The Rev. Kathi Johnson
Lectionary 19, Year A – 10 August 2014
Text: Matthew 14:22-33
Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas
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Grace and peace be with you all,
from God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
We went out onto the Sea of Galilee
on a warm and sunny day. There was hardly a cloud in the sky as we walked down
the dock to get to a large boat – one of the fleet of “Jesus boats.” They are
so-called because in 1986, a first-century boat was discovered and now sits in
a museum next to the sea. These “Jesus boats,” like the one we took, are
roughly modeled on that boat.
I say “roughly” modeled because the
modern Jesus boats are a bit…modern. They have a nice, sturdy canopy overhead
for shade (or shelter from the elements, when needed). They are fully equipped
with modern steering and noisy engines (and possibly navigation, although I
don’t know for sure), and while we were on board, I saw at least one member of
the crew messing with his smart phone for almost the entire trip. There are benches
around the deck – plenty of comfortable seating for the big tour groups that
often visit the Sea of Galilee, in order to float on the same body of water
upon which Jesus once stood and walked.
So, there we were, on our Jesus
boat, on a perfectly sunny and warm day – and it couldn’t have been more
different than the experience of the disciples in today’s gospel lesson. They
encounter a huge storm – we had glassy waters, about as still and calm as they
get. The disciples encounter the rush and noise of water bashing against the
hull of their boat. The only noise we had was the sound of the music piped over
the boat’s PA system (I would’ve rather listened to the water…).
As we drifted around these waters
where Jesus walked, I tried to imagine it. I looked out over the sea (which is
really a big lake) and I tried to conjure up the image of the storm and the
frightened disciples and Jesus, standing there, on the water. The hardest part
of the story for me to imagine was the part where Peter actually takes that
first step out of the boat. For while the sea was quiet that day I was there,
I’ve been on rougher waters elsewhere, and I can’t imagine leaving the relative
safety of a boat in order to walk on the water.
And yet – today’s gospel lesson
tells us that’s just what Peter did that night.
It is Jesus who sends them out in
that boat. They’ve just fed the huge crowd of 5,000 men -plus women and
children – and he still hasn’t really had much time to process the death of his
relative, John the Baptist. So Jesus makes them get into the boat to cross the
sea so he can “dismiss the crowds” and then have some time alone. He spends his
alone time on a mountaintop, praying – this is a good time to remind you that,
in Scripture, mountains are often places where the divine and the earthly meet
one another.
I guess the assumption is that
Jesus will get another boat and catch up with them later on the other side of
the sea. Why on earth would the disciples think that Jesus would meet them out
on the water, especially during a storm? Yet, that’s exactly where he does meet
them – and the text tells us that disciples are frightened. But they are not
frightened of the waves hitting their boat – they are frightened because they
think that they are seeing a ghost. Jesus rushes to assure them that he is
there, with them.
Peter wants to know for sure. On
some level, Peter must realize who this really is. Why else would offer to step
out of the boat? Jesus tells him to come, and that is when Peter takes his
remarkable steps of faith.
Peter’s strolling along, making his
way to Jesus, and then it’s almost as if he has this revelation – maybe the
wind blows some water into his face – whatever the case, he notices the wind
and gets scared and begins to sink into the water and in his panic, he cries
out for Jesus to save him…”Lord, save me!” Peter’s cry is a cry of panic but it
is also a cry of faith – for he knows
Jesus can save him.
And Jesus does just that.
Then, Peter is safe, and they get
into the boat, and the disciples have yet another revelation of who Jesus is –
that he is the Son of God himself. And they worship him.
When they hit the shores on the
other side, they are back to work. Jesus is healing and teaching and there is
crowd management and another feeding miracle. Peter’s watery steps of faith
become more steps in a long string of steps that the disciples take with Jesus.
Sometimes, like Peter, we choose to
take steps of faith out on the rough seas. And maybe like Peter, we cry out to
God to save us when the going gets rough. But there are other times when we are
forced out of safety – forced to jump overboard, where it really is sink or
swim. What do we do at those times?
Some of you know that I have a
relative – my mom’s cousin, Kent – who has been missing now for six days. He
left home on Monday to run errands and disappeared. All week, we’ve been
hanging onto little pieces of news here and there, but there has been nothing
concrete about where Kent is or what happened to him.
What I have found beautiful has
been the outpouring of love and support for Kent’s immediate family – his wife
and children and grandchildren. What I have found amazing is the family’s faith
in God throughout this horrible week. Over and over, they have publicly
professed their faith that – wherever Kent is – he is in the hands of a loving
God.*
What do we do when it is sink or
swim?
The psalmist who wrote Psalm 18
wrote this so very long ago:
The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of perdition assailed
me;
the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the
Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears
He reached down from on high, he
took me;
he drew me out of mighty waters.
He brought me out into a broad
place;
he delivered me, because he
delighted in me.[1]
The Lord delights in us, my
brothers and sisters. And while salvation from earthly concerns may not always
turn out the way we want it to or think it should, we know that if nothing else
– if we have nothing else! – we always have the love of God, found in Christ
Jesus our Lord. Nothing can separate us from that love.
Amen.
+ SDG +
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[*Epilogue: After I got home from church on the day I preached this sermon, I got word that Kent's body was found and they have a suspect in custody for his murder. Sometimes, we don't know how meaningful the very words we preach will become later...]
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