Could you put yourself in this
situation? Imagine that you’re walking along with Jesus and he says, “Head on
over to the other side. I’m going up the mountain. I will catch up with you
later.” Is that something you could really imagine; maybe? Then imagine you
agree, you get in the boat and head off…not thinking about what he meant with “I’ll
catch up with you later.”
You are in the boat and out of
nowhere, this storm kicks up, the wind is blowing, and the water is almost
taking the boat all the way over. That is not a fun place to be, is it? It is
not something that a person plans for but yet storms can come up pretty quickly
whether it is on land or water. This storm has gotten the disciples thinking
“this is it! We’re not going to make it through this!”I think there is something that needs to be explained about this particular story of Jesus. This sea or any large body of water was to be avoided by the people of Jesus time. They would go out to fish, but it was not anything like deep sea fishing excursions we might tend to think about. They stayed close to the shore. One of the reasons is that the sea represented chaos. Waves crashing was part of the unorganized nature of things; it was the place where dangerous and deadly creatures lurked; some might say it was where evil resided. So this place that could cause so much hurt, pain, and disruption was to be avoided whenever possible. That would make sense to avoid it, wouldn’t it?
So, they are in the boat and they see this shadowy figure coming out to them. Through the waves crashing, the wind blowing, and all this fear they see Jesus coming to them. He tells them “take heart, it is I (sidenote: the original Greek language of the New Testament uses the phrase “I am” not “it is I;” where have we heard that before?). “Do not be afraid,” Jesus says. I don’t know about you but those words would be little comfort to me when I think a wave is going to throw me over the side!
Then we have “brave Peter.” Peter tells the Lord to command him to come, that happens and when Peter is almost there, he gets frightened and begins to sink. Peter cries out to the Lord “Save me!” and Jesus does. Jesus plucks him out of the water and we hear those words “you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Brothers and Sisters, I do believe that we can imagine being in this story; in this boat. I am sure there have been at least one time where we can relate to this story. I believe that we have all experienced the chaos and uncertainty of our world; whether it is the loss of a job, a loved one, being stressed out because there is not enough time in the day to do what needed to be done, work piling up and being asked to do more with less. We can all relate to that storm that pops up on the disciples. We can recognize it as individuals and we can recognize it as a congregation. Congregations are not immune from having these feelings at times; feeling lost or trying to figure out a future. These are real feelings that every person and congregation will go through in our lives.
When those times come, how do we react? These circumstances can bring us to a bad place where we may say or do things that can be hurtful, say things we don’t mean or do things we would not normally do. We do them because we are just trying to figure out how to survive amid all the turmoil and, to be honest, sometimes our faith gets so shaken that we cannot possibly think that God is present or walking with us through all this.
This is when God calls us to hear, “Take heart, I am.” When the storms come up, we can take Peter’s lead with a twist. Instead of waiting till we think we’re going to get tossed over the side, how about, we ask for the Lord to be with us…to save us before things, anything happens?! It may sound a little drastic but why not ask for God to be present in all that we do? It doesn’t have to be some dramatic crying or wailing and gnashing of teeth, but maybe it is a simple statement like “God be with me today.” OR “I’m gonna need your help with this one, God.” Or simply say “hi” to God.
The Good news is that through this scripture reading we hear Jesus continuing God’s promise to be with us. We know that because Jesus doesn’t say “you of little faith, how could you and I am out of here!” Instead, Jesus gets into the boat. He takes Peter back to the boat and they get in! If that were not the case then the Gospel of Matthew would or should have ended right then and there; BUT IT DOESN’T!!!!
The Gospel continues on because there is more to the story. And part of that more is that Jesus saves Peter from the chaos, he does not let the wind or the water consume the people that are following him. Despite their lack of faith, he does not give up on them. He continues to invite them to hear the Word of God, Learn the Word of God, and live out God’s love for the disciples. Just as they are invited to all of this, so are we. We are invited to hear, learn, teach, and live out the Word of God in a world that is so broken; where that chaos of the ocean can be seen, where our lives can be disrupted by so many things and so many events that it can rattle our faith.
BUT, Jesus still invites. He invites to continue learning about the Word of God, the love of God and the promise that death does not have the last word and that nothing can separate us from God’s love. Jesus also invites us to invite others to hear, learn, teach, and live out the word of God. We are called to share all the blessings that God has given us and share them with strangers, with communities, and among others who believe in Jesus Christ; as well as those who may have never heard the Word of God before; to share God’s love with those who need to know that they are cared for and loved.
Today, we know the chaos in our own lives and in our world. My prayer is that we all call on our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ to save us when we need saving, to pray with us, and to be with us at all times: Thanks be to God: AMEN!
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