Faith Through Risk
Matthew 14:22 – 33
Our lesson this morning picks up right where our lesson for last week left off. Jesus had just learned of John the Baptist’s death and went by himself to pray over this sad event. But, his popularity was rising, and the crowds were determined to get near him, to see him, touch him, be healed by him.
They found him on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, and despite his emotional state, Jesus had compassion on the crowd and healed the sick and taught them. The day went long and the people needed food. Rather than sending the people away to find their own food, Jesus miraculously provided a full meal from just a few portions of food. He fed 5,000 men that day; including women and children it was probably more like 15 or 20,000.
After the disciples had fed the crowd, as the crowd dissipates as night arrives, Jesus sends, compels his disciples on to their next stop, a town across the Galilean Sea. And Jesus finally finds the time to be by himself and to pray to His Father, time that he had been looking for, time to reflect on the death of John the Baptist and what it means to his ministry. In the meantime, the disciples are following Jesus’s direction to go on ahead of him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee and late in the night, a storm comes up.
This the second time that the Disciples are on the Sea of Galilee when a storm strikes. Now remember many of the Disciples are fishermen and they made a living sailing and fishing on this body of water. They grew up here, played in the sea as children. Jesus called many of them to follow him from the banks of the Sea of Galilee. But we have two occasions where the weather and the rough seas got the better of them.
The first one the disciples found themselves out at sea during a storm, only that time Jesus was with them, asleep in the boat. At the height of their fear and concern for life and limb they wake Jesus, saying don’t you care if we all die? Jesus rises and tells the wind and the waves, Peace, be still, and they were calm. It was a lesson for all of us that when we have Jesus, we should all be at peace, be still when the winds blow us around. Be calm when the waves of life toss us to and fro.
This situation seems a bit more bleak. This time Jesus is not with them in the boat. The Disciples left him going up the mountain to pray to his Father. The disciples must feel that are out there on their own, utterly vulnerable to the wind and the waves. Once again they are afraid for their lives. Then shortly before dawn, in the darkest time of the night, out in the distance they see a figure apparently walking towards them.
It was dark but maybe with the flashes of lightning they can make out this figure, seemingly walks above the water, across and through the waves. And their reaction sounds like something that we might come up with which is it must be a ghost. What else could stand on top of stormy waters but a spirit? If they weren’t already scared by the storm, this sight must have rocked them to their core!
But Jesus senses their fear and immediately identifies himself. Our scripture today tells us that he says “It is I” but in the original Greek, Jesus uses the same word that God uses as his name when talking to Moses through the burning bush. Jesus says “I AM” The Disciples would have taken great heart in hearing that phrase. “Take courage”, Jesus says, “Do not be afraid.”
The Disciples believed that Jesus was far away, the scripture today says, the boat was already a considerable distance from land. They believed that he was on a mountain somewhere else, unable to help them. But in his omnipresence, Jesus knew that his faithful, his beloved were in trouble and needed him.
So leaves his place of sanctuary and goes to them, walking out onto the water to be with them in their time of trouble. You see Jesus always comes to be with His faithful when they are in need. This part of the story today, as Bishop Palmer would say “will preach”. But it is a different lesson for a different day!
But back to the Disciples on the boat. Peter cries out to Jesus for proof that it is him. “Lord if it is you, call me out to meet you on the water” Peter says. Jesus tells him to “come” and Peter, always the adventurous disciple and the risk taker, tries to do exactly that.
He gets out of the boat, gingerly, I would imagine, and steps out testing the footing on the water and his it holds. He locks eyes on Jesus and begins toward. First one tentative step and then another more confident step and then another. All the while his eyes fixated on Jesus.
Meanwhile the eyes of the Disciples, and maybe all of Heaven are fixated on the risk-taking Peter. They are astonished at his showing Faith Through Risk. They are amazed and astounded at the sight of the risk-taking Peter standing on the water, yet all around them the storm is still raging.
Then we’re told that Peter “saw the wind”. What an interesting phrase “saw the wind”. He must have seen all of the rain and waves and clouds swirling around him. He saw what the winds were doing to buffet him, to increase the danger.
In that moment He took his eyes of his Savior, let his faith lose its’ focus, and he looked around him. And what a ridiculous scene he saw! He was standing on the water in the middle of the Sea of Galilee in the middle of a storm! His human doubt began to take hold of him!
What was he doing? Why was he there? He was going to get hurt, or worse, die! These waves were too much; the wind was too strong! What was going to happen to him?! He began to sink, began to drown.
Notice what Jesus did. He didn’t let Peter sink and say, “Oops, you really should have trusted me, kept your focus on me. Sorry.” Did he even let him “suffer” a little bit in that water before ultimately rescuing him.
No, Matthew who as one of the disciples and was an eyewitness to all of this, says that Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him. There is a slight reprimand on Jesus part, “Why did you doubt?” but its tone is one not of scolding but encouragement: “Why doubt? Why do you waver. Remember I will always take care of you when you show Faith Through Risk on my request!”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Lutheran pastor, theologian, and anti-Nazi dissident commented on this scene as a great image of discipleship: the dichotomy of Peter responding to the call of Jesus to come out into the storm, to show and grow in Faith Through Risk but apparently coming up short.
Rather Bonhoeffer says that Peter had to leave the ship and risk his life on the sea, to learn both his own weakness and the almighty power of God. Bonhoeffer says that if Peter hadn’t taken the risk, he would never have learned the true meaning of faith. Rev Scott Dickison tells us that “Faith, for Bonhoeffer, is accepting the call of Jesus to step out into the water. Of “risking something big for something good”.
With that risk comes an important part of faith, which is learning our own weakness. Learning our limits, what it feels like to fail, to come up short, reminding ourselves that we can’t do it all and we certainly can’t do it all by ourselves. And then learning how it feels to be taken into the outstretched arms of the one who called us out into the storm in the first place so that we find greater Faith Through Risk.
Hear the Good News my Friends…….
In the midst of that storm, Jesus takes the disciples back to Old Testament, to the Moses and the Burning Bush. There God promised Moses that he was the one that always had been with him, was with him then, and would be with him in the future.
Because he is not just the God of the past, as if he did his work and now it’s over. Or that he is just the God of the future. That he will get to his work sometime when he’s good and ready.
But friends, He is the God in the present, always there to help, protect, support, and forgive his people. Jesus shows himself to be an ever caring and protecting God by doing something no person could ever do, walk on the stormy sea.
God continues to be the great I AM for us as well. We may well feel like our lives are a stormy sea, and we’re being buffeted by the waves as the Disciples were on the boat night. We may well be in great danger or trouble, filled with cocern and apprehension. But Jesus comes to us in the middle of all that torment and says, “Take courage; don’t be afraid, I AM.”
One final story, there is a story about Donald Coggan, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, in the Church of England, who was traveling by train through the English countryside, when a young Anglican seminarian noticed him across the aisle. The young student was positively thrilled to see him, she introduced herself, and began to engage the Archbishop in conversation.
They spoke at length during the trip about life, ministry and faithfulness, as the student sought to soak up as much as she could. When the train reached the station, they prepared to part. They exchanged the usual pleasantries: “Dr. Coggan”, she said to him, “this was such a thrill. Take care.” She turned to leave, but felt his hand catch her arm. “No my dear,” he said, “If you are to perfect your faith do not seek to take care, but rather seek Faith Through Risk”.
Like Peter we will face many circumstances for which we are completely unprepared, and the circumstances we face from day to day will change. But the one constancy we have in this life is Jesus. As we go through life focused on an intimate walk with Jesus through each and every circumstance, we learn how to apply his consistency to our circumstances.
He tells us to step out in faith, step out of the boat and onto, not into the water but, onto the water! We need to take the risk of faith that he requests, that he requires of us in order that we can find the balance between our strengths and weaknesses and also our reliance on the supporting hand of Christ that keeps us from sinking, that keeps us from drowning in our sea of doubt.
We should all learn from Peter that Jesus calls us to come to Him, to go for Him, to learn Faith Through Risk all the while keeping our eyes focused on Him and on Eternity.
So the next time Jesus tells you to step out of your boat, out of your comfort zone and step out into something completely unimaginable, take the step boldly and confidently remembering the one to calls you out into the storm will be there to support you through it all, every time! Amen.