One very cold day, a farmer sees a bird lying on the path, half dead. He picks up the bird, cradles it in his hands, and blows his warm breath on it. The bird begins to revive, but the farmer has chores to do, and doesn’t have the time to nurse the bird to recovery. But he spots a fresh cow pile, and puts the bird in it, up to its neck, to keep it warm. Soon the bird, feeling warm and cozy, begins to sing. Unfortunately, the singing attracts a cat, who pulls the bird out, and eats it. Now the moral of this story is that the person who puts you in deep manure may not be your enemy, but the one who pulls you out may not be your friend. But if you’re in deep, don’t start singing!
Well at least part of this story applies to our Gospel reading. About the one putting us in deep not being our enemy, because in our lesson, Jesus had put the disciples in a bad situation. But it was Jesus, still ever the friend, who pulled them out. And it worked out well that Peter didn’t keep quiet. Other than that…..But let’s see how that all played out.
Jesus had received the news that his cousin, friend, and special messenger, John the Baptist, had been beheaded. It’s very likely Jesus and John grew up near each other and had often played together as kids. So, the news hit Jesus hard. But the crowds had found Him and wanted to hear Him speak. He does teach the crowd, and fearing they were hungry and had no food, He miraculously feeds the 5000 with the 2 fish and 5 barley rolls before dismissing them. He’s still grieving, and by now is exhausted from his ministry to the crowd. He tells the disciples to go on ahead to the 5 mile distant Capernaum by boat without Him, so He could spend time alone in prayer, as He often did. He liked to go to mountainside places to pray, where He could escape notice and pray without interruption. It would have been a critical need for Him. He probably found a place overlooking the lake, able to see his disciples in the distance. It had been a calm day until one of the sudden and violent storms suddenly erupted, caused by colder air rushing down the mountain slopes, colliding with warm winds over the lake. The storm lasted several hours into the night, and the disciples would have been exhausted from trying to row against the wind and waves, making very little progress, and trying to stay afloat.
It was ironic that, as I was preparing this message about storms in our lives, we were hit with those bad storms on Wednesday and Thursday. Spencer got over 4 inches of rain on Wednesday with periods of thunder and lightning, experienced violent winds, once even going to the basement during a tornado warning. It gave me a better context of what the disciples experienced.
But was their sudden storm a coincidence, or did Jesus know what was about to happen when He sent them, or even informed about during His time of prayer. From His vantage point, He could have seen their trouble and spoken a word right then to calm the storm. Instead, in a totally unexpected way, about dawn, Jesus comes to them, casually walking on the water during the raging storm, without any sense of urgency. The disciples, thinking it was a ghost, are terrified.
We may chuckle at their fear of a ghost, but theirs was a very real fear, because it was a commonly held belief that evil spirits lived beneath the 141 ft deep Lake. When Jesus cast out the legion of demons from the possessed man living in the cemetery, He sent them into a herd of nearby pigs, who then stampeded over a cliff into the lake and drowned, adding to the belief that evil spirits lurked beneath the water. Seeing a ghost would have been consistent with that belief. And drowning in that lake would have put them in the midst of the hell of demons. This whole night would have been a night of terror and exhaustion for the disciples. But Jesus calls out, “Take courage; it is I.” But how reassuring was that? Oh, it’s OK, just Jesus walking through the storm on the surface of the water. It’s hard to imagine what the disciples were thinking. But then Peter does the unexpected.
Peter was the foot-in-mouth disciple, who often spoke before putting his brain in gear. But he was passionate about being close to Jesus. The one who proclaimed Jesus as the Christ, then tried to prevent Him from going to Jerusalem, who Jesus then called Satan. The disciple who passionately pulled a small sword to fight off an armed guard arresting Jesus, even cutting off a servant’s ear. Peter, the one who had passionately sworn he would never deny Jesus, but hours later, in Herod’s courtyard, swore he never even knew Jesus. But Peter’s passion, rather than wisdom, was to be near Jesus regardless of the risks. Then, like the other disciples, he had hidden behind closed doors, not appearing at the Crucifixion, yet racing to the tomb when told the tomb was empty. Peter had lapses of faith and courage, but was always passionate about being near Jesus.
So this was Peter, one of the exhausted disciples in the storm-tossed boat, one of those terrified about demons under the water, who suddenly cried out, seemingly unconcerned about the risks, “Lord, if it is You, tell me to come to You.” It wasn’t Peter’s sense of adventure compelling him to experience the thrill of walking on water, it was his passion to be near His beloved Master. But once again Peter’s passion was overcome by his humanness. He becomes conscious of the wind and waves, and looks down, perhaps now fearing the demons, loses his courage and his faith, and begins to sink. A combination of fear and faith results in him crying out “Lord, save me!” Believing that Jesus was Lord, God’s Son, the Master. That He could save him. Jesus reaches out to Peter, catching him and helping him back in the boat, but questioning why Peter had let his doubts overcome his faith. It’s then that Jesus calms the storm and the once terrified disciples worship him as truly the Son of God.
After the Resurrection, Peter’s passion to be near Christ conflicts with his guilt about having denied Jesus after His arrest. But recognizing Jesus on shore while their boat is still a way from shore, Peter again impetuously leaves the boat, although swimming rather than walking on water, but passionate to be near Jesus, even if Jesus might still be holding his failure against him.
How might we measure up to Peter? By his passion overcoming his fears? Or his fears overcoming his passion? In our Epistle reading, James offers us hope for those of us whose fear sometimes overcomes our passion. Speaking to us as believers… brothers and sisters…he says we should count it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds, such as when our storms of life seem overwhelming. Those trials that test our faith help us develop perseverance, the ability to keep trying in spite of our previous failures. Peter failed when he stepped out of the boat the first time, but the next time we see Him stepping out of the boat, he is passionately swimming to come to Jesus. There was no storm, or fear of drowning, this time, but His passion shows that pure joy James talks about. Peter’s faith had been tested, and he had failed, but now he would know the pure joy of being with Jesus again.
James continues by saying that perseverance lets us finish the work we began but now results in our maturity and completeness, not lacking anything. If we lack wisdom, we should ask God who generously gives to all…and here’s a key point…without finding fault. But when we ask, we must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. Doubts let us be swayed by conflicting ideas, fears, others’ opinions. But belief, based on our Holy Spirit inspired theology, and the Word of God, lets us be anchored in our faith, helping resolve our inner conflicts, to overcome our doubts.
We should not expect anything if we ask without believing. James wasn’t an apostle and wouldn’t have been in that boat with Peter, but they were both leaders of the early church. It almost seems as if James had written this epistle with Peter in mind, as a lesson we should apply to our lives of faith. James concludes that the one who perseveres under trial is blessed, or as we said a few weeks ago, becoming all we can be, by having stood the test, and receive the crown of life that the Lord promised to those who love him.
We should never expect that, as Christians, we won’t undergo trials and temptations. Not experience severe storms of life. Jesus loved his chosen Twelve, but I think Jesus caused and meant for that storm on the lake to test the disciples, to help build their faith, perhaps Peter in particular, knowing Peter’s passion needed to be molded into faith. He had continually corrected, even scolded Peter, yet Jesus had named him Peter, the Rock, saying He would build His church on the rock of his confession of faith. He tested Peter’s faith, even through that severe storm, resulting in Peter’s passion and his faith failures, not to make Peter suffer, but used his failure to mold him to be the person Jesus wanted him to be. But he never lost his passion for Jesus, despite those temporary lapses. He persevered, becoming a leader in Jesus’ Church, even the Rock Jesus initially saw in him. He even died a martyr’s death while testifying about Jesus.
Judas seems to be condemned through the ages for his betrayal of Jesus. He didn’t deny Jesus, like Peter had. He only led the soldiers to where Jesus was staying, which was more of a convenience for the soldiers than a closely guarded secret. He didn’t experience Jesus’ anger for his failure and his sinful greed, which he certainly deserved. Judas’ complete failure of faith was his not even asking for forgiveness, but instead, taking his own life. Unlike Peter, he didn’t even cry out, “Lord, save me”, because Jesus would have generously forgiven him. His failure to persevere under trial forfeited his crown of life, as James wrote, that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
It's easy to get discouraged in the storms of life. Easy to get down on ourselves, feeling we’ve failed. But yet it’s those realistic feelings that prevent us from deluding ourselves that we are righteous and need no testing. Like the words of the Mac Davis Country Western song, “O Lord, it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way.” Jesus knows the hardships of our storms of life, but He’s there for us, even as He approached the disciples in that storm, “Take courage. It is I.” Even when Peter doubted, and started to sink, Jesus was there and wouldn’t let him fail completely. Instead He helped him back into the boat. Then calmed the storm.
Throughout the NT, Peter is scolded more often than any of the disciples. But he’s the one who takes the most decisive actions. He was the natural leader of the group, and doesn’t wait to see what the others were going to do. People with that type of personality tend to make more mistakes, but also tend to learn from their mistakes. I remember my early days in the Navy as an Ensign, the lowest officer rank. Ensigns typically make a lot of mistakes because there’s a lot to learn, and I was certainly no exception. But I’m grateful for those senior officers, although I’m sure they were laughing inside at my mistakes and reactions, who were hard on me, so I would get better. Jesus would have been like that for Peter. He chastises Peter more than any other disciple, but cared enough to reach out to Peter to save him, even though calling him out for his doubts.
Our sins are failures before God, but none of those failures are unforgivable. We‘ll be tested in the storms of life, possibly even fail. But when we find ourselves being overwhelmed and afraid, picture yourself in that boat in a storm, and see Jesus telling you, “Take courage. It is I.” Even if we start to sink, Jesus is there reaching out to save us, even if we doubt, even if our faith isn’t yet mature. Just lean on His everlasting arms, and persevere. Amen
