Pentecost 10A
August 9, 2020
Grace, Waseca, MN
Matthew 14.22-33
As many of you know, I had unexpected gall bladder surgery two weeks ago on Saturday evening July 25. It was certainly not where I wanted nor expected to be after a post-birthday round of golf Friday morning. Yet, I lay there hoping and praying the excruciating pain I had experienced on Friday and into Saturday was now past. However, I was going to experience another kind of pain when around midnight an alert appeared on my phone telling me the power was out at home.
Every hour, as I woke to use the restroom, I checked to see if the power was on, knowing that no power meant no sump pump and no sump pump meant trouble. I would find out later that we would get at least 6” of rain and the power remained out 15 hours. That 6” ended up in our basement. So, in addition to worrying about me, my wife Cindy had to deal with the flooding in our basement. I didn’t want to be in the hospital, but being at home would not have been any picnic. Because of the surgery I was helpless and almost hopeless.
In Matthew 14, Jesus made his followers get into a boat and go ahead to the other side of the sea of Gennesaret. He had just fed the 5,000 men plus women and children after healing many sick people. Understandably, Jesus needed some time alone to pray. We don’t know why Jesus pushed them off so quickly and forcefully, but we’re pretty sure they didn’t want to be in that boat to begin with and we know they certainly didn’t want to be there when the storm blew up, either. After a long day of crowd control and a longer night rowing, they must have felt exhausted.
Finally, Jesus comes to them over the water and justifiably, they think he is a ghost. The light was dim and the swirling wind and waves made seeing difficult. But in the midst of their fear, Jesus tells them to take heart and know that he is with them. Then for some unknown reason, Peter asks that he get out of the boat and join Jesus on the water. He does so, but when he feels the ferocity of the wind in his face and waves at his feet Peter panics, asking Jesus to save him. Jesus immediately does so, bringing him back into the boat.
This story is full of depth and layers of meaning, but I think two things stand out for me today that I wonder about. First, the disciples are not where they want to be, but where Jesus was didn’t look very attractive to them either. The boat has been an ancient symbol of the church, typically a sign of safety and community. That morning it seemed anything but safe. But I wonder if Jesus is preparing them for the time when they needed to venture out into the unknown, where what has been safe may not be so anymore. That time is certainly going to come after his resurrection when he tells them to “go, make disciples of all nations, teaching all that I have commanded you, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”
The second thing that stands out to me is that Jesus is smack dab in the middle of that chaotic sea. The boat doesn’t look so great to the disciples and the tempestuous sea looks even worse, but that’s where Jesus is. So, I wonder if Jesus is reminding us that in the midst of the chaotic unknown future there is one thing that is known to us, the ending of the passage I just quoted: “lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” We do well to remember that in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus is Immanuel, “God with Us.”
We are currently in a storm not of our own making, and for some of us, several storms. The security of the “boat” we have found security in doesn’t look so strong now and the choppy, chaotic waters ahead even less so. We have no idea what is coming post-pandemic and I know some of you wonder about the future of Grace Lutheran Church. So, like Jesus’ followers, I wonder if God is preparing us for venturing into the unknown. That’s a scary place to be, but I think we all know that we won’t be able to go back to where we were before.
I did not want to be in that hospital room that Saturday and Sunday, and I sure didn’t know what lie ahead. But I did know that Jesus was with me throughout that time, even as chaotic as it was and is. That night and the next day, I mainly sensed Jesus’ presence through the kind and helpful people that walked alongside Cindy and me. Whether they knew it or not, they were Jesus to me, reaching out and saying, “Take heart, it is I.” People of Grace, know that God is with you in whatever chaotic places you are and is bringing you to wherever you need to be. Take heart, for Jesus the Christ is with you. Amen.
To view a video version of this sermon click here.
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