Out To Sea

Matthew 14:22-33

August 10, 2014

Jesus walking on water.

Christ Walking on Water
B.J.O. Nordfelt

 

That’s the story here today.

It’s so familiar, it’s almost a cliché

Walking on water.

Even people who’ve never read the bible

have heard it.

Jesus has just fed the 5000 plus people.

And he stays behind to close things out with them.

And while he’s doing that,

he sends the disciples off in a boat.

And while the wind takes them out into

the deep part of the water.

And while they’re there,

they see a figure walking on the water.

Sometimes, it seems to me in this story,

like Jesus is getting used to the amazing things he can do.

He’s trying things out – “hey, look, I can walk on water.”

At first the disciples are scared,

but they realize it’s Jesus. Jesus is walking on water.

Jesus calls out to them. “It’s just me, don’t be afraid.”

And Peter is maybe emboldened by Jesus presence,

or moved by the Spirit,

or just trying again to impress Jesus he tries it himself.

He tells Jesus to command him to come out into the water.
And Jesus does. “Okay, Peter, come on”

But the wind is high and Peter freaks out and he starts to sink.

He calls out to Jesus, “Please save me”

And he does and then Jesus tells him:“You of little faith, why did you doubt”

Now what I’ve mostly heard and understood

about this story was that Jesus was disappointed

in Peter because Peter doubted.

Peter doubted that he could walk on water.

His doubt caused him to faltered and become afraid

and he couldn’t do it.

So then the morals of this story are

Don’t take your eyes off of Jesus. Don’t ever be scared

If you don’t let your faith falter, then you won’t fail.

“If you just believe enough, you can do anything.”

But I struggle with that interpretation.

So if I believe hard enough I can do it?

I can walk on water?

If this were true, you would think there would be

some Christians who could do it. I’ve known many with a faith

that couldn’t be shaken for anything.

If you just believe in yourself, you can do it.

That sounds kind of like that individualistic American

self-determination kind of theology more than Jesus.

So maybe I’m just a cynical person,

but my main trouble with seeing this story that way is that

Peter can’t walk on water. He never walks on water.

Even in Acts, he’s filled with the Holy Spirit, he is corageous,

he sees the power of God working all around him.

Peter performs other miracles that are recorded in Acts,

but we never hear about him walking on that water.

No one walks on that water but Jesus.

 

When Peter falters, he yells out to Jesus “save me”

And Jesus reaches out and catches him.

I think the doubt that Jesus was pointing out

was not Peter’s doubt in his own ability.

Jesus was pointing out Peter’s doubt that

Jesus would be there with him.

The disciples are out in the sea.

It says that the boat was battered by the waves,

it was far from the land.

The sea was a dangerous place, as it was now.

In mythology, it represented chaos, trials, suffering,

it also represented times of transformation, change,

Everyone has a time out in the sea.

Death, loss, divorce, illness, change,

regret, conflict, shame, sadness.

And in this metaphor of the scary sea,

Peter has the courage to walk out in it.

But when he falters, Jesus is there with him.

Sometimes we are called out of the relative safety of our boats.

Out into the Chaos. Sometimes we’re asked to do the impossible.

We try to do too much on our own.

We attempt to do things that are beyond our ability.

And often, the laws of gravity are against us,

we find that we can’t do it.

And even when we fail, Jesus is still with us.

Why do we ever doubt that?

 

And did you notice, just before this,
Jesus fed 5000 people with five loaves and two pieces of fish.

A pretty amazing act, statement and testament to Jesus divinity.

But it was in the midst of the raging sea that the disciples

really see Jesus for who he his.

Only then do they say “Truly you are the son of God.”

It’s only then that they really feel God’s presence with them.

Our life is like that too.

It is those times of trouble and trial and chaos and even failure

that we really recognize God with us.

As a people of God, our life is not about

succeeding and achieving,

It’s not about the power of positive thinking.

It’s about having courage to continue.

It’s about trying and often failing,

It’s about staying in the boat sometimes

and sometimes it’s about walking out of the boat and sinking.

But it’s always about knowing that Jesus is there right along with us.

There are no answers that are right for every age and time

There are no fool proof solutions to living our lives.

But we know that we can’t do it alone.

We cannot walk on water.

We are just learn to trust

that God will be with us.

through windstorms and waves.

Through trying and failing and even through drowning.

We know that Jesus will be there.