“Jesus Walks on Water”
A Sermon Not Preached by the
Rev. Jean Niven Lenk
Sunday, February 10, 2013
First Congregational Church of Stoughton, United Church of Christ
Text: Matthew 14:22-33
Let us pray….
Creator God, by whose Spirit
the waters of chaos were contained and the heavens and the earth came into
being, through the reading and hearing of your Holy Word, may we have the
courage to step out of our safety and security to follow your call as disciples
of your Son the Christ. Amen.
Of all the miracle stories
in the New Testament, Jesus walking on water is probably the most
well-known. First of all, it is the
flashiest – flashier even than turning water into wine. But it is also beloved because it is full of
wisdom and truth about how Jesus can guide us through the storms of our lives
with his calming and steadfast presence.
This story is told by three
of the four Gospel writers, but unlike Mark and John, Matthew’s version has the
added component of the disciple Peter trying to walk on water, too, and that is
the account we’re going to hear this morning.
So I invite you to turn to page 16 of the New Testament section in your
pew bible and listen to the Word of God in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 14,
verses 22-33.
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. 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.”
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?” 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.”
If you go on YouTube, you’ll
find any number of videos of people supposedly “walking on water.” One video is a kind of “candid camera”
version purposely done to capture the reactions of unsuspecting and mystified
onlookers. Other videos show the work of
illusionists trying to convince spectators of their magical powers. And two videos uncover the “miracles” – or at
least the “magic” – to be nothing more than frauds using wooden planks or
transparent acrylic platforms just below the water’s surface. Perhaps “walking on water” is best left to
Jesus who doesn’t offer magic or illusion or deception – merely his fully human
and fully divine self.
As our story opens, Jesus
has just fed 5,000 people with five fishes and two loaves, and now he needs to
get away and have a little “alone time.”
So he puts the disciples in a boat and sends them to the opposite shore
of the Sea of Galilee. But while Jesus
is enjoying some tranquility, the disciples are encountering turbulence. Out on the sea, a fierce storm has blown up,
and the churning waters are putting their boat in peril.
The unexpected storm and the
tumultuous waters strike fear in the heart of the disciples. And their terror only increases when they see
a figure walking toward them on water. Who
is it? they wonder; what could it be? A
ghost? A trickster? A demon?
But then Jesus speaks to them these comforting words: "Take heart,
it is I." And then he adds, “Do not
be afraid.” We’ve heard that line
before, haven’t we?
Peter responds, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water,”
and Jesus says, “Come.” Stepping out of
the boat in faith, Peter tries to join Jesus on the water; he even succeeds for
a moment or two. But then he realizes
just what he is doing; trying to walk on water is crazy enough in itself, but
he’s trying it in the middle of a terrifying tempest. And when Peter’s focus shifts from the Savior
to the storm, fear overtakes him, and he begins to sink. He cries out, "Lord, save me," and
Jesus does just that -- he grabs Peter and returns him to the safety of the
boat. And then the winds cease.
Now, I have preached on this story before with the message that fear can
sink us like it almost did Peter. Fear
can paralyze us; fear can turn a buoyant spirit into a sinking stone; fear can
keep us from stepping out, from taking chances, from trying new things, from
growing and changing and living. But the
Good News is that, when we are in troubled waters, Jesus does not abandon us
but rather comes to us, as he came to his disciples; he is there when we need
him most and calms the storms of our lives.
That’s a comforting, timeless message.
But today I want to offer a different look at the story of Jesus walking
on water.
From the earliest of times, the boat has been used as a symbol for the
Christian Church, with the mast representing the cross. In fact, the logo of the World Council of
Churches is a boat. And that’s why this
part of the sanctuary that you’re sitting in is called the nave, a term
which comes from the Latin word for “ship.”
Boats are mentioned over 50 times in the Gospels. As fishers of people, the disciples often
used boats as their means of travel for sharing the Good News, and Jesus often
preached from his boat, which he used as his vehicle for service and mission.
And from this morning’s story, we can see why a boat is apt imagery for
the Church: when adversity comes at us from all sides, we can find within the
church safety and security – and Jesus.
But the downside of this metaphor is that the boat – the church -- can
become a place where we hide out and hunker down rather than venture out to
face the changing weather.
And the weather is certain changing for the Christian church – indeed for
most of organized religion. These days,
one in five Americans claim no religious identity; less than half who claim a
spirituality are part of a faith community.
In addition, the younger generation is opting out of church in droves;
it’s not that they’re indifferent to God; they’re just indifferent to the
Church. These realities are buffeting
churches of all traditions, prompting them to discern whether to keep on doing
business as usual, or step out in faith into something new and different.
The leadership of this church believes it is important to get a full
assessment of the sturdiness of the boat of the First Congregational Church of
Stoughton, so we can determine how to best navigate through these churning
waters and changing weather. This past
Thursday, our Church Council unanimously voted to participate in the Crossroads
program sponsored by the UCC’s Massachusetts Conference. The program is designed for congregations
that find themselves at a crossroads and want to intentionally discern their
path forward.
Over the next eight months or so, the program will assess both our
church’s strengths as well as it challenges, to include the changing
demographics of the Stoughton community.
This assessment will help us discern how God is calling us into the
future and how our church can most effectively serve as the hands and feet of
Christ in our community and the world.
We will be inviting all of you to participate in this discernment
process, and we hope you will be actively involved.
Before he steps out of the boat, Peter asks, “Lord,
if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Why does Peter say this? Why doesn’t he just plunge into the
water?
It’s because Jesus walking on water is not just a
story about risk-taking; it is a story about discipleship. Peter asks the question to make sure he is
following his Lord, not just his own foolish impulses.
And as it was for Peter, moving out of the comfort and security the boat
can be scary and risky for us, too. It
is natural to want to stay in safety of familiar surroundings rather than face
the uncertainty of change. Who knows
what might happen when we venture into something new and different and
unknown? But Jesus doesn’t call us to
safety; he calls us to discipleship. And
just as he beckoned his disciple Peter, Jesus calls his modern-day followers to
step out of the boat – to go somewhere new and different, to risk change, to
move beyond the familiar and comfortable ways.
Peter ventured forth in faith, even though the going was rough. And when he began to sink, Jesus was right
there reaching out his hand, stilling the wind and the waves. We too can step out with faith and confidence
because Jesus will be right with us, telling us “Do not be afraid,” as he leads
us forward into the future. Amen.
