August 13, 2023 Sermon
Sermon title: "Peter Walks on Water....for a While!"
Scripture: Matthew 14:22-33
(Other lectionary choices include Genesis 37:1-4 and 12-28, Psalm 105, and Romans 10:5-15.)
Matthew 14:22-33
Jesus Walks on the Water
22Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 25And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. 27But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid." 28Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." 29He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
The title of the sermon reminds me of the unintentional joke that occurs in many bulletin bloopers. The one I am thinking of says, "Sermon for this morning: Jesus Walks on Water. Sermon for this evening: Looking for Jesus." Peter indeed walks on water at the command of Jesus. But when he looks around, he begins to see the stormy ocean, he gets scared, and he begins to sink. Jesus reaches out and saves him, of course, but not without chiding Peter just a little bit. He says to the Big Fisherman, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"
Let me put in a good word for Peter here, if you don't mind. I think one reason he is so loved by Jesus is that he is so enthusiastic. When he sees his Master walking on the water, he instantly says, "Lord, let me come visit you on the water.!" Jesus says, "Come ahead!" Peter jumps into the water and starts walking toward Jesus.....but then he notices how strong the storm is, he gets a little afraid, and he begins to sink. Poor guy! Jesus saves him, of course, but not without a little bit of chiding. "You of little faith", he says. "Why did you doubt?" Did Jesus really have to say that? Maybe so because it's in the Bible. But you know what I think? Peter is ALL of us, you and me. He is eager to please his master, but when the storm gets a little tough, he gets a little afraid....and isn't that just like you and me? Jesus does save him, but not without a little bit of chiding. He doesn't let him sink, of course, but he does criticize his lack of faith. By the way, none of the other disciples asked Jesus to let them walk on the water. But PETER did! Maybe his faith at that time wasn't as strong as it could have been, but he DID leap into the water, and none of the other disciples did that!
You have heard me quote the Biblical scholars N. T. Wright and William Barclay. Barclay is the Scotsman who died in 1978. N. T. Wright is still alive and the Bishop of Durham in England. Today I am going to quote from another favorite of mine, and that's William H. Willimon. He is a Methodist who grew up in South Carolina, and maybe is 10 years or so younger than I. For a while, he was Dean of the Chapel at Duke University in Durham, NC, and Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church. His take on today's Scripture reading is that perhaps the story of the boat on stormy seas represents the early church shortly after Jesus left the scene. Perhaps the seas of life were becoming a little bit stormy, and life was not easy for the early church. Please remember that the Gospels were written after Jesus had walked the earth. So that boat in which the disciples found themselves might represent the early church AFTER Jesus was raised and had ascended into heaven. And as things started to get tough. maybe some of the believers were beginning to ask, "Now what?"
One of the things Willimon says is this: "Jesus does not just command us to venture out into the storm with him, as he does Peter. He also comes to us in the storm, climbs into the boat with us...." What this may be is a reassuring resurrection story. "Our hope on good days and bad is that Jesus, God's Son, is in the boat with us. God with us, in the storm."
That's pretty good insight, isn't it? Somebody might offer the thought that Jesus probably KNEW that a storm would come up, and yet he told the disciples to get into the boat, anyway. Why would he do that? Any ideas? Let me suggest this, although it's William H. Willimon's suggestion, not mine! "Sometimes we think of faith as a matter of calm, serene rumination and thoughtful consideration that ends in, 'I believe'. But this story suggests that sometimes faith is what comes to you in the middle of a storm, in the dark, when Jesus comes to you and says, 'It's me.'"
Willimon thinks it's no accident that we have this story in Scripture about 20 Sundays after Easter. "This story is a preview of the resurrection," he says. "The disciples are alone. Jesus has left them. It's dark. Then, just about dawn (the same time as the women went out to the tomb), Jesus appears to them.....At first they don't recognize him, just as the disciples didn't recognize the resurrected Jesus. None of them expected Jesus to be raised from the dead any more than anyone expected Jesus to appear to them on the waves. And Jesus says, 'It's me.'"
As you have heard me say about the parables, there isn't only one right answer. So maybe this isn't a story looking forward to the Resurrection. Maybe this one is looking back after the Resurrection in order to give the struggling church hope. "Perhaps some in Matthew's church were in danger of losing heart, doubting that the resurrection of Jesus really happened. Maybe Matthew told them this story to encourage them, as if to say, 'The resurrection - Jesus bringing saving life out of death - wasn't a onetime event. This is what Jesus does all the time.'"
Isn't that great? Isn't Willimon's insight great?
Where are you this morning? Sitting quietly in church, or is there a storm going on around you? Are you like Peter, about to go down for a third time? Are you full of doubt, in danger of perishing, with darkness all around you? Willimon says then you're in a great place to be met by Jesus!
Says Willimon, "There's a promise implied in today's scripture. In the storm, in the dark, he will come to you. The waves that are crashing around you, the waves that threaten you, are no problem for him (Jesus). He speaks to you, saying, "I'm not one to be feared; I'm your savior."
Finally, Willimon has this to say: "I know people who think the best place to get 'spiritual', the best way to grow closer to God, is to go on a retreat, to withdraw from the struggles and strivings of everyday life, to go to a monastery or alone to a mountaintop. Today's scripture suggests otherwise. It's in the storm, when Jesus has cast you upon the sea, sent you out on a mission, made you to sail, and then, in the storm, amid wind and wave, in the dark, it's then, right then, that Jesus speaks those saving words: 'Be encouraged! It's me. Don't be afraid.'" Amen. And I thank the Rev. Dr. Mr. Willimon for his great insight.
Pastor Skip
