EIGHTH SUNDAY after PENTECOST

August 7, 2011

Text: Matthew 14:22-33

Pastor Dale G. Bauer

I’m going to do a verse-by-verse Bible study. So, if you will, get out your Bibles and turn to the very first book in the New Testament, Matthew. Go to chapter 14, verse 22. The constitution of this congregation calls Scripture “the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life.”

Let’s turn to verse 22, which goes like this: (22) Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, while he dismissed the crowds. Jesus has fed the 5,000 on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee and sends his disciples in a boat to the western shore. The Sea of Galilee is actually a freshwater lake—not really a sea—at 700 feet below sea level, fed by the river Jordan. It is about 12.5 miles long and seven miles wide. It sits east—and remember, below—the Mediterranean Sea about 30 miles. Most of what you read about Jesus in the Bible happens on or around the Sea of Galilee.

(23) And after he had dismissed the crowds he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. Jesus took time to rest, by himself. His ministry had taken it out of him. He needed time alone, to pray. He needed solitude, silence, and prayer. Solitude, Silence, and Prayer. Solitude is intentionally creating a place to concentrate on God. Silence is pushing away from our distracting and wordy world. Prayer, prayer of the heart, is listening for the voice of God. It is a formula that renews and refreshes. That’s what Jesus was doing as the disciples headed westward. It is what we need to do, if we want a faith that can weather the vicissitudes of life.

(24) ... but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. I mentioned that the Sea of Galilee is 700
feet below sea level. Often and unpredictably, wind comes east from the Mediterranean, descending 700 feet to the Galilee—picking up speed. The valleys through which the wind descends tunnels violently, pushing wind across the sea and against the eastern mountains, the Golan Heights. The winds swirl back, creating huge waves and
cloud bursts. Seems the disciples were caught in one of these storms.

(25) And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. Jesus, God, can do that. I can’t. And I’ve never tried.

(26) But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. There’s that word again, fear. In Greek, the language of the New Testament, the word is phobos. Its meanings include fright and terror. They cannot believe their eyes and they are terrified. Feelings similar to what you and I would experience.

(27) But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid. Jesus knows they are paralyzed by fear. So he urges them not to fear, with a reassuring, loving voice. Kinda like the voice of your mother telling you things would be okay when you just got a world-class scrape on the leg. A spouse’s reassuring voice when you’re waking up from surgery. Or the voice of a distant friend checking up on you.

(28) Peter answered him, “Lord if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Peter’s given name was Simon. Jesus gave him the name petros, Peter. It means rock, and Jesus suggested that at times his faith was like a solid rock. But sometimes I think Jesus called Simon the rock to describe how hard-headed Peter was, as in this instance. “Show me,” Peter says.

(29) He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. Holy Smokes! This guy is walking on water. But not by his own power. It is the power of Christ that allows him to walk. This is extraordinary power, and is given only by Christ. I don’t suggest any of you jump out of a boat in the middle of lake to test your faith. But listen to this: You’ll never walk on water unless you get out of the boat. I’ve quoted Gerald Mann, a preacher, who
suggests most of us are stuck in ruts. Doing the same thing over and over again. I’m gonna say we are bound to our boats. Getting out is hard. Change is hard. I like the familiar as much as anyone else. One of the reasons we ask for a lot of commitment at Cross of Hope—beyond its being biblical—is to get us out of our boats. The reason we have an active prison ministry, Mothers of Preschool, two schools, Special Needs Vacation Bible School, Financial Peace University, along with many other ministries, is that we have been willing to trust Christ Jesus and get out of the boat. There are lots of churches huddled in boats and the boats are sinking.

(30) But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Fear. Hear that word before? Peter got afraid and forgot God. Fear wedged its way in our relationship with God. That happens to all of us. And we begin to sink.

Edwin Friedman, who connected family systems theory to church life, says that there is in this country a “failure of nerve.” We can see it in government. (Don’t need to say much about that.) We see it in the church, where the failure of nerve is reflected in a tendency to value togetherness and feelings over change and launching into the future. On July 24, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, a church Edee and I attended when we first got to Denver, closed. Why? Because the congregation and its leadership failed to get out of the boat and try to walk on water.

(31) Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” If I had the chance to answer, I would have reminded Jesus that my faith, like Peter’s, doesn’t function at 100 percent 100 percent of the time. There are times that it gets very shaky. Thin. Uncertain. You know what I mean. But the great lesson here is that even if my faith is shaky, Jesus is not. He’s next to me always.

(32) When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Jesus can do that, too. He can walk on water and he can stop storms. That’s something that Peter needed to see and understand. And it’s something that I need to see and understand. It is easy to forget in the face of fear. My prayer is, “God give me the grace to see You in the middle of fear.”

(33) And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” I don’t think those disciples worshiped Jesus because he walked on water or saved Peter’s neck. Those are both spectacular. But they worshiped him because he taught them about the power of his presence and the power of faith. And that’s the message for us. We can get out of the boat. Jesus gives us that kind of courage. And when we find ourselves up to our eyeballs sinking in water, he’s there right with us.

Amen.