Do you know what's sweet? It's getting to share your
victories with people. Who care about you?
It's been. Said that the worst solitude.
Is to be destitute. Of sincere friendship.
That's the worst kind of poverty is to have no friends.
Some of us have been in moments where we experienced.
That and felt it. Unfortunately, university
doesn't really teach you. How to have friends Some of us
were like I'm. Looking forward to going to
university because maybe. There I will make some friends.
I'm the nerd. In my high school and I'm going
to go. To a university.
Full of other nerds. Maybe I'll go to a Church of
nerds and we will have friendship.
There we'll be friends. Cassius Clay, who was.
Known as Muhammad Ali. Said it's the hardest thing in
the. World to explain friendship.
It's not something you learn in school, but if you haven't
learned. The value of friendship.
You haven't learned anything at all.
I wonder why none of. Us run around with a Got Milk
shirt that says Got friends. We just don't want to appear
that desperate. Got friends?
CS Lewis said that friendship is born the moment when one.
Person says to another. What you 2?
I thought I was the only one, he says.
That is the spark from which friendship?
Can be birthed you were born for more friends.
Jesus actually shows us this and that he had friends, and that
Jesus wanted to share his greatest victory.
With his friends to. Me is a beautiful thing that he
wasn't embarrassed at all to share his wins and to share a
win with. His friends.
He even invited this group of disciples who were around him to
to come at times and share about the wins they experienced.
When they went out in his name. In the scripture we have 3.
Appearances in John of Jesus to his disciples, and we're going
to read of one of them. This is in John chapter 21.
So if you have the Bible, open it.
And it's Jesus seeking out his friends.
He had told and sent a message via Mary to say Go and tell my
brothers to go to Galilee and I will.
Meet them there. They were a little slow on the
uptake of that message. So this is his. 3rd appearance,
but finally they're in Galilee. The scripture says this.
Afterwards, Jesus appeared. Again to his disciples.
By the Sea of Galilee it happened this way.
Simon Peter Thomas also. Known as Didymus Nathaniel.
From Cana in Galilee. The sons of Zebedee and Two.
Other disciples were together. 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. Early in the morning, Jesus
stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that
it was Jesus. He called out to them.
Friends, haven't you any fish? No.
They answered, you know. They're out in a.
Boat on the lake. He's on the.
Shore he actually was. Shouting friends.
Do you have any fish? He asked in the negative.
Haven't you any fish? No, no, no.
All seven of them. No, no, the grumpy.
No, no, no fish. Can't you imagine this?
Do you have any scriptural imagination?
Come to my Imagination Station and we'll go on an adventure.
He said throw your net on the right side of the boat, he's
yelling at them and you will find some.
And when they did, they were unable to haul the net in
because of the large number of fish.
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter.
It's the Lord. And as soon as Simon Peter heard
him say it's the Lord, he wrapped his outer.
Garment around him, for he had taken.
It off and he jumped into the water.
The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of
fish, for they were not. Far from the shore.
About 100 yards. When they landed, they saw a.
Fire of burning coals there with fish on it and some bread.
Jesus said to them. Bring some of the fish you have
just caught. Simon Peter climbed back into
the boat and dragged the net ashore.
It was. Full of large fish.
But even with so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, Come and have breakfast.
None of the disciples dared ask him who.
Are you? They knew it was the Lord Jesus
came, took the bread and gave it to them.
And did the same with the fish. This was now the third time.
Jesus. Appeared to his disciples.
After he was raised. From the dead.
It's the third time he's appeared.
Last Sunday we were celebrating the Resurrection Sunday and in
the evening after he had appeared to the women, he
appeared to. Them and said.
Peace be upon you, receive the Holy Spirit.
And and he. Tried to show that he was really
there he was really alive and Thomas didn't believe this
Thomas says I won't I won't believe unless I see so Jesus
appeared again about a week later and he says look, look at
me, see the holes, see the wounds, give me bread, give me
fish and he ate and so the proof was already there they already.
Knew that Jesus is. Alive, the gospel preached.
To us by the women is true. He has risen.
He is alive. What it all meant they hadn't
completely worked out, even though Cloepas and his wife had
had a walk with Jesus in which he taught them from the
Scripture and they had come back and said he's alive.
He's alive now, the disciples. Had made their way to Galilee.
They had sort of gone home and they're just hanging.
Out Jesus. Their friend, their Lord.
Has experienced the greatest victory, but they're going back.
To real life. We got to eat.
Our families need to eat. We're at a different season of
our life. We don't really understand this
season. Of our life.
And Peter, he's. Such a person of action.
I'm going fishing. When you imagine fishing, what
do you? Imagine casting a little.
A little rod and. That was my first fishing
experience. I caught no fish.
I think I have something in common with the.
Disciples. But when they fish, they were
spending the night in a boat together, seven of them, and
they were throwing these Nets out into the water.
Which would open up. And then had weights which would
sink down, and so now that that net would be.
Drawn, and they would. Draw that net gently closed.
So that the fish. Wouldn't swim out and it would
come in around them. And they would pull it back in
and then they do it again. It's a great.
Bicep workout. I think obliques, you know,
they're getting the whole deal. Getting their.
Workout over and over and over. Can't you hear the?
Ribbing Whose boat is this? It's James and John's old boat.
You know, they, they sort of retired from.
Fishing and came to hang out with Jesus.
They were never good fisherman's.
Maybe this boat is jinxed. Can't.
Catch any fish. What's happened to this boat?
And on through the night, they did that routine over and over
and. Over no fish.
It would have been a familiar moment.
Hey lads, hey friends, Hey guys, haven't you any fish?
And the question came to them, and in that moment there was
recognition. Jesus calling out to his
friends, created a recognition in the.
Beloved Disciple, this would. Have been John, one of the
youngest, the writer. Of the Gospel of John, who
becomes the. Elder.
John, if you accept that whole stream that he was.
So close and dear to Jesus that Jesus had this sort of expansive
circle of. Relationships from the crowd.
To the 120, to the 72, to the 32, to the 8.
To the three, to the one. Close friend.
So it was not just a expanding. Circle of relationships, but it
was a circle of relationships that also got smaller.
We all need that in our. Lives.
They say that as you get older, it's more difficult.
To have friends, it's more difficult to make friends.
It's more difficult to keep. Friends, how many of?
You. Feel like that's bad?
News. Plenty of studies.
Out there that actually. The making of friends.
Requires some effort. You know, Jesus was a very
healthy human though he was. God.
As a healthy human, it says that since the children have flesh
and blood, he too shared in their humanity, so that by his
death he might break the power of him who holds the power of.
Death, that is the devil. But Jesus had flesh and blood,
and so in that life of flesh and blood, Jesus also sought to do
what God has always done, and that is.
To have friends. In your imagination of God, is
God the God of friendship? Is God the one who seeks to make
friends? Is he the God of Abraham whom he
called the friend of God or not? So Jesus comes, and he makes.
Friends, in fact. In Matthew, his move towards
friendship was so extraordinary that those who accused him of
being questionable noted his friends and said he's a friend.
Of sinners. He's a friend of.
People on the margins. He's a friend of those who are
fringe. He's the friend of those who are
not loyal to Israel and betrayed our people.
He's a friend. To those who have no friends,
he's a friend. Of sinners this is.
What they said of Jesus. He's showing us how to be a good
human just in the way he is, and he's showing.
US. What God is all about that God
is about friendship in. Fact in John chapter 15 Jesus
says I no longer call you that is.
His 12 disciples, of whom the seven would have been in the
mix. I no longer call you servants,
which would have been a typical rabbi relationship.
The rabbi relationship to the disciple is that the disciples
wanted to be so. Close to their rabbi.
That they would do whatever the rabbi said.
But Jesus never sought to be a Gentile.
Teacher or ruler and Lord it over?
Them he never. Sought to actually.
Generate a kind of. Power that squashed the
uniqueness of his own disciples and their personhood.
Instead, he's looking to pump them up and fill them up.
With real solidness. Of a person.
And so he says. I don't call you servants or
slaves. Because a servant or slave
doesn't know their master's business.
But my father. Everything my father has
revealed to me about the business of my life, I have
revealed it to you. And so I call you friends.
A friend. Knows about your life.
A friend. Knows what you're about.
A friend knows what you value. A friend might even help you
figure it out. These are.
The friendships of Jesus. Jesus has experienced his
greatest victory, and he comes to enjoy and celebrate it with
them. This is the second Sunday of
resurrection. Christ has risen.
Every Sunday after is still a celebration of the resurrection.
Of Jesus. It's the first day of the week
and. Here, in the midst of his
ongoing celebrations, he has to. Find them.
They've got out fishing, they're not aware that the party is
still on. And so he makes.
A breakfast party he serves them.
This is one of my favorite images of.
Jesus in the scripture. Is Jesus making breakfast?
I want you to think of your favorite breakfast.
You got it. Tell your neighbor.
What's your favorite breakfast? OK, now I want you to imagine
Jesus is in the kitchen making breakfast for you.
He's got that kanji going, he's got that waffle iron going.
He's got the biscuits and the grits going.
Oh, you all don't know about that?
He's flipping those eggs. He's got the waffles and
chicken, whatever it is. He's got your breakfast going
and he's like, hey. Come and have breakfast.
This is what Jesus wants.
He wants you to come and be with him and enjoy.
The celebration of his. Greatest moments what he's been
looking forward to since Adam and Eve broke his word.
In the garden and ate of that fruit.
He's been looking forward to breakfast with his disciples.
Do you know what is what is friendship?
Allen Levy, who? Who wrote the book Theo of
Golden? Also wrote another book called
the The Last Sweet Mile and it was about his journey with his
brother. As his brother was passing away
and dying, and their recollections together as his
brother passed from this life into the next.
And he says, what is friendship rightly lived, but the unheroic
call to 1000. Small conversations, countless
prayers. And a myriad of encouraging
words from one person to another.
Over a lifetime. What is it but the bearing of
burdens, the sharing of gifts, the asking of uncomfortable
questions? And the possible discomfort?
Of. Necessary confrontation.
This is friendship, and Jesus calls you friend.
Do you call Jesus friend? The disciples in the boat and
even John, his closest friend, still said he's the.
Lord. And it's true we hold these two
intention. He is Lord and He is friend.
He is. Lord, his friend and we.
Hold this intention in our relationship with Jesus.
But we must. Enter into that a kind of
tension in our friendship with each other.
And that the sharing of our lives is not always so easy.
Even at breakfast. Even in our greatest.
Victories 'cause there's also. Great losses, I love this.
Description in Theo of Golden as.
Theo has met the. Artist who's painted all these
portraits, that's in the the coffee shop called the Chalice.
And he's long to get to meet. Asher.
He had studied. All of the portraits and he
says. Asher in every.
Face I detect sadness. A crease of curiosity formed
between Asher's eyes. Why do you say that?
Well, it is subtle, and maybe it takes an old man, an expert in
sadness, to to see it, but it is there in every portrait, and
some more than others. It's not gloomy or angry or even
terribly obvious. It's like a weariness or an
unmet. Longing or a disappointment?
Something we inherit from those who live.
Before us. But to these old.
Eyes. It is in every.
Face the universal affliction. It is what gives such.
Gravitas to your portraits. And makes them so.
Believable. Even when your subjects are
smiling, the shadow of. Sadness is there.
I I never really thought of it that way.
I certainly don't do. Sadness.
Intentionally. Theo nodded.
Nodded his. Affirmation.
The mystery of art. The mystery of friendship is
that even in our greatest moments.
We're not always asking our friends to serve us, but we
serve our friends, Eleanor Roosevelt said.
Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true
friends will leave footprints. On the Heart isn't that good?
I'll read it again. Many people will walk in and out
of your life. They will come into your life
and they'll be first years, they'll be fourth years, they'll
be 12th years, but then they walk out of your life.
True friends. Only true friends will leave.
Footprints in your heart. Do you know Jesus is enfolding
his? Friends into a meaningful life I
really struggled with how to how to say this because.
We like this passage. In the Psalms that.
Speaks of how Israel went wrong. Israel went wrong when they did
not wait for God to unfold his plan.
But now in Christ Jesus, His plan is unfolded.
It's like origami undone. It's just out and about.
But now he's looking to fold us. Into it.
And it has a. Cruciform shape, dear friends.
And he seeks to fold us in. He says bring some of them, he
said to them. Bring some of the fish you have
just caught. And Simon Peter, who had rushed
to the shore and shown his great agility at swimming, now ran
back and adds his muscle. To the moment.
And helps pull that net ashore. It was full of large fish, but
even with so many, the net. Was not torn.
Dear friends, a meaningful life is a.
Life with mystery. It goes on to say that they they
were so astonished that Jesus being with them, but none of
them dared say, Is it really you?
There was mystery even in that moment.
Is this really you? And friendship itself must have
space for mysterious moments. And some of you.
Are really puzzled about this. In fact, our brains are being
changed and trained away from mystery, away from the
enchantment of this world, away from the miraculous of Jesus.
We we've had lots of studies that sort of put a strict line
down the middle. Of our brains between.
Right hemisphere and left and it was Ian Mcgilchrist who in the
late 2. 1009, 2010, 2011. Reintroduced to psychology to
say, hey, wait a minute, wait a minute, there really is
something going on different on either side of our brains and
our world is becoming more trained on the left.
Side and friends, if you've got one of these, you are training
your brain to the left side. To narrow your thinking to
narrow. Your focus to have attention to
detail and to press in and the right.
Side is this sustained, broad, open, vigilant awareness.
It's the kind of awareness that that opens you up.
To the fact that. Oh, there's something here I
don't quite. Oh, there's some mysterious
presence of God. It's that sense of being in the
presence of God where you are like, oh, I'm at peace.
Or oh, I'm, I'm stirred up. I'm a little.
Convicted or oh, I? I don't know what I have here.
I'm. I'm searching for some sense of
meaning in my life and when we have meaning of life questions
now we're we're being prompted and trained to to go to the left
side and ask ChatGPT what is the meaning of life.
It will tell you something if it knows you on that Channel for a
while. It will say, oh, that's such.
A good question. You're such a bright.
Person for asking that. And it will affirm you, and
it'll give you. Gobbledygook.
It'll give you nothing about the meaning of your life.
For the meaning of your life is going to be centered not on just
attending to this left side detail oriented of your brain
and your career, but it's going to be more on this sense of.
Mystery. And experience and relationship.
In the real. You can find relationships off
the screen, you can have an AI girlfriend, but your brain still
knows this is not real and you will be.
Depressed. Come to church.
And meet a real girl. Right.
Thank you. Come to church and meet a real
guy. Come on.
This is real and it often starts with friendship.
This is the mystery. It starts with going on a date
and having breakfast. Wow, you both got up early.
Breakfast at 11:30. Sweet.
This is so good. Friendship, shared experiences,
real life. This is how we enter into and.
Find some sense of. Meaning in life also by being
bored. This is your medicine against
being bored and so there you are scrolling and the bus just rolls
by. You were waiting for it, but.
Whoosh. It went by 'cause you had been
sucked into the matrix, you were living a simulated.
Life for a moment. We laughed, 'cause we know it's
real. This is what we're doing to
ourselves. It's not a new problem, it's an
old problem been described by. Philosophers forever.
That really, we hate to be bored.
Some of us hate to be bored so much that we will hurt ourselves
in those moments just to feel something and not have to listen
to our own. Thoughts.
Not have to be still. Enough, long enough to.
Actually hear our own thoughts to actually wait and call out to
God. Oh God, are you there?
And then wait. Oh Jesus, are you my friend?
I've been a Sinner. Come, Lord Jesus, have mercy.
On me, a Sinner. And then wait.
So the problem with boredom is not new.
My mom used to have. She was a biology.
Teacher I had my mother twice for biology, once in grade 10
and then second time in grade 12 for AP Biology.
She had a big. Sign up on the wall that said
boredom. Is a self-inflicted wound.
And I always thought, Mom, that is not helpful.
But people would say in class, oh I'm so bored.
And she said that's a self-inflicted wound and
otherwise the remedy is inside of you.
The remedy isn't attending. To what's?
Going on in this. Moment and in just being.
If it's a self-inflicted wound, it's one to which you can find a
solution. Here's a picture of Jesus.
I love this picture. I love this moment.
I don't think it's famous art. I think someone created it.
I don't know how they did it. Couldn't find any great titles
to it. We'll just call it Jesus Cooking
breakfast. Can you hear?
The crackle of the coals. Can you hear the?
Fish, their scales, their skin drying up.
Can you smell it? Can you feel the breeze coming
off the Sea of Galilee? And the coolness of that
morning. Can you feel the?
Heat. Coming off the fire.
Can you hear the? Splashing of the disciples as I.
Threw that net. Out one more time, and then as
they began to pull it up. Whoa, whoa.
And they're pulling it up, John says.
It's the. Lord.
And Peter says nothing, just puts on his shirt and jumps in.
Splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash,
splash, splash. 100 yards. He gets to shore, runs up to
Jesus, sees the breakfast. We don't know what was said
next. It was their private moment.
We don't know what was said. Jesus wants to be this kind of
friend in your life for all of you graduates.
The greatest thing you. Can carry from UBC, is to say.
UBC was the origin of a greater faith.
In my life, in Christ Jesus. I built some friendships.
I'm going to carry them with them.
They put footprints in my heart even as Jesus put.
Footprints in the sand of my life.
See friendship, like discipleship, has a lag
experience. Next slide, we have a, we have a
lag in fellowship at times. Jesus was having a.
Lag in his friendship with his friends.
They weren't really celebrating him yet, and fully.
In fact, they're. They're going to go back to
Jerusalem. And they're going to huddle in
fear. That doesn't sound like
friendship. Hand huddling in fear.
Jesus has to call them out of that holy huddle with the gift
of the Spirit. And we are those who've got the
gift of the Spirit. But until we actually live.
Into that faith our. Friendships are just a little
diminished. They're not up to their ultimate
meanings yet. In friendship, you may
experience a lag and be like, well, why doesn't anybody ever
call? Me.
I don't know. Just be the friends you want to
be and you give the call. There's a lag in friendship, as
in discipleship. Sometimes Jesus gives us a word
and we're slow to. Respond Jesus says if you really
love me, you'll do it, I command.
But so many times we are lagging in our friendship with Jesus.
In friendship, we as in discipleship, we actually share
our wins and our. Losses and we're going to get to
1 of. Peter's greatest, Lowest.
Moments next week in his friendship with Jesus.
But Jesus turns it into his greatest moment and calling.
In friendship, as in discipleship, we form the
meaning of our lives. So what we'd.
Encourage you to do 1 trade. Trade constant occupation for
boredom. You'll appreciate your friends
better if you're bored a little bit in life.
You'll appreciate Jesus more. You'll actually give greater.
Value to the word. Of God in your life, if you will
let yourself be bored. Oh parents, let your children be
bored. When they say, oh, I'm so bored.
You say this is the greatest moment in your life.
They said so at church, trade simulation for real presence,
and then finally treat knowing God as the ultimate meaning.
Of your life. You can build some great meaning
and, and there's some good research now and coming on how
to build meaning in your life. Arthur Brooks has written a
nice. Book The Meaning of your life it
can lead you through some really proven steps for sorting out
this question of the meaning of your life.
But Arthur Brooks is a follower of Jesus, and here's what he
says. I don't care what else you do.
For the Christian, the ultimate meaning of our.
Lives is knowing God and I would add and being known by God.
Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we come today
and we say. Thank you for making friends
with us. We confess that we are not.
The best of friends. We're not the greatest friend.
We forget your word. We forget the dates.
We triple. Booked our lives from.
Having any time and. Breakfast with you.
And so we. Just confess, Lord our.
Minds and hearts are. So often so.
Preoccupied that we miss your still.
Small voice and invitation. Would you call us again?
Come and have breakfast. Come and have lunch.
Come and have third tea. Come and have high tea.
Come and have dinner. Come have a midnight snack.
You're always. Inviting us, Lord Jesus, into
your presence and we just say thank you again today.
For those of us who say I'm not, I'm just not sure yet that that
God is actually in my life, or God knows me, or God.
Cares about me. Would you just pause and say?
OK, God, if you're. There would you begin to.
Show yourself to me. I want to know you as friend.
Let's all stand together. We're going to come to the
table.