Proper 14, Yr A (2023) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
Proper 14, Yr A (2023) The Rev. Karen C. Barfield
Matthew 14:22-33 St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
In the name of the one, holy, and living God:
in whom we live, and move, and have our being. Amen.
Today’s Gospel reading could be one more in the short story series,
“The Doubting Disciples!”
Today’s story, like so many others, is filled with fear and doubt
yet punctuated with moments of intense faith….
so very like our own lives.
Jesus, still trying to find some time to be alone in prayer and communion with the Father, sends the disciples off in a boat across the Sea of Galilee.
When evening came,
blustering winds were tossing the disciples to and fro on the waves,
and they were not getting much closer to their destination.
They were apart from Jesus,
but they were not afraid of the storm because, I presume,
at least the fishermen among them had endured many such storms before.
It was not until they saw Jesus walking across the sea that they were terrified.
You know, Jesus had performed many a miracle,
but walking across tumultuous seas was a new thing!
This apparition must be a ghost!
As they cried out in fear,
Jesus speaks to them:
“Take heart.
It is I; do not be afraid.”
The words translated “it is I” in the NRSV
are the same words that Yahweh used when Moses asked who he should tell the Israelites that sent him.
Yahweh replies, “Tell them ‘I am’ sent you.”
So, Jesus is telling the disciples exactly who he is:
God incarnate.
“Take heart.
I am;
do not be afraid.”
Peter then makes an interesting response as he blurts out:
“Lord, if it is you,
command me to come to you on the water.”
Peter is doubtful,
but perhaps hopeful,
that it really is Jesus.
So he asks Jesus to do something…
not just to speak in a comforting way
but to show a sign that it really is Jesus.
He is testing Jesus,
asking him to prove himself.
And, what Peter asks Jesus to do is also interesting to note.
Why not say, “Lord, if it is you, make the wind stop?”
That would prove that this apparition really was Jesus.
But, instead, Peter asks Jesus to give Peter the power to do what Jesus himself is doing…to walk on water.
And….nonplussed, Jesus simply responds, “Come.”
And Peter,
without a doubt,
scrambles over the side of the boat and starts walking.
But, of course, once he’s out there he panics
as he realizes how tumultuous his environment is…
the wind is whipping around him and the waves reach high above his head.
What in the world was he thinking?
And he begins to sink.
So, he cries out to Jesus (who he now clearly believes is Jesus),
“Lord, save me!”
And Jesus immediately reaches out his hand and catches him.
I find it comforting that Jesus doesn’t let Peter dip into the water up to his nostrils before reaching out his hand…he immediately offers help when Peter asks.
‘You of little faith,
why did you doubt?”
Why did Peter doubt?
Why do any of us doubt?
When we are surrounded by so much pain and suffering and injustice and violence and despair in the world, we can find ourselves overcome with fear and doubt.
And we can begin to sink.
Yet, every now and then our doubt is punctuated with intense faith…
a glimmer of hope appears in a situation that seems hopeless:
someone who seemed lost cries out for help…
a job offer comes after years of unemployment…
a cancer has gone into remission…
the depression lifts…
a loved one seeks counseling…
there is a relief from pain…
a broken relationship finds healing.
I remember visiting someone in the hospital who was telling me about her intense fear that infection would spread into her bones.
She was also suffering tremendous pain at the time.
And then she experienced a very real and tangible encounter with God,
and she knew that she was going to be all right.
She basked in that reassuring presence,
Only to be besieged by fear and doubt a little while later.
It seems almost inevitable for us to vacillate between fear and doubt
and the assurance of God’s presence with us.
That is what the disciples do over and over again.
For example, one day Thomas,
in his boldness,
proclaims that the disciples should go with Jesus to Jerusalem,
even if it is to their deaths.
The next moment he is hearing from all the other disciples that they have seen Jesus and that Jesus is alive – only for him to say that he will only believe if he puts his hands in Jesus’ side and in the wounds in his hands.
After then seeing Jesus in the flesh, Thomas proclaims one of the strongest statements we have recorded in the Gospels as to Jesus’ identity: my Lord and my God!
And then, of course, is our beloved Peter
who proclaims Jesus to be “the Messiah, the son of the living God”
when Jesus asks the disciples who he is
only to later deny any connection with Jesus when Jesus is arrested.
So it appears that we are in good company.
There are two points in today’s story that I want to return to…
Peter asks Jesus to command him to do what Jesus himself is doing.
How often do we have the courage to ask the same?
Do we believe that we can teach and heal and proclaim the Good News of God
just as Jesus did?
If we don’t believe we have this power, why not?
Why not speak with such boldness?
Perhaps that is a challenge for us.
Secondly, even if we seek such bold witness to the love of God,
we can be assured that if we panic in the midst…
if we seek God’s help,
it will be provided immediately!
We will not be left alone.
I know we are not always convinced of God’s presence or assistance in the time of need, and yet today’s gospel story tells us that all we need to do is call out: “Lord, save me!” and the very hand of God will stretch forth to heal us.
In a few moments we will receive the Body and Blood of Jesus to nourish and strengthen us for the journey.
And then as we go forth into the world,
let us rejoice in the power of the Spirit which lifts us up and holds us firm.
We are never alone.
We are never without God beside us.
Amen.
