Sermon: 8.10.08 If You Can t Walk On It, Then Wade In the Water Rev. J. Lynn James Matthew 14:22-33 I did not grow up around water; I grew up around soybean and corn fields. My first experience with water was the public swimming pool in Farmer City Illinois, where I took swimming lessons at 7:30 am on Saturday mornings before pool heaters were invented, so all of us kids looked like we had berry popsicles for breakfast our lips were so blue. Then, I married a man who spent every summer canoeing in Northern Maine. That water is cold too, but after paddling all day in the hot sun the coldness is pleasant instead of painful. What is painful though is the wind. I am afraid of wind on the water. I read this passage about the disciples caught in a storm on the water in the dark, far from land, and I cringe; that is so scary. Kali was 3 years old the first time we took her on the canoe trip to the Allagash Waterway just outside of Baxter State Park Maine. I was worried about her falling overboard, being frightened by the bugs or the moose that we d see every day walking along the shoreline, or the occasional rapids that we had to paddle through; but mostly I worried about the wind. We were on our last day of the lakes when it happened. We were crossing Lake Umsaskas, the biggest lake right before the river begins, when the temperature dropped and the winds kicked up. 25 miles an hour seems really slow when you are driving a car, but it is fast when you are canoeing against wind that speed. I was terrified. The waves were getting huge. We were getting wet as they splashed against the fiberglass with the words Olde Towne on the front. I looked over at my stepson and his cousin, paddling as
hard as their 12 year old arms could take them and I prayed that their life jackets were zipped all the way up. I don t like this at all I yelled above the wind to my husband. Where is John? Our guide had paddled on ahead of us to set up camp. It s ok, Jack tried to reassure me; canoes don t usually tip. I turned around and scowled at him, pointing to the water that was rising around our ankles. I didn t want to frighten my daughter so I held my tongue, but I could feel tears on my cheeks. The wind was pushing us sideways through the water, no matter how hard we paddled, it was clear that our efforts meant nothing to the wind and the waves. Then I saw him. Our guide had put on his little 5 horsepower trolling motor that he carried for emergencies, and he was put-putting toward us. Reading my mind he headed first to my stepson s canoe and threw them the tow rope. One by one he made his way to all 6 canoes until we were all holding on to the rope of the canoe behind us forming a line behind his. When the waves hit, don t let go of the rope he ordered as he finally made it to our canoe. I gratefully held on even though my hands were shaking from cold and from fear as we slowly made our way straight into the wind and the waves. John told me later that had the wind caught us sideways as we lined up holding the tow rope, it could have pushed us all over which is why we had to face the waves head on even though that meant getting more wet and cold in the process. Life is like that sometimes isn t it; sometimes it is actually safer to move straight into the waves and the winds of our difficulties rather than turning sideways to avoid them.
John, our guide, may not have been Jesus and he didn t walk on the water, he also didn t make the wind and the waves calm down, but at that time I thought about this bible story and had a much better idea of how the disciples must have felt when they saw Jesus walking across the water in the middle of that storm! The disciples are in a fishing boat, in the dark, in the middle of a lake, in the middle of a storm, without their leader. That would have also been a good descriptive metaphor about how things had been going for Jesus and the disciples lately. Let s imagine that an old fishing buddy comes up to the 12 as they are about to get into the boat. Hey guys, so how is the ministry going these days? Well, John answers, Let me put it this way, it s like we re all in a little boat, in the middle of a big lake, in the dark. No, it s even worse than that, Peter adds, It s like a storm is tossing us around and the waves are 10 feet higher than the boat is. Wow, that s rough. So, where is your leader; I don t see Jesus here. Simon answers, He is really upset about John the Baptist Oh yeah, I heard he was beheaded by Herod for inciting political unrest. You know, they say Jesus is doing the same thing. You guys better be careful. That s why we re headed out now instead of waiting until the morning. John was Jesus teacher and friend so he is taking this really hard. He went up on the mountain to pray but he told us to go ahead and get out of here.
So, the fisherman asks, Where are you off to? James responds this time, He is sending us on ahead to the other side of the lake to preach to the (whisper) gentiles there. Gentiles? The fisherman asks crinkling up his nose, You mean those pagans on the Northwestern shores? But, they don t keep the laws of Moses, they are unclean; I mean, they worship the Greek gods and they are loyal to Herod! What are you thinking? And, why are you bothering with them anyway? You know, I heard that Jesus is preaching that your God is more powerful than Herod, more powerful than Caesar! The disciples nod in unison, We know, we know they mumble together. Peter, the rock, speaks up, But Jesus is always reminding us that Jews have always known God; it is those who worship Herod and the gods he threatens them with, that need to hear about Yahweh most. I think we d better go now. The fisherman shakes his head, and waves as he says God be with you. The beheading of John the Baptist was a terrible blow to Jesus and the disciples. It was a reminder of how dangerous their work was and the persecution that surrounded them. Verse 25 says that they were out in the middle of the lake early in the morning but the literal translation means the fourth watch of the night-between 3 am and 6 am. It is dark. Why are they in a fishing boat in the middle of the Galilean Lake, in the middle of the night? Usually, night crossings are about escape, hiding, using the cover of darkness to minimize danger. I think just getting into that boat was an act of bravery, of obedience by the disciples.
Is getting into the boat, going where Jesus tells us we are needed, still an act of great bravery? Does following Jesus still take us to places where others think we are crazy to go? Does the good news still threaten the powerful and embolden the exploited or does our religion sustain the status quo and betray those who are hungry, who are suffering, and who are rejected by the respected? What might Jesus have to say to those who want to cut funding for those programs that feed and clothe, provide day care and medical care for children, and while subsidizing big business and corporations and payoffs, and banks? Are there still Herods that seek to squelch the gospel message-the good news that God is the God of all creation, of love and mercy and transformation, of life that lasts beyond death, of love that always, eventually brings hatred to its knees and violence to an end? What are the messages that work against gospel today? Where do you hear the voices that defend injustice and ridicule and dehumanize those who are poor and hungry, justifying those who are rich and powerful? And have you heard too, the ones who insist, like the Herods of Jesus day, that the water is under their control, that the wind and the storms obey their commands, their petitions? Ironically, I think it is most often Christian preachers who do this, who blaspheme God s character by insisting that God is the One who sends devastation because of human sinfulness. God is never the source of a storm; God is never a punitive parent who beats God s children into submission. Any time you hear someone, anyone, making God responsible for evil, for destruction, for punishment, remember this story. Jesus is not on his way to condemn the gentiles, but to love them, to heal them, and to pronounce them as also God s beloved.
Jesus doesn t save Peter because Peter had superior, perfect faith; he saved Peter because he didn t! Even when Peter, the rock, began to sink because he doubted Jesus, because his faith wavered along with the waves, Jesus reached out, picked him up, put him back into the boat, and only when Peter is safe does Jesus say, I know you doubted that is was me; but I never doubted that you will go on to do great things Peter, in spite of your wavering faith. Wavering faith does not cause miracles to fail. People don t die from cancer because they didn t have enough faith to be healed. People don t end up in car accidents or doctor s offices because God wants to teach them a life lesson. Bad things happen because there are many powers at work in the world, and wherever this is happening, Jesus is walking through the storm of life to lift them up because when the waves are high and the storm is fierce, he knows that even those like Peter who are usually as solid as a rock, sometimes waver in their faith. Anytime you hear a preacher condemn someone to hell, because they are of another faith, another culture, another skin color, another opinion, another theological belief, because of a sin, a mistake, a wrong turn remember that the disciples are risking their very lives on the sea in the middle of the night, because those are the kinds of folks who Jesus ministers to and has sent them to minister to. Jesus comes to the disciples saying: Courage. I AM HERE. Do not be afraid as he sent them to preach love and forgiveness and purpose to those who did not know the God of Moses, the God of Abraham, the God of mercy, compassion, and inviting instead of coercive power. Where do you need to hear this message? Courage. I AM HERE. Do not
be afraid. Where in your life does it feel like you are in a small boat, in a large lake, on a dark night, in a big storm? Hear Jesus telling you, Courage. I AM HERE. Do not be afraid. As left, he gave us the gift of one another, to remind each other of this. Amen. (copyright 2008, Lynn James, all rights reserved)