When Walking on Water – Don’t look Down

Matthew 14:22-33

click to listen

Years ago I led a group from my church on a Holy Land Pilgrimage to Israel.  We visited all the usual sights:  Bethlehem where Jesus was born, Nazareth where he grew up, the Jordan River where he was baptized and Jerusalem where he was crucified and resurrected.  Everywhere we went we found a chapel or church or shrine that commemorated every miracle, every sermon, and every event described in the New Testament. Each of these chapels or churches or shrines were built by either the Roman Catholic, or Orthodox, or Coptic churches because they have been around longer and early on staked their claim. Always when you entered there was a donation box at the door guarded by a nun or priest or volunteer and it was expected that you make a contribution before you go in.

However, there were no Presbyterian Holy sites because they were all taken by the time we came along and I thought we were missing out on a lucrative continuing revenue source. Then one day we went on a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee and then I got this great idea.  We could anchor a Plexiglas raft in the middle of the lake just inches beneath the surface of the water, and put a donation box on it with a sign, “Jesus Walked Here”.  Tourists would come and put their money in the box, stand on the raft so that it would appear that they were walking on water and have their picture taken. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the Israeli government to go along with that, something about being a navigational hazard, so the lake remains unmarked to this day.

Today, we will follow Jesus on that lake and find that he may lead us in a direction we’d never thought we’d travel, but before we do let us pray:

 Gracious God, your word is very near, on our lips and in our hearts. As this Word is read and proclaimed, by the power of your Holy Spirit, make it become in us the word of faith. Then send us in joy to bring this word to others who also need the good news of salvation. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

      The story begins in solitude on a silent and holy night: Jesus in prayer by himself and the disciples out for an evening sail across the lake.  In those days they did not have the Weather Channel on cable.  They could not call up the local weather radar on their cell phones, so they were surprised when out of the blue a storm stirred up.  When that happened what did they do? Well, Jesus kept praying, the disciples kept rowing.  Why?  Because that’s what you do when the going gets tough. You paddle and pray. You soldier on, put your shoulder to the wheel, your nose to the grindstone, you keep on keeping on, and in case that is not enough you ask God for a little help.

   Now the Bible says the storm began in the evening, but Jesus did not show up to help the disciples through the storm until the fourth watch sometime between 3 and 6 in the morning.  He left his disciples bouncing around in that washing machine on Galilee for 8 or 10 hours or so. Why the delay?  Why did he not immediately take a stroll across the water to save them?

     Well, it doesn’t appear that they thought they needed saving.  Many of them were fishermen after all and they’d been through rough weather before. They thought they could handle it.  They thought they could take care of the problem themselves, and people rarely turn to God when they think they can take care of things by their own strength or wisdom or will. Most of the time we only turn to the Lord in prayer when all else fails. So, they were not afraid of the storm because they had weathered storms before.   They were however very afraid however when they saw Jesus walking on the water. In fact the Bible says they were terrified.          

            

   Storms they had seen before, a man walking on the water they had not.  It is the unknown and the unexplainable that always turns our heads. We crane our necks to see what is coming around the corner.  We search the horizon so that we will not be surprised by a downturn in the stock market or a doctor’s diagnosis.  We want to be prepared for the future.   It is why we take such comfort in the routines that repeat themselves again and again. We like our patterns. We like our customs and traditions because we understand them.  We know what’s coming.

   When Jesus walked up to their boat the disciples had no idea what was coming or even who? That’s why Peter asked the question, “Is it really you Lord?” He didn’t believe his own eyes.  He didn’t believe his own ears when Jesus said, “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid.”  Peter was not the only one to do that.  People ask that question, “Is it you Lord?” all the time.

     I can’t tell you how many times people have asked me the question, “How can I know the will of God for my life?”  They usually ask that question when they  have a sense, a feeling that God is calling them to do something new, something they’ve never done before - maybe help teach a Sunday school class.  They know there is a need.  They know it is important.  They know that children matter and that they are the future of the church.

  But, then they’ll start to question themselves, “Do I know enough about the Bible?” “Will I be good with children?”  “What if I want to go to the shore on Sunday morning, or golf, or shopping, or sleep in?”  Then, they’ll tell themselves “Someone else could do a better job” or “Let someone else do it.”  By the time they’re through with all the questions and excuses they’ve forgotten that all of this began with God’s call speaking through a divine whisper, “will you teach my children?  Will you care for my children?”  They’re asking, like Peter, “is it really you Lord?”

      Like Peter, they’ll want a sign, something big and bold and dramatic so that they know for certain this is what God wants them to do.  That’s why Peter said, “Lord if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.”  Note, this was not Jesus’ idea.  Jesus did not say, “If you really believe get out of the boat and prove it.”  Peter was the one who wanted to step out in faith, maybe to test Jesus, or maybe to test himself and find out whether he really believes or not and whether he has what it takes to be a disciple.  For whatever reason Peter said, “ask me to come to you and I will.”

     Jesus did.  Peter took those first steps of faith and initially he was unafraid.  Why?  Well, he kept his eyes upon Jesus.  He was like a toddler learning to walk.  Do you remember when your little one took his first steps, her first walk by herself?  He or she pulled himself or herself up by the coffee table and you were sitting on the sofa a few feet away.  You held your hands out and called to your child, “Come to me.  Don’t be afraid. You can do it!”  Your little boy, your little girl wanted to come to you in the worst way, but they were fearful because they had never walked before and the three feet between you seemed to them like the Grand Canyon.

  Tentatively she let go of the coffee table and then grabbed it once more.  She looked to you with your arms stretched out and then back to the coffee table that seemed so solid, so safe, and so secure.  She was thinking, “Better to hold onto a sure thing then let go and do something I’ve never done before.”  Then you called again, “Come to me, don’t be afraid.  You can do it.” She trusts you.  She loves you.  She believes you want the best thing for her.  She wants to make you proud. So, she let go of the table and toddled to you on shaky legs with arms stretched out wanting only to cross that three foot chasm to fall into your arms.  And then halfway there realizes that the coffee table is behind and out of reach and you still seem too far away, and then dog barks or a big brother laughs and she turns her head and realizes, “I’m standing by myself and I’m not sure I can do it.”  Do you remember what happened next?  Your little boy, your little girl just sat down on the floor.  Better to be safe than sorry – to sit down rather than fall down.

      This week while driving to church I listened to a program on NPR called Tech Talk. The President of Pixar which produced “Toy Story” an many other animated hits was speaking about the corporate culture of this innovative company.  He said he encourages his people to “Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before.”  That’s the only way you will grow.  You have to be willing to try something new. You have to be willing to fail. And yet most of us, being human and thus fallible yet proud, go to excruciating lengths to avoid making mistakes, then once we inevitably do, we take great pains to hide them from ourselves and the world.

     He said in a fear-based, failure averse culture, people will consciously or unconsciously avoid risk.  We’ve met parental disapproval in the past when our report cards didn’t measure up and we received criticism as work for trying something new that didn’t quite work out. We don’t want to fail so we stay in the boat. Better instead to repeat something that’s safe and that’s been good enough in the past.  Better to sit down – than fall down.

      That’s what happened to Peter.  When he took his eyes off of Jesus and focused on the wind and the waves he lost sight of his savior and began to sink. The same thing happens to us.

    I’ve been a pastor a long time and couldn’t begin to count the number of committee meetings and Session meetings and Presbytery meetings that I have attended over the years though it feels like it must run into the millions.  I’ve been doing this during a trying time when the church has encountered many problems inside and out.  We’ve had to face the reality of declining membership and an aging membership and budget shortfalls.  We’ve had to think about societal and cultural shifts in morality and ethical questions unknown to pastors of previous generations.  So, when we have committee meetings and Session meetings and Presbytery meetings we tend focus on the problems that seem to be too great for our resources and abilities and wisdom to solve. We know the world is changing and we need to adapt new strategies to tell the old old story in a new new way, but we’re not sure how.  We’re more comfortable in the boat we know than on the changing seas. It can feel overwhelming.  Like Peter we get that sinking feeling and we’ll soon be over our heads.

    That’s exactly when we need to do what Peter did. When he began to sink he reached up and cried out, “Lord, save me.”  He turned his eyes upon Jesus once again and believed his love would be greater than the wind and the waves. When Peter did that, when his focus turned from the wind and the waves and onto Jesus, he immediately reached out his hand and caught him and pulled him up. 

    Meanwhile back in your long-ago living room. Do you remember when your toddler finally got back up and tried again and crossed that three foot chasm and fell into your arms?  Do you remember the pride you felt, the joy you felt?  Do you remember the smile on his face or the joy in her eyes?  Do you remember the hugs?

 These would just be the first steps of many. Others would follow: steps up to the plate for the first little league game and what did you say, “Go ahead a take a swing.  You can do it.” And if they struck out what did you say, “That’s O.K. you’ll hit it next time.”  Later they would step up on a stage to receive a diploma, and what did you say, “I’m so proud of you, you can do anything.”  Later she would step up the aisle of the church with you on her arm to take her wedding vows before God, and what did you say, “I love you.” But, those first steps you’ll always remember because that was when love conquered fear for the first time.  That was when faith overcame doubt.  Why, because he or she was looking into your eyes with love and trust and faith.

     That’s what Peter felt like.  That’s what the disciples felt like because the last thing we hear from them in that storm on that lake was, “Truly, Jesus, you are the son of God.”  This was the first time in the Gospel of Matthew that we hear these words from them.  As surely as Peter found the courage to step out of that boat and onto those waves, they found the courage to say out loud what many had been thinking but were too afraid to say.

     Make no mistake this will take courage. There is no guarantee of success if you try something new or step out in faith.  Say out loud you believe Jesus is the son of God and you may in some circles find yourself criticized, ostracized and in some countries crucified. Try a new program or ministry and it may work or it may not, and if it does not there we sadly be some in the church who will say, “I told you so.  I told you that would never work.”  But, if we learn anything from this story it is this.  It is still better to step out in faith than to sit down where you are because you are never going to get to where you want to be if you stop moving, stop trying, stop reaching.

  So, keep your eyes fixed upon Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith.  Don’t look at your problems like a deer in the headlights paralyzed by the coming catastrophe.  Don’t be distracted by the wind and waves.  The wordsof an old gospel hymn sums it up:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Let us pray. Help us, O Lord, when the storms of life assail us, to entrust ourselves to your mercy, that you might draw us out of the waters that engulf us, and place us in the safe harbor of your love, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.