Matthew 14:22-33

The he made the disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening, he was there alone. Meanwhile, the boat already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. At once, (Jesus) spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” After they got into the boat the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying “Truly, you are the Son of God.”

“Take courage, it is I!  Do not be afraid.”  How many of us have read these words from Matthew and wondered if Jesus was speaking to us specifically, as He was then to the disciples in the boat who were filled with fear when they saw a Ghost coming towards them in the storm.  How many of us right now, right here, need to hear these specific Words of our Lord and hold them in our hearts. Take courage!  Do not be afraid.   Be fearless in the safety of His arms.

Here is a little known fact about me…. I am a counter downer.  I have all sorts of count down apps on my phone.  For instance, did you know at the time of my writing this piece it is exactly 324 days, 13 hours, 8 minutes, 43 seconds until Christmas, 2022? My husband and children are constantly being reminded of that timeline throughout the year, because there is never too early of a time to listen to Christmas music and start planning the gift giving and the celebration.  Christmas in the Travers’ household is definitely a high holiday.  It is also according to my countdown app exactly two months, 27 days, 13 hours, 7 minutes and 18 seconds until the first day in the Travers’ household for Boat Season to begin.  The Travers are boat people from May 1 through September 30.  Being blessed with two boats, not only an old fishing boat that we use for, well duh, fishing… but also for water sports like skiing and tubing and wakeboarding and picnics on the lake followed up with a nice nap.  We have an old, yet respectable houseboat as well on “our” lake, which happens to be owned by the state of Indiana and is surrounded by beautiful, natural forests.  We dream of someday winning the lottery and getting an actual respectable houseboat, but we are grateful for what we have and make the most of it.

As water people, people who spend long periods of time on a boat on the water through all sorts of weather, I can tell you that we have become very aware of the sky and what may be coming our way.  Anticipating in a way if bad weather is approaching and what we need to do to keep ourselves safe in a storm.  I remember once, twenty years ago, new to boating, we were on the reservoir with our middle school sons having a most excellent day of sun and water.  Suddenly, we looked up and it was astonishing how fast the sky was turning gray and obviously a storm was brewing.  I dropped Hubby off at the dock to get the car and the boys and I headed to the launching area to wait for him and the trailer to get the boat out of the water.  Naturally, the lake was filled with water people who were also watching the clouds and coming to the same conclusion as us, all the boats heading towards the launching area.  Suddenly the wind picked up.  I understand in Matthew 8, when it says “a violent storm came up and the boat was swamped by waves.”  Our boat was swaying back and forth.  There was no controlling where it was going and we ended up being bashed against a parked boat on the dock while other boats were bashing against us.  The rain was pelting down on us and the streak lightening was hitting the water all around the hundred boats trying to get off the water.  It was terrifying.  I was trying to push us off the boat that was bashing into us from one side.  My twelve year old was trying to push us off the parked boat we were bashing into.  My fourteen year old was sitting in the back of our small boat with his eyes closed, obviously to me he was too terrified to help in any way.  An eternity later, which was most likely five or ten minutes, the fury of the storm passed.  I looked up and there was my husband standing on the dock waving at me, as drenched as I was and waiting for me to come pick him up to get back in the boat.  The storm had passed and he was ready to finish the day on the lake.  Once Hubby had re-entered the boat and we were safely back on the lake, my twelve year old, looked at my fourteen year old and with the most disdain I had ever heard in his voice said to his brother, “You were absolutely no help during that storm just sitting there while mom and I were trying to save us.” to which my other son quietly replied, “I was praying for us.”

Have you ever been in a storm that created great fear in you?  Perhaps it was a weather storm in which you were traveling down a highway in white out conditions, or the rain was pelting so hard you couldn’t see the road to stay in your lane.  Perhaps your storm was for the fight of your life following a devastating medical diagnosis for yourself or a loved one.  The fight for your marriage after finding out your spouse has been unfaithful or maybe it was you who were unfaithful.  The daily falling on your knees for the salvation of your grown children who have strayed so far from the church that you aren’t even sure they can see the path back to our faith.  Maybe, you have been directly in the storm the past two years which we as a world have struggled with…. The storm of Covid, a worldwide pandemic with no real end in sight.  This I know to be true:  all of us are in the midst of storms, no one escapes the storms of life.  As Frodo said to Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, “I wish none of this had happened.”  Gandalf replied: “So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide.  All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” Today, I want to talk with you about fear and faith.  About Great Faith and how we respond to Jesus in those moments when the storm has come, and our boat is swaying, being tossed about in the waves with the wind against it. Do we find him walking through the storm on the water towards us with arms outstretched?  Is our faith so great that we meet Him there on the water?  Do we Walk On The Water?

If we look at what is happening in  Matthew 14, we find that Jesus has just fed the multitude of people through His mighty miracle and grace from five loaves and two fish.  Can you imagine?  Have you ever hosted a family event, large party, wedding?  Did you manage to feed a multitude of guests with just seven pieces of food. Currently, I’m planning a birthday celebration for my husband with approximately 150 guests.  I can tell you that way more than five loaves of bread are going to be eaten.  Just the thought of all that food is exhausting and makes me so thankful for the caterer.  However, Our Lord,  He met the crowd and was filled with pity and moved to heal their sick.  He broke what little bread and fish they had with them, blessed it, gave it and it was sufficient.  His mercy and blessing are never ending.

Then Matthew tells us that Jesus “made” the disciples get into the boat and precede Him to the other side.  As a mom of five beautiful adult children, and if you don’t believe my kids are great just look at my social media cause it never lies…lol, I can tell you that I love that word “made” in this verse.  Made: to compel, to force, no choice.  Now think about it for a moment.  Jesus knows everything that is going to happen to His chosen.  He knows these fishermen and followers, whom He is making get into that boat are going to encounter rough seas.  And yet, He does not hesitate to send them off.  As a mom, I can tell you that there were many times I made my kids do things that I knew might not be what they wanted to do, but was what they needed to do, like go to bed on time, go to school with unfinished homework, drive alone to the store the first time.  Jesus kissed their cheeks and sent them on their way so He could go to the mountain and pray by Himself. He had been through a lot that afternoon and I am sure He needed His “Me” time with God to restore and reenergize for what His people would need next from Him.  He was fully human, hence fatigue and a need to be with God; and fully divine, hence the many miracles.  I can attest to the fact that after I host a huge event, I want nothing more than to curl up with my little dog and a good book for at least the next five days to re-energize myself.  So I totally can understand Jesus, knowing what is going to happen, still implores His followers to get on the boat.

Who amongst us have entered their storm willingly?  Did you raise your hand to God and declare with full conviction, “Oh Lord, let me experience this hardship so I can grow.  I promise to be fearless throughout it.”  I know that has never been what I’ve experienced when the storms arise.  I don’t choose to grow through the hardship of fearful situations.  When the pandemic began two years ago, I don’t recall any of us saying, “Oh great!  A chance to grow in my faith.”  We didn’t say, “Oh Lord, push us into the Covid storm so we can grow in faith.”  And yet, He allowed, the pandemic to happen.  The God of the Hebrews who made the Pharaoh impotent over God’s Chosen people and smote the Egyptians; the God who parted the Red Sea for the Safe passage of the Hebrew People even though he knew they would fall back to the worship of the golden calf; the God who sent His only begotten Son to die on a cross and be resurrected on the third day in atonement for His creation’s sin.  That God could end this pandemic if he chose to with the blink of His eye.  But we are told that all things will be for our good and for God’s glory.  So for His purposes, we as His creation find ourselves put on the Covid boat two years ago with no choice.  In the midst of this storm, a storm which has brought great fear to our world, we have the opportunity to show great faith.  We have the choice to move through our lives in these days fearless, knowing we are safe in His arms.  Will you meet this Covid storm and all of the storms of your life with fearlessness and great faith?

So the disciples find themselves on a boat with wind and storm, being tossed about the waves, trying to make it to the other side and it is late at night.  They left in the evening and it is now dark.  Let me tell you about night on a lake.  It can be the most beautiful experience you may encounter when the weather is cooperating.  When the sky is clear and you are on the lake in the middle of the forest in the middle of the night, you can look up to the sky and see His Magnificent Milky Way.  The stars are too many to be counted.  The lake is calm and the moon’s reflection on the water is indescribable.  However, I’ve also been on the lake in the middle of the night in a storm.  You cannot see the clouds covering the moon and stars.  The sky is pitch black.  You have no idea what is coming your way.  We were once on the houseboat in the middle of the night when a big storm came up.  Fortunately we were on dock that night, but the houseboat swayed back and forth, lightening striking around us, the wind howling.  A couple of hours later, it calmed and we all went to bed at that point.  The next day, a message came through from family asking if we had been on the boat the night before when a tornado had gone over the lake.  We had no idea there was a funnel cloud near us…

So I can imagine the discomfort they felt with the lake not being calm.  It’s dark.  It’s windy.  The waves are rolling.  They look out and see a “ghost” walking on the water towards them and are filled with fear.  Notice the timing of Jesus arrival.  He didn’t rush in at the first sight of the storm to save the day.  He knew full well what they were experiencing in that period of time.  He knew before He sent them on their way what was going to happen to them on the boat.  Though we know that they were never without Him in those moments for Jesus has promised us that He will never leave nor forsake us.  In the disciples exhausted state in the midst of the roaring waves and sea spray, they mistake Jesus as a phantom, a ghost, a specter of death and are afraid. Jesus knows their fear.  He knows they are exhausted and confused and concerned as to how they’re getting to the other side.  He calls out to them, “Take courage, it is I.  Do not be afraid.”  Did you catch that important pronoun in Jesus proclamation to his weary followers.  “It is I.”  “I AM.” “Yahweh.”  He proclaims His divine name in the midst of their fear. 

Have you found yourself in the midst of the storm, fearful, and seen Jesus coming towards you, but you do not recognize Him in your fear and confusion?  Has He proclaimed to you, “I AM is here.  Take courage.”  For the past two years, in the midst of COVID, I have ashamedly found myself crying out to Him, “Do you not hear the cries of your children?  Why must we endure this pandemic?  Innocents are dying or worse…” Take heart, my friend,  Job, who had lost everything that had meaning in his earthly life says of God, “though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him… He shall be my salvation.”  And so, I meet my fear of Covid and put my hand out to Jesus and say, “even in this, Lord, I will trust in you.” As Psalm 77 tells us,  “I cry aloud to God.  I cry to God to hear me.  On the night of my distress, I seek the Lord. By night my hands are stretched out unceasingly.” 

And Jesus responds to my plea immediately as He did to Peter on this night when Peter as in Peter’s usual fashion, questioned Christ. “If it is you, Lord, command me to come to you on the water.” Jesus has heard and will hear these words many times over the course of humanity.  If it is you, then do xyz.  Are we doing that now in the storm we find ourselves in?  If it is you, Lord, heal my broken body.  If it is you, Lord, save my marriage.  If it is you, Lord, bring my children back to the Church.  If it is you, Lord, bring an immediate end to this pandemic. But Jesus is not confined by our boats or our storms.  He is unshakeable.  His plan is that of the Father’s.  He does only as the Father wills, not as man wills.  And God in His perfection will do all things for His glory, in His time, and for our good.  So what is there to fear in these storms?

Jesus, says to Peter, “Come.” And like many of us, Peter’s faith is great in that initial moment and he walks on water towards Jesus, until he becomes fearful of the strong wind. Notice that Jesus didn’t calm the waters for Peter’s path on the water to be easy to get through.  The waves are still rolling and the wind is strong.  But Peter stepped into the storm in full confidence that Jesus was right there with him.  Right now, we may be getting weary in our storm.  Life is getting harder with Covid.  As in everything, there are two sides pitting us against one another.  Mask or unmask, vaccinate or unvaccinated, social distance or not, in person or remote.  Satan is having a field day creating all the fear and division he possibly can amongst God’s people and amongst the people of the World.  Dear friend do not lay down your swords right now.  Armor up in the armor of God.  Step out on the water and walk to Jesus in the midst of this Covid storm. In the midst of every storm you are enduring in your life right now.  Be courageous and steadfast for He is always with you.

When Peter became fearful, He began to sink.  And He cried out, “Lord, Save me!”  And then what I consider the true miracle of this experience happened.  Jesus didn’t look at Peter and say, “Wait a minute.  Just a moment ago you were questioning if it was even me.”  He didn’t think about all the sin and denial that Peter was going to spew towards Him in the days to come.  He didn’t look around and say “Oh yeah, I’m due at Starbucks in fifteen, catch ya later Peter.”  No, Our Lord, IMMEDIATELY, reached out and caught Peter and saved him, sin and sorrow and fear and distrust and all.  Our Lord always, always swoops down, His arms wide in covenant love for us.  He lifts us up in His arms and helps us to safety.  He doesn’t chastise Peter.  He quietly says to Peter, “O you of little faith.  Why did you doubt?”

Are you doubting right now?  I know that I’ve fallen prey to the stronghold of doubt recently.  Wondering why so much suffering?  When will this all end?  When will we get back to normal?  Is there a normal to even get back to anymore?  “O, me of little faith.”  And I stretch out my hand to Him.  And He reaches down and swoops me up: sin and fear and distrust and all, bringing me to safety.

Upon climbing into the boat, the wind dies down and the waves slow to a peaceful calm.  Peter is safe in the arms of Jesus and those present finally believe… You are the Son of God.  Don’t you wonder, did Peter hold on to Jesus in the boat?  Did he weep, shedding the tears of shame and sorrow for having not trusted with great faith?  Was he remorseful?  Was he in awe of Jesus’ mercy and grace and willingness to save him despite his doubt and fear?

It is now our moment.  Will it be one of great faith and fearlessness in the storm?  Will We look out to the stormy waters and see Jesus standing there?  Will we hold out our hand as we climb out of the boat and trust that He is there with us and will bring us to safety.  Will we walk on the water? 

In the midst of the chaos of the storm, when we are forced to embark on an uncertain journey, whether it be Covid or any of the other storms which enter our lives, we have the opportunity to see God revealed in our midst as the disciples saw Him coming across the water.  It is our response to Him in these times which show our great faith.  Friend, will you walk on the water towards Him with me?

Amen and Amen