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#  Children's Sunday  

 





May 08, 2025

 

 

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*By the Rev. Dr. Calvon Jones*  
Assistant Minister/Director  
*The Memorial Church of Harvard University*

*(The following is a transcript of the service audio, May 4, 2025)*

Now, let the words of my mouth, the meditation of my heart, be acceptable unto God, for you are my rock and my redeemer. Good morning, MemChurch. As a youth pastor, I have been blessed to minister to so many children and youth. They have brought me so much joy to see them learn about God, to see them play, to see them smile, to hear their innocent stories and tales, to see them grow up and become who they have been called to be in this world. Also, as a youth pastor, I'm a godfather to so many kids that I have lost count, church. I've held so many babies and children in my arms, and I can remember when I was in Chicago before coming to MemChurch, I received a call from a dear family. They were having twins, and I was blessed to become their godfather. They said, "Reverend Jones, come over here. Come over here. These twins are about to be born." I've always had a thing for twins.

My wife is here today. One day, we hope to have kids, and I've always told her that the spirit has told me we're going to have twins, but we shall see about that. I shall never forget that I held my twin God babies in my arms, and I was full of joy and happiness. I exuded the greatest amount of love that I think I could ever give, but in that moment, they did not earn my love for. They were new to the world. I just loved them because, if you could just look around the room and just look at your neighbor, just look around the room. As you just looked around the room, you looked at someone who is loved because, God loves each and every person in this room not because we are perfect, but because God just loves us no matter what. God's love is not conditional. It's not something you've earned. You do not have to earn God's forgiveness or God's love. God still loves you because of who God is.

God loves not because the object of the affection deserves the love, but because the one offering the love is so full of love that God can do nothing but love you. Yet, there are times when we make mistakes and we feel that we are not worthy of God's love. And it makes us wonder, "Can God still love me after I've done that, after I've thought that?" Yes, God still loves everyone of you, and sometimes, you have to forgive yourself. Forgive yourself for not making yourself available to God's love. There were times in my life that I felt as if I did not deserve God's love, and it took me a long time to forgive myself. And in the words of Daniel Copley, forgive yourself. Forgive yourself for not knowing what you didn't know. Forgive yourself for not being able to do what you could have done. Forgive yourself for not knowing how to protect yourself. Forgive yourself for trusting the wrong people. Forgive yourself of all of it.

Forgive yourself for what happened, for the mistakes you made, for your poor choices, for not showing up in the way that you felt that you could have shown up. You are human. You did the best you could in those moments, but don't allow the past to hold you hostage. You're still learning. We all are. You are allowed to show up as the imperfect, beautiful person you are. Forgive yourself because you are already forgiven by God. Beloved, in this life, it is easy to punish ourselves for the things that we have done or even the regrets that we may have, so much and so that we start to think that we are not worthy to make a difference in this world. Your voice may tremble, but you are loved. You may be young, you may be old, but you are loved. And even when you make mistakes, remember that God is yet calling you with open arms to do that which God has called you to do today. And in the text today, in the Gospel of John, the disciples and Peter are having a challenge forgiving themselves.



 

 

 

 Harvard Memorial Church · The Rev. Dr. Calvon Jones - May 4, 2025 | Sunday Sermon 

 



 

 

 

See, if you remember, Easter just happened, but they were not the best disciples. So, they go fishing, trying to take their mind off of what they've done. They were sitting on a boat, Suzanne, near the shore, Dory, attempting to catch fish, probably thinking in the words of one writer. Their recent failures had to be still fresh wounds. Peter was probably replaying the scene, his three denials over and over and over again. How can I be loved when I denied the Christ? How many times do we deny God over and over and over and over again in our own lives? How could he deny his friend? And the disciples, they probably are wondering, "We left him in the garden. We fell asleep." They failed the last request that Jesus made of them. And I can see Peter saying, "Oh my God, how can I be loved when I've done this to Christ?" And after a long night of catching fish, in the morning, Jesus shows up on the beach. He appears to the disciples and they do not recognize him at first, but Jesus tells them to drop their nets again.

And if you can see the festive net, kids, he tells them to drop their nets. Isn't that an echo? When he first called them, he says, "Drop your nets again." And it says that they caught so much fish that the net broke. But then he says to Peter, "Come talk to me because I know you still feel like you're not worthy to be loved." And he asked Peter three times, "Do you love me?" And in my homiletical imagination, I believe that Jesus asked him three times to redeem him from the three times that he had denied him. Restoration was happening on a beach as they were breaking bread. And one commentator writes that maybe when Jesus showed up in this moment, it was like Jesus was saying, "It's okay. Not only do I forgive you," but Jesus being Jesus doesn't stop there. He takes it one step further and says, "I not only forgive you, but I need you."

He's telling Peter and the disciples, "Yes, you made a mistake, but I'm drawing you back in to participate in the will of God, which is to usher in the kingdom of God, to feed my sheep." Even before we start making our way to Jesus, Jesus is coming to us, saying, "Feed my sheep." MemChurch, in a time where white nationalism is on the rise, we need to feed God's sheep. In a time when it seems as if the United States and the world around us is in chaos, we need to feed God's sheep for if not me, if not you, who will stand up to transform this world? So, don't think that you're not worthy. Stand up and stand up like Peter did and say that, "I am going to redeem the time for this is resurrection power." And Jesus does this over a meal. And today, soon, we are going to participate in communion. We're going to share a meal together.

As you break bread, as you taste it, as you drink the wine, and as you go around the corner, savor that corner. And as you look back to the doors and you begin to walk out later into service, know that the work begins to feed God's sheep. Amen. Now, we'll be led into prayer by our kids.

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