Pentecost XII, Cycle A

August 11, 2002

The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel

Saint Luke’s Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Lessons:  I Kings 19:9-18;  Romans 10:5-15;  St. Matthew 14:22-33

Hippolytus, an early Christian writer who lived in the late third century was one of the first writers to fully describe how the Church is like a boat, on a storm-tossed sea.  He depicted the seas as the world upon which the Church, the boat, is set;  and the Church is tossed about by the wind, but not capsized or destroyed.  The boat has two pillars, which are the Old and New Testaments.  The fishing net in the boat is used to cast out into the sea, to gather in believers.  The boat which is the Church is a wonderful place of safety and security for disciples—except for one thing, that now and then, we are called to step out of the boat, to go out, into the world.  And then, well, then, it can be like walking on water in a windstorm.

     That’s the picture that’s painted for us in our gospel lesson, where we see, indeed, that the disciples of Jesus are in a boat, on the Sea of Galilee.  Jesus had gone off to pray, to spiritually renew himself, after having fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fish.  And yet, it appears that without Jesus present in the boat, the disciples were off course, so to speak.  St. Matthew says that by this time, the boat, battered by the waves, was far from land, for the wind was against them.  Early in the morning, then, Jesus comes to them, walking to them on the sea.  And of course, at first, they were terrified!  Who wouldn’t be?  They’re out, far from land, and someone comes to them, walking on the sea?  In spite of all the old jokes about Jesus knowing where the rocks were, just below the surface, the message here is clear, that Jesus has power over the wind and the waves—that Jesus is Lord, even of the watery deep.  But the disciples fail to see that, because all they can see is a man, walking on water!  And they’re so frightened, they think it’s a ghost—and they cried out in fear!  But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I;  do not be afraid.”  And all is well, again.  All will be well, when Jesus is once again, with them in the boat.  Except that Peter wants to walk on water, too.  Did he realize what that meant?  Did Peter give a thought to the courage and the faith that would be required for him to do this—for him to step out of the safety and security of the Church, to come to Jesus where he sometimes is, out in the whirling, chaotic world?  Knowing Peter as we do, we can guess that impulsive, impetuous Peter gave little thought to what he was asking.  But Jesus says, to Peter, “Come!”  And Peter got out of the boat, and started walking on the water, toward Jesus.  At Jesus’ command, Peter was able to step out of the church/boat, and walk on water!  With his eyes fixed on Jesus, Peter was able to do something new and marvelous—he was not effected by the wind and the waves of the world around him.  But, alas, as soon as Jesus was no longer Peter’s focus—when Peter was distracted by the strong wind, that stirred up the waves around him, Peter became frightened, and faltered, and began to sink.  And Peter cries out to Jesus for help, and Jesus reached out his hand, and rescued Peter.  And Jesus said to Peter, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”  And Jesus could just as well be asking us, “You of little faith, why do you doubt?”

     Why do we doubt?  A good question.  A better question might be, why do we step out of the boat, in the first place?  For most of us who are disciples, our Church is a safe place.  Our Church is a comfortable place, a place where we feel nourished, and fed, and strengthened.  Our fellow Christians are here, and we know we will be supported and uplifted.  Even when our world is rocked by terrorist attacks, and plummeting stock markets, we huddle together in our churches because here, we feel God’s presence, and know that so long as Jesus is with us, we’re okay.  Why would we disciples ever want to leave our church?  Why would we not, build monasteries and compounds to keep the world out, to shield us from the violence and pain outside?  Why would we ever, step out of the boat?  Because sometimes, that’s where Jesus is, and sometimes, he’s calling to us.  Sometimes, he’s calling us to step out of the boat, onto the uncertain, unsafe seas of life.  Sometimes, he’s calling us to come, help him with the poor, the hungry, the distressed people, in danger of being sucked under by the tossing seas of life.  Sometimes, he’s calling us to come, help him with those who are struggling with drug addiction, with alchoholism, with unhealthy relationships.  Sometimes, he’s calling us to come, help him with those who are lost in un-belief, those who are caught up in false teaching or religion, those who have never heard the good news, of God’s love for them, in Jesus Christ.  Oh, sometimes, we can stand in the boat and cast the nets, and bring in the lost from the safety and security of the Church;  but other times, Jesus calls us to come to him;  to walk to him, out on the slippery, uncertain waters of this world.  Other times, Jesus calls us to walk the downtown streets with him, and to go to the soup kitchen with him, and to volunteer at the homeless shelter with him.  Other times, Jesus calls us to come with him, to minister to our lost sons and daughters, to visit with troubled teenagers in our neighborhood, to sit with him at the beside of an infirmed resident at a nursing home.  And other times still, Jesus calls us to come with him, to speak with a troubled co-worker, to confront a family member, to share His love with someone who’s lost, alone, or grieving.  Why would we step out of the boat, in the first place, to do something like this out in the churning, tumultuous world?  Because that’s where Jesus is, and He calls us to come join him.  Which brings us back to Jesus’ question, “you of little faith, why do you doubt?”  Why do we doubt?  Because at times, we have little faith.  At times, the winds and storms of life assail us, and we are afraid.  At times, our focus on Jesus is lost, and we turn our attention to our own troubles, and trials and difficulties.  That’s why we doubt.  That’s why, at times, we disciples begin to sink and drown in the very world we’re trying to save.  And when we doubt, and when our faith is weak, and when we’re sinking, does Jesus mock us, and tease us?  Does Jesus say to us, “tough luck—you should’ve been stronger!”  Of course not.  Rather, Jesus immediately reaches out his hand, and catches us, and helps us back into the boat.  When we doubt and are afraid, and call out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!”  He does.  He reaches out his hand, and catches us, and helps us back into the boat.  And we, together with those first disciples in the boat, worship him, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God!”  We who are now in the boat, that is the Church, join those first disciples in worshipping Jesus, first, because he calls us to step out to minister with him in the world;  and second, because he is with us, right beside us, when we falter, ready to take our hand and catch us and bring us back to safety.

     I hope that as you sit here in worship, this morning, you feel safe and secure.  I hope that if you’ve had a tough week, then being here at church helps you to experience calm, and peace in the presence of Jesus, in the boat that is the Church.  But you know as well as I, that soon, Jesus will be calling to you and to me, to “Come!” , to step out of our comfortable, cozy church, to join him in ministry to the world.  And you know as well as I, that from Sunday to Sunday, ministering outside the four walls of our church, can be very much like walking on water—uncertain, dangerous, at times, downright frightening!  But these are the keys to walking on water:  we keep our focus on Jesus;  we do what He tells us to do;  we try to remain firm in faith, not doubting ourselves, or Him.  And, when our faith weakens, we cry out to Jesus, “Lord, save us!”  And He will.  Because from the moment we leave the church, till the moment we step back inside;  from the instant we step out of the boat, till we step back in again, Jesus is with us.  Jesus is beside us.  Jesus is our strength and Jesus is our support, and Jesus is our guide, and Jesus is our salvation.  Amen.