Sumgmu’s Monthly Message, April 2026

Jesus, who has suffered such rejection throughout his ministry and died on the cross, this Jesus has been resurrected from the dead. Jesus has triumphed over death and the grave. What a wonderful time to say, “The End. Let us claim victory. The End!” Curiously, the gospel writers seemed to have difficulty knowing how to end their gospels, even with the event of Easter, perhaps because of Easter.

The gospel of John also seems to have trouble ending. After Jesus’ resurrection, the next scene is back with the disciples at work, doing what they know how to do best, doing what they did before they met Jesus—fishing.

This is what we often do when we have suffered a great trauma. When you have suffered, your friends often tell you that you should get back to work. Get busy, and this will help you to get over it. Perhaps this is what these disciples were doing. And to these people who were adjusting themselves to the trauma of loss and grief, the risen Christ appears, saying, “It is not over. It is just getting started. Do you love me? Then get out of here and go feed my sheep.”

And then the risen Christ says to Peter, “Follow me,” as if he were speaking to him for the first time. Follow me? That is what he said to his disciples when he first met them. But now he is saying, “Follow me” again, as if for the first time. John’s gospel wants us to know that we are not ending, but we are starting over.

It is not easy to start over. Maybe we never start over unless we are pushed or pulled into the next chapter. Peter may have been happy to go back to fishing. And yet there the risen Christ came out, got him, called him, and pushed or pulled him back into discipleship. The story was over, but the story was just beginning again.

So many of us have suffered for many reasons, and we may feel that there is no hope in our lives. Yet, remember it is not over until God says it is over. And, in the resurrection, the story continues. God is not done with us yet. And we are not done with God yet. This is not the last chapter; but it is the first. Hallelujah! Christ is risen! The story continues. Amen.

Sungmu Lee