Pentecost 12A 2005

1 Kings 19:9-18

Psalm 85: 8-13

Romans 10:5-15

Matthew 14:22-33

It is already the beginning of August and many of us are starting to think about going back to school. My kids are wanting to buy their school supplies and new backpacks. Many of you will be heading back into the classroom to teach a new crop of eager students. So I thought I would help get us into the mood by giving you a pop quiz.

Don’t panic. There are only 3 questions and no right answers. Okay. Ready?

1. I am….

a. ready for school to start

b. not ready at all!

c. whatever

2. I am doing….

a. what I want

b. what my parents wanted me to do

c. what I think society wants me to do

3. Peter, in today’s Gospel, is….

a. annoying

b. brave

c. full of fear

See, that wasn’t so bad now was it.

Question 1. I am ready for school to start, not ready at all, or whatever. That one as we know doesn’t really matter. School starts again every year whether we are ready or not. As surely as tax day or another birthday it rolls around. And we send the kids off, get ourselves out the door, adjust to new traffic patterns and pedestrians attached to cell phones. Here at Lord of Life we greet new students coming in as we are leaving worship.

And we juggle parking spots.

Are we ever really ready for anything? It is much more comfortable to stay in the boat. It is nice and warm and safe and dry, and they know us there. It can be hard to step out of our comfort zone, take risks, try something new, make new friends.

Most of us like the predictable routines we are in. New and improved? No thanks. I’ll stick with the way things have always been. I’m not ready for things to change. I’ll just stay here in the back of the boat….

Hmm..

Question 2: I am doing what I want, what my parents want me to do, what I think society wants me to do. I asked this question of the college students at their Wednesday night worship and got some very honest answers. What my parents want still applies to this generation. What society wants is also a driving force. That doesn’t change much as we get older, does it?

I still carry my mother’s voice in the back of my mind. Perhaps you here yours, or your father. Or do you live to fit in with your neighbors? Your favorite tv show? Remember those Dorothy Hammill haircuts? I had one.

If we are still doing what our parents want us to or society expects, are we still doing God’s will? Sometimes yes, sometimes it isn’t so clear.

Peter didn’t go along with those other disciples, the one’s who stayed in the boat. He left them behind when he clambered over the edge. I’m sure that as a boy Peter’s parent’s had told him that he needed to wear a life jacket, learn to swim, and never, ever, try walking on water, you’ll sink like a rock! Just stay in the boat where it is safe.

Keep it safe, don’t risk too much, don’t stand out in a crowd. Don’t make a fool of yourself.

But there goes Peter, putting all his trust in Jesus, getting out of the boat….taking a risk…and WOW! Look ma! No land!

For a moment, it is pure trust. Peter does it! He walks on water! No, not the old icefishing lake joke, or knowing where the rocks are. He looks in Jesus eyes and for a moment, a brief breathtaking moment Peter stands on the waves. And it changes everything.

All right, the moment doesn’t last. But it does show the possibilities. The nature defying logic defying risk taking inexplicable possibilities of faith. For “Faith is not certainty in knowledge; it is a certainty of spirit. It is a choice to believe—no matter what.” (Jerry Goebel.)

That brings us to question 3. How are you doing so far? Peter is annoying, brave, or afraid? The answer is d. all of the above.

Peter is annoying, can’t you hear the other disciples saying, “There he goes again. Teacher’s pet. He’s making us look bad.” Peter is annoying even at times to Jesus who has to tell him to sit down and be quiet. “Get behind me Satan” are the exact word, I believe.

Peter is also Brave. He risks looking like the fool. He follows Jesus against his better judgement. If he had thought first he never would have left the boat. He would have sat back down. Then again he might still be back home and not following Jesus around to begin with. It would have been safer back in the village. As it is, I imagine his parent’s are worried, perhaps he has a spouse who is downright angry. And the neighbors? What do the neighbors think? Peter is brave.

But not always, not for long. For he starts walking toward Jesus on the water, then remembers himself and looks down. Never look down. (Wile E. Coyote image) Peter looses his grounding, the one based in Jesus. He falters and sinks….”Lord, save me!”

There is the fear again. We all have it. Fear.

But Jesus reaches out his hand and catches him. “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Why? It was water! People don’t walk on water! It just isn’t done….but…if…what if…

The fear of doing, being, acting differently. Of taking risks, of getting out of the boat. Of trusting, really trusting in Jesus instead of in ourselves and our own abilities.

In the midst of that fear, the fear of drowning in it all. The fear the disciples back in the boat had when it starting storming, when they saw Jesus calmly coming towards them…the fear that encircles our heart and our country…

Jesus calmly speaks: “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Then in the midst of fear and chaos he reaches out a hand and pulls us up. I’m right here. I’ll catch you. I’ll hold you up.

Come, come, let’s get back in the boat together. We’ll try this again later. Together.

We may not be ready when Jesus tells us to get out of the boat. We may stuck in the expectations of family and society. We may be afraid.

But when Jesus says move you gotta move.

(Muddy Waters/Cassandra Wilson et al.)

You may be rich,

You may be poor

You may be young

You may be old

But when the Lord gets ready

You gotta move….

You may be bound

You may be free

You may be blind

And you may see

But when the Lord gets ready

You gotta move

When he says, “Take heart,

Don’t be afraid

It is I.”

Jump out of your boat

Reach out your hand

And say, “Here am I! Here am I.”

You may be bound

Or free from sin

You may be rowing

Against the wind

But when the Lord gets ready

You gotta move.