Pastor Mark Nieting
Matthew 14:22ff
The story of Peter’s walking on water – or his attempt to walk on water – is known to just about everybody. It’s inspired a number of jokes involving golfers, priests or rabbis walking on water, or at least knowing where the stones are!
It’s a wonderful story that I hope will connect in some way with every one of us at Hope this morning, because this story isn’t just about Peter. It’s also about you and me, and about Jesus’ calling us to get out of whatever boats we’re hanging on to. So as we consider it, I hope you’ll ask yourself, “Where am I in this story?” Am I still in my boat? What IS my boat? Have I stepped out of it and begun to walk toward Jesus on the water?
Matthew, Mark and John all record the story. Jesus had just finished feeding the 5,000 when he made his disciples to get into their boat and head back across the Sea of Galilee. Meanwhile, Jesus went up a mountain to pray. When evening came, a great storm blew up. The waves battered the boat and the wind pushed them farther and farther from land. Matthew doesn’t say anything about them being afraid – not yet, anyway. Most of them were seasoned fishermen who spent their lives on this sea and who figured they’d be okay as long as their boat held together. So they kept on rowing and bailing through the long, dark night, trying to outlast the storm.
Sooner or later, every one of us passes through a great storm. It may be a storm that batters your marriage and you can’t seem to make any progress against it. Or it may be a storm that blows one your kids far away from where you want him or her to be. It may be a storm of some terrible disease in your body or in the body of someone you love. Or the storm of depression that threatens to drag you under. Whatever the story and whatever the storm, they make us hunker down as the skies grow dark and the winds start blowing – the storms of war and what that can bring, the storm of the economy, the storm of unemployment, the storms of terrorism and an uncertain tomorrow for all of us.
Maybe you think you’re tough enough to handle it. Maybe, like these disciples, you’ve been through storms before and you’ve got yourself a pretty sturdy boat and a pretty sturdy self. You tell yourself you’ll be all right as long as you cling to that boat (whatever it is). But according to our story, salvation isn’t found in the boat. Salvation is found in the one who comes to us from outside the boat, in the midst of the storm…….salvation is found in the form of Jesus, who is always WATCHING us.
By the wee hours of the morning the disciples had been fighting the storm for at least six hours now. They had to be exhausted and they were still nowhere near getting back to Capernaum. Somewhere between 3 and 6 AM [the old expression “it’s always darkest before the dawn” comes to mind] they see Jesus coming toward them, walking on the water. That’s when they get really scared. Interesting, isn’t it? It isn’t the storm that terrifies them. It’s the unpredictable Lord who shows up in the storm. At first they think they’re seeing a ghost. That’s what fear can do to us. Jesus is always watching us. And He always waits for the right time to come to us!
Jesus gets closer and finally He says what He always says when He shows up, “Don’t be afraid. I am here!” Whatever the storm is, He’s always nearer than you thought. No, he’s not in the boat, not yet anyway. He’s out there – where the wind is raging and the waves are pounding. Jesus isn’t usually found in places of safety and security. More often than not, Jesus is found in the teeth of that terrible storm, in that dreaded worst-case scenario, in that one thing you and I most want to avoid. He’s in the Valley of the Shadow of Death far more often than He is in the Green Pastures!
Let’s face it……if our lives were all “Green Pastures Moments” would we even call out to Him? Would we feel a need for Him? I’m reading a wonderful book written by a US Navy Chaplain, Lt Carey Cash. The book is called A Presence at the Table. It’s the story of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines in the battle for Baghdad in 2003. These Marines, baptized by the dozens before the battle, got involved in what Oliver North called “the worst day of fighting for U.S. Marines.” They discovered in that battle what they may never have discovered back home: God’s presence could be richly experienced even in the presence of enemies.
That’s both SCARY….and WONDERFUL. Tf Jesus is out there – where it’s not safe, where all heck is breaking loose – is that where He wants US to be too? We signed on to be his followers, didn’t we? That’s what FAITH IS! And he’s out there – in the scariest places we can imagine, and when He calls us, we’re going to have to get out of the boat.
STEPPING OUT
So, where are you in this story? Here are a couple questions I’ve been asking myself this week. First, what is the boat I’m in? What is the boat I cling to for safety? Our “boat” is whatever gives us a sense of stability and security. It may be our job or our financial portfolio. It may be our health or our home. It may be our family or our friends, or even our routines! What exactly is that boat for you?
And the second question is: How might the Lord be calling me to step out of that boat? It may be that the Lord is calling us to come to him, to leave our comfort zone and take a risky step of faith. It might be as huge as a career change. It might mean getting into a personal ministry – spending time with some junior high kids or helping some senior saints manage their finances or going on a mission trip. It might involve facing some broken places in your past or dealing with some hurts in your present relationships. It might be simply asking a friend or neighbor to join you in church on Sunday. It might be asking you to move to the middle of the pew! Whatever it is, it means stepping out of what seems like safety and security and stepping into what seems like miracle territory – walking on water.
Peter says, “Lord, if it’s really you, command me to come to you on the water.” And Jesus says, “Come.” And, bless his heart, Peter takes that first step out of the boat, and then another. And things are going great. But then Matthew says, “He noticed the strong wind.” He takes his eyes off Jesus and sees the next big wave headed for him. And very quickly it dawns on him: “What was I thinking? No WAY this is going to work!” Have you been there with Peter? I certainly have.
To be perfectly honest, I feel like Peter every time I get out of that boat there – that pew I sit in Sunday mornings – and step up into this pulpit to preach. Every sermon is an exercise in walking on water for me. After all these years, I find the first few steps aren’t very difficult. It’s about now, when I’m pretty well into the sermon, that I notice the strong winds. Or in this case, I notice the stifled yawn, the glazed eyes, the blank expressions. And that’s when I become frightened, and feel like I’m starting to sink.
I’ll bet some of you have your own version of this story. You step out into a new job, but the work isn’t what you thought it would be. The move has been harder on your family than you imagined. This deployment has been longer and the kids have acted out more. The wind and waves hit and you start to sink. Or, you’re married, believing with all your heart this is the one, but then the arguments flare up and the mistrust sets in. The wind and waves hit and you start to sink. Or, you agree to help with a church ministry, thinking that’s where the Lord called you, but the task is harder and takes longer than you planned. The people serving with you turn out to be all too human. The waves hit and you start to sink. Or you’ve made a commitment to tithe and you’re doing it and then something happens…..and the wind and the waves hit and you start to sink.
ARE YOU A WATER WALKER?
There was Peter, walking on water and doing fine. Until he took his eyes off Jesus. Until he noticed the strong wind. Until he noticed the waves at eye level. Until he started to sink and cried out, “Lord, save me!”
And before Peter could get the words out of his mouth, Jesus was there – reaching out and catching him. Can you imagine the scene: Peter gasping for breath, and the Lord holding his arm and saying to him, not in anger but in love, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
If you’re a follower of Jesus, it’s a pretty sure bet that at some point in your life he will call you to step out of your boat, out of your comfort zone. That’s the way he works, with individuals AND with congregations. And when we respond to that call, when we begin to walk on water, that’s when fear hits us. We take our eyes off the Savior and that’s when we begin to sink.
But all we have to do is cry out to Jesus who immediately reaches for us. We were never in the danger we thought we were. Jesus is closer than the wind and waves. If we try to walk on water sooner or later we’re going to fail. But it’s not really failure – as Jesus is near. Failure is when we’re too afraid to try.
Remember two things about this story, will you? Remember, first, that Jesus comes to us across all the different storms of life. No matter how dark it seems, no matter how alone we feel, Jesus never forsakes his own. At the moment we need him most, he will be with us. I know some of you are facing difficult storms right now. I pray that you hear the voice of Jesus saying to you, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
And second, remember it takes the power of God to walk on water. You can’t do it on your own. Are you a water walker? Here’s how you can tell. By identifying what you are doing today that you cannot do apart from the power of God. Think about that. If you cannot identify anything in your life that requires God, then you are demonstrating you really don’t need God. If that’s the case, you’re still stuck in the boat.
If you’re trying to do something that can only be done in the power of God, then you’re a water walker. What’s a Water Walker Look Like? Like a Christian mother (or father) trying to live out the promises you made in baptism – to raise your children in the nurture and love of the Lord. Like walking up to a new person on Sunday morning and getting to know them. Like not giving up on your marriage but believing it can get better and taking the first steps toward seeing a counselor or a pastor for help. Like letting go of your cherished dreams of personal success and finding the courage to serve other people, to help make them successful. Like giving a full tithe to the Lord’s work here when there are plenty of toys on your “to-have list.”
Those are just a few examples. And if you’re doing any of them, then you’re a water walker. And you can only do it by keeping your eyes on Jesus. He’ll be there for you when the wind and waves knock you over. He’ll catch you when you start to sink. And he will never, never let you go.
But first, you have to get out of the boat.
