Unsinkable

Scriptures:       Genesis 37:1-28;  Psalm 69,  Romans  10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33

 

 

 

Today’s Gospel reading gives us the story of Jesus walking on the water.  Of course, due to the miraculous nature of the story, there are attempts to explain it by natural phenomena.   For example, there’s the story that when a Sunday school class heard this story, one of the kids whispered, “I think Jesus must have known were the rocks were.”

 

Our Gospel reading today picks up where last week’s about the feeding of the 5000 left off.  Remember that, having been rejected by his hometown and having just learned of the execution of John the Baptist, who had been Jesus’ mentor, Jesus needed some downtime, some alone time.   He had tried to go to a deserted place to pray, but the crowds found him, and Jesus instead ended up holding first a healing clinic and then a banquet.  We can imagine that by the end of all this Jesus, who had been running on low batteries to begin with, was utterly drained, energy reserves near zero.  And so it’s understandable that Jesus got his disciples out of the way by commanding them to get in the boat, dismissed the crowds, and went off by himself, finally at long last, to pray.  He needed to talk to God, needed to recharge and refocus.

 

By the time Jesus was done, the boat with the disciples was far from shore, and it was the wee hours of the morning.  At this point Jesus began walking on the water toward the boat – and the disciples were freaked out, thinking they’d seen a ghost.  But Jesus reassures them with the words, “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid.  Peter still has doubts, and so he answers Jesus, “Lord, if it’s you, command me to come to you on the water.”  I want to do what you’re doing.  And amazingly enough, Jesus indulges Peter, saying “Come”.  And then Peter began to walk on the water.  But when Peter takes his eyes off Jesus and sees the wind and waves, he begins to sink, and cries to Jesus for help.  And Jesus said to Peter, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they were back in the boat, the storm ceased.

 

We may think this is a nice miracle story, a nice story to tell the kids in Sunday school, but wonder what it has to do with us.  But really, this story is all about us, because the story is all about the church.  In times past, the church was often pictured as a boat on the sea, and in fact in church architecture, the main part of the church, where we are now, is called the nave…..this word comes from the word for sea, and in the ceilings above us – especially for churches with a curved ceiling, the ceiling reminded people of the bottom of a boat.  . 

 

The thing about a boat is that it’s not supposed to stay on shore or tied to the dock all the time.  A boat isn’t meant to stay on dry land, but to go out on the water.  If you don’t want to go out on the water, you don’t need a boat.  In the same way, the church isn’t meant to stay in drydock, but to carry us out into the sea of life….where there will be wind and waves, times of calm, and times of storm. 

 

The boat that the disciples were on was a small boat, and vulnerable.  It’s not like they were sailing on a battleship with guns blazing, or an aircraft carrier.  Rather, it was a small fishing boat.  And that’s a picture of the church, a sometimes-fragile place, out in search of disciples.  Particularly here at Emanuel, we feel the fragility – small numbers, smaller resources.  Sometimes it feels like one big storm or one big wave – such as an unexpected large repair bill – would sink this place.  And yet, by the grace of God, the Good Ship Emanuel is very much afloat – afloat and moving forward. And not just we as a church, but we as individuals.

 

And  yet each of us go through life with the wind and waves swirling around us.  How can we keep from going under.   We would do well to listen to Jesus’ words to his disciples:  Take heart.

It is I.  Do not be  afraid. 

 

Take heart – Other translations are “Cheer up!”  “Have courage”  “Keep your composure”…..in other words, “stop freaking out!”.   We may remember other times when similar words were used – when the Israelites were at the end of the Red Sea, seemingly at a dead end, and Moses said, “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see God’s mighty deliverance.”  Or at the Last Supper, when Jesus said, “In the world you’ll have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”  I think those on Facebook have seen various versions of the picture that says “Keep calm and carry on”.  That’s what Jesus asked of his disciples, and what he asks of us.

 

It is I  -  At first, the disciples didn’t recognize Jesus as he was walking toward them – understandable, as it was the wee hours of the morning and he was at a distance.  Do we have the spiritual vision to recognize Jesus’ presence among us?  More than that, the original Greek words used by Matthew, “Ego eimi”, recall the divine name, “I am”.  When life has us freaking out, we can find new courage in remembering that God is, and that God cares.

 

Do not be afraid -  This is the message we hear consistently throughout the Gospels – when the angel came to Mary to announce that she would be giving birth, and when the angel came to Joseph to tell him to take Mary as his wife, the angel said, “Don’t be afraid.”  And on Easter morning, when the women came to the tomb and saw the stone rolled away, the angel’s first words were “Do not be afraid.” 

 

Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid – These were Jesus’ words to the disciples, and are Jesus’ words to us.  Do not be afraid – despite all the turmoil our world and our country are going through.  Do not be afraid – despite how fragile our own lives seem.  Do not be afraid.  Do not be afraid.  Keep calm and carry on.

 

In our Old Testament reading, Joseph likewise had to take courage, to trust in God and not be afraid.  His own brothers were considering killing Joseph and ended up selling him as a slave – and while Joseph as a youth comes across as a fairly annoying person, he certainly didn’t deserve what his brothers gave him.  But even when he was down in a pit, even when he was in the land of Egypt serving the Pharoah, even when he was imprisoned on false charges, God was with him – and this faith sustained Joseph, to the point where everyone around Joseph could see that God was with him.

 

Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid – words for us who are sailing on the Good Ship Emanuel through stormy days.  Let us not be intimidated by the wind and waves, but rather “keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was waiting endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).  Amen.