The Miracle of Stepping out in Faith

August 9, 2020 The Rev. Mark Pendleton Christ Church, Exeter The Miracle of Stepping out in Faith Matthew 14:22-33 22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land,[a] for the wind was against them. 25 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 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. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid." 28 Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind,[b] he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." By late summer in this three-year cycle of gospel readings, we are settling into some classic Bible stories. Today we move from the feeing of the 5,000 to Jesus walking on the water. Before we dig into the text, a brief word about miracles. It is a word that is not the exclusive domain of religious folk. It is used and tossed around pretty freely even today with our reliance on technology and innovation, as in, it will be a miracle if an effective vaccine arrives by the end of the year, or it will be a miracle if a team that is so far behind in the ninth inning or fourth quarter is able to come back and win the game. Or it would be a miracle if this preacher could get through a sermon without any pandemic reference - which I've already failed at. The New Testament uses different words for miracles (categories taken from Bible.org). The first has to do with an act of a supernatural being. So-called "ordinary people" in this case would not be makers of miracles. Jesus Christ would certainly qualify. Another word points to the unusual nature of an event - one that does not happen every day. The sun rising each morning and setting every evening is amazing and can fill us with awe and wonder but it would not quality as a miracle. Another word points the purpose of miracles. What is the point of water turning into wine and 5,000 people being feed with a few scraps of bread and fish? The purpose of miracles is to support the message of the one performing them. When the apostles started performing miracles after the resurrection their standing as bearers of the Gospel increased. It's also a good thing to think about the context of the story. How might a miracle be seen by the crowds looking on, or the close-knit group of disciples who had left everything to follow him? Or what might a miracle mean for the person being healed - the man who before could not walk, the women who bled for 12 years, or the child who was left for dead, or the blind man, or the leper who was shunned by everyone he had ever known. Miracles can mean different things to different people. The last hurdle might be the most important for us: what does it mean or say to us when we read of such unusual supernatural events from 2,000 years ago? Do they invite us to trust in God and Jesus more? Is our faith deepened or left unchanged? I wanted to start with the topic of miracles in general this morning so that we don't get stuck on the 'how' - as in how in the world did Jesus do what he did -- to move onto the 'who' and arrive, eventually I hope, at the 'why.' Today's story of divine hydroplaning is rich with images, sound, metaphor and miracle. What words or phrases stand out for us? If we assign the walking on the water to the miracle category of the Bible, what was the greater miracle, so to speak, that early morning? Was it Jesus walking towards the boat or Peter getting out of the boat to come to Jesus? What took more faith from our favorite disciple Peter: stepping out and possibly sinking or asking for help -- crying out "Lord, Save me" and receiving the outstretched hand of Jesus who caught him? For those us who find it hard to ask for help and receive what others wish to give us and share, it is miracle territory indeed. And as always, all good Bible stories should reveal something about God and the life we have been called to lead. The beginning of the story if you notice is abrupt. With baskets full of bread and fish and so many having been fed, immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat to go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. There was not post-game rehash of the events of the day. Jesus goes up the mountain by himself to pray. For Moses, for Elijah, for Jesus, mountains are places to encounter - to draw close - to the living God. Life for those who followed Jesus continued as he prayed alone. His fisherman disciples did what they did: they went fishing by night. They were in a boat far from land, perhaps 3-4 miles off shore. And the wind was against them. If they were rowing to return to shore, rowing against the wind would have only made them even more exhausted. When one is really tired, it is not hard to imagine that you start seeing things in the distance. How hard is it for us to enter this story? In a boat, far off from shore and what we know and gives us comfort, cast about by the waves and wind, trying to work against nature's forces and feeling more and more exhausted. I would suggest: not very hard. Since mid-March, I have heard news accounts of the hardship and burden of seafarers and sailors who have had to remain out at sea as many ports of call have closed and countries have sealed their borders. I received an email last week that reported that two of our largest navy ships have been ordered to keep moving and avoid all ports. The Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier has been at sea for over 200 days, setting a new record - and not an enviable one. Those in charge are doing what they can to keep the sailors' spirits up for these extended deployments: they schedule concerts, basketball tournaments, BBQ's and random contests. For many civilian seafarers, serving on large container vessels, their plight is even more precarious and isolating as they are a long way from home with very few ways to come ashore and find their way back home. We probably do not consider enough the lives of those who serve on the many ocean vessels that bring many of the items we consume and use each day from around the world. It is interesting how language of boats and the sea have entered our everyday language to convey a host of feelings. When we see that the future looks bright, it is "clear sailing." If we hit a rough patch in our lives when we are all over the place, so to speak, it can feel as if we are "drifting." When we don't want people to disrupt our moment or way of living, it was the late great Reggae genius Bob Marley said it best: please don't you rock my boat. 'Cause I don't want my boat to be rockin' anyhow. I'm tellin' you that, I like it a-like a-this. ("Satisfy My Soul") When a bunch of disciples get into a boat in the Gospels it is a cue in the Bible that a test or trial is coming -- a storm is on the horizon. We can imagine the terror and confusion that the walking-on-water Jesus gave to the disciples. "It is a ghost!" They, like you and me hearing the account today, had no early idea of how this was happening. If there is any doubt that you and I are not messiahs or miracle workers, we would be the first to say that we cannot walk on water. People like us do not walk on water. But on that early morning those on the water quickly learned who it was who was coming near them. "Take heart, it is I." They moved from the how to the who -- "Truly you are the Son of God" and would soon come to understand the "why." Jesus told them "do not be afraid" - these calming words we hear again and again in the Gospels and repeat to ourselves -- and to Peter he said, "Come." And out of the boat he went. What I love about this story is that at first, Peter seems to be pulling it off. He got out of the boat. Good for him! We love Peter. He literally stepped out in faith. He is walking towards Jesus, in the moment, when, the strong wind reminded him how frightened he was and lo and behold he begins to sink. I have a sinking feeling, so to speak, that you know what it means to feel like you are sinking. Being over our head with responsibilities, duties, tasks, worries, unrealistic expectations of what can be done in a given amount of time. Parents trying to keep their children engaged with online leaning: sinking. Trying to pay the bills when there is less or no money coming in: sinking. Realizing that the long- planned trip or wedding or reunion will not happen this summer or this year: sinking. Feeling isolated and just wanting a comforting hug or simple handshake: sinking. Feeling like no one is in charge of this whole unraveling moment in our nation's history: sinking. Yet, in one of the more hope-filled verses and images in the Gospels, Jesus immediately reaches out his hand and catches Peter. Oh, to be caught when we stumble or fall or sink. We echo this image in our familiar birthday prayer we pray each month: strengthen them when they stand and raise them up if they fall. What we know from the story is the wind finally calmed down when Jesus and Peter got in the boat with the others. Storms do not last forever. We hope and believe: we will get to the other side of all of this. And when currents and wind push against us and make everything harder, that is when we need to reminder who is at the center of our storms. Not the cause of the storm, but at the center. If it is us alone, well that is pretty empty and lonely place. When we let God meet us where we are - tired, discouraged, afraid and at times without direction - then we might just make it to shore to live another day of wonder and blessing. And that my friends might be even a greater miracle. 2