This Week

BEFORE		
	
Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing 
in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; 
the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one 
of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from 
the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished 
speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a 
catch." Simon answered, "Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. 
Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets."  When they had done this, they caught 
so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners 
in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, 
so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, 
saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" For he and all who were with 
him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken;  and so also were James and John, 
sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; 
from now on you will be catching people." ----Luke 5:1-10

AFTER
Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. 
She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. At that time she became ill and died. 
When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa, 
the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, 
"Please come to us without delay." So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, 
they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and 
showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 
Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body 
and said, "Tabitha, get up." Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. 
He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed 
her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 
Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.----Acts 9:36-43

...there is no motive I can imagine in the early Christian writers that would cause 
them to create this devastating portrait of one whom they regarded as a hero. 
If the record were going to be doctored, it would seem far more likely for it to be 
doctored in a favorable manner. There is a strong historicity in this portrait. 
Peter before the Easter Moment was a Peter of weakness, failure, denial. More than that, 
it was probably Peter himself who made sure that this part of himself was never forgotten.  
But something happened to Peter. Something so big, so powerful that his life totally 
turned around. His personality was reoriented. His needs for power, status, 
and pretending disappeared. Something ignited the potential that was in Peter 
and exploded him into a new life, a new being. ----Bishop John Shelby Spong, The Easter Moment

• Do you think that Peter changed very much from the beginning of Luke, when Jesus called him to be a follower, to the beginning of Acts, when Peter was a clear leader in the Christian movement? (Remember that they are written by the same author.
• How could Peter have changed so much? Does Spong's suggestion make sense? What could have happened at Easter to make such a dramatic change? Does this support the story of the resurrection?
• Why would Peter, or the early church, include the many foolish stories about Peter (which are present in all four Gospels) when he later was such a strong leader?
• Have you ever been changed so dramatically? What made the change happen? Was the change good?
• How real is the power of transformation that comes from Easter, resurrection, hope, new life? How does God participate in this change? How does the story of Jesus undergird transformation, or point the way?