+ 10th Sunday after Pentecost –
August 13th, 2017 +
Redeemer
Lutheran, HB
Series A:
Job 38:4-18; Romans 10:5-17; Matthew 14:22-33
In the
Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
If you’ve ever been to see a play – perhaps at the Gem Theater
– there’s a familiar pattern. The scene is set in the beginning – like Dorothy
in Kansas. The following acts and scenes lead the audience to the finale – a
romantic tragedy like Romeo and Juliet
or a joyous ending like Beauty and the
Beast.
In many ways, Matthew’s account of Jesus walking on the water
is like a well-crafted drama. But unlike the stories we enjoy at the theater or
read about in books, the divine drama happened, not in a galaxy far far away,
but in the playhouse of human history. All the world’s a stage, and in Jesus,
the playwright became entered his own play to save man from the great tragedy
of sin and death.
And so, Matthew’s purpose isn’t entertainment or to teach a
moral lesson. Rather, Matthew reveals who Jesus is and what he has come to do:
to save sinners incapable of saving ourselves. Matthew wants us to see how
utterly foolish, weak, and dead in sin we are so that in Jesus crucified we
might see the fullness of God’s glory, his boundless grace and mercy to save
even us.
And so, Matthew sets the scene:
After hearing the news of his cousin John’s beheading, Jesus looked
for solitude and prayer. Finally, the crowds are gone. The disciples row their
boat. Jesus is alone. Then a notorious evening wind kicks up on the Sea of
Galilee. The water is white capped and wind chopped. The disciples struggle
against the wind and waves, 3 strokes forward, 2 strokes back. The harder they
pull the oars, the harder it is to move. Perhaps life feels that way some days.
As Dr. Rosenbladt used to say, “the hurrier I go the behinder I get.”
Already Matthew has introduced the plot and direction of this
event. It begins with separation and distance – Jesus on the mountain and his
disciples in the boat on the sea – and it will end with nearness and worship.
Meanwhile, the disciples row, row, row their boat wearily in
the sea. Exhausted. Fatigued. Then afraid. Around the “fourth watch of the
night” (3 AM our time), they see a figure walking on the water towards them.
Now, the disciples were sane
and rational men. Four of them were experienced fishermen, not the type to
scare easy. They knew that men don’t walk on water. “It is a ghost!” they cried
out in fear. Can you blame them? Alone in a boat. In a storm. With a strange
figure walking towards them on the water. Who of us wouldn’t be afraid?
Well, seeing isn’t believing, but hearing
is. As the apostle Paul reminds us, “faith
comes by hearing the word of Christ.” Take
heart. It is I. Do not be afraid.
This isn’t Jesus saying, “Hey you guys!
It’s me, chill.” No, these are important, often lost in translation. When Jesus
says It is I, he’s saying Ego eimi in Greek. Jesus uses the divine
name of YHWH. I AM. The one who appeared to Moses in the burning bush. I AM who
I AM.
Jesus is saying, “Have courage. I AM the
Lord. Don’t be afraid. And he says it immediately. Take heart. I AM the Lord.
Do not be afraid. YHWH in human flesh – whom the wind and waves obey – is
Jesus, their Master. In his reassuring word, Jesus gave them everything they
needed. Jesus’ Word is enough.
That’s something the church today needs to
hear as well. Jesus’ Word is enough. Jesus’ Word and promise in Holy Baptism. Jesus’
liberating verdict of forgiveness in Holy Absolution. Jesus’ presence and
salvation in his body and blood. Jesus’ Word is enough.
And yet, like Peter, we doubt his word. We
want something more. For Peter, Jesus’ word was not enough. He wanted something
more bizarre than Jesus walking on water. Peter answered Jesus and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
What would it take for Peter to believe?
Headstands on water? Surfing without a board? No. Jesus’ Word is enough. What
does it take for us to trust Jesus’ Word? A church where all the pews are full
and the offering plates are spilling over? A bank account full of money and a
house full of stuff? A healthy body, good self-esteem, and a perfect spiritual
life?
Jesus’ Word is enough.
Jesus spoke one word to Peter. “Come.” But this was no ordinary word. It
is the Word from the Word Incarnate. The Word that laid the foundation of the
earth, that shut the sea behind its doors, that made the clouds, and said to
the proud waves of the Deep “thus far shall you come and no farther.”
So, when Jesus says to Peter “Come” that’s all it takes to bring him
out of the boat and walk to Jesus on the surface of the deep.
The sea is a personification of Death, the
abyss. In Israel, fishermen feared the sea. The sea was full of the great sea
monsters, the Leviathan. It was a picture of death that swallowed you up whole
and didn’t spit you out again. So when Jesus walks on the water, He shows not
only His lordship over creation but also His lordship over Death.
“Come.” Jesus said. That one word carried Peter from the boat,
across the water, to Jesus.
Now don’t try this in your swimming pool or down at Bolsa
Chica. We don’t have that word from Jesus. But you have a better word spoken in
your Baptism. Justified. Declared righteous before God. Forgiven. Holy. Jesus
word does what he says. You don’t walk on water, you live in the water of your
Baptism. Drowned in forgiveness. And raised to new life. Jesus’ word in your
Baptism is as sure as the word that propelled Peter out of the boat to Jesus
across the choppy Sea of Galilee.
And there was Peter, standing next to Jesus, defying
everything that Archimedes ever said about floating objects. He looked around
at the white caps, and heard the wind. He was afraid. He started to sink. The
first time Peter doubted whether it was really Jesus; this time he doubted
whether Jesus could do what he said.
This is what happens when we turn away from God’s Word. We
sink into Death. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. That’s where Peter’s eyes needed
to be – on Jesus. Not the wind, waves, or boat. Jesus. Nothing but Jesus.
Same for us. Look at the world around us, inside yourself, and
doubts will rise, fear will grow, and we’ll sink like a stone. That’s why we’re
here every Sunday to hear the Word, to receive the Supper. Life is full of countless
distractions. Sinking doubts. Paralyzing fears. The folly of our sin. When we
lose sight of Jesus in His Word, His Supper, in the gathering in His Name, then
we drown.
We drown in despair, in guilt, in fear. We drown in our
doubts, our skepticism, our failings and weaknesses. We drown in Sin and
Death.
Lord,
save me. That’s all Peter could say… That’s the best thing he could’ve
said.
That’s all we can say too. Lord, save me. And he does. Immediately,
Jesus reached out His hand and took hold of Peter. Whose grip matters the most?
Jesus’ hands. The hands that pull you out of the abyss of the grave by being
pierced and crucified for you.
Jesus doesn’t say to Peter, “Well, you did ok for a while; but
what you really need to do next time is trust me more and have a little more
faith.”
Jesus does rebuke Peter, but gently. Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?
We’re no different than Peter. We’re doubt, despair, and are
afraid. Does God’s Word really work? If Jesus is Lord over the wind and sea,
will he save me when I call upon him? What if I doubt or despair and have
little faith like Peter? What if my faith isn’t even the size of a mustard
seed? Will let me sink and give me what I deserve?
No he won’t give us what we deserve; it’s the other way
around. Jesus gives us what we don’t deserve: Jesus saves you, like Peter, by
grace.
You see, Peter’s faith isn’t given as an example to follow but
rather to show that he is weak and sinful like us, so that Jesus’ identity and his
grace and mercy are seen more clearly.
And now, the story that began in separation and distance ends
in nearness and worship. The disciples worshiped Jesus. Truly you are the Son of God. Jesus would not let the disciples
sink or Peter drown.
Jesus won’t let you drown either. Take heart. It is I AM. Do
not be afraid.
Jesus comes to us in the fourth watch of our day, when we are
weakest. When we can’t pull our oars any longer. When the depths of Death overwhelm
us. And He speaks a sure and powerful Word to us: Forgiven. You are God’s own
beloved child. You stand justified before God’s judgment seat because He says
so. The same Word who caused Peter to walk on the water will raise you up to
dance on Death and the grave. You can count on it. You have Jesus’ Word; and
that’s enough.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
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