The writer, Terry Tempest Williams, was being interviewed by Image magazine about her work in Wyoming for conversations with rural communities. It seems the state of Wyoming has tremendous growing pains right now, with an oil and gas boom and the removal of the wolf and grizzly from the endangered species list, and the increasing pressures of housing and retail development.
Williams’ said, “We are in a real place with real people who are struggling with some of the most critical issues of our time.” How, she wondered, might these stories go beyond rhetoric and pierce the hardest of hearts? In today’s gospel, as in all gospel stories, Matthew goes beyond mere story telling to touch our hearts and teach Gods lesson.
But, we begin with a story. It is one of Jesus calling us to do impossible things, to struggle with critical issues, and make real and lasting sacrifices.
I wonder how might we move beyond the surface level telling of our life stories and allow them instead to pierce our rough places, the calluses of protection and short termed security that protect our heart and soul.
How do we follow our own life stories to our hearts, the core of our intimacy with Christ Jesus, where the impossible becomes possible? Where struggle becomes a blessing, where our sacrifices glorify God.
Following last Sundays story about feeding the 5000, Jesus is on the move. He has the disciples get into a boat and travel to the other side of the Sea of Galilee while he goes up the mountain to pray. The boat the disciples are in gets caught in a storm and battered by the waves, it is far from the land, and they begin to fear for their lives.
Early in the morning, Jesus comes walking towards them. Out there, in the midst of the swells, with the wind against them, the disciples saw someone walking on the lake; they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.
Crying out in fear can be a good thing. Especially when there is a good reason. But we know this is Jesus Christ who has come to save his disciples. He has given them new life, a new reason to love and Jesus doesn’t abandon those whom God has created. For God will not waist the gifts God has given us. God will not waist the call God has for our lives. God would not have chosen or called us if God did not believe we can do the impossible things God commands.
We on the other hand think, surely God could have found someone brighter, sharper, and more gifted than me to be in God’s boat. And to be God’s church, and to carry on God’s ministry.
We know all to well that to be a part of bringing about the reign of God on earth as it is in heaven is no easy task. And all too often, mired in our doubt about our own worthiness we do occasionally need rescue.
We too get caught in life’s storm. We too need Jesus to walk on water for us. We pray Jesus will single us out, rescue a sinking you and a sinking me and we pray Jesus will still our storm. And Jesus does still the storminess of life, and he rescues us from ourselves in the process.
Perhaps Peter’s example is good for us. Despite his brave impression of fearlessness, he does become frightened and with his doubt about Jesus, he began to sink, yet he cried out, “Lord, save me!” And Jesus reaches out to Peter, just as he reaches out to every one of us. Every one of us desperate to live that is. Every one of us willing to cry out, “Lord, save me!”
To paraphrase Paul’s reading this morning, when we cry out, Jesus saves us, and the Lord of all is generous to all and makes no distinction between Jew and Greek. Even those who do not call Jesus’ name, even those who do not know Jesus, even when our lives have become desperate, Jesus immerses himself in the depths of our lives.
What we discover from this mornings gospel is what Peter discovered. Jesus calls us to do the impossible, to come and walk with him and perhaps most importantly, Jesus follows us where ever that walk takes us. Even when we are falling below the stormy waters, sinking in above our heads, Jesus falls and sinks with us.
“Take heart, he says, it is I; do not be afraid,” I am here struggling with you. Let your real and critically important life issues be mine too. “Do not be afraid.”
Jesus stays with us no matter how deeply our despair because he is God. Jesus will not save himself at our expense; actually, he gave his own life for our benefit, so that we might live. “The same man who walked on water finds himself immersed in the deep with each of us.”
“Our call this morning is to do impossible things with our lives, like walk on water. Jesus calls us to be his disciples, to know what he knows, to do what he does, to be just like him. He would not have chosen or called us if he did not believe we can do the impossible things he commands.”
Jesus, throughout our lives, has told us to turn the other cheek if somebody walks up to us and slaps our face. Impossible?
He has told us to walk two miles if anybody asks us to walk one. A struggle?
He has told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. To big a sacrifice?
He has told us to be perfect, just like our Father in heaven is perfect.
He has told us to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons.
Impossible, critical, sacrificial discipleship.
He has told us to follow him wherever he goes – even to the cross.
And he has told each of us to be faithful to the gifts he has given us so that we may do his work here on earth.
Anna Carter Florence says, it is not up to us to walk on water, it is up to us to hear the call, and then to believe that it is not a ghost, not the tempter, not our imaginations playing tricks on us, but really and truly Jesus, our Messiah, our Savior, our Christ.
There is a scene in the middle of C. S. Lewis’ second chronicle of Narnia, when the four children return to Narnia. In their attempt to find their bearings in such an altered landscape, the children become hopelessly lost in a wild forest until Lucy, the youngest, spots the great lion, Aslan. Lucy tries to persuade the others that he is with them and providing them direction. However, since none of the others can see him, they ignore her and continue traveling in the wrong direction. Aslan comes to Lucy again and challenges her to follow him by herself even if the others will not believe her. The others grudgingly follow her and one by one are able to see Aslan for themselves. In speaking to the older sister, Susan, Aslan says, “You have listened to fears, child. Come; let me breathe on you…
How does this all happen? It happens by our faith. Going beyond mere rhetoric our heart is pierced by our faith, even the hardest of hearts.
If we will but grudgingly follow Jesus, we will one by one be able to see God, not only in this story but in our stories too.
We are in a real place and we are real people. Our call from Jesus is to go beyond story telling, to open our hearts and souls to his presence and to come and follow him.
Together. Always together with him. Christ Jesus will never ever lead us astray or leave us alone.
Come, let us breathe his breath of faith, and come let us worship him saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, one God, now and forever. Amen
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