Step out of the boat 1

Transcription

1 Step out of the boat 1 I saw a cartoon once, where Jesus is walking on water, and one guy in the boat says to another guy, that s no big deal, you just have to know where the rocks are. 2 I expect they were mainline Christians. There s no miracle, you just have to understand the natural explanation. You know, like last week Jesus fed the 5000 families by getting everybody to share. But however you understand the water, the really clear point is, the disciples are terrified. Their boat is being battered by the storms. Imagine a fishing boat, caught up in a tsunami. The story isn t so much about the water. It s about fear. A lot of these guys were fishermen, so of course they d have stories to tell in the context of boats and storms. That s where they would get afraid. And so in today s gospel, they are going across the lake in a boat again. And Jesus has disappeared. The night before, he climbed up the mountain to pray. And I think that s a significant little point. Jesus isn t afraid of the storms here. He surely had reason to be afraid of the storm, just like they did. Good chance that a storm that sent waves battering a boat would capsize it and drown them all. 1 Notes from a sermon given by Paula Harris at St Luke s Episcopal Church. The relevant readings can be found here: 2 Published in The New Yorker magazine before 2008; I have long since forgotten when.

2 2 I think the way Jesus addressed his fears was through prayer. And through that night of prayer, he woke up in the morning with so much serenity and spiritual power that the Bible pictures him as walking on water, in the midst of a storm. Jesus turned to God in the fearful situations of his life. And when his friends saw Jesus and they didn t recognize him, because who floats over lakes? Ghosts, right? When they didn t recognize him, but he introduced himself, then Peter also is ready to conquer his fears. I ve told you before that every time a heavenly messenger comes, people are terrified. Angels are always saying, Fear not. Or Don t be afraid. Because when God invites us to do something, it s usually past what we are doing already. When God begins to invite us to grow and change past our status quo, it brings up our fears. When God invites Moses to go back to Egypt, speak to Pharoah, and deliver the people of Israel. When God invites Mary to have a baby who will deliver us all. When God invites us to step out of our normal patterns, the boat of life where we are relatively safe, you and I tend to be afraid. So God s messengers say, Fear not. And Jesus says, Fear not to his friends this morning. Earlier this week the daily readings told the story of Gideon, who was a general in the Old Testament.

3 3 But at the time the story started, he wasn t a soldier yet, he was just a shepherd. And God came to Gideon the shepherd - and said, Go, deliver your people from the Mideonites, [who were oppressing them], you mighty warrior. And Gideon s like, who me? And God says, yes, fear not. And so several times, Gideon tests the message. (Before a person does something dangerous, the message better be clear.) Gideon says, If this is really God speaking to me, then I ll put out this sheepskin, and in the morning, let it be wet. And it was. But he still wasn t sure. And it was. So the next night he said, If this is really God, then I ll put out this sheepskin, and in the morning, let it be dry. So finally he went ahead and gathered an army and beat up the bad guys. (It s an Old Testament story.) But my point is, when a person thinks God is inviting them to do something, the first step is to go back to God and check in. That s what Jesus does. He goes up the mountain to pray all night. That s what Gideon did, and some of the other famous people in the Bible. That s what Peter does. Jesus, if it s you out there on the water, then call me to come to you! And that s what I should do, and you also. But you know.

4 4 Stuff gets in the way, of us hearing God, and of us obeying God. It s both external stuff. And it s internal stuff. For Peter, the wind came up, and it started to blow him. (External circumstances.) And then his own fears also came rushing in. And there is a third thing that gets in the way of a person hearing and obeying God. It s other people. The Bible doesn t need to tell us what the disciples were thinking and saying, in the boat (beyond that they were afraid) and the reason the Bible doesn t tell us, is because you and I think that also. Is Peter crazy? Is this real? That whole walking on water stuff? You see what I mean. It s easy enough to guess what the disciples were thinking. So. What does it take, for Peter to get up enough courage to get out of the boat, and walk to Jesus? What does it take? So my questions this week are, where s your boat? What kind of weather is in your life just now? And looking around yourself, where is Jesus coming to you? Can you recognize him? Where is Jesus inviting you to step out?

5 5 The wisdom that the gospel offers you and I today, is that when I figure out what my boat of safety is, and when I figure out where Jesus is coming to me, sooner or later I ll feel afraid. Might be external, a storm, or lack of money, or something like that. Might be internal. Just my anxiety. Might be other people, afraid for me. Or of me. But the wisdom of Jesus is, fear not. Go to God in prayer, have courage, and step out of the boat. Link to our Facebook page to comment on sermon