"Faith and Fear"
Matthew 14:22-33
August 10, 2008
St. Paul United Methodist Church
Rev. John A. Fleming
I spent a couple of my college summers working at Lakeshore, a United Methodist camp on the banks of Kentucky Lake which eventually flows into the Tennessee River. Along with Jerolyn and Jimmy, I helped flip canoes, put kids in paddle boats, and guide one of our two pontoon boats on short river cruises. It was one of the best jobs I ever had. I felt guilty taking pay from a place that meant so much to me.
Between camps, usually late on Friday afternoons, the summer staff often would walk down to the waterfront and take one of the pontoon boats out for a relaxing cruise. I remember one of those trips. It was anything but relaxing. It started well. There was not a cloud in the sky when we pushed away from the floating dock. We could not have been out for more than thirty minutes when a storm blew in. Where we were on the lake, close to the river, was shielded on two sides by a mountain ridge. The storm seemed to come out of nowhere and pretty soon we were battling the waves. So I think I understand one of our scriptural lines this morning, the one that reads, "…but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them."
That is the situation we found ourselves in on that summer day, but more importantly that, that is the situation the disciples found themselves in our lesson for this morning. The twelve disciples did not necessarily need a break, but Jesus did.
If you were here last Sunday, then you know that this is the second time Jesus tried to take some time for himself. In last week's lesson Jesus tried to get away, but the crowds found him. Matthew lets us know that Jesus saw the crowd, had compassion on them, healed them of their illnesses, and then fed the multitude using five loaves of bread and two fish.
Jesus still needs a break, but instead of getting in a boat for a getaway, he puts the disciples in one. It is late. Matthew tells us that. It is evening. While the disciples head to the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus heads up to a mountain, to be with God, to pray. This is the first time that Matthew tells us that Jesus did that. Jesus is still reeling from the news of the death of his cousin, John. This is a critical time for Jesus.
While he is on the mountain praying, a storm blew in and found the disciples in their boat. One preacher says this about storms on the Sea of Galilee. "A storm on the Sea of Galilee was like a sumo wrestler's belly flop in a kiddy pool."
I want you to remember this. Some of the ones in the boat are veterans when it came to Sea of Galilee storms. The fishermen in the group had battled several storms in their lifetimes. Throughout the night, the disciples are pulling at the oars and bailing water out of the boat. And it is as dark as midnight. Maybe they wonder if this is the storm that will sink them. They have fought so many.
That is when Jesus arrives on the scene. He walks among the restless waves. There is a sermon there. We will sing that sermon before we go home today. The verse sings, "When the world is tossing me, like a ship upon the sea, thou who rulest wind and water, stand by me." That is a great sermon, but it is not the one I want to preach today.
On this particular night, Peter climbs out of the boat and walks on the water towards Jesus. Three out of the gospel writers tell this story. It is a miracle, really, and one that is hard to explain. It defies explanation. But the message is certainly clear. John Ortberg's book lays out the message in the book's title, If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat. That is the sermon I am going to preach today. So, if you've got that, you've got it. But, of course, I would like to say a little more. I want to talk with you a few minutes today about water walking.
Here is the first thing I would like for you to hear. If you want to walk on water, you have to face your fears. The disciples had battled the storm for most of the night. Then, around three in the morning, they see something walking on the water. They are afraid. It is not the storm that now terrifies them. They are afraid of the shadowy figure. In the twenty-sixth verse they cry out, "It is a ghost!" Understand this. In the days of Jesus, Jews believed in sea monsters. There was uncertainty under the water. It was one thing to battle a storm; it was something else to come face to face with a sea monster!
The disciples cry out and Jesus cries back, "Take heart! It's me! Don't be afraid!" There is one of the Bible's favorite lines, "Do not be afraid." If you are a counter, then you're probably interested in knowing that the idea of not fearing is in the Bible three hundred and sixty-six times. That is a "fear not" for every day of the year and an extra thrown in just in case you need it.
The Bible says, "Yeah, thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." "The Lord is my light and my salvation, of whom shall I be afraid?" In a few minutes, we will sing a prayer song; it is one of my favorites. Her words are, "Surely it is God who saves me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense. And He will be my savior."
It is me, says Jesus. Do not be afraid. Church, could you use that word this morning? I know this. Fears and doubts bind us. A little boy was being tucked in one night. There was a storm blowing through the neighborhood. The four year old looked up at his mother and asked if she would sleep with him. She said, "You know I can't do that. I have to sleep in the room with your dad." The little boy thought for a minute and then he said, "I always knew daddy was a scaredy cat!"
Fear can freeze and frighten and forbid us from living the kind of life Jesus wants us to live. So first, faithful disciples face their fears, whatever those fears may be.
Here is the second thing. Faithful disciples do not stay in the boat. I was thinking the other day how great and comfortable my life has become. I have accomplished some wonderful things in my life. Serving this church is a dream come true. I never thought I would serve a church of this size. Then it dawned on me. God never calls anyone to be comfortable.
The church is often compared to a boat. In fact, if you will flip our sanctuary upside down, the architectural affect is that of a boat. In our boat, we pass our cushions so we can be comfortable. I love the fellowship of the church. I love this community of faith. In this boat, we give pep talks to each other. In this boat we say things like, "You're going to be all right. You'll make it. Let's sing a song now. Jesus the name that charms our fears that bids our sorrows cease."
Then I read my Bible. The Bible is full of challenges to us and down deep I know that I serve a God who wants us to do something. What is it that God wants you to do? What might you do with your money if you trusted God's generosity? What might you do with your talents if you trusted Jesus enough to be daring? What might God do with your relationships if you trusted Him enough to be loving? What might God do with our character, if we acknowledged our sins and spoke of our temptations and pursued holiness? What is God calling you to do that you could never do on your own?
Let me quickly say that Peter getting out of the boat was not an impulse. For sure, Peter is impulsive. He bragged too much, acted too quickly, boasted too often. He had the Foot in the Mouth Disease. But even Peter knows he can't walk on water without Jesus. He asks and Jesus simply says, "Come." Stepping out in faith is hearing the invitation and daring to go with him. It was the founder of our church, John Wesley, who said, "Expect great things from God and attempt great things for God."
Let me say one more thing today. Disciples face their fears. Disciples get out of their boats. And now this, disciples overcome their failures. This may be the hardest of the three. Peter begins to sink. He cries out, "Lord, save me!" He took a step. He saw Jesus and then he noticed the winds and the waves. A sinking feeling set in. We know that feeling.
When they fall, faithful disciples get back up. Learn that lesson from the toddler. There she is, just beginning to walk. She takes a timid step and reaches out to you. Then she takes another one. She probably falls before the third step is taken. She stays there the rest of her life, never trying to take another step, right? No.
I remember the first sermon I ever preached. It was on a Sunday night in Trenton, Tennessee where I worked with youth. It was the worst sermon in the history of the world. When it was over I cried on the way home. I vowed I would never preach again. I will never forget it as long as I live.
Even the greatest people in our world know failure. Michael Jordan, the hall of fame basketball player didn't make his high school's team the first time out. In his career he missed more than nine thousand shots, lost three hundred games. Twenty-six times he was called upon to take the last shot and missed them. We only remember the ones he made.
I can remember standing just outside the Sanctuary at First Church one Sunday morning. Jeanie Burton and I were about to go in. It was my turn to preach I said that my sermon wasn't very good. Jeanie said, "Some week, you just do the best you can." I will always remember that. And we sing, "When I've done the best I can, and my friends misunderstand. Thou who knowest all about me, stand by me." It is quite simple, really. We fall down, we get up. We fall down and we get up. We fall down and we get up. Disciples face their fears, do something for Jesus and try, try again. Let us pray.
(Special thanks to the Lakeshore United Methodist Assembly in Eva, Tennessee for two of the best summers of my life. Special thanks to Rev. Howard Olds for the idea for this sermon and a line or two in it. Special thanks to Rev. Cecil Belew for trusting me with his pulpit that Sunday night in Trenton. And special thanks to Rev. Jeanie Burton for her guidance and friendship).