Pentecost 12

Pentecost 12 WELCOME ABOARD! 8/4&7/05

Jesus has just learned that His dear friend and cousin, John the Baptizer, has been brutally beheaded…Jesus has just taken and blessed 5 small muffins, given them to the disciples, fed an estimated 10-20,000 people, and 12 baskets of leftovers are collected…then, reading Matthew 14:22 in the Phillips Modern English translation, “Directly after this Jesus insisted on his disciples’ getting aboard their boat…while he himself sent the crowds home.” When we read John 6:15, Jesus’ rather aggressive dismissal makes more sense. Here we read that after the feeding of the multitude, the crowd wanted to converge upon Jesus and forcibly make Him a king. It was a dangerous situation, and the disciples might well have complicated it, for they too were still thinking of Jesus in terms of earthly power. Jesus sent away His disciples because a situation had arisen with which He could best deal alone. The disciples sail off, the crowds disperse, and Jesus heads-to-the-hills for one single-minded purpose. Matthew records: “Jesus went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.” Is it any wonder? But, I wonder…is time for solitude and prayer what we seek when we feel the world is caving in all around us? Another sermon, for another day…

Jesus prayed throughout the night by himself. We read in Matthew 14:23 “When evening came, he was there alone” and the next mention of time comes in Matthew 14:25: “During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to His disciples.” The Living Bible reads “about 4 o’clock in the morning,” whereas most translations specify “the fourth watch”---“Between 3:00 and 6:00 o’clock in the morning.” We know that Jesus spent six or more hours in solitude and prayer before leaving His mountain retreat.

The disciples, meanwhile, encountered a storm on the Sea of Galilee, and according to the Greek, “…the wind was dead against them.” Then, in the midst of the sea and storm, Jesus appears, walking to them on the surface of the water. I don’t know why Jesus chose this form of transportation. Was His purpose to join the disciples in the boat? Did He intend from the start to calm the storm? Was Jesus merely taking the shortest route available to the other side of the lake? The insight I glean is this: walking on water is undoubtedly a miracle…there is no biblical evidence that Jesus performs miracles for His own benefit…therefore, it seems accurate to assume Jesus was coming to the storm-tossed disciples for the purpose of helping them.

The storm didn’t seem to frighten the disciples; rather, Jesus’ appearance is the source of their fear. Jesus calls out, identifies Himself, and tells them that they need not be afraid, to which Peter responds with a remarkable request: “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” You’ve got to love our Lord’s response! “come.” Peter, if he attended high school and if they published high school year books, would have certainly been called “the one most likely to open his mouth”! Whether it is Peter’s remarkable confession about Christ (Mt. 16:15-19) or his big-mouthed misunderstanding of Christ’s mission (16:21-23) or his bold protests (John 13:4-11) or bold promises (Mt. 26:31-35) or his vigorous denial of Christ (Luke 22: 54-62) or his bold proclamation of the risen Christ (Acts 2:14ff, 3:11ff, and 4:8ff), Peter is the one most likely to say something. But, trusting Jesus, Peter does walk on water, until he literally loses his focus. He “sinks” and the Greek word literally translated means “not being able to complete or finish something.” Many a Christian, and Christian congregation, has been unable “to complete or finish something” because faith weakens and focus wavers.

Consider this: When a believer, who’s been trying to manage alone, finally asks to be saved, Jesus is close-at-hand! Re-read our Epistle lesson for further evidence! Additionally, did you notice that when Jesus and Peter get into the boat, the wind ceases and the disciples begin to worship. Sadly, the disciples don’t worship until AFTER the storm abates---a sequence still popular today! We are the modern-day disciples and we are in the commissioned boat of Christ and we are worshiping. We know that, as we leave this “harbor”, we must navigate some storm-tossed seas. Christ is calling us to claim the faith, demonstrate the courage to step out on the “waters,” and take on something deeper and more troubling than even the roughest seas. A member shared this statement with me: “A believer know that wherever providence may drift, God is steering it and that reassuring knowledge prepares him for everything.” Whether it’s the upcoming ELCA Assembly and the controversy anticipated…or each of us, as the plates are passed, considering a possible tithe---a 10% financial partnership---to continued ministry of Jesus Christ through Grace Church…may we keep our focus upon Jesus---“step out” to what He calls us to do, what He enables us to be when we walk hand-in-hand with Him! When God guides, God provides. AMEN.