Matthew 14:22-33

Pentecost 11A | August 13, 2023 | Matthew 14:22-33 | Dr. Judson F Merrell, STS |

²² Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ²³ And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴ but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. ²⁵ And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, „It is a ghost!“ and they cried out in fear. ²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, „Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.“ ²⁸ And Peter answered him, „Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.“ ²⁹ He said, „Come.“ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, „Lord, save me.“

 ³¹ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, „O you of little faith, why did you doubt?“ ³² And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³ And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, „Truly you are the Son of God.“ (Mat 14:22-33 ESV)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

One of the historical treasures of our state is the ruins of Prince William’s Parish Church, also known as Old Sheldon Church.  It is near the town of Yemassee, SC, on the way to Beaufort.  If you drive by it today, you will only see the brick walls and columns still standing, along with the gravesites of those that are buried there.  What exactly happened to the church is still debated.  Initial thought is that Sherman burned the church on his march through the south, as he did with many places.  However, there was a book published a few years ago that contained letters to and from a family that lived near the church during the civil war.  The letters tell about the damage the church sustained and how it was possibly raided for its scraps.  The letters even claim that the church was fixable.  What actually happened will probably be forever up to debate.  The stories of our past teach us how to live today, and in the case of Old Sheldon Church, we have two very different stories.  We have a story that generated lots of emotions, with fear being the primary emotion.  The story of Sherman burning the church has long been thought to have originated from within his very army.  Then we have a story that speaks to how we take ownership of the things that are important to us in life.  This is what we take away from the letters.  Without someone to stop looting, salvageable parts of the church were taken and reused in other ways.

As we look at our Gospel lesson today, we have a story that gives us the emotion of fear and a story that teaches us about ownership of the things that are important to us, and in this case, what we have ownership of is our faith.

This lesson piggy backs on our lesson from last week, which was about Jesus not being able to grieve the death of John the Baptist because a crowd of 5000+ had gathered around him.  He had compassion on them, and instead of sending the crowd away, he was able to break bread with them.  Having collected the leftovers, now Jesus is finding time to once again grieve the loss of John.  He puts the disciples in a boat, and he goes up on the mountain by himself to pray.  By early morning, the waves and the wind had pushed the boat far out to sea.  I find that little nugget of info to be intriguing.  Several of the disciples were fisherman, they knew how to sail a boat.  Even if the wind is coming straight at you, if you know how to sail, and they did, then you can get to shore.  For some odd reason though, they did not return to shore, and Jesus comes walking to them on the water.  And when they saw him, they cried out in fear that it was a ghost.  Jesus hears their anti-confession, and speaks to them, “Take heart, It is I; do not be afraid.”  The fear is running deep within the diciples.  In the midst of a situation that they know how to handle, fear overcomes and becomes their first instint.

I’ve always loved Jesus’ response, but to be honest our translation does us a little disservice.  What Jesus said as it is written in the Greek is: “Take heart, it is I am!”  Translated that way, Jesus uses the very name that God gave to Moses at the burning bush.  It isn’t a proper noun like our names, but instead a verb that means “the one who is” or “the being one” or “I am who I am”.  He reminds the disciples that they are not seeing a ghost, but instead are seeing God in the flesh, God incarnate, walking on the water straight towards them.  Here we find another intriguing nugget of info…We are supposed to fear looking at God.  Exodus makes clear that if we see the face of God we will die.  But here on the water, Jesus turns that around, not promising death to these disciples who plainly see him, but instead offering peace and calm in the midst of fear.  What a blessing it is to have a God that knows our weakness, and offers us grace when we need it most.

Peter though, ever the doubter, doesn’t believe.  Think about this a minute….Peter in our pericope last week just saw Jesus feed 5000+ people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.  He has seen Jesus heal people, even his own mother in law.  He has heard Jesus teach parables.  He has seen Jesus cleanse lepers and even still a storm.  And yet Peter doesn’t believe?  Here is where the second lesson from Old Sheldon church comes into play.  Peter has everything he needs.  But he doesn’t take ownership of it.  He questions his very faith.  He questions Jesus’ power.  He questions the very things that God has given him.  Now We know how this story ends because we just heard it.  Peter gets out of the boat, and as long as he is focused on Jesus, everything is fine.  But when he loses that ownership, he starts to sink and Jesus has to rescue him.  Jesus even asks him:  “Why did you doubt?”  Our lesson for today ends with the disciples worshipping Jesus and having a true confession:  “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Why is it so hard to take ownership of that?  Perhaps it is because faith can be hard.  But it is not just an issue of faith.  I can’t tell you how many times I have heard excuses when it comes to church.  That is until people need the church.  It’s not even just the church.  Taking ownership in something is demanding. And yet the very things we have in this world are ours because God has entrusted it to us. We have dominion over creation and are therefore the stewards of creation.  The same goes for our faith.  The same goes for our families.  Everything we have is because God has entrusted it to us, it is all a part of creation, and since the dawn of creation the duty of humanity was to care for creation.  It is a crucial building block in our relationship with God.  As hard as it may be, let’s make sure there is no fear when we see God show up in the world, but instead, look for and hope for that calming presence in our midst. Because like Jesus came to the disciples on the water, God comes to us.  Not with a heavy hand, but with a calming reassurance.  “Take Heart, it is I am, do not be afraid.”  The story that we write today and in truth each and every day is a story that will continue to be told.  It is the story of the people of this congregation, their faith, and their trust in God. But more so, it is the story of how God is active in this place.  Don’t let it become a story of ruins, but instead leave your fear behind and take ownership so that it becomes a story of joy for future generations.  In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.