Matthew 16:21-28

Matthew 16:21-28A Life Of Faith
August 28, 2005

50 years!
Half a century!
18,250 days!
438,000 hours!
26,280,000 minutes!
The screen on my calculator won’t hold all the numbers for how many seconds!
It’s a long time – a lot of years – a lot of days – a lot of hours – a lot of minutes – and a lot of seconds!
Yea – 50 years is a long time – but yesterday I turned 50 – and celebrated it – thanks to many of you and many other friends – in grand style. I hope I can celebrate many, many more.
Many of you know that I am a strange mix of introversion and extroversion – I enjoy being around people and celebrating – but I also enjoy – and even need – time to think and pray and read and contemplate. So – I have not only celebrated my birthday the past few days with friends and a party – but I have also taken time to think about what it means to turn 50 – and what I want from life now that I am 50.
What do I want from life now that I have turned 50?
Jimmy Buffet has a song about a pirate looking at 40 – and what that means for him.
Well – what about a preacher looking at 50?
Don’t worry – I am not going to sing about it – but I have given it some thought.
What does this preacher see – and what does he want – at 50?
A loving family?
Certainly.
Friends?
Hey – you know me – of course friends are important.
Material things?
I could say no – but you all know me and my love for “things” – especially electronic “things” – so I must honestly say that “things” are important to me!
But – what is it that guides – directs – and gives real meaning to my life?
I confess that at times it seems that there is not much that guides or directs my life – and at times it seems that there is little direction to my life – but when I am at my best there is something that guides me and gives my life meaning.
My faith.
My relationship with God.
I am not saying in any way that my faith or my relationship with God is perfect – but it is important to me – and it is where I find meaning and direction for my life.
When times in my life are good – I try to celebrate and thank God for that.
When times in my life are not good – I try to remain faithful anyway.
When I can sense that God is blessing me – I try to praise God for that.
When I have wandered from God and can sense that I have made some mistakes in my life – I try to some back to God and pray for His guidance again.
I try to make my faith – my relationship with God – the thing that gives meaning and direction to my life.
Let me ask you – what do you want from life?
Probably some of the things I mentioned earlier – a good family, friends, and probably material things.
But – what gives your life meaning and direction?
As great as family, friends, and even material things are – they can’t be counted on to give true meaning and direction to your life.
Only your faith can do that.
Only your relationship with God can do that.
Only a life of faith can do that.
We have a hard time accepting that.
We want success in material things.
Jesus wants us to look for success in other things – things like giving of ourselves – things like serving God and others – things like doing what we can to bring God’s will for peace, love, and justice into the world.
Jesus had a hard time teaching the disciples how important giving of themselves was. The disciples may have had ideas of Jesus coming to set up a kingdom of power of glory – and even overthrow the hated Roman government. While Jesus was in the world to bring a kingdom of power of glory – it was much different than the disciples or anyone else expected.
In our scripture passage for today, Jesus talks about going to Jerusalem – which the disciples probably were excited about. Finally they were going to Jerusalem – the capitol – and they probably thought they would lead a revolt while they were there – kick out the Romans – set up a new kingdom – and make Jesus king. Things would be just like they were under David – even better! The Jews would have their own kingdom and would become a powerful nation under King Jesus!
But – Jesus had other ideas.
What does our passage for today say?

“From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples
that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering
at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes,
and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Jesus was not interested in power and being king in the same way the disciples did.
He did not say to the disciples that he was going to Jerusalem to kick the Romans out and set up a kingdom.
He said he was going to Jerusalem to undergo great suffering – and be killed – and yes – rise again – but I bet the disciples did not understand or even hear that part. All they heard was suffering – and be killed.
I think Peter spoke for the rest of them when he said:

God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you

In other words, this was not in the disciple’s plan for things.
For people who may have been looking to Jesus to be a political leader these words must have seemed to go against everything they had hoped for – everything they had committed their lives to.
And then Jesus faces the rest of the disciples and says that not only must He suffer and die – but the disciples must give of themselves, also.

If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves
and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save
their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it

If the disciples had looked to Jesus for power and glory and riches, they were going to have to look elsewhere.
If we look to Jesus for power and prestige and glory and riches, we would do better looking elsewhere.
If the meaning of life for you is in power and prestige and glory and riches, don’t expect to find meaning for your life in Jesus.
But – if the disciples had looked to Jesus for the true meaning of life – they had come to the right place.
If we look for Jesus for the true meaning of life – we are looking at the right place.
Jesus makes it plain – true meaning in life does not come through family – friends – or material things – but in giving of ourselves – serving God and others — doing what we can to bring God’s will for peace, love, and justice into the world.
Sure – this goes against what we would expect – but it is precisely what God expects. It may go against what we want – it certainly went against what Peter wanted at that moment – but it is what God wants!
So – I’ll ask again – what gives your life meaning and direction?
Unless you can say that it is your faith – your relationship with God – then I am afraid you will find you have it all wrong.
Unless you can say that it is following Jesus – and giving of yourself when need be – serving others when you find a need – doing what you can to show God’s love to the world and bring in God’s kingdom of peace, love, and justice – then I am afraid you will find that you are not really following God’s will for your life.
If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves
and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save
their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it
You can try everything else – but serving God and others — doing what you can to show God’s love to the world and bring in God’s kingdom of peace, love, and justice – is what will bring meaning and purpose to your life – God’s meaning – God’s purpose.
Try all else – but what will give your life purpose and meaning is your faith – your relationship with God.
That’s what life is all about.
Back a few years ago when I was an EC Teacher’s Assistant in the county school system I heard about a book titled A Smile As Big As The Moon. It is the story of a class of Special Education students — kids with learning disabilities — physical problems — emotional problems. They dreamed of going to the NASA Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. That might not seem like a big deal, but Space Camp is designed for gifted and talented kids — not kids who find school difficult. It wasn’t easy to get the camp to accept these kids. Nobody expected that they
would do well. Their teachers spent a year preparing them, though, and
they were hopeful.
As it turned out, the Special Ed kids did very well, and came away with
a fistful of awards. The reason was that, working for a year toward a
common goal, they stopped fighting each other and started helping each
other. They learned to stop focusing on self and to start focusing on
the task — and each other.
And they did well at the camp.
They did great!
Competing against the brightest and the best, the Special Ed students walked away with more awards than anyone.
The biggest surprise was the Right Stuff Award.
Most awards are presented to teams, but the Right Stuff Award is presented to an individual — to the student who best displays the characteristics of a true astronaut — to the kid who demonstrates the best leadership.
They awarded the Right Stuff Award to Scott Goudy who, in the words of his teacher, “just one year earlier had found his greatest pleasure in picking on his classmates.”
But, during the year of preparation, Scott had learned to care about the other kids.
He had become a leader.
When Scott received the Right Stuff Award, the first thing that he did was to get a pair of scissors. Then quietly — off to the side — with no fanfare — Scott cut the Right Stuff ribbon into twenty pieces. Later, at a victory party, he gave a piece of the ribbon to every kid on the team.
Scott’s teachers were stunned!
But then they realized how much Scott had grown during their year of preparation — and during the week of camp. They also realized that the people at the camp, observing from the background, saw what was happening and rewarded Scott for his good work — for his selfless service — for his caring leadership.
They see smart kids every day.
Genius IQs are nothing new to them. What they were looking for was a kid who was willing to make sacrifices in behalf of the team.
Scott did that, and the people at the camp noticed.
It wasn’t Scott’s intelligence that mattered to those selecting the honorees. I was his willingness to give – to put himself aside and do for others.
Giving.
Putting self aside and doing for others.
As Jesus put it,

If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves
and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save
their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it

Serving God and others – doing what you can to show God’s love to the world and bring in God’s kingdom of peace, love, and justice – is what will bring meaning and purpose to your life – God’s meaning – God’s purpose.
As I look at 50, that’s what I want for my purpose in life – my meaning in life. That’s what I want for my life. I can’t say I’m perfect in this – or that I ever will be – but I can say that it is a goal for me.
A life of faith.
A life of giving of myself.
A life of doing what I can to show God’s love to the world and doing my part to bring in God’s kingdom of love and justice.

If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves
and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save
their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it

That’s a life of faith.
Amen.

Matthew 15:21-28

MATTHEW 15:21-21
HANG IN THERE!
AUGUST 13, 2005

I am sure most of you are familiar with the popular cross stitch with the picture of the cat hanging on to a rope that says:

“When you get to the end of your rope
tie a knot and hang on”

Many of you may have that cross stitch on your walls – I know one of you does.

Some of us have adopted a saying – when things are not going too well for us – for whatever reason – we will respond if someone asks :

“I’m hanging in”

Of course, some of us say:

“I’m hanging on”

or even:

“I’m hanging!”

Hanging in.
Hanging.

“When you get to the end of your rope
tie a knot and hang on”

I think that cross stitch is popular because there are many times we find ourselves “hanging on the end of the rope” – not able to do much more than hold on for dear life.

What can you do when you have endured long hopelessness – and you are about to lose hope?
What do you do when every attempt to find help has ended in disappointment?
What do you do when you need so badly for something to happen – and it doesn’t happen?
What do you do when something that was very important in your life is taken away?
What do you do when it seems that your prayers get only as high as the ceiling and then stop – and that God is not listening at all?
What do you do when things get so bad that you just want to curl up and die?

You hang in there.
You keep the faith.

No matter how hard it is – the secret is to not give up – even if all you can do is “tie and knot and hold on.”

Our scripture passage for today tells us a story of a woman – a mother – who came to Jesus who was certainly at the end of her rope – who was certainly just hanging on.

I have struggled with how to preach this passage today – struggled with finding “the message in the passage”.

Let me ask you –
What do you think of the story in our passage before us today?

Probably not much.

At first glance this lesson makes the Jesus sound like something of a jerk.

My first reaction is to want to find some way of explaining away this conversation that will put Jesus in a bit more flattering light.

The more I prayed about and studied the passage this week, the more confused I got.

The commentaries I looked at were all over the place in trying to explain Jesus’ behavior and His words here.

Some have said that Jesus was just having a bad day.
He and the twelve had gone north, out of Galilee. He had been having trouble escaping the demanding crowds; things were dangerous politically (King Herod had recently beheaded his cousin, John the Baptist); he was frustrated in his efforts to make any headway with the religious establishment and he was regularly misunderstood by his own closest followers. Now, he heads out of town for a little “R&R,” a place where perhaps he could get some peace and quiet –
but no – he is confronted by this insistent Momma, and instead of reacting to her as he normally might, first he ignores her, then he tries to blow her off, then he insults her, and finally, he wises up and acts decent again.

Bad day.
Even the Son of God is entitled to one every so often.
That is what some commentators say.

Do you buy that explination?

I do not.
And for one basic reason: these Gospel records we have did not come from transcriptions of cassette tapes or film on the 11:00 o’clock news – the source for these stories is the gathered and sanctified memory of the community of the faithful that were written down perhaps forty or fifty years after the fact. Why in the world would any follower of Jesus want to record for posterity such a less than flattering story unless the portrait is not so unflattering after all?

Makes you wonder – doesn’t it?

Other commentaries say that this encounter was part of the Lord’s growth and development – a learning experience for him.
They contend that He was – in some ways — like us – and learned and changed from things He experienced. Jesus grew up a Jew, they contend, and Jews did not think much of Gentiles (fuel for the fires of Hell, as a matter of fact). But in this insistent mother Jesus is confronted with faith that is not nurtured in his native tradition – and He has to acknowledge its validity, and through the encounter learns that divine love knows no boundaries, racial or otherwise.
Maybe – some commentaries say – this was a learning experience for Jesus.

Do you buy that explination?
I guess I could live with it – but not very enthusiastically.

How about some other possibilities?

Well — other commentators say that this bantering back and forth between Jesus and the woman was merely the Lord’s way of teaching something. By His initial reluctance to care for any Gentile, he was simply giving voice to the not-so-quietly harbored feelings of his Jewish followers. By finally coming around and acceding to the woman’s cry for help, Jesus was demonstrating the inclusiveness of God’s love and thereby taught his disciples that racism had no place in the Kingdom. This encounter was simply one more of Jesus’ parables, this time, come to life.
Maybe.

But — I think that is a stretch, though.

How about the language of the encounter?
At first glance, Jesus sounds awfully rough. “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She had already heard him say he was sent only to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” and she knew perfectly well how much animus there was between Jews and Gentiles. But calling her a dog to her face?
Again, folks explain that away. After all, calling someone a dog is a term of abuse, if ever there was one. As one writer has it,
The pariah dog was not an estimable animal in Near Eastern culture then, any more than he is today. But it is not the pariah dogs that are intended here…It is the dogs beneath the table…household pets, the children’s playmates; and this is confirmed by the fact that the word for ‘dogs’ used by both Jesus and the woman is a diminutive…The woman was quick-witted enough to deduce from Jesus’s words the kind of reply to him that would win the granting of her request: ‘Sir, even the little dogs under the table eat the children’s left-overs!’”
Sharp lady.
And it worked.
Her daughter was healed.

OK. I can live with that — although still a little reluctantly.

I can live with it even more comfortably when we realize that we have a wonderful opportunity to misunderstand because we don’t know the tone of voice Jesus used.
Take the simple sentence, “I didn’t say you were a fool.” Depending on your emphasis, you convey different messages.By saying, “I didn’t say you were a fool”…implies that someone else did. Or “I didn’t say you were a fool”… implies that I said something else. How about, “I didn’t say…” (but I thought it). Or “I didn’t say you…” I said Charlie was, and so on. Yes, conveying tone of voice is a problem. Perhaps we are getting closer to an answer.

To be honest, none of these explanations have ever been completely satisfying to me. To be honest, until yesterday afternoon, I was content to come into this pulpit and tell you I have no idea how to understand this encounter, but I was willing to say that there must be more here than I can fathom, because I know …to the depths of my being, I know…that my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, would never mistreat anyone, particularly a helpless mother, desperate for the healing of her child. There is a wonderful message here, even if we have to wade through some material we might not understand to get to it.

More about that in a minute.

I say I did not truly understand this encounter until yesterday afternoon.

Yesterday afternoon I glanced at the web site of David Leninger, a Presbyterian minister I have known off and on for almost 25 years. He had on his web site a story that helped this passage make sense to me.

It was a story he had heard from a Medical Missionary to India.

She told of a time she was a physician’s assistant in India 30 years ago. They had been trying for a long time to encourage the Harijan (the outcastes) to come to the clinic, as they (being toilet sweepers) were at high risk for disease. The Harijan, for whatever reasons, at that time were willing participants in the caste system of India. They had their own interior and social structures for dealing with it. They were comfortable knowing their place in the system – and were not willing to fight for a better place.

But one day a Harijan finally did come to the clinic.
The very fact that he appeared there, among the 280 casted persons in the waiting room, told us that he was unusual. His good grooming, his body stance, and his speech told us that he was a man of dignity, self- respect, and appropriate entitlement.
Speaking what was on everyone’s mind, she said to him loud enough for everyone to hear,
“What’s a pig’s son (standard form of address) doing here? I thought only casted people got sick.”
“Even pigs bleed red,” he replied, holding up a bloody hand, “like Americans.” (Americans were considered to be outcaste; also ‘red-blooded American’ and ‘Yankee pig’ were phrases that were well known.)
So – the missionary concluded:
If folks took caste seriously, why were the casted people willing to come to an outcaste – an American — for treatment?
If they could come to an outcaste American for treatment, then they could jolly well welcome another outcaste who came for treatment. It was an absolutely brilliant reply on his part and brought the house down.
From then on, the Missionary reported, they had no trouble with the Harijans hanging back from seeking medical care.
I thank Dave Leninger for the story.

Now I understand.

My problem was that I was looking at this text through Western eyes and not through those of the culture of the Middle East or even the Orient.

The truth is – I believe – in the faith and persistence of this mother – her ability to hold on – to “tie a knot and hold on” when she was at the end of her rope – her ability to somehow keep trying to get help when it seemed that there was no help coming – even from Jesus.

Here was a lady – the kind of mother we wish every youngster had – who would go to any lengths on behalf of her child.
She had enough chutzpah to go up to someone she had never met, through his whole entourage, and everyone of them of a nationality that despised hers
- it was as if a black woman had gone, looking for help, into a Ku Klux Klan rally.
How much help could she possibly expect?

On top of that, remember that this was a woman … and women were not permitted to address men in public in that society.
But this woman did.

Once those hurdles were climbed, she got this healer of whom she has heard so much to actually acknowledge her existence but — He does so by calling her names…

But this lady hangs in there.

She banters right back.

She finally hears those words that, deep in my soul, I know she knew she was going to hear.

“Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.”

The lesson in all this is that there is no substitute for faith.
As Jesus said on another occasion, it can move mountains.
The lesson is:

“When you get to the end of your rope
tie a knot and hang on”

Church historians among us will remember what a hopelessly debauched prodigal Augustine was as a young man. Many parents would have thrown up their hands, yet his mother absolutely refused to give up hope that be could become great in the sight of God. As he went from bad to worse she prayed day and night, sharing her broken-hearted pleas with her priest and her bishop. Even the most distressing news of his last escapade could not break her faith in his eventual salvation. Finally, the weary bishop concurred and wrote to her: “It is not possible,” he said, “for the son of all these tears to perish.”

How right he was.
How right she was.
Augustine became a leader in the Church – one whose writings are still treasured.

How right was the mother of our lesson.
“And her daughter was healed instantly.”

After World War II the Jewish Holocasust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel spopke on the subject: “After Auschwitz, Can We Still Believe!”

People filled the hall to listen to the recollections of one who survived the furnaces of Dachau. Thin and fragile, Wiesel stood at the podium for nearly an hour telling one story after another of the horror and despair of those bleak days in the ’30s. His stories were of people confused with their imprisonment and sometimes destroyed with their release. Painfully, silently, the audience relived the events of Wiesel’s young life when he was the only surviving member of his family. Finally the stories ceased. His eyes dropped to the floor. There was no sound at all in that mammoth room for what seemed an agonizing eternity. Then he repeated the question, “After Auschwitz, can we still believe!” He shook his head slowly, sadly, “No, no,…” before concluding powerfully, “but we must!”

Yea –

“When you get to the end of your rope
tie a knot and hang on”

You see – when we are thinking about whether to have faith in God or not – when things get so bad that we can’t imagine them getting any worse – but they do – when we feel that we are making our prayers and trying to live faithfully but that God is not listening of paying attention to us because our lives do not improve –
We really have 2 choices –

Give up and fall
Or
Tie a knot and hold on – sure that God will some day – somehow – come to us.

The Canaanite mom chose to hold on – to “hang in there” – and knew that Jesus would eventually bless her.

Elie Wiesel chose to hold on – to “hang in there” – despite the cruelties and hardships – and believe that God was with him – even if the experiences around him told him otherwise.

We can choose, also, to “hang in there”!

You can choose, also, to “hang in there”!

The message of this wonderful mother is “Hang in there!”

What can you do when you have endured long hopelessness – and you are about to lose hope?
What do you do when every attempt to find help has ended in disappointment?
What do you do when you need so badly for something to happen – and it doesn’t happen?
What do you do when something that was very important in your life is taken away?
What do you do when it seems that your prayers get only as high as the ceiling and then stop – and that God is not listening at all?
What do you do when things get so bad that you just want to curl up and die?

You hang in there.
You keep the faith.

When you have endured long hopelessness – and you are about to lose hope – hang in there. Keep the faith.
When every attempt to find help has ended in disappointment – hang in there – keep the faith.
When you need so badly for something to happen – and it doesn’t happen – hang in there – keep the faith.
When something that was very important in your life is taken away – hang in there – keep the faith.
When it seems that your prayers get only as high as the ceiling and then stop – and that God is not listening at all – hang in there – keep the faith.
When things get so bad that you just want to curl up and die – hang in there – keep the faith.

“When you get to the end of your rope
tie a knot and hang on”

You see, once upon a time there was this woman…a mother… who came to Jesus…

Amen

Matthew 14:22-33

Matthew 14:22-33
“O.K – By The Grace Of God”
August 7, 2005

The story of Jesus walking on water is one almost everyone knows – either in this form as we have it in Matthew – where Peter also does a little walking himself – or in the form that John gives us – where Jesus merely (if you can use the word merely to describe any part of this story) walks out to the boat – gets into the boat – and the storm ceases. This is a story we are all familiar with.
Mark Twain was familiar with the story, also. He referred to it when he told of a time he was in the Holy Land with his wife. One of the nights they spent at a resort on the Sea of Galilee was particularly beautiful –- a full moon over the sea made for an especially romantic setting. Twain and his wife decided that they wanted to go on a moonlit ride on the lake. Twain approached one of the local fishermen and asked them how much they would charge to take them out in a boat. The man looked at Twain – observed his white suit, hat, shirt, and shoes – and supposed him to be a rich man. “For you – my friend – twenty five dollars!” the fisherman replied. Twain knew this was too much – and turned away. But he was heard to say: “I always wondered why Jesus walked. Now I know!”
We all have heard jokes about people “walking on water” – or made comments about people who – as we say “think they can walk on water”.
Usually the punch lines of the jokes have something to do with knowing where the stumps are – or something like that.
I’ve heard of a radio preacher in Charlotte many years ago known as “Daddy Grace”. He was really a scam artist of the worst kind – getting people to give him lots of money for his “ministry” and then pocketing it for himself. I understand that he would tell people to throw their money in the air – and that whatever stayed in the air belonged to God – but whatever landed on the ground belonged to Daddy Grace! The sad thing is people would actually do it! Anyway – Daddy Grace told everyone one week to come to the Catawba River on Saturday morning and see Daddy Grace walk on water. Of course, tickets were sold – and, of course, a lot of people came. At the prescribed time, Daddy Grace appeared – and promptly walked across the river. Everyone cheered. More money was given to his “ministry”. One of his colleagues, though, asked him how he did it. Daddy Grace winked and said: “These folks were here when I walked across the river on Saturday morning. They weren’t here when my team build the platform just under the surface of the water on Friday night”.
But sometimes there are jokes about people who actually do “walk on water” – but it’s not good enough to impress people.
One has a congregation calling its first female pastor and immediately running into a concern from two elders (who happened to have been dead against calling a woman to their pulpit) who were used to an annual fishing trip with the preacher.
What should they do?
Invite HER?
Well, they do – and she accepts.
The fateful day arrives, they get in the boat, and headed out.
When they had get a way from the shore, they realize they have forgotten their bait.
The pastor jumps up, says she will get it, steps out of the boat and walked across the water to shore – as if it’s nothing.
“I told everybody all along this whole thing was a mistake, this calling a woman,” said one of the men, “she can’t even swim!”
Yea – we’ve all heard jokes and stories about walking on water.
But when the disciples first experienced Jesus walking on the water – I don’t think they were laughing!
I wonder how Peter and the other disciples remembered this story after the fact. They had been frightened when they saw Jesus walking on water — and Peter made a fool of himself by stepping out of the boat and sinking.
Philip Yancey is an author who wrote an article for Christianity Today magazine entitled “Happy Memories Of Bad Times” in which he wrote about his grandmother’s tendency to recall difficult times “with a touch of nostalgia.” He mentioned polls that suggested that the London Blitz, where London was on the receiving end of German bombs, was, for many Londoners, remembered after the fact as one of the happiest times of their lives. It might not have been happy at the time, but they remembered it happily, because “a new spirit of community and patriotism sprang up to eclipse even the horror of bombs and V-2 rockets.”
Yancey went on to write about elderly people who happily swap stories about the Great Depression and World War II — two of the most terrible times of the past century. Yancey noted, “They speak fondly of hardships such as blizzards, the childhood outhouse, and the time in graduate school when they ate canned soup and stale bread three weeks in a row” (“Happy Memories of Bad Times,” Christianity Today, March 8, 1993, p. 88).
So I can imagine that the disciples would remember this story of Peter and the storm fondly.
“Hey, do you remember the time that Peter stepped over the side of the boat and sank like a rock!”
And they would all laugh.
They wouldn’t laugh in Peter’s presence, of course. Peter was the Alpha Male in that group, and you had to be a little careful. But that is what made the story so funny. Here was Peter — strong Peter — tough Peter — stepping out of the boat and sinking like a rock — hollering, “Lord, save me!”
I am sure that every now and then the disciples would resurrect that story — and a few more like it — just for laughs.
But they weren’t laughing that night.
They were in a storm in a small boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. They had been with Jesus all the day before and had been rowing against the wind most of the night. They were wet, exhausted, and far from home. I can’t imagine circumstances much more miserable.
But then one of them spotted something odd. It looked like a man walking across the water. The disciples were fishermen, and they knew where they were — in the middle of nowhere. The only thing that they could imagine was that they were seeing a ghost. One problem with seeing a ghost, of course, is that you don’t know what to expect. You don’t know whether you are really seeing a ghost or simply going mad. The most frightening thing, of course, is that the ghost might be coming to make a ghost of you.
But – why were the disciples in the middle of the sea at night in a storm?
Had they decided amongst themselves to set out on this trip?
No – Jesus had sent them.
They were simply following Jesus’ orders.
And – when Peter stepped out of the boat – but began to sink – was he doing something he should not have done?
Not really – Jesus told him to come to him.
He was simply following Jesus’ orders.
But it seemed that following Jesus’ orders got the disciples – and then Peter – into trouble.
Step out of the boat! Jesus said.
But doing what Jesus said just got Peter in trouble.
Did you ever feel like you were doing what Jesus wanted you to do — only to find yourself in trouble?
I read of a minister who recounted a time when he felt he had stepped out in faith and done what God had called him to do – but felt he had only gotten into trouble.
It happened when he was young — still a student — serving a small rural church in the northeast corner of Kansas. It was a harsh winter night – in the middle of a roaring blizzard – but he went out to visit a family who had come to church a time or two – and he was desperately that they would join his small congregation. He
felt proud of himself for being out on such a night doing his pastoral work.
Driving hone he found himself in the middle of a blizzard on a gravel road in the middle of nowhere trying desperately to spot the next crossroads so he wouldn’t get totally lost. He decided to open his car door, and the wind caught it and nearly ripped it off its hinges. His throat tightened up and he had to force back tears. He managed to get the car door closed and somehow found his way home.
He said that it took awhile for him to see past the fact that he had almost died doing what God had wanted him to do – and see the fact that God was with him.
I’m sure the disciples had problems for awhile seeing past the fact that they had almost died doing what Jesus told them to do – and see the point that Jesus had come to them in their struggle.
I’m sure it took awhile for Peter to see past the fact that he had almost drowned doing what Jesus called him to do – and see that Jesus had been with him all along.
I’m sure there are times for all of us when we see the troubles that may come from doing what God calls us to do – and fail to see that God is with us – even through those troubles.
I can appreciate how the disciples felt in their little boat in the middle of nowhere with a storm raging around them — doing what Jesus had told them to do – and getting in what they thought was trouble.
I can appreciate how Peter must have felt – obeying Jesus — getting out of the boat –- and nearly drowning!
Maybe you can appreciate the situations they found themselves in, also. And maybe you can appreciate the questions they may have had for Jesus.
“Step out” Jesus said to Peter.
And Peter may have done so – then wondered “what am I doing? This is crazy”
We might feel the same way when Jesus tells us to “step out” and do something for Him.
But Jesus still says to us: Step out!
Be bold in your witness for Christ!
Step out!
Even when what Jesus may be calling you to do makes little sense –
Step out!
I came across a quote this week that fits very well here. It’s on your bulletin cover for today. I invite you to take it out and read it – take it home and paste it on your refrigerator door or in some other prominent place in your house.
The quotation was by a man named Jack Cranfield, who wrote a commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. He wrote:

“If it is a result of obedience to Christ’s command
that the church or the individual Christian
is in a situation of danger or distress,
then there is no need to fear.”

Let’s read that together this time:

“If it is a result of obedience to Christ’s command
that the church or the individual Christian
is in a situation of danger or distress,
then there is no need to fear.”

What the quote means is this:
If we are doing what God wants us to do, by the grace of God, it will come out O.K.
Henri Nouwen was a Catholic priest, an author, and a much beloved man. He once had the privilege of conversing with Mother Teresa. He told her of some of his problems, and asked her advice. She replied:

“If you spend time each day in prayer
and never do anything which you know is wrong,
you will be all right.”

Some people would be put off by that answer, because it seems simplistic — but Nouwen was not put off — not at all. He said:

“With those words she answered none
as well as all of my problems at the same time.
It was now up to me to be willing to move to the place
where I could hear God’s answer. “

“If you spend time each day in prayer
and never do anything which you know is wrong,
you will be all right.”

What Mother Teresa was saying was simply that, if we are doing what God wants us to do, by the grace of God, it will come out O.K.
It came out O. K. for Peter.
Jesus reached out and grabbed him – helped him – and he got back into the boat.
It came out O.K. for the disciples.
Jesus told them who he was and joined them in the boat. When he came to them, the storm stopped.
When we find ourselves in the midst of storms, especially storms that come from obeying Jesus’ call to us – it will come out O.K.

“If it is a result of obedience to Christ’s command
that the church or the individual Christian
is in a situation of danger or distress,
then there is no need to fear.”

This is not a promise that we will have no problems if we follow Jesus, because that isn’t true. The disciples had plenty of problems after they began to follow Jesus. Nouwen had problems. Mother Teresa had problems. I have problems. You have problems.
But when Jesus comes to us — when we allow ourselves to be quiet for a few minutes and invite him to guide us — the storms stop.
When we spend the time it takes to know that Jesus is with us, we find that we are no longer afraid.
When we are doing what he wants us to do, we can be sure that everything will come out O.K.
The noted psychologist Lee Salk tells a story of his mother.
As a young girl in Minsk, Russia, she was driven from her home by Cossacks who galloped in without warning and burned the entire village. She fled for her life, made her way to Poland, and then crossed the sea to America, crowded in a ship’s hold. She was 12 when she arrived in New York City in 1901 and immediately went to work 16 hours a day in a sweatshop on the lower east side.
She tried to go to school at night but kept falling asleep over her books. Even after she married had a family it was a horrible struggle to keep food on the table. But no matter how poor we were, she urged her family to think about what they had, not what they didn’t have. She taught them that in hardship you develop a capacity to appreciate the beauty that exists in the simplest elements of life.
She always told her children:

“When it gets dark enough, you can see the stars.”

In the days ahead, you will face many storms.
Some of them will be little squalls that pass by quickly, but others will be full-blown hurricanes.
Get ready!
Invite Jesus to join you — to come into your heart — to direct your life — to guide you day-by-day and moment-by-moment.
If you will do that, when the storms come, you will be O.K.

“When the darkest parts of you life come, you will still be able to “see the stars”. “

“If it is a result of obedience to Christ’s command
that the church or the individual Christian
is in a situation of danger or distress,
then there is no need to fear.”

By the grace of God, you will be O.K.
Amen