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Sermon for Sunday, August 10, 2008
“Just Like Jesus?”
Matthew 14:22-33
Introduction to scripture
Matthew is the gospel of the church. Among the four gospel writers, Matthew is the only one to use the word, “ekklesia,” church. For Matthew, Jesus is the visible, physical presence of God. This passage is a rich passage. A preacher could do several sermons on these verses alone. Let’s read and hear the story.
Read scripture
Jesus scatters the crowd. They have already had a good meal. He tells the disciples to get on a boat and go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. He does not go with them. He goes up to a nearby mountain to pray. Jesus is praying and the disciples are paddling. It doesn’t take long for them to run into a storm at sea. They struggle all night, paddling as hard as they can, trying their best to make it to the other side.
By four o’clock in the morning, they are cold, wet, exhausted and afraid for their lives. It started to look as if they might never make it to the other side. No doubt they had heard and seen the results of those who had never made it to the other side. They had heard the stories, known the people who started out and were never heard from again. Many boats and sailors had met their fate in those chaotic waters. By four in the morning they have had all they can take. They are tired, weary, battered and seasick from the rough waves. They are paddling for their lives.
Just then one of the disciples sees him walking on the water…four o’clock in the morning, stormy sea. If it wasn’t scary enough, they think they are seeing a ghost. They don’t know that it is Jesus. They thought it was a ghost and their fear is amplified. They cry out….my hunch is that they scream! I would. I don’t think I believe in ghosts, but if I saw some thing, some one walking on water in the midst of a storm, I would scream in fear.
Jesus got a hold of that fear. Matthew says that immediately he identified himself and told them not to be afraid. I’m not sure that would have done the trick for me, but it did seem to work for the disciples.
Peter put it to the test, “if it is you….tell me to come out there and walk with you. “if it is you…trying to trust and believe…if it is you.”
First thought for today... If you met Jesus on the street, would you know him? When we gather at the Lord’s table, one of the words we proclaim is “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.”
When Jesus returns would you know him? Would you recognize him? Would you be able to pass him on the street and say, “That’s Jesus!”
I see people all the time that I think I know, but am not sure. Most of the time it is because I see them out of context and do not know them very well. I think I would recognize most of you if you were walking down the street. It didn’t happen years ago when I was in school. I was walking down a sidewalk and came up beside someone I thought was a friend. Fooling around I got in his face and then realized that I did not know him and he certainly did not know me. Pretty embarrassing.
We have no photographs of Jesus. We have pictures that we now consider pictures of him based on the time in which he lived. But how does he really look?
When he spoke to his disciples they were not completely sure it was Jesus. So Peter decided to give him a little test. “If it is you, command me to come out there and walk with you.”
Isn’t that strange? “Lord, if it is you, command me to risk my life, to jump out of a boat on a stormy sea and walk toward you.
“Lord, if it is you, command me to stick my hand in the fire.” “If it is you, let me handle that snake and not get bit.” If it is you…
Second thought…It seems to me that because of stormy sea, Peter and the others would have said, “if it is you, calm this storm!” After all, Jesus had already done that in what we know as chapter eight. He was with them at that time asleep in the stern of the boat. They thought they would going to die then and finally woke Jesus up and he silenced the sea. Shouldn’t one learn from experience? Jesus, if it is really you, stop this storm, again.”
Instead he says, “Lord, if it is you, then tell me to walk on water with you.” If I am in a boat that is rocking and rolling that may not make it across the waters, I want peace and stillness. I would not ask to get out of the boat and walk on the water with anyone.
Why would Peter ask to get out of the boat and walk on the water with Jesus? To understand his request we need to understand a little about the world in which Jesus and Peter lived. Peter was a disciple of Jesus. When we think of the word, “disciple,” we think of it in terms of a student. A disciple in the day of Jesus was someone who wanted to do what his teacher did. A disciple wanted to talk like his teacher talked. A disciple wanted to talk like his teacher walked. A disciple devoted his life to being just like his teacher even in the midst of a storm. “Lord, if it is you, call me to come to you on the water. Call me to do what you are doing.” And he does. Peter to do what seems to be the impossible. He ventured forth, even when the going was rough, even though he almost sank and died.
Third thought…Have you ever considered that God calls us to do some things that seem impossible? Think of all the things He calls us to do to be like Him. He calls us to turn the other cheek. He calls his disciples to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. He calls us to be perfect just like our Father in heaven is perfect. He calls us to follow him wherever he goes – even to the cross.
I have a hunch that too many of us are just splashing about in the safe shore and have not used the opportunities to put our faith to work. If we are going to be like Jesus there are going to be those times when we’ve got to venture out into the sea, even when it is rough and rolling.
Fourth thought…Today’s gospel story is about Jesus who invites his followers into the storm. Thankfully, by the end of the scripture today, the storm is stilled, the waves are calm, and all are safe, but not before Peter was willing to venture out. We follow a Jesus who gives us unconditional love and an eternal relationship with him, but also can make our lives more dangerous and difficult. It is one of the ways we can be recognized as a disciple.
Does the name Thomas Jenks mean anything to you? Thomas Jenks was a slave who lived in Charleston, S.C. and made wonderful furniture, some of the best furniture made in American before the Revolution.
“How did one recognize a piece made by Jenks?” a museum curator was asked.
He explained, “You can tell by the craftsmanship. Look at a drawer and see the dove joints. You only get work like that from the hand of Jenks.”
How would one recognize Jesus? Jesus is the one who extravagantly, recklessly commands you and me to leave the safety of the boat, to step into the sea and test the waters, show what faith is made of. That’s Jesus. That is how we will recognize him.
How would you recognize a disciple of Jesus? You must look for signs of the craftsman, look for traces of his handiwork. Courage in the face of adversity, care and concern for others, strength under fire, faith in the midst of the storm. He did not promise that life would be always smooth sailing. There would be storms, bad storms and he did promise to be with us through the storm.
Have you thought that maybe Jesus is calling you to do something that you think might be impossible? Maybe he wants you to jump out of the boat and venture to some service to Him that right now seems impossible, but it isn’t. He wants you to have faith in him, but remember that Jesus has faith in you and would not call you to do anything he doesn’t believe you can do.
If as a disciple that we are to be like Jesus, it may require more than an occasional sitting on a pew. It may be jumping out of a pew and being willing to do for the Kingdom…..just maybe it is your time. Maybe for us as a church there are challenges that may be an opportunity for us to stretch what it means for us to be church in this area. I believe that God can call an adult to do work for him that right now seems impossible but you can. God can call some of our younger people into service for kingdom work through ministry…why not? Who knows what God can do with us when we are ready to be like Jesus.
Prayer
Lord, you have called us to be your disciples. Surely you could have found people brighter, sharper and more gifted. Being your church, doing ministry, being you on the earth is not easy. But you call, so speak to us in such a way that we will know that the same One who meets us here on Sunday in worship, is the same one who has called us to witness, to serve, to risk and maybe to suffer for the kingdom….Monday through Saturday. Let us see you and follow…amen.
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