Transcription
life to take it away he said go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord for the Lord is about to pass by now there was a great wind so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord but the Lord was not in the wind and after the wind in earthquake but the Lord was not in the earthquake and after the earthquake a fire but the Lord was not in the fire and after the fire a sound of sheer silence when Elijah heard it he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave then there came a voice to him that said what are you doing here Elijah he answered I have been very zealous for the Lord the God of hosts for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant throw down your altars and killed your prophets with a sword I alone and left and they are seeking my life to take it away then the Lord said to him go return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus when you arrive you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram also you shall anoint Yehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel mehola as prophet in your place whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael Yehu shall kill and whoever escapes from the sword of Yehu Elisha shall kill yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel all the knees that have not bowed to bow and every mouth that has not kissed him
And then our New Testament lesson from the book of Matthew Matthew chapter 14 verses 22 through 33 immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the crowds and after he had dismissed the crowds and after he went up the mountain by himself to pray when evening came he was there alone but by this time the boat battered by the waves was far from the land for the wind was against them and early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea but when the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified saying it is a ghost and they cried out in fear but immediately Jesus said to them spoke to them and said take heart it is I do not fear Peter answered him Lord and if it is you command me to come to you on the water he said come so Peter got out of the boat started walking on the water and came toward Jesus but when he noticed the strong wind he became frightened and beginning to sink he cried out Lord save me Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him saying to him you of little faith why did you doubt when they got into the boat the wind ceased and those in the boat began worshiping him saying truly you are the Son of God
Brothers and sisters this is the good news the Word of our Lord let us pray gracious God we thank you we thank you for the light you give the light you shine in dark places and the light you bring to all of us we ask that you would guide us and lead us so that we might hear your word so that it might transform and changes to serve your kingdom here on earth in your name we pray amen
And finally Jesus gets some alone time last week we saw Jesus try and get that alone time after John the Baptist has had been murdered but as often happens when you need to step away and be alone something happened life happened 5,000 people happened and then Jesus has to feed all of them with two fish and five loaves and he does and then he he sticks the disciples in a boat says go on ahead go go go amen everybody here’s your benediction and he goes up on the mountain and he prays he’s tired he’s getting ready for what’s coming next the cross has come up in his sight it’s very alive for him because he is going to start that steady journey on his own towards the cross so he’s he’s exercising self-care and he goes up but something happens in the water now is anybody in the congregation a sailor? Not big boats but the little sailboats the ones with actual masks and no engines well let me fill you in a little bit about boats now being raised around fishermen and boats for a lot of my young life I’d like to think I know some of what’s going on. First when the sea is rough and the wind is against you it’s not a good day especially if you’re relying on only a few experienced hands in the boat and there are disciples who were fishermen raised on these waters who know these waters Peter, Andrew, James, John fishermen they know what they’re doing and yet they’re not exactly comfortable in this moment in the water. Now one of the problems that scripture tells us is that it’s slow going the wind is against them they’re trying to sail into the wind now think about what you know about propulsion can you actually sail into the wind when it’s blowing in your face? No, you have to do something called tacking which is you go left to go right you kind of do this you zigzag a little bit and eventually you get to the other side it’s long it’s tough sailing and it’s dangerous. And so the disciples are fighting the sails fighting to get the boat there and you got to remember yes there are 12 of them in the boat but you can imagine Peter and Andrew telling one or two of them just sit down over there Thomas go to the back of the boat just go to the back of the boat and sit down. How many of you have ever been somewhere that somebody who does it their intentions are great but they are like an extra wheel facing the wrong direction. So the disciples are making their way and then all of a sudden out of nowhere walks on the water Jesus. Now I don’t know about you but I think I would be quaking in my boots a little bit if I saw a figure walking towards me as I try and fight the boat across the sea.
Now the other part is water in bad conditions can be a scary thing. I think of about the number of times I would get yelled at fishing with my grandpa Phillips for standing up in the boat. Now fair point I wasn’t standing I was squatting high. Or the time I went boating with my nephew Cole who when I got knocked out of the boat all of a sudden we were all going to die. Panic happens in the water so you imagine the panic the fear as Jesus comes closer and the disciples think about their mindset they’re not thinking logically oh yeah somebody’s walking towards it’s gotta be Jesus. They’re not thinking logically they’re thinking about trying to get the boat from one end to the other trying not to capsize. And so what does the Son of God do? Well he takes his little stroll along the water don’t worry guys it’s just me and as soon as Peter hears this what is his joyful response his moment of acknowledging that Christ is Christ. Jesus if that’s you tell me to come out to you come on Jesus invite me over to you. You see he puts two and two together he knows the Son of God who is walking on the water can bring him to him if it is you command me to come to you on the water. It’s equal points a show of faith in Christ but also a moment of testing Christ as well and Jesus response come on come to me I’ll meet you there. Now think about the eleven who are still in the boat and I want us to think about that because often we see what happens to poor Peter and we forget that Peter has one thing going on in this, he participates the other disciples are bystanders. They’re sitting in the boat saying I wouldn’t have done that Peter oh I wouldn’t they are watchers they’re not active they sit and do nothing but watch. Meanwhile Peter is so full of faith full of wanting to be united with Christ he is stepped out of the boat onto the water. He is out of the boat and in the water in all of this storm in all of these waves and wind he is going to walk because Jesus said come to me. Often we look at his moments and Peter is this this beautiful mess and I say beautiful mess because at the same time he has these moments of great faith these great witness moments of acknowledging Christ as Christ and then he does something next. He says when Jesus asked who do people say I am he lists off all these things and then says but you are the Christ the Messiah and then Jesus keeps on teaching. And what does Peter do next when Jesus says I must die what does Peter do takes us no no no no no no no Jesus you got to come over here with me because I’m gonna set you straight. Peter at each point is this great moment of faith and this moment of faithlessness at the same time and we see that happen in this in this story in this miracle because at the same time as he has the courage to step out of the boat and walk towards Jesus all of a sudden he realizes where he is and what he’s doing and fear takes hold. The wind picks up perhaps Peter was able to put his brain in one of those magic places we go where we can do something we just focus and we are going going going and then his concentration breaks and he notices the wind the water and he feels like he’s in a Gordon Lightfoot song.
So we cannot separate Peter this giant of faith acting from the same moment where his faith waivers and fails. We can’t separate him in this and we cannot separate the other 11 from this story because no matter how much we wish to Peter and say you know his faith wavered, he was the one who was trying to walk on the water. With Christ there’s a reality there now maybe it’s the coach the former teacher and the minister in me that wants to at least say to Peter, well done good and faithful servant you were so close. I mean think about how close he is to Jesus Jesus almost could have wrapped his arms around him when he goes into the water when he starts to sink Jesus is so close that he can reach out his hand and say oh come on Peter you were almost there. The reality is Peter was so close and Christ catches him. As we look at this miracle two things really should stand out the first is Peter’s willingness to get out of the boat. Yes the storm is raging yes the waves are high, yes the going is slow but as soon as the Son of God calls he is up and out of the boat and walking. Yes, yes it’s a white knuckle moment yes it is a tragedy that his faith does waver but at the very least he tries. He tries and he tries. How often in our own walks in our own lives has God called us to do something to get out of the boat and we sit there cowering. Oh God you could never use me for that Oh not me God not me. I could never do that. We have excuses we have reasons we can’t get out of the boat but yes like Peter we should try and get out of there try and battle the what-ifs the might might be’s but and when God calls us to go take your feet and put them outside of the boat.
Now the second piece with this is just as tough it’s what happens when fear and faith meet. We see what happens with Peter. Peter’s fear and faith are working against each other as he walks imagine it’s walking like this faith is up here when he starts to walk and fear down here but fears eventually rises up over faith. Now fear is great to sell products turn on your TV watch a few commercials and fear will be probably your number one sales pitch. Make you afraid to buy a product somebody’s going to break into your house so you need this ring camera. Somebody’s going to do this and so you need this product you need this product. Fear sells but fear can also debilitate and stagnate. It can hold us and drive us backward fear can grab ground us in the boat where the other disciples are it can cause us to take those faithful steps and worry and worry and sink deeper and deeper. That’s what fear can do fear is not absent when faith is active fear is always there fear is always around us but faith and fear are an ever-present opponent fear and faith are doing battle every moment of our lives. But also think of those moments where your faith triumphs over your fear.
I started thinking this week about how terrified I was to go to seminary to go to seminary and be a go into ministry. I was terrified there are moments where I’m still terrified. The reality is but somehow somehow my faith managed to keep me going. That’s what faith does is allows us to put one more foot or get along there so that eventually we can walk along the water. The faith will be there the fear will still be there but for us faith must always grow over fear. The challenge for all of us is how we answer these two questions. The first question is will we get out of the boat? Will we or will we sit with the other 11 and just watch when we do get out of the boat what will we do when the world is buffeting us when the wind is blowing in our face when the waves are rising will our faith in God in God support care and God’s plan keep us above the water or will we start to sink. And one last question when fear does overcome us when we are sinking what will our cry be well our cry be I can’t do it I can’t do it or God help me so I can. God help me. Brothers and sisters may we have the courage to get out of the boat the faith to continue walking and when our faith wavers and fear gets the best of us may we have the strength to reach out and call on God. And now let us respond to God through our gifts