Verse 32, “…when they climbed into the boat the wind died down.” In other words with Jesus on board there was peace and calm.
When Jesus and Peter climbed on board, and when the wind died down, the disciples must have been reminded of that previous occasion when Jesus calmed a storm (Matthew 8:23-27). During that earlier event Jesus “got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm” (Mt 8:26).
The lovely thing about tonight’s bible reading is that it says so much about the life of faith in God.
It’s good to remember that the author Matthew was a Jew writing in particular to demonstrate to other Jews that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the promised one, the long-awaited servant of God.
Now although Matthew was addressing Jews, the events in the life of Jesus also speak to us today; and the reactions of the disciples to Jesus speak to us too.
So what do we learn from this bible reading?
1. First of all it tells us something about Jesus. If you happen to like using words which 99% of the population never use in normal conversation, this bible reading does a bit of ‘Christology’ (what sort of Christ is he?) It tells us something about Jesus.
Verse 25: Jesus walked on the lake. Verse 32: When Jesus climbed into the boat, the wind died down. A faithful Jew hearing these words would think of the Jewish Bible (our O/T) where God is declared to be the one who calms the waters, and God is the only one who can tread upon the sea: Psalm 89:9, “You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them;” and Job 9:8, “He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.”
Jesus treads upon the water and stills the waves. In other words Matthew affirms that Jesus is God.
2. Our bible reading tells us something about the faith of a disciple: the one called ‘the rock’, Peter! Whilst the other disciples are cowering together because they think they’ve seen a ghost (verse 26) Peter hears the call of Jesus, he answers the call of Jesus, and he gets stuck in!
It seems to me that unlike the reflective faith of people like me, Peter is prepared to just ‘have a go’. He gets stuck in; and like me, his faith was shaky. Unlike me, he is quick to get out of the boat (verse 29), but rather like me when he saw the wind (verse 29) he become fearful and began to sink. How about you?
3. This piece of scripture helps us to know that Jesus had a great prayer life. He knew the intimacy of a perfect relationship with ‘abba’, his father.
My colleague and friend, Rev David Snuggs, spent three weeks in Israel recently and he was deeply affected by hearing young Hebrew voices calling out, “abba!” One young lad was really excited about showing something to his dad: “abba, abba!” At the beach a boy was struggling in the water and he called out to his dad, “abba, abba!” On another occasion a different Dad, abba, had lost his children and he (abba) was searching for them. These events had a profound impact upon David and upon his understanding of the fact that we are Abba’s children.
Jesus had a perfect relationship with his heavenly father, and a great life of prayer, even though it was regularly interrupted:
(Matthew 14:13-14) Jesus withdrew to a solitary place. Quiet time with his father was a priority, but the crowds found him. He needed time alone with his father, but he had compassion on the crowd!
Often when I close my door for prayer, my 3 year old daughter finds me. A little hand knocks on the door; she trots in and wants me to read her a book, or do a jigsaw, or just to sit on my knee and tell me about the spider’s web she’s scared of! At that moment I have a decision to make: send her away because it’s time for Daddy to pray, or realise that this is all part of life.
Jesus had a great life of prayer. I know that in comparison to Jesus I do not; but I do want to become more like Jesus. I do want to be changed.
Do you ever feel like your prayer-life is being blown all over the place? Do you sometimes feel that your life of prayer is being regularly interrupted? Is your time alone with God either non-existent, or deteriorating, or in danger of sinking in the midst of the storms of life? Do you hear other Christians talking about prayer (especially preachers!) and think, “I wish I could pray like him, or like her”?
On the subject of interruptions, a professor at Notre Dame once said this: “My whole life I have been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted; until I discovered that my interruptions were my work.”
If I am praying and the telephone rings, I could think to myself, “Not again! That ‘phone just keeps ringing. It’s bound to be another marketing call. Go away!” However, I could pray, “Thank you Lord for this opportunity. Please bless this person as I speak to them and please give me an opportunity to encourage them, or pray for them, or share your Good News with them.”
You could be forgiven for thinking, “OK; but when are you going to talk about silence, about times of quiet, about being in God’s presence? That’s how Jesus prayed, and that’s how I want to pray!” I am about to do that; but a word of caution: silence is not the goal. The goal is prayer, an encounter with God.
Verse 23: “… [Jesus] went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.” Verse 13 of the same chapter: “… [Jesus] withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.”
Although it’s true that Jesus responded to the interruptions, and saw the interruptions as part of ministry, he specifically sought out quiet places. Jesus specifically made time and space for solitude. Jesus went to a place for prayer.
Luke in his gospel actually tells us that Jesus had a regular place for prayer! Luke 22:39 begins with these words: “Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives.” On this particular occasion, Jesus was in prayer and was about to face arrest.
Can I encourage you to have a place and a time for prayer? There may be interruptions. You may not always get there on time. Sometimes you may have to postpone, but a time and a place is so helpful.
I wouldn’t have learnt to drive if I’d not had driving lessons. I often feel as if I am just learning to pray, and I need lessons! I need a time and a place, and I need to put them in my diary; and by that I mean that I need to be organised about it, to plan ahead.
If like me you’ve got young children then perhaps someone else could watch the children occasionally so that you can go to a quiet place.
I aim to spend a day a month at Furzey Gardens in the New Forest, plus two or three days a year at a Priory run by Franciscan monks. During the week I aim to go for a walk once a week in the woods or out in the fields to spend time with Abba, our Heavenly Father, the father of Jesus.
Let’s remember that we’ll only be ‘like’ Jesus when we are with him in glory. In this life he is our example and our model but he is also our Lord and our God.
Perhaps a challenge for us in prayer is to be a bit more like Peter who was prepared to get out of the boat. OK so we’re not in a boat on a stormy lake but Jesus is asking us to get out of our comfort zones, to fix our eyes on him, and to have a go. We may struggle and we may be feeling right now as though our prayer-life is sinking, but it is Jesus who reaches out for us in all kinds of ways and in all kinds of places. Our response, like the disciples, is to say to him, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
I read recently that early African converts were earnest and regular in private devotions. Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over time the paths to these places became well worn. As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others. They would kindly remind the negligent one, "Brother, the grass grows on your path." ‘Today in the Word’, June 29, 1992.
If your prayer life is going badly, if you are not praying at all, if you are frustrated because prayer seems hard; who else knows about it? If your path is becoming overgrown: who knows about it?
Perhaps try going to a quiet place with someone else. Spend a short time chatting and then be silent before God on your own for an agreed length of time; then meet together again for prayer and encouragement.
Brothers and sisters we are not meant to be solitary disciples. Jesus sent out his disciples in twos, and the Acts of the Apostles is full of team ministry. Prayer, ministry, solitude: we need each other because where two or three are gathered in his name, he is in the midst.
Truly Jesus is the Son of God. In the quiet place; in the secret place he will speak. As we create a time and a place we will meet with him, just as he met with ‘Abba’, His heavenly Father.
