Bethany Lutheran Church

^{Psalm 30}

A Psalm. A Song at the dedication of the temple. Of David.
¹I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up,
and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
²O LORD my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
³O LORD, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
⁴Sing praises to the LORD, O you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
⁵For his anger is but for a moment;
his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
⁶As for me, I said in my prosperity,
"I shall never be moved."
⁷By your favor, O LORD,
you had established me as a strong mountain;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.
⁸To you, O LORD, I cried,
and to the LORD I made supplication:
⁹"What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
¹⁰Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me!
O LORD, be my helper!"
¹¹You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
¹²so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

Psalm 30 exists as a psalm of thanksgiving to God for God's faithfulness in providing us with all that we need and God's faithfulness in bringing us into continued life. But in doing so, it doesn't ignore the existence of the pain that comes before the joy - the psalmist doesn't skip over the impact of grief and mourning, but recognizes that it's not the end.

This life is hard. We go through rough times, and we often will face the seemingly impossible. But dearest siblings in Christ, joy will come in the form of the one who has redeemed us.

I invite you to reflect on this Psalm with the words by musician songwriter Paul Zach:

"The disciples make a big splash and eat breakfast with the risen Jesus. Wading in the water (remembering baptism) and eating with Jesus (celebrating holy communion) is our weekly encounter with the risen Christ. Jesus asks us again and again: Do you love me? And Jesus invites us, again and again, to follow him, bringing the Easter life to others."

John 21:1-19

¹ After [he appeared to his followers in Jerusalem,] Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he showed himself in this way. ² Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. ³ Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
⁴ Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. ⁵ Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” ⁶ He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. ⁷ That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he had taken it off, and jumped into the sea. ⁸ But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.
⁹ When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. ¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” ¹¹ So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them, and though there were so many, the net was not torn. ¹² Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them and did the same with the fish. ¹⁴ This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

¹⁵ When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” ¹⁶ A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” ¹⁷ He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. ¹⁸ Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.” ¹⁹ (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, “Follow me.”

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