Reflection by Pat Edmonds, August 9, 2020
Scripture Reading: Matthew 14:22-33
Charles Swindoll in his book “Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back” tells a story about a farmer who wanted to impress his hunting buddies. He went out and bought the smartest, most expensive hunting dog he could find. He trained this dog to do things no other dog on earth could do – impossible feats that would amaze everyone. Then he invited his neighbors to go duck hunting with him. After a long patient wait in the boat a flock of ducks flew over and the hunters were able to shoot a few of them down. Several ducks fell in the water. The farmer looked at his dog and said, “Go, get ‘em!” The dog leaped out of the boat, walked on water, picked up a bird and returned to the boat. As soon as he dropped the duck in the boat, he trotted off again walking on the water, grabbed another duck and brought it back to the boat. The owner swelled up with pride as his dog walked across the water and retrieved the birds one by one. Kind of smugly, he looked at one of his buddies and asked, ”Do you notice anything unusual about my dog?” One of them sat back, rubbed his chin, thought about it for a while and finally said, “Yeah, come to think of it, I do! That dumb dog of yours doesn’t know how to swim, does he?”
Quite a few years ago when the school superintendent heard I was very involved with the United Church. He asked, “Pat, can you walk on water?” I quickly realized he was looking for a teacher on Christian Island. Since I had 2 young daughters I wasn’t interested in trying my “walking on water” skills on a daily basis! “Walking on water” is a biblical phrase which has found its way into everyday use. What does it mean? The secular meaning is that a person is doing wonders – but we can’t quite understand how they’re doing it and there’s a hint of danger that it could go wrong!
Most of us are familiar with today’s story in Matthew 14. Following the feeding of the 5000, Jesus goes to the nearby hills to talk to God in prayer, but he sends the disciples on ahead in a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee. Jesus needs time to be alone with God and to listen to God’s voice in the quiet evening hours.
One of the sudden storms for which Galilee was notorious, comes up. The winds churn the waters of the lake into rolling waves. In their boat the disciples make very little progress against the wind and waves in spite of their best efforts. Being experienced fishermen, they know only too well the perils of storms and they are afraid. It is the fourth watch of the night, between 3 am and 6 am, that time when human beings feel most vulnerable, when they’re naturally at their lowest in body, mind and spirit.
Suddenly the disciples are terrified as they see a figure coming towards them – walking on the water as it were. “It’s a ghost!” they cry out in fear. How could the disciples not recognize Jesus? They had lived very closely with him, yet they thought what they saw was a ghost or apparition. Perhaps the rain and fog and spray and the lack of light had something to do with it, but nevertheless it takes some time for them to recognize Jesus.
Jesus, sensing their terror, says, ”Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter, the natural leader of the group, is the first to respond and says,” Lord, if it’s you … let me come to you on the water.” Peter was sometimes prone to acting on impulse, without thinking about what he was doing and without counting the cost. With remarkable trust Peter climbs over the side of the boat and begins walking on water. For a time, Peter succeeds in doing the impossible, but then he succumbs to fear. Peter becomes more concerned about the wind than about his faith in Jesus. He begins to flounder and would have sunk if Jesus had not reached out and taken his hand. As we read this we may be inclined to criticize Peter for his lack of focus, but remember Peter was the only one who stepped out in faith, who took the risk. The other disciples cowered in the boat, paralyzed with fear.
But this is not a story of a sudden storm in Palestine many years ago. This is a story of trust vs. doubt, of fear vs. security, of risk-taking vs. the status quo and about the faith of a man called Peter, and his willingness to put what he believed into action.
To say we believe and to act on these beliefs are two different things. The saying is the easy part; the doing is much more difficult. Focus is important. When Peter focused on Jesus, on walking towards him, he did not sink and was able to do what is humanly impossible. Impossible? No more than feeding 5000 with a small lunch! But as Jesus taught, “With God, all things are possible!” So here is Peter, contrary to the laws of nature, walking on water toward Jesus. But soon Peter fails to focus on the most important thing, his trust in Jesus. He is distracted by the wind and waves and begins to sink.
In desperation Peter cries out, “Lord, save me.” When circumstances escalate beyond his strength, his ability, his control, in the midst of his helplessness and powerlessness, Peter cries out for help. And Jesus responds immediately. He reaches out and grabs hold of Peter. “Why did you doubt, Peter?” Well I guess the answer is that Peter is human and it is human nature to doubt and ask questions. But the important thing is that although Jesus questions Peter for doubting, he does not condemn him, he saves him! I’m sure Peter never forgot that moment. There were still times of doubt and testing in his life, and he wasn’t always successful, but the Lord was always there, ready to reach out and save him.
Life is full of adventures and encounters and accidents and experiences, not all of them pleasant. Over and over again we are reminded that ultimately we are completely dependent upon God for our life, our hope, our salvation. There is no other way. The only choice we have is to let go and let God work his will in our lives.
This story illustrates what Jesus always does for God’s people. When the wind is contrary and we’re in danger of being overwhelmed by the storms of life, Jesus is there. When it is darkest, he comes. When we wonder when this pandemic with all its restrictions and worries will be over; when we wonder whether life will ever return to normal as we knew it; when we are weariest, he comes. Jesus comes at impossible times. When the sea of life is so wide and our boat is so small, when we’re up the creek without a paddle and our arms are so tired we couldn’t hold one anyway, when it’s too dark to see or worse yet to hope, Jesus comes. When we risk acting on our beliefs, when we go out into deep, unchartered water to continue the mission of God’s church in new ways, Jesus comes. He holds out his hand and says,” Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Thanks be to God!