Submitted by Dr. Bobby J. Touchton
Ashland, Kentucky
“Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’ Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God’” (NRSV).
ILLUSTRATION: ORDINARY PEOPLE is a book that was later made into a movie. It is set in Lake Forest, Illinois, during the 1970s. The action focuses on the Jarrett family--Calvin and Beth and their son Conrad. Before the action of the book begins, there was a second Jarrett son--Buck--who was killed in a boating accident. After the death of Buck, Conrad became deeply troubled, blaming himself. At the request of his father, Conrad begins to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Berger. He tells Berger that he wants him to help him gain more control over others so that he can make his father stop worrying about him. In Berger’s office, Conrad has a breakthrough and admits that he blames himself for the death of his brother Buck. But he did what you are suppose to do when your boat overturns. You stay with the boat. Berger tells him to stop blaming himself. He did what you were suppose to do. He stayed with the boat.
That’s the message I got from this scripture passage. Stay with the boat!
It is fascinating to realize the way many scriptural texts are open to different interpretations. Lots of stories have an elastic quality about them, allowing us to read them from a variety of viewpoints. We can look at a text from one angle and see one thing and quite another from a different angle.
This story in Matthew is a case in point. In this episode, Jesus dismissed the multitude he had just fed and then sent the disciples on ahead of him to the other side of the sea. Matthew tells us he took this course of action because he wanted some time alone to pray. Meanwhile, as his disciples sailed across the sea, a fierce storm blew up and battered their small ship. The wind was against them, and they were having great difficulty making any headway. Although they struggled mightily against the wind and the waves, Matthew doesn’t tell us that they were in any immediate danger. He leaves that to our imaginations. He does, however, say that Jesus responded to the disciples’ plight by coming to them between 3:00 and 6:00 in the morning, walking on the sea. At first they couldn’t believe their eyes, and they assumed the worst—it had to be some ghost or evil spirit coming toward them. They cried out in terror. To calm their fears, Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; don’t be afraid.”
Apparently, this wasn’t enough for Peter, so he responded, “Lord, if it really is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Jesus gave Peter permission, and he climbed over the side of the boat, first testing the water to see if it would hold him up. When it did, he put his full weight on it, and lo and behold, he began to walk on the waves. Things went well for a few moments until Peter realized just what he was doing! He became aware of the wind and the waves and how tumultuous the sea really was. As a result, fear got the best of him and he began to sink. He cried out in desperation, “Lord, save me!” At once Jesus grabbed hold of him and lifted him out of the water. Together they made their way to the boat and climbed in.
Suddenly the storm dissipated, and the sea became calm. In response, the disciples turned their small boat into a sanctuary and began worshiping Jesus and testifying that he was indeed the Son of God. Although two of the other Gospels feature a version of this story, only Matthew tells us about Peter’s attempt to walk on the water. For that reason, we have often focused on Peter and his willingness to attempt the impossible and called attention to his impulsive courage. In that vein, he has been held up as an example of the importance of getting out of our comfort zones and taking some risks in faith.
The point is obvious: if you’re going to do something great, you have to get out of the boat. That’s a worthy lesson. All too often we slide into complacency and are content to remain where we are. We mistakenly assume God would never ask anything of us that would impose any challenge, hardship or inconvenience. In that light the story underscores the truth that sitting tight gets you nowhere. Accomplishing great things requires great risk. You have to get out of the boat.
But the story has enough “give” in it to allow us to look at it from another perspective.
When you and I ponder this miracle, our tendency is to question how Jesus could have defied gravity, how the molecular structure of water could have been altered to support his weight. We want to know the physics behind this miracle. How in the world could such a thing happen? That’s the question we’d ask.
But the people in Jesus’ day would have seen something very different in this story. You see for them the sea was the realm of chaos and evil. The waters and the sea were the habitation of all kinds of untamed, evil and dangerous forces. Scripture reflects this outlook. In the creation story, the waters had to be pushed aside and restrained so there could be a world. In the Exodus, God made a path through the waters so his people could escape to freedom. In John’s vision of the end, the beast emerges from the sea. Time and again, scripture portrays the sea as the source of all that threatens to undo life. Time and again, scripture insists that only God can subdue the waters; only God can make a path through the seas. Job says:
God tramples the waves of the sea (Job 9:8, NRSV).
The Psalmist has written:
When the waters saw you, O God, they were afraid; the very deep trembled… Your way was through the sea, your path through the mighty waters. Yet your footprints were unseen (Psalm 77:16, 19, NRSV).
Consequently, for Jesus to walk on water was a sign of his divinity; it was a sign that he was indeed the Lord God. Striding over the waves of the sea demonstrated his power over all the powers in this world. Only God can walk on water. That kind of power is very attractive, isn’t it? All too often our days are like driving on ice. We can lose control and swap ends in a heartbeat. Life comes at us in waves, and we can spend an awful lot of time just reacting, bouncing from one thing to the next. Just for once, we’d love to be on top of things wouldn’t we? Just for once we’d love to master the storm instead of having the storm master us. And for sure, there are lots of things out there that remind me how small I am. Get out on the open sea and watch the horizon disappear, and you’ll be aware of how tiny you are. Some of the things that break over our lives are huge, enormous. They, too, remind us of our smallness and our lack of power. In the face of such things, we’d love to find a way to make ourselves bigger.
In that light, can you see that Peter was overreaching? There’s a lot of ego at work here. The Gospels portray Peter as an insecure person, frequently in need of propping up. He was hungry for some validation; he wanted to be somebody.
ILLUSTRATION: There is a parable from India about a water bearer who had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to
accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.
"I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."
"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"
"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts," the pot said.
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path. Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some.
But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure. The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side?
That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."
Each of us has our own unique flaws. We’re all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, the Lord will use our flaws to grace His Father’s table.
So, here Peter wasn’t content to just watch Jesus walk on the water. He had to try it himself. He wanted to be like God, free of limitations and constraints. He wanted to do something spectacular. He also wanted to set himself apart from his friends. He wanted to do something that would make him stand out. My hunch is that if he had succeeded we would have had a few more stories about infighting among the disciples. So, it seems that pride and ego did Peter in. He wanted to be a water-walker instead of a human being. Far from being an example to follow, he’s an example to avoid.
So where does that leave us? What does this story say to you and me? Years ago, you may have taken a course in canoeing and rowing at Scout camp. As a part of the training, you have to flip your canoe and rowboat and then practice righting them in the water. Needless to say, it was a lot easier to flip one than it was to get it turned right side up. Sometimes for all your efforts you just couldn’t get it turned back over. At that point the instructors told you that if you ever capsized one and couldn’t right it there was only one thing to do: stay with the boat! They would drum that into you. Stay with the boat!
That’s the message here. Stay with the boat! Faith is not about finding out if you can walk on the water. In fact, your efforts to do so are likely to end in catastrophe. You and I can get in over our heads in a hurry. Instead, faith is about believing that God can come to you in the boat and see you through. God hasn’t called us to be water-walkers; he’s called us to be human beings. We can never master the storms of life on our own; but if we hang together and trust that Jesus is with us, we’ll get through. Stay with the boat!
ILLUSTRATION: There was an attorney, who after meditating on several scriptures, decided to cancel the debts of all his clients that had owed him money for more than 6 months. He drafted a letter explaining his decision and its biblical basis and sent 17 debt canceling letters via certified mail. One by one, the letters began to return, unsigned and undelivered. Perhaps a couple people had moved away ,though not likely. Sixteen of the 17 letters came back to him because the clients refused to sign for and open the envelopes fearing that this attorney was suing them for their debts. How profound! We owe a debt for our sin and God is willing to cancel it but too many people will not even open the letter that explains that.
Many of you know the truth of that firsthand. When everything in your life has come unglued you have found that there are faithful, caring people in the church who will carry you and hold you till the storm passes. When some storm rages, they stand beside you—just as powerless as you are at the moment. But having them there makes all the difference in the world. Through those experiences you have learned to stay with the boat, to hold on to the sides of the gospel ship that is the church, knowing full well that the Lord is with you and will see you through.
The early church learned that lesson. That’s why one of the earliest symbols for the church was a ship. It was their way of saying we ride through the storms together. Many churches of old have captured that in the design of their space for worship. The truss system mimics the spars used in the construction of a boat. The idea is that every time you walk in to church you can remind yourself that you are riding the gospel ship through life. Let me share with you some words from a poem penned by Maya Angelou, one of my favorite poets, who I met years ago:
Lying, thinking last night
How to find my soul a home
Where the water is not thirsty
And the loaf bread is not stone.
And I come up with one thing
And I think I am not wrong—
No one, no one can make it all
Alone.
Stay with the boat.
Submitted By Rev. Bobby J. Touchton, D.Min.
Ashland, Kentucky
This message may be used freely by others in any manner that promotes the Gospel of Christ. Over the years, I have relied heavily on other sermons, as well as, those from SermonCentral.com; this sermon is no exception.
