Adapted from Max Lucado's "Travelling Light"

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See the one in the shadow? That's Peter. Peter the apostle. Peter the impetuous. Peter the passionate. He once walked on water. Stepped right out of the boat onto the lake. He'll soon preach to thousands. Fearless before friends and foes alike. But tonight the one who stepped on the water has hurried into hiding. The one who will speak with power weeping pain.

Not sniffing or whimpering, but weeping. Bawling. Bearded face buried in thick hands. His howl echoing in Jerusalem night. What hurts more? The fact that he did it? Or the fact tt he swore he never would?

"Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and even die with you!" he pledged only hours earlier. "But Jesus said,' Peter, before the rooster crows this day, you will say three times tt you don't know me.'" (Luke 22:33-34)

Denying Christ on the night o his betrayal was bad enough, but did he have to boast tt he wouldn't? And one denial was pitiful, but three? Three denials were horrific, but did he have to curse? "peter began to place a curse on himself and swear, 'I don't know the man'"(Matt 26:74)

And now, awash in a whirlpool of sorrow, Peter is hiding. Peter is weeping. And soon, Peter will be fishing.

We wonder why he goes fishing. We know why he goes to Galilee. He had been told tt the risen Christ would meet the disciples there. The arranged meeting place was not the sea, however, but a mountain. If the followers were to meet Jesus on a mountain, what are they doing in a boat? No one told them to fish, but tt's what they did. "Simon Peter said, 'I' m gg out to fish.' The others said, 'We will go with you'" (John 21:3) Besides, didn't Peter quit fishing? Two years earlier, when Jesus called him to fish for men, didn't he drop his net and follow? We haven't seen him fish since. Why is he fishing now? Especially now! Jesus has risen from the dead. Peter has seen the empty tomb. Who could fish at a time like this?

Were they hungry? Perhaps that's the sum of it. Maybe the expedition was born out of growling stomachs.

Or then again, maybe it was born out of a broken heart.

You see, Peter could not deny his denial. The empty tomb did not erase the crowing rooster. Christ had returned, but Peter wondered, he must have wondered, "After what i did, would he return for someone like me?"

We've wondered the same. Is Peter the only person to do the very thing he swore he'd never do?

"Infidelity is behind me!"
"From now on, I'm gg to to bridle my tongue."
"No more shady deals. I've learnt my lesson."
Oh the volume of our boasting. And, oh, the heartbreak of our shame.
Rather than resist the flirting, we return it.
Rather than ignore the gossip, we share it.
Rather than stick to the truth, we shade it.

And the rooster crows, and conviction pierces, and Peter has a partner in the shadows. We weep as Peter wept, and we do what Peter did. We go fishing. We go back to our old lives. we return to our pre-Jesus practices. We do what comes naturally, rather than what comes spiritually. And we question whether Jesus has a place for folks like us.

Jesus answers that question. He answers came on the shore of the sea in a gift to Peter. You know what Jesus did? Split the waters? Turn the boat to gold nets to silver? No, Jesus did something much more meaningful. He invited Peter to breakfast. Jesus prepared a meal.

Of course, the breakfast one special moment shared among several that morning. There was the great catch of fish and the recognition of Jesus. The plunge if Peter and the paddling of the disciples. And there was the moment they reached the shore and found Jesus next to the fire of coals. The fish was sizzling, and the bread was waiting, and the defeater of hell and the ruler of heaven invited his friends to sit down and have a bite to eat.

No one could have been more grateful than Peter. The one satan had sifted like wheat was eating bread at the hand of God. Peter was welcomed to the meal of Christ. Right there for the devil and his tempters to see, Jesus "prepared a table in the presence of his enemies."

OK, so maybe Peter didn't say it tt way. But David did in Psalms. What the shepherd did for the sheep sounds alot like what Jesus did for peter.

At this pt of the psalm, David's mind seems to be lingering in the high country with the sheep. Having guided the flock thru the valley to the alp lands for greener grass, he rmbrs the shepherd's added responsibility. He must prepare the pasture.

This is a new land, so the shepherd must be careful. Ideally, the grazing area will be flat, a mesa or tableland. The shepherd searches for poisonous plants and ample water. He looks for signs of wolves, coyotes, and bears.

Of special concern to the shepherd is the adder, a small brown snake tt lives underground. Adders are known to pop out of their holes and nip the sheep on the nose. The bite often infects and can even kill. As defense against the snake, the shepherd pours a circle of oil at the top of each adder's hole. He also applies the oil to the noses of the animals. The oil on the snake's hole lubricates the exit, preventing the snake from climbing out. The smell of the oil on the sheep's nose drives the serpent away. The shepherd, in a very real sense, has prepared a table.

What if your shepherd did for you what the shepherd did for his flock? Suppose he dealt with your enemy, the devil, and prepared for you a safe place of nourishment? What if Jesus did for you what he did for Peter? Suppose he, in the hour of your failure, invited you to a meal?

What would you say if i told you he has done exactly that?

On the night before his death, Jesus prepared a table for his followers.

Mark 14:12-15
Look who did the preparing here. Jesus reserved a large room and arranged for the guide to lead the disciples. Jesus made certain the room was furnished and the food set out. What did the disciples do? They faithfully complied and were fed.

The shepherd prepared the table.

Not only tt, he dealt with the snakes. You'll rmbr that only one of the disciples didn't complete the meal tt night. "the devil had already persuaded Judas Iscqariot, the son of Simon, to turn against Jesus" (John 13:2) Judas started to eat, but jesus didn't let him finish. On the command of Jesus, Judas left the room. "The thing tt you will do-do it quickly.'... Judas took the bread jesus gave him and immediately went out. It ws night" (John 13:27)

There is something dynamic in the dismissal. Jesus prepared a table in the presence of the enemy. Judas was allowed to see the supper, but he wasn't allowed to stay there.

You are not welcome here. This table is for my children. You may tempt them. You may trip them. But you will never sit with them. This is how much He loves us.

And if any doubt remians, lest there be any "Peters" who wonder if there is a place at the table for them, Jesus issues a tender reminder as he passes the cup. " Every one of you drink this. This is my blood which is the new agreement that God makes with his people. This blood is poured out for many to forgive their sins (Matt 26:27-28)

"Every one of you drink this." Those who feel unworthy, drink this. Those who feel ashamed, drink this. Those who feel embarrassed, drink this.
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Isn't it so true that whenever we feel like we've messed up so bad, done nothing right and shame plagues us, that we start to question- would God still want to use me?

Often, forgiveness finds its way into our heads, but the elevator designed to lower it eighteen inches to our hearts go out of order.

But the answer came in the Supper. The Lord's Supper. The same Jesus who'd prepared a meal for Peter had prepared one for us.

I left a seat just for you. You're invited.