Matthew 14: 22-33
Everybody here probably knows that life can sometimes be a trial.
When I first came to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, I really thought that I was now going to have a life unencumbered by difficulty, why worry, I have Jesus with me and like a line-backer, or a snow plow, he is going to clear out all the difficulties and make it easy sailing for me.
It took a while for me to discover that it doesn’t work that way. I began to find myself in the situation similar to the disciples in today’s gospel.
It was after a powerful time of ministry and Jesus needed a break, some quiet time to pray. There is a good example there for all of us. To do ministry we need to have rest and prayer to be effective.
So then Jesus sent the disciples in a boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
They were being obedient to what he told them. Still they found themselves in difficult straits; buffeted by a storm, fighting against the waves, they were at their wits end.
And they became afraid- having doubts and fears about how this situation will turn out–whether Jesus cared what happened, or whether he was there at all. They saw their situation in reference to the dangers about them and their own inabilities to deal with those dangers.
In 1982 God called me to go to seminary. Because of a number of God incidences that were too many to doubt, I was convinced he was sending me.
So I really believed he was going to pave the way for me and everything was going to be fine.
We had an accident on the Alcan leaving Alaska. When we got to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary we couldn’t find a house so we ended up renting a room in an unfinished house that leaked when it rained. Without a bed for the first few weeks I slept on a pile of carpet pieces. And by the end of the first semester I was pulling a D- in the first theology class I ever had but that’s another story for another sermon!
I had discerned in a number of ways what Jesus told me to do, and yet it was still very difficult sailing. I heard myself, more than once, just like Peter and the disciples in the boat probably asked, did I not hear the Lord aright? Am I doing something wrong? Hey, Lord I’m doing what you want, right? Are you there? Do you care? What if I’m wrong? What if I don’t make it!
Can you relate to that? Do you ever find yourself in that storm-battered boat in life? Doing what you believe God called you to do, using all your abilities, and yet finding a struggle?
It may be in your marriage…it may be in family relationships, kids, in-laws. It may be health issues, issues of facing your mortality. It may be in your job or career.
These struggles measured against your own abilities, give birth to a fear—fear of failure, of pain, of death. Fear that maybe God is not there—and that is the root of doubt.
In the disciples’ situation, Jesus came to them in their problem, reminding them that he is there and not to be afraid. Often we fear the difficult experiences of life only to discover later that these experiences actually bring Jesus Christ closer to us.
In their case, Jesus walked to them on the water through the storm, not calming the storm but meeting them in the storm, and then they thought he was a ghost; a phantasma, which to them as sailors was the sure confirmation that they were going to die.
Why did they not recognize Jesus? Because they were not looking for him, they were focused on their circumstances. They jumped to the false conclusion that the appearance was that of a ghost, confirming their worst fears, without any reference to Jesus.
The late Ann Landers, the newspaper advice columnist, used to receive an average of 10,000 letters each month, and nearly all of them from people burdened with problems. Asked one time, if there was any one problem which predominated throughout the letters she received, she replied that the one problem above all others seemed to be fear.
People are afraid of losing their health, their wealth, their loved ones. People are afraid of life itself.
Fear and faith cannot live in the same heart, for fear always blinds the eyes to the presence of the Lord. Scripture tells us, God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Tim 1:7).
So it is significant that Jesus’ first words to the terrified boaters is “take heart; it is I. do not be afraid”. This is the same exhortation that God gives to Moses, Joshua, to some of the prophets, to the people of Israel in various places—people called by God to obedience, and who then endure storms of one sort or another. Be courageous, fear not for I am with you.
Then there is Peter wanting a confirmation that it is in fact the Lord. He said to him, if that’s you Lord, prove it, let me walk on water and Jesus says come, and Peter did. He obeyed Jesus.
That was a pure act of faith. Who can walk on water? Would you have stepped out of the boat if you were Peter? I might have but I would have had a coast guard approved flotation device with GPS locator and strobe, with a safety line around my waist. I would have hedged my bet, and that is not faith.
Jesus calls Peter to himself, to walk on water and he starts off okay. He was walking on the water.
Then the text says that when Peter saw the wind, when he began to look at the storm and the conditions around him, when he took his eyes off Jesus, he began to sink.
Who knows what went through his mind. I think of our little Lily when she accomplishes something a bit challenging like climbing up the slide; she puts her arms triumphantly in the air and cries I did it. Maybe he was thinking it was his own abilities….and then maybe he became aware of the danger of his circumstances and realized he was in over his head…in a real way.
Whatever it was, he took his eyes off Jesus. He let go of the fact that in being obedient to Jesus, it is Jesus’ power that enables to attain his aims and ends not ours. Paul affirms that truth when he proclaims: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil.4:13)
Distracted by his predicament, or his trust in his own abilities, he sinks and he cries out to Jesus “save me”, and he does, saying to him: You of little faith, why did you doubt?
Jesus then apparently takes Peter by the hand and walks with Peter over the remaining distance to join the others in the boat. Peter continued to walk on water—but arm in arm with Jesus. Peter was nearer to Jesus—his faith more solid, after he sank then before.
My nephew Matt and other physical trainers at my gym have told me you have to fail to succeed. In order to build muscle, you have to push the muscles to the point of failure if they are to get stronger. It seems the same with faith.
Whatever Jesus calls us to he will bring it to completion. We may fail along the way, but in the end, his will is done and our faith will grow stronger.
When they got in the boat, the text says, the winds stopped. I often wonder, did the wind really stop or did they just not feel threatened by it anymore? Did they just not notice the storm anymore because they were overwhelmed by Jesus in his power, in his presence with them, his commitment to care for them?
The text says then: “and they worshipped him”. And isn’t that the heart of worship: to be completely focused on the person of Christ—to be so captured by his presence –so caught up in his presence that all our worldly concerns shrink into insignificance?
In that moment the disciples knew Jesus in a new way, and their trust and faith in him grew.
Now Jesus has probably not appeared to us in such dramatic ways, some might have that dramatic of an encounter but most not. What he does remind us is that he is there with us whatever we are going through—whatever storms—if you are being obedient to the Lord, if you are attempting to live life according to his commands. If you are trying to do what you believe he has called you to do. Keep your eyes on him. He is with you even when you think you are in over your head.
Today we commission our volunteers for VBS. Some of them may not feel well equipped for this ministry this week, some may feel afraid of what can go wrong, fear failing in their respective ministries as a hoard of 200+ little ones descends on this campus. Hear the Lord—fear not, take heart, I am with you.
In whatever storms we find ourselves in following Jesus, remember: keep your eyes on Jesus, not on the circumstances. See the problems in relationship to Jesus’ ability to deal with them, not your ability. Pray like Peter: Jesus save me, when you are at the last ropes, when you are doing all you can and it’s not enough, pray that profound prayer of faith and I think you will find him faithful to meet you.
Grab his hand, let him walk you through it and you might even feel like you are walking on water. And I guarantee your faith will grow.
Sermon preached by the Rev. Richard C. Marsden
The Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota, Florida
The 9th Sunday after Pentecost
10 August 2014