If You Want to Walk on Water…

                                            Matthew 14: 22-33

 

 

            Ever heard of Charles Blondin? He was the first person to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. In 1860, on a rope suspended 160 feet above the falls, he walked a quarter of a mile across. He did it not once, but a number of times, He did it in a sack. He did it on stilts. He did it on a bicycle, in the dark, even blindfolded. Once he actually carried a stove and cooked an omelet in the middle of the walk. On one occasion, Blondin carried a sack of potatoes in a wheelbarrow. When he safely reached the other side of the falls, Blondin asked the crowd, “Do you believe I can carry a person across in this wheelbarrow?” The crowd enthusiastically yelled back “Yes. You are the greatest tightrope walker in the world. We believe” Then, Blondin asked for a volunteer. “Okay,” he said. “Who wants to get in the wheelbarrow?” As the story goes, no one volunteered that day. Even though the crowd enthusiastically said that it believed, there were no takers when he asked for volunteers. They had faith, but not that kind of faith.

There is a story about a mountain climber who trained for years to climb the Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America. Nicknamed the Stone Sentinel, it is almost 23,000 feet high. Of course, he wanted all the glory so he set out to do it alone. He did not turn back at dusk or even nightfall, even though he was not prepared to spend the night. He was high up the mountain and it was a pitch black night. Nevertheless he kept going. As he was climbing a ridge about 100 meters from the top, he slipped and fell. In the next few seconds, his life flashed before him as he knew he was going to die. Miraculously, his guide rope held, though it almost cut him in half when it stopped his fall. When he recovered his breath, he cried out in the darkness for help from God. 

All of a sudden, he heard a deep voice from heaven. “What do you want me to do? asked God. “Save me,” cried the man. “Do you really believe that I can save you? asked God. “Of course,” said the man. “Then cut the rope that is holding you up,” said God. The next day, the rescue team found the frozen climber dead and still clinging tenaciously to his rope…two feet off the ground. He had faith, but not that kind of faith.

In the fourteenth chapter of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus hears of the death of his cousin John the Baptist. Jesus had deep respect for his cousin. He had sought him out for baptism when it came time to begin his earthly ministry. Jesus tried to withdraw in a boat. He wanted to be

by himself. It was not to be. He had just fed the five thousand and they would not leave him alone. Many among the crowds following him wanted to crown him king, though Jesus would have no part of that. Jesus made his disciples get into a boat and begin the five mile or so trip across the Sea of Galilee. He stayed behind. He dismissed the crowd and went up on a mountain to pray. He needed to be alone with God.

          The evening came and Jesus was still on the shore. The disciples had run into foul weather. The wind was up and holding them back from any progress across the sea. It was late. It was in the fourth watch that Jesus came to them. The Romans divided the night into four watches. The fourth watch was from 3 until 6 in the morning. The dead of night.

          Have you ever been at sea or on a lake during a storm? It can come up quickly and it can be very scary. Nature has a way of reminding us how temporary our safety really is, how fleeting our security can be. The disciples in the boat that night were having those feelings when they saw someone walking by. They were in the middle of the sea in a storm and someone was walking on the water! Matthew says that they were terrified. They were screaming.

          And Jesus said “It is I.” Actually a more accurate translation of the Greek would be I am. It is no accident that Matthew uses language we have heard before when God talked to Moses. Matthew wants us to make that connection. “I am,” says Jesus, and it is the voice of God talking to us.

          Peter, always the impetuous one, breaks the silence. He challenges Jesus. “If it is you, command me to come to you on the water”, he says. And Jesus says simply: “Come.” The next line is one of my favorites in all the Bible. The ESV says: “So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to [or toward] Jesus.” So simple. And yet, contained in that one line is enough testimony to last a lifetime. Jesus commanded and Peter responded. Peter stepped out on faith.

          There are so many sub themes in this short passage, which is found only in Matthew. Mark tells it but says nothing about Peter. What is Matthew trying to show us? Let’s look at the players.

          There is Jesus. We first find him sad. His cousin is dead. He alone is the prophet left standing. He is both sad and tired. His message is not being received the way it is intended. He goes off by himself to commune with God and recharge. Yes, even Jesus got tired. Remember, he was fully human as well as divine. Of course, there is much more to Jesus in this passage, but we will hold that for later.

          There are the other disciples. They were terrified. They cried out in fear. They watched as Peter stepped out of the boat into the storm and walked toward Jesus. They watched, but they did not come. They stayed in the boat and watched. When it was all over and the wind had ceased and everyone was safe in the boat, then they worshipped Jesus, calling him the Son of God.

          Then there is Peter. Thank God for Peter. What would we do without the Peters of the world! Remember that famous line? “Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.” Peter did three things. First, he got out of the boat. Wow. That, to me, is often the hardest part. If you can just bring yourself to get out of the boat, then there a good chance that the rest will fall into place.  You can’t effect change, you can’t participate, when you’re watching from the sidelines. Instead of sitting on the margins of life, instead of watching others do, why not just get out of the boat!

Second, Peter walked on water. Wow again! How did he do that? Well, he was obeying Jesus. He was looking at Jesus. He had his focus where it belonged and his mind was on the right thing. It had not yet occurred to Peter that he could fail or sink or even drown, because he had his eyes on Jesus. So he walked on water just like his Savior was doing.

Third, Peter came to Jesus. Perhaps, this is the most telling phrase of all. Why did Peter get out of the boat? Why was he able to walk on water? Because he was coming to Jesus. It was only when he began to think about himself, and the wind and the elements around him that he began to sink. He allowed himself to think about all the ways he could fail instead of focusing on the one true way to succeed. Peter lost his focus and he began to sink. But even when he hesitated, Peter cried out to Jesus. Jesus reached out his hand and took hold of Peter, and Peter was saved.

Jesus says “O you of little faith, why did you doubt,” and for just a moment, we find ourselves identifying with Peter because of his failure, because of his lack of faith. But we should not dwell there, for that is but a snapshot in the life of any Christian, no matter how hard he or she may try, no matter how much faith he or she may have, Instead, we should focus on Peter’s magnificent faith, for he is the only one who had the faith to get out of the boat and come to Jesus! It is of little consequence that he had insufficient faith to get to Jesus on his own. Who of us has ever had such faith? But Peter’s act put him on the path, and when he faltered, as each of us does, he called out to Jesus. And Jesus reached out and made him safe.

The rest of the disciples never moved. They watched from the sidelines as Peter stepped out on faith. They celebrated when Jesus came to them. They acknowledged him as the Son of God. But they stayed in the boat. Just like the crowd at Niagara Falls, just like the climber holding on to the rope, they held back.  Thank God for Peter, the man who thought with his lips, the fellow who stepped out without looking down.

In this post-modern world in which we live, matters of faith have been reduced by many, including Christians, to any size fits. Individuals decide how, how much and to what to apply their faith. The church is sitting in the boat just like the other disciples, and in doing so, it is not reaching for Jesus. It will not work.

Phillips Brooks once said this about strength and I think it applies equally to matters of faith.

          Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be stronger

          people! Do not pray for tasks equal to your

powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks.

Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle

but you shall be a miracle. Every day you shall

wonder at yourself, at the richness of life which

has come to you by the grace of God.

 

Like Peter, we should put our faith into our sandals and take a walk. When we begin to sink, and we will, we just need to call out for Jesus. He is there and he will get us safely to our destination. That’s the thing about faith. You can’t see it, but it’s there. If you want to get to God, you have to reach back for him when he calls. You do that on faith. And you need to remember one simple thing. If you want to walk on water, you’ve gotta get out of the boat!