August 13, 2023
St. Andrew Church
Rev. Anne McAnelly
1 O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples. 2 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works. 3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. 4 Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually. 5 Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered, 6 O offspring of his servant Abraham, children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
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, 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, 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.”
There is a joke concerning this text that has gone around for years about three ministers out fishing together in a small boat. One of them, suddenly realizing that he had left his tackle box in the cabin, stepped out of the boat, and walked on the water over to shore. Just then, the second one said he had forgotten his faithful fishing hat on the front seat of the car. He too stepped out of the boat and walked on the water over to shore. When they had both returned, the third minister who had watched this remarkable demonstration with mouth open and eyes wide, reasoned to himself “My faith is as strong as theirs. I can do that too.”
So he stepped out of the boat and promptly sank to the bottom. His two companions dragged him out, but once they got him in the boat, he was determined not to be shown up. He stepped out once more, and immediately sank again. As his friends pulled him out, he sputtered, “My faith is as strong as yours. Why can’t I walk on the water?”
The first two looked at each another and one finally said, “We’d better tell him where those rocks are before he drowns himself” (Sermons.com, David E. Leininger, Mayday!)
With workmen in my house, I often listen to relaxing instrumental music to help me focus. As I started writing this sermon a song came on with water gently rolling on the shore. Amazingly, the sounds took me right back to the Sea of Galilee, the rhythmic waves gently lapping at my feet. The great expanse of water with Tiberius on one side and Capernaum on the other. Last week, we heard about Jesus feeding the 5,000 after hearing about John’s beheading. The feeding took place in Capernaum. Matthew tells us twice that Jesus dismissed the crowd. He was ready for some “me time” after all that happened. Well, “me and God time.” So, he walks up the mountain and prays. I have always seen Jesus taking time to pray as a sign of his devotion to God. But now I am seeing it as a real moment of his humanity. Jesus lost his friend John. He channeled the ability to feed a multitude so he sends his disciples away so he can be alone. Alone with God. He walks a different path for self-care, rejuvenation and faith. He models our need to take time for ourselves and God to listen and wait, to feel our feelings, grieve, regroup before we re-enter the world. If Jesus can send his disciples away, we can certainly take the time we need to care for ourselves and pray. Put down the to do list, set aside the worries of the day, and pause for our own well-being. Jesus walked up the mountain to be closer to God, he walked away from his disciples and the crowd to take care of himself. He did this all before he walked on water!
It is also important to note when he walked on water. The fourth watch is between 3 and 6 am. How many of us have become friends with that time of the night? Sleep might evade us, and we find ourselves alone with our thoughts and fears. Our thoughts swirl in many directions without a real place to land. We can almost be haunted by the worries of the day and want our minds to simply calm, much like the storm. The disciples were terrified at seeing Jesus walking on the sea. The sun might just be peeking up, or they are still awash in darkness, so they cry out in fear. Jesus replies, “Take Heart, it is I; have no fear.” I wish we could hear Jesus saying that to us as we lie awake. I think his words are so much better than counting sheep. I was fascinated to learn that in the Greek, Jesus’ words are even more comforting and powerful. The Septuagint is the Greek version of the Old Testament. Jesus used the same words as God, when God says to Moses at the burning bush, “I AM” (ego eimi). We have translated them “It is I,” but that fails to capture the magnitude of Jesus’ presence and promise as he walks on water. As he addresses their fear. As one commentator writes, “If walking on water weren’t enough to reflect his divine status, Matthew’s Jesus repeats the very words of God (Working Preacher, Nickolas Schaser). If we can only hear God saying to us, and Jesus echoing, “I Am” when we are alone in our beds on the fourth watch. Because circumstances can be frightening. When your boss calls you in and tells you the company has to downsize and they are letting you go, when the doctor calls you with the test results that are not good, when you open that letter from an attorney that says you are being sued, it can scare you. It can devastate you. Lean into God’s presence and comfort, the “Great I Am” as we get tossed by the storms of life.
Jesus walked up the mountain to be closer to God. Jesus walked on water to save the disciples. The storm waves and winds were tossing them about. They were afraid when they saw Jesus walking on water. But Peter shows remarkable faith, asking Jesus to invite him on the water. Even more faith to climb out of the boat, moving towards his Lord. So much faith he walks on water! Let’s not forget that. Yes, Jesus says you of little faith, but isn’t that how it is. We have faith sometimes and we have times of doubt. We are human. But let’s remember that
doubt “puts our circumstance between us and God, but faith puts God between us and our circumstances” (Sermons.com, F.B. Meyer).
Beth Quick tells of her summer as a chaplain in the neonatal intensive care unit. She watched babies born 1, 2, 3 months early, struggle for their lives, struggle to eat, to breathe, to gain even an ounce. The mothers there, whether they considered themselves religious or not, suddenly found themselves having to rely on faith, suddenly found themselves believing in, hoping for, depending on miracles. It was hard for an outsider, even a chaplain, to understand the kind of faith required in this special nursery.
At first, she would look at some of the tiniest babies, some of the 1 lb. babies, and try to be realistic. To prepare herself for the grief, she tried to expect the real possibility that the smallest babies might not make it. She hoped for the best, but tried to balance her hopes with realism, so that she wouldn’t be disappointed if a miracle didn’t happen, so that she wouldn’t be hurt if she did have to confront sorrow and loss. But the mothers there would tell you that this attitude wasn’t what was needed there – they would tell you that no matter what the odds, they had to hope for a miracle, with all their heart, with all the faith they could muster. There was nothing practical about their faith, no consideration for realism in what they dreamed of happening. Perhaps this was the kind of faith Jesus was asking of Peter out on the sea that day. Unbounded faith, unrestrained, unmeasured, uncalculated. Perhaps this is the kind of faith Jesus is asking, demanding, expecting of us (Sermons.com).
We all want faith like that. Faith able to weather any storm. Jesus walked on water and Peter did too. That is true faith! But that is not the whole story. Even as he is sinking, Peter cried out for help, “Lord save me!” Jesus does! He took Peter’s hand and caught him. So even when we doubt, even when the storm winds rise, call out to Jesus and ask for help. You may also want to take some action. Do your part in addressing the situation. Did you notice that once Jesus and Peter got in the boat, the wind ceased. They acted and the storm quieted. Their action led to all being helped. Now that is no guarantee, but it puts both you and Jesus working for the same outcome. It means you are doing your part to move things along. All the while trusting that God is in charge and you are along for the ride. Jesus walked up the mountain to remind us to pray and have self-care. Jesus walked on water to show the power of faith and saved Peter when he doubted. So, I ask you, where will you walk? Are your feet on the path of faith, trusting God will quiet your storms, and catch you when you sink into doubt? Jesus is walking right beside you, the Son of God will reach out his hand and catch you! Amen.
