher ever to walk this planet and he knew his followers would never get it until he put a Spirit inside of them. Then they would never lose it.
So if you want anything, want the Spirit. If you crave anything, crave the Spirit. If you are desperate for anything, be desperate for the Spirit. If you want anything in the gospel at all, ask the Spirit.
Week after week we have been exploring what we want. Jesus has turned up inside our locked and fearful world, minds, room and world to breathe in his breath, the permanent, life-giving, thirst-quenching, work empowering, final completion of all our desires – the sweet Spirit of God.
You cannot want anything more – just breathe.
John 21
21 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee.It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. 6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. 7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead 15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” 16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” 17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) 21 When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” 22 Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” 23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?” 24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. 25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
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Work well
Geoff Shattock
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