Queen Anne 

The story of Jesus walking on the water occurs in three of the four gospels.  But it is only in Matthew’s gospel that we have the additional part about Jesus commanding Peter to come to him; and then Peter’s attempt to walk on water to reach Jesus.

Many times, we focus on Peter’s attempt.  Initially, he is doing really well as he keeps his eyes on the Lord, but soon he is distracted by the strong wind, and once distracted, he starts to sink.  We can look at this story as a reflection of ourselves and what we can do when empowered by Jesus, and what we end up doing many times when we get fearful.

We already know that we are a fearful people.  We get nervous when we think things are going to change.   Some of you may even be disturbed that the altar is in a different place today.  I want to encourage at least for today, this morning, to set aside your fear, and to think about Jesus. 

I don’t know if folks have a favorite disciple.  If you are a person who likes the facts, maybe your favorite disciple is Thomas.  For me, my favorite disciple is Peter.  He is always rushing forward without necessarily thinking first.  So it is no surprise that Peter is the one that speaks to Jesus.  You can imagine this scene.  The disciples are on the boat-getting rocked by the wind and the water, and they are nervous if not scared.  And at the height of their fear they see Jesus calmly walking toward them on the water.  Jesus says do not fear, but they are still scared.  And Peter, of course, says to Jesus.  If you command me, I will come.  Now, I think that what Peter really said was, dude, I love you man, and I dropped my nets to come follow you.  But you are asking me to walk on water, and I am scared.  In fact, I am terrified.  But, at the end of the day Lord, I trust you.  I know that you have plans for me.  I know that you love me.  And because I know this so deeply; I am going to step into this water for you.

So many times we reduce this passage to saying that Peter showed faith in Jesus by stepping out of the boat.  But that is such a small part of what Peter did.  Peter took it to the cross.  Peter had his own experience of being in the garden of Gethsemane and weeping blood because part of his brain was telling him that by stepping out, he would die.  The good news is that the other part of his brain, and all of his heart was telling him that by stepping out, he would live.

And as Peter takes it to the cross and obeys, think about the rest of the disciples who sat huddled in the boat, fearful, and still wondering if they were seeing a ghost. All of the disciples got safely to the other shore, but only Peter walked on water.  The lesson from this story?  If you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat. 

To get out of the boat, you have to believe that you will be OK.  That’s what happened to Peter.  He knew he would be OK.  He knew what he believed.  I am like Peter.  I hope that we all are.  I am like Peter because I believe that the Lord calls to each of us, and our job is to listen and respond.  I believe that good will conquer evil. I believe that God’s grace is available to every single person that accepts it.  I believe that God answers prayer, and I believe that prayer is the way that we can influence God’s response.  I believe that Christ’ love for us overcame his death on the cross, so that death is not the final answer. I believe that Christ has been and will continue to be victorious, and, I believe that through Christ, I can help transform the world.

We talk about wanting to do great things for Christ.  But we don’t want to compromise the comfort and safety of the boat.  Faith doesn’t work that way.  Following the path of Jesus is following a risk-taker.  Throughout his life and his ministry, he defied the norm.  He was not born where a king should be born, he did not associate with the folks a king should associate with.  He did not preach power from strength, but rather power from weakness.  He came to serve, not to rule.  He knows our fear of getting out of the boat, but that is the one thing he cannot do for us.  We have to take the step.  We have to take it to the cross. 

We can’t walk on water without getting out of the boat.

Our church has been around for a long time.  I want it to be around for another hundred years.  We have to rethink church.  That cannot happen without us following the path of Jesus and taking risks. And certainly, stepping out of a perfectly good boat into a stormy sea qualifies as taking a risk.

Peter takes an incredible risk in getting out of the boat and stepping into a raging sea.  But the key here is, he doesn’t put out the first toe until Jesus has said to him, “Come.”  If Jesus is not anywhere near our boat, we would be crazy to get out and try to walk on water.  We can’t do that on our own.  But when our Lord is present, the situation changes, new possibilities open before us and we listen for God’s guidance.  And if God says it’s OK, it’s a done deal.  We are not called to be reckless, but we are called to trust in God. 

Faith and trust mean nothing if there is no risk.  We can say that we have faith in God, but until we put those toes in the water, we are speaking words with no substance.  We can only claim faith if we are willing and able to get out of the boat when Jesus calls.

The call of God to all of us is the same now as it ever was. Love God with all our hearts and minds; and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.  We are also called to go make disciples, but I really think that that is an outcome of us living into the first two Commandments; love God, love your neighbor as yourself.

Over the next several months we are going to be having discussions on our church vision and God’s mission for us.  We are going to be rethinking church.  During this time, I invite you to be in prayer.  I invite you to consider how Jesus is calling you individually and how we are called as a church.  Rethinking church may allow you to see that God is calling you to a new ministry, a new job, or even a new attitude.   Maybe God is calling you to better stewardship of your time or your money or the environment.  Stewardship always seems risky because we believe that if we give more there won’t be enough left for ourselves, but I have found that when God directs me to give, there is always enough left over.  Try it.  Maybe God is calling you to something really scary like sharing your faith with someone else.  How has God been active in your life?  How has prayer sustained you?  Have you ever found real comfort in your faith?  Maybe God wants you to share your testimony; both within these walls and outside.  Get excited about rethinking church. 

I invite you to consider sticking some toes in the water as a prelude to getting out of the boat.  Over the next few months, pray, listen for God’s voice.  It is only when it is Jesus calling you out of the boat that we can successfully walk on water.  Jesus is on the water and calling us by name.  Do we dare?  Can you hear the voice of Jesus saying, “Come?” If you want to walk on the water, you’ve got to get out of the boat.  Amen.