Lectionary: Year B, Proper 14
Text: Matthew 14:22-33, (34-36) (Extended the supplied reading to include the epilogue.)
The fears at the top of the list are things that are concerned with government, politics, the environment, the economy, and those things that we tend to encounter more readily and frequently. As a point of interest, pandemic was number 32 down the list two years ago. (I’m curious where that item would land today.)
And, in case you were wondering, the disciples’ fear of ghosts is only number 88 in the 21st century. This fear might have placed a higher in the first [century].
These are turbulent times, indeed, in nearly every aspect of life. There are plenty of potential sources vying for our fears, and it might be easy to let fears overwhelm us. Some might say we shouldn’t fear at all, but fear is an important emotion that alerts us to genuine harm and danger, and we can respond to such fears by taking appropriate actions and precautions.
Perhaps one of the problems is that when we are bombarded by almost innumerable negative stimuli and stressors, it becomes difficult to sort out and distinguish those things that we ought to respond to appropriately vs. those things that we should not pay attention to. One response might be overreaction in which we try to respond to everything. Another response might be to becomes so anesthetized that we ignore everything, even genuinely harmful ones.
Jesus had just recently heard the devastating report about the gruesome murder of his cousin, John the Baptist. When Jesus tried to get some time to himself, he was bombarded with a huge crowd that took all of his efforts for the entire day. At the end of the day his disciples presented him with another problem which Jesus had to again take the initiative to provide a solution.
We have to remind ourselves that Jesus is fully a human being here. He is not operating from his divine essence. Jesus gets tired, he experiences stress, he has enough of being around other people, he has griefs, he feels frustration and anger, and he feels fear. I think that sometimes Christians portray Jesus’ perfection in such a way that these very human emotions get erased. It is good to be reminded that Jesus experienced and struggled with the same emotions that every human being does.
Jesus sends the disciples away on their boat and he dismisses the crowds. He goes up the mountain to have some time for himself — to spend time in prayer and recharge and restore himself through God. He spends the entire night in prayer.
An important point for us as we live in our time is to find time to recharge and restore ourselves. Prayer doesn’t look the same for every person. For some it may be literally sitting in prayer. For others it might be meditation outdoors, bathing in the wonders of God’s creation. Others might find things like journaling and writing helpful. How did God wire you to connect back to God?
Early in the morning, Jesus senses that his disciples are in trouble and goes out to meet them. In the midst of storm and turbulence, with wind blowing and waves crashing, Jesus walks out to them on the water, to approach the disciples in their boat. Metaphorically, Jesus might represent those who have such unequivocal trust in God that they are a picture of solid calm whatever might be outside. They are able to find solid footing, even on what to everyone else is tempestuous water. The ideal picture for which we strive.
What appears calm and certain, Jesus on the water, is anything but, to the disciples. When they see Jesus, the only explanation they come up with is that it is a ghost. We shouldn’t be too hard on them, since I doubt any of us would have responded too differently if we saw a figure approaching us in the middle of the sea.
We expect Jesus in certain places and to show up at certain times. A lesson here could be that we might overlook Jesus or misidentify God’s presence in the world because it doesn’t look like what we expect, or they are in places where we don’t expect God’s presence to be found.
Jesus immediately announces his identity to his disciples and assures them that there is no reason for fear. It should be noted that Jesus’ identification of himself, “It is I”, is the “I AM” that Yahweh used to identify himself in Hebrew history. The image of a being walking on water is associated with God and the divine in the Hebrew Scriptures. Perhaps the disciples’ exclamation that what they saw was a ghost was preferable, at least to them, than the alternative, that it was God approaching them. Which could also explain why Jesus was so quick to identify himself and to calm their fears. This was Jesus whom they had been in the company of for quite some time now — someone they should know. Yet very different.
What I see as one of the key themes in today’s reading is the disciples making a dramatic change in the identification of Jesus: from “It’s a ghost” to “Truly, you are the Son of God.” It should be noted that even though walking on water was dramatic and miraculous, that in itself was not what convinced them. After all, walking on the water made them initially think that Jesus was a ghost.
What was it then, that caused such a marked shift?
I believe the answer is found in Peter’s response to this “problem of Jesus.” The problem is that Jesus is familiar to the disciples, yet his present appearance is quite foreign. What are they to make of it? Are the two really the same?
Peter takes the initiative to verify that the being out on the water is really Jesus. Peter’s faith is not in his next act of stepping out of the boat, but in the very asking that he be invited to step out of the boat. Peter trusts that if Jesus commands it, Peter will be able to accomplish it. Jesus commands, and Peter steps out. At least for a short time, Peter’s trust in Jesus overcomes all doubt and fear.
But as is often the case, initial success is met with strong winds and frightening waves. Yes, Jesus called Peter out of the boat, but is Jesus enough to keep Peter above the water? Notice that the wind and waves do not calm when Peters steps out of the boat and onto the water. Faith falters, doubt creeps in and Peter suddenly starts to sink.
Peter calls out again, “Lord!” But this time it is not to step out in faith, but to be saved from certain drowning.
Immediately (that’s a word repeated in this short section describing Jesus’ actions) Jesus appears next to Peter and lifts him up and holds him steady. Together they walk back to and into the boat. The winds cease when they enter the boat.
It is at this moment that the disciples together identify Jesus as “Son of God.” Throughout Hebrew history, Yahweh has acted to save his people, the Israelites. The center of today’s gospel reading is the saving of Peter. The name Jesus is the Greek rendering of Joshua, meaning Yahweh is salvation. In the saving of Peter, Jesus is acting literally according to his name. Peter asks for salvation, and Jesus responds.
If it were wonders and miracles that could convince the disciples that Jesus was the Son of God, it surely could have happened before this. If mastery over nature was a sign of divinity, Jesus had already calmed the seas once before [Matthew 8].
Up to this point, only Satan and demons had identified Jesus as “Son of God.” But now the disciples have finally seem to have understood, although they still don’t know what that really means.
This story and the Feeding of the Five Thousand story from last week form a pair. The pair of stories begins with a crowd and healing, and the pair ends with an epilogue that is about a different crowd and some more healing.
Perhaps I might be reading too much into some of the words used here, but I find it interesting that this latter crowd is said to “recognize” Jesus. The first crowd merely heard that Jesus had gone to a different place and followed. But the crowd at Gennesaret “recognize” Jesus. The healing of the first crowd is just a curing (Gk., related to our word ‘therapy’) of their illnesses. But when the crowd in Gennesaret are healed, the Greek word used here signifies restoration and salvation [sozos]. Where the first crowd merely experienced some physical cures, the crowd at Gennesaret experiences a restoration to wholeness. Perhaps these choices of words are Matthew’s way of showing how much more Jesus is able to offer when we see him as Son of God.
We should not dismiss the positives that the world has gained from seeing Jesus as a great teacher, a moral and ethical example, a great prophet, and perhaps someone who worked wonders and miracles. But a restoration to wholeness can only come when Jesus goes beyond all that and is recognized as the Son of God, the savior of all humankind and the world.
To know that Jesus is our savior is the antidote to fears that this life throws at us. Jesus beckons and calls us into the storm, the turbulence, and the crashing waves. That is where ministry happens – in the storms of life. That’s where Jesus is. He knows that our faith will falter and we will begin to sink. But he also promises that he will save us.
It was just one disciple, Peter, whose faith allowed him to ask Jesus to command him to walk out into the storm. It was Peter’s actions and subsequent saving by Jesus that gave the remaining disciples insight into Jesus and their correct identification of who Jesus was.
Was Jesus’ words to Peter, “You of little faith; why did you doubt?”, a reprimand as it frequently is interpreted? Or was it an encouragement? “You had enough faith to step out of the boat. Why did you doubt that you could continue? The faith you had to step out was enough to take you through.”
All it takes is one person with a mustard seed sized faith to step out of the safety of the boat and into the wild uncertainties and storms of life. This one person and one act can inspire others to follow.
When we are following Jesus to the places where he is asking us to work, we need have no fear of failure, because even if our faith falters, he will be faithful to lift and steady us, bring us back to where we can regroup and recover, and then follow him out again into the storms of this world.
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