“Fear, Failure, Faith”
“Fear, Failure, Faith”
Matthew 14:22-33
Matthew 14:22-33
In the name of the Living God and the Risen Christ. Amen.
Most of us are familiar with this story. Even if you didn’t grow up going to church, you probably have seen a dramatic picture or painting of Peter walking on the water. But then, distracted by the wind and the waves, he takes his eyes off Jesus and begins to sink. Many of the great hymns of the faith have their origins in this reading: the so-called “Navy Hymn,” which we’ll sing in a few moments, references this incident as well as the miracle of the calming of the storm: “O Christ, whose voice the waters heard / And hushed their raging at Thy word, / Who walkedst on the foaming deep / And calm amid its rage did sleep.”
Or during communion, we’ll sing the African American Spiritual, “Precious Lord.” The famous Chicago musician Thomas Dorsey combined sacred texts with the sounds of jazz and blues giving birth to the gospel tradition: “through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light. Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.”
It’s one of the most enduring accounts of fear, failure, and faith in the Christian tradition. That’s because we’ve all been there, if not literally, then spiritually: walking on the waves, focusing more on the raging wind than the savior. We’ve all been there: so eager to jump out and walk to God, so quickly taking our eyes off him. And we’ve all been there sinking, crying out, reaching out, and for just a moment as the deep begins to engulf us, wondering if he’s really there, or he really cares, or if he’s strong enough to pull us out.
He is there. He does care. That’s the enduring message of the account from Matthew 14: Jesus came to them, and he remained there with them.
It seems strange to say it. Since the very beginning of the biblical narrative Jesus makes the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him. The Greek is stronger. Jesus forces or compels them to go ahead without him. Jesus has just heard the tragic news about the beheading of his cousin, John the Baptist. He knows that he too will have to suffer and die, and so he takes the opportunity to be by himself in prayer. But even when he sends them out in the boat that evening, he would not abandon them.
When they were rowing in the middle of the night, in the middle of the sea, in the middle of a terrible storm, the waves assaulting them, he would not abandon them. When they cried out in fear, unsettled and disturbed at the sight of this phantom coming towards them, he would not abandon them. The enduring message of the Christian gospel is this: contrary even to everything you might see or feel or experience around you, he will not abandon you. Jesus, the son of God, is with you. It is the message of the Incarnation: the baby born in a barn is “God with Us, Emmanuel”—God with all of us, at all times, in every circumstance. It is the message of the life and ministry and miracles of Jesus: in the midst of the storm, he comes to them. It is the message of the Crucifixion and Resurrection: not the worst of sin, Satan, death, and hell can keep Jesus dead in the tomb. “God With Us” will be God with us in life and eternal life.
When Jesus sent them on ahead, before the storm, it must have been part of his plan for them. When he allowed the storm to strike their boats and their hearts, it must have been part of his plan for them. When he walked out to them, and their hearts filled with fear, it must have been part of his plan for them. The plan was this: they needed to be brought to the point of faith alone. Trusting only in the word and promise of the Lord.; only to Jesus, nothing else and none other.
It's that, when Jesis says, “take heart, it is I; do not be afraid,” a more literal way of saying it in the original is “Cheer up! I AM.” I AM, is the divine name: Yahweh, I AM.
So, you see, when the Lord says, “I AM,” he means I am always with you, even when I’ve sent you some place you don’t want to be, even when the winds of the world beat against you, even when the dark, deep waters want to swallow you. The Lord wants us to believe, “I AM ALWAYS with you—trust me, hold onto me, look only to me, be saved only by my strong hand reaching out to you, and nothing else.” Yes, the disciples, like us, sometimes need to be put in places where the only thing left is to either believe, or not believe. To trust the great I AM is with us; or not.
That’s where Simon is, walking on the water towards Jesus. There is no middle ground with our ol’ friend Simon Peter, right? There’s no waiting it out in the boat, to see what will happen; there’s no deliberation or discussion with this Phantom who says he’s Jesus. It’s all or nothing with him: sink or swim, live or die, believe or doubt, here I go out of the boat. There’s no middle ground, treading water, wondering if Christ is who he says he is: when you’re out of the boat, there are only two options left: eyes on Jesus, or sink into the deep.
Where are you? Out on the water, or still stuck in the boat? “I can’t, it’s too scary, Lord. We can’t do that, we might fail. I can’t give this, it’s too much. Don’t ask that from me, God, I’m not ready, yet. I’ll trust you with everything, but not that.”
The good news about taking the leap is this: the Lord’s there waiting for you. He’s not asking how good a swimmer you are, or what the other guys behind you are doing. He’s just saying, “Come.” Come to me. Step out in faith. Will you fall? Probably. Will you flounder and fail? Yes. Will there be times when you take your eyes off him, and sink? Oh Yes! But Jesus is the Great I AM, Yahweh, ruler over the winds and waves, and his strong hand will be there always, grabbing onto you, pulling you out of the deep.
But, you’ll never learn to trust only in him by sitting in the boat.
Come soon Lord Jesus. Amen.