08.11.02 - BYOB – Matthew 14:22-33

BYOB – Matthew 14:22-33
August 11, 2002
St. John United Methodist Church
David Beckett, D.Min.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Last Sunday Jesus had fed the 5000 with 5 loaves and two fish. Now we pick it up in verse 22 with the next miracle story.

{22} Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. {23} And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, {24} but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them.

This is the first time the disciples are sent forth without Jesus. Keep in mind that Matthew is writing this several decades after Jesus died and rose again. The Christians of Matthew’s church are living out the mission without the physical presence of Christ.
This is the first time in Matthew that Jesus is portrayed as praying in dependence on God. Even Jesus, the Son of God, needed to walk away from the hurts and needs of others in order to spend renewing time alone with God.
Some of the themes in Matthew resonate with what was happening with the early church. For example, Matthew likely sees the new church as being in the storm-tossed boat, symbolic of the church’s stormy missionary journey.
The Greek word translated as "battered" also means "tortured." Matthew is thinking of the suffering the church will experience during its mission on which it is sent forth without Jesus.
Another interesting note is that in biblical times the sea was thought of as being a force of chaos, help at bay by the creative act of God, but always threatening.

{25} And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. {26} But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. {27} But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."

Our modern mind likely thinks of Jesus defying the law of gravity as he walks on the water. But the biblical mind thinks of the one who overcomes the power of chaos. Jesus walks on the sea. Popular ancient thought was that no human being could perform this feat. It was reserved only for deity. Obviously, there was a belief in ghosts in the culture at the time. This was the disciples’ first reaction to seeing a man walking on the water.

{28} 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, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. {30} But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" {31} Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"

These verses are not in the Mark version. What we have here is Matthew writing about Christ who 1) speaks with authority (Mt 5-7); 2) acts with authority (Mt. 8-9); 3) and now shares this same authority with his disciples. Peter is invited to step out onto the water into the power that Jesus is showing them. But Peter allows the storm to make him afraid and he starts to sink. For Matthew, Peter’s problem was not only that he took his eyes off Jesus, but that he wanted proof of the presence of Christ, and so left the boat in the first place.
Peter cries out with the community prayer adopted from the Psalms and common in Christian worship, "Lord, save me!" The gentle rebuke identifies Peter as the typical disciple in Matthew; of hearing the word of God and looking at the terror of the storm; of trust and doubt, which is always an ingredient to Christian experience, even after the resurrection.

{32} 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."

Matthew drastically rewrites the ending of this story as it is in Mark. Instead of utter astonishment, lack of understanding, and hardened hearts, we have falling down and worshiping Jesus, confessing he is the Son of God. The conclusion is difficult to imagine in a small boat on the lake, but it reflects the response of a grateful church that experiences the impossible presence of Christ with it in its mission.

WHAT GOD MIGHT BE SAYING TO US TODAY

In seminary I had a friend, Bob, who told us the story of Karen, a hospital patient to whom he was ministering. Karen was part of a church who taught that miracles happen when sins are confessed and faith is exercised. As Karen lay there critically ill, she struggled to think of sins she needed to confess. She tried and tried to have faith in God. Nothing Bob said would change her way of thinking and Karen died, believing that God was judging her for her sin and lack of faith.

Have you ever thought that bad things have happened to you or people you care about because of unconfessed sin or lack of faith? Your marriage is falling apart. Your child is rebellious. Your mother is dying. You’ve been taught that with faith in God, you can move mountains! Why isn’t the mountain in front of you moving? Why isn’t the storm tossing you about calming?

The message in this story is not "If Peter had had enough faith, he could have walked on the water." The message for us is not "If we have enough faith, we can overcome all our problems in spectacular ways." This interpretation connects faith with supernatural exceptions to the laws of physics and biology. Do we expect God to suspend natural laws in order to help us?

Last week I was in Denali National Park riding the bus up the snaking mountain road to Polychrome Pass. I’m not a big fan of looking down hundreds and thousands of feet into the air below me. But I was on the left side of the bus so this was the view I had before me. Later as we hiked to a mountain peak I stood on the edge of a huge cliff and looked down. The thought entered my mind, "If I jumped off right now, I bet I would survive." Somehow my reasonable, scientific mind was being unreasonable and unscientific. What is it that makes us think that the law of gravity doesn’t apply to us, only to others? What is it that makes teenagers think that God will exempt them from being in an accident when they get into a car with a driver who has been drinking? What is it that makes parents think that their children will make good decisions while others do not?

Faith is not leaping into the wind and trusting that God will give us a miracle by saving us from the pull of gravity. For Peter, faith was not testing Jesus by stepping out of the boat. The message of this story is, "If Peter had had enough faith, he would have believed the word of Jesus that came to him while he was in the boat as the presence of God."

A story is told of an Eastern king who was seated in a garden, and one of his counselors was speaking of the wonderful works of God. "Show me a sign," said the king, "and I will believe." "Here are four acorns," said the counselor, "will you, your Majesty, plant them in the ground, and then stoop down for a moment and look into this clear pool of water?" The king did so, "Now," said the other, "look up." The king looked up and saw four oak-trees where he had planted the acorns. "Wonderful!" he exclaimed, "this is indeed the work of God." "How long were you looking into the water?" asked the counselor. "Only a second," said the king. "Eighty years have passed as a second," said the other. The king looked at his garments; they were threadbare. He looked at his reflection in the water; he had become an old man. "There is no miracle here, then," he said angrily. "Yes," said the other, "it is God's work, whether he did it in one second or in eighty years."

We are a people obsessed with signs. We read daily horoscopes. We watch with great curiosity TV shows about the paranormal. We wonder about ghosts and people who claim to speak with the dead. I suspect there are a great many people who are not in church today because they cannot believe in God without a miracle. Peter was the same. He needed a miracle in order to believe in Jesus. What is it you need in order to believe in God? Do you need a sign, a miracle? Sometimes a sign comes to us and we still cannot believe.

Rabbi Feldman had been having trouble with his congregation. It seemed they could agree upon nothing, and controversy filled the air until the Sabbath itself became an area of conflict, and unhappiness filled the synagogue. The president of the congregation organized a meeting of 10 elders and the rabbi. They met in the conference room of the synagogue, sitting about a magnificent mahogany table. One by one the issues were dealt with and on each issue, it became more and more apparent that the rabbi was a lonely voice in the wilderness.
The president said, "Come, Rabbi, enough of this. Let us vote and allow the majority to rule." He passed out the slips of paper, and each man made his mark. The slips were collected and the president said, "You may examine them, Rabbi. It is 11 to one against you. We have the majority."
Whereupon the rabbi rose to his feet. "So", he said, "you now think because of the vote that you are right and I am wrong. Well, I stand here -- and he raised his arms impressively -- and call upon the Holy One of Israel to give us a sign that I am right and you are wrong."
Suddenly, there came a frightful crack of thunder and a brilliant flash of lightning that struck the mahogany table and cracked it in two. The room was filled with smoke and the president and the elders were hurled to the floor.
But the rabbi was untouched, his eyes flashing and a grim smile on his face.
Slowly, the president lifted himself above what was left of the table. His hair was singed, his glasses were hanging from one ear, his clothing was in disarray. He said, "All right, 11 to two. We still have the majority."

Peter needed a sign that it was Jesus walking on the water. Jesus honored his desire by granting him the power to walk on the water. Then Peter took his eyes off Jesus and allowed the storm to grip him with fear, and he began to sink. "Lord, save me!"

There are times in our lives when we need a sign from God. There are times when we take our eyes off Jesus. There are times when we feel we are sinking into the darkness of despair. This story teaches us that, even in the midst of our need for a sign, even in the midst of our doubts,….it is okay to cry out, "Lord, save me!" And God will reach out to us, and with a strong grip, pull us out of the pit, and away from the storm, into the calmness of his presence.

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