WISDOM READINGS:
Judaism, Mishnah, Abot 2:4
Separate not yourself from the community.
Matthew 14:22-33
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 towards them on the lake. But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, 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 towards 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 worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’
MESSAGE – “If?”
A new pastor was appointed to a church. As a welcome, a group from the church invited him to go fishing with them. They arrived at the lake, climbed in the boat, and motored out some distance from the shore. One of the members of the church realized he had forgotten the bait. He stepped out of the boat on to the water, walked across the water, retrieved the bait, and returned to the boat. Another member noticed he left his lunch in the vehicle, stepped out of the boat, walked across the water, grabbed his lunch, and returned in the same way he had gone. The third member of the church saw that she had left her tackle box behind and retrieved it in the same manner as the first two. The new preacher, quite impressed, noticed he left his phone in the car, stood up, stepped out of the boat, and promptly sank. The three in the boat look at one another and said, “You suppose we should have told him where the rocks are?”
I do not know how many times I have said myself how much I resonate with the disciple Peter in the stories we have. I would be foolish to try and name how many times I have heard others express their connection with who we believe him to have been. Peter is portrayed in our stories as a bit brash, impetuous, perhaps a bit like a bull in a china shop. He is portrayed as one who may often speak first and think second, one who makes many mistakes, however based on his story, surely learns from them. We see that in so many places in his exchanges with Jesus and the others, blurting out something that he surely does not understand, yet says the first thing that pops in his head.
Perhaps that is one of his most endearing qualities… the willingness to make a mistake, a willingness to take the first step without being able to see the whole stair case (to quote MLK, Jr.), Peter is imaginably the character in our story representing the follower of Jesus who is willing to take the risk, to be vulnerable enough to either fail or succeed at the cost of everything.
This is the image of Peter I grew up with, the image of Peter I heard the most in my father’s and others sermons. And I confess, it is still, the Peter I resonate with most, at least in terms of his ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time… that “foot in mouth disease” as it were.
This is the image of Peter we encounter most when we read the story Maddi shared with us from Matthew, other gospels have the story of Jesus walking on water as well. Many scholars suggest this is a post-resurrection vision story inserted into the stories of the life and ministry of Jesus. This story, at least in my experience, has always been told from the perspective of, believing who Jesus is… Son of God… and Peter’s great faith and Peter’s great doubt.
He calls to Jesus to command him to come to him on the water. And Jesus says, “Come.” Peter steps out of the boat, on to the water, and walks toward Jesus. If you remember, this is in the midst of a storm, waves crashing, wind blowing, spray of the sea in Peter’s face… in the midst of the storm Peter gets distracted, loses sight of his purpose and destination… “takes his eyes off Jesus”, I have heard it said, and I have preached so many times. And when that happens… he sinks, cries out for help and Jesus hauls him up out of the water and back into the boat.
This is the scene. In most interpretations I have read and shared, we commend Peter for his faith, his willingness to “get out of the boat” so to speak. We challenge one another, we challenge the church to get out of their rut, to stop saying, “We’ve never done it that way before,” to have faith, to take a step of faith without being able to see the whole staircase. Peter is our model here. Church, get out of the boat, but keep your eyes on Jesus. Don’t get distracted from your purpose, from your task, from your mission. Be brave and vulnerable enough to step out into the chaos of the world and make a difference. Do not stay in the safety of the boat, take the risk to spread the good news of the Way of Jesus. It seems clear enough.
This story of holding the challenge of faith in one hand and the struggle of doubt in the other, and being vulnerable enough to follow the Way of Jesus into the world around us, doing the things he did in terms of feeding the hungry, healing the sick, embracing the lonely, and welcoming the outcast and marginalized. The church needs those leaders… those heroes who are willing to take the lead, to get out front, to, as Barbara Brown Taylor says, “…risk their lives to prove that Jesus is who he says he is.” One of the most common sermon themes for this interpretation is for the church to “Get Out of the Boat!”
And yet, there is another possibility in understanding this story… I ran across the interpretation in Barbara Brown Taylor’s book, “Bread of Angels” sometime back. There are some interesting pieces of the story I had never “heard” until I read her writings. In these writings, I hear the sermon theme of, church, “Stay in the Boat!” In Matthew’s telling… Peter tells Jesus to “command him to come to him on the water,” not allow, not invite, but to make him… to command him.
Another is Peter’s request… “Lord, if it is you, command me…” This happens after Jesus has already told him and the other disciples it is he. After Jesus identifies himself, Peter says… “If” it is you… Peter doubts? Peter doesn’t believe it is Jesus even after Jesus tells him it is he? It is the same phraseology the devil uses in Matthew’s telling of the wilderness temptation of Jesus… “If” you are the son of God do this and this and this.” Peter is asking Jesus to suspend the laws of nature for him. Peter is asking Jesus to make an exception for him. Peter is asking Jesus to set him apart from his fellow disciples, to make him different, to make him exceptional… it seems Peter is saying, “Do this and then I will believe it is you.” “IF” it is you. “Tell me where the rocks are.” Reading the story in this way makes Peter seem rather pompous, Taylor says… it fits our earlier characterization of him… impetuous, blundering, speaking without thinking, though it casts him in a little different light with this telling.
I suppose we are all susceptible to this telling as well. Who among us have not asked God to suspend the rules for us… even for the best of reasons? “Do this thing and I will believe,” “Speak to me aloud so ‘I’ will know,” Suspend the rules… “Help me and I will do this or that?”
I suspect for a good number of us we have wanted to showboat a little like Peter now and then, asking Jesus to do something exceptional for us. Brown-Taylor says, “We want the burden of proof to be on him and not us.” 1 Brown-Taylor suggests that Peter’s “doubt,” ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt,’ did not occur in the fiasco of his sinking in the rising waves of the sea… but rather in the initial exchange… “Lord, ‘IF’ it is you…” She says, what happened on the water was simply an extension of that doubt. Brown-Taylor also points out, that rebuke… “You of little faith, why did you doubt,” was only directed at Peter. He did not direct a similar rebuke at the other disciples, the community, who stayed in the boat rowing against the storm… only Peter who asked for a solo gig and left the community behind to fend for themselves.
This story and interpretation is an example of how we read and listen to the stories of our faith. They speak to us in different ways depending not only on their context, but on our own as well… we do the work and study and find for ourselves the food for our souls we seek and need. I really like the way Brown-Taylor wraps up her writing on this story…
“You decide. Maybe this really is a story about the church’s need for heroes – for people who, like Peter, are willing to risk their lives to prove that Jesus is who he says he is. But it may just as well be a story about the other eleven disciples, who never thought of themselves as particularly heroic, who never dreamed of putting Jesus to the test, who were willing to row against the wind until he got into the boat with them, no matter how long it took. They were not looking for exemptions [or exceptions]. They were just looking for their Lord to join them where they were, and that was when the miracle happened –not while he and Peter were out doing the fancy stuff on the water, but once he had everyone back together in the boat. That was when the wind ceased… just like that.” 2
Think on these things. May our ponderings feed our hearts, and souls, and bodies… and bring us peace. Amen.
1 Taylor, Barbara Brown, (1997). Bread of Angels, Cowley Publications, Cambridge, Boston, MA.
2 Taylor, Barbara Brown, (1997). Bread of Angels, Cowley Publications, Cambridge, Boston, MA.
