"Up To Your Neck"
8-10-14 (Proper 14A/Ordinary 19A Semi-Continuous)
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28; Matthew 14:22-33
Up To Your Neck
Once again we find ourselves looking at another incredibly familiar passage - one that has been etched into our collective memory, even to the point that it has infused our culture as we talk about people who have a high opinion of themselves as “thinking that they can walk on water.” But the one thing that I am continually reminded of as I go into sermon preparation each week is that it’s often the most familiar stories from the Scriptures that are also the most difficult. Sometimes, we know a story so well that we forget to even hear it anymore.
So as we study this passage today, let’s step away from the story we know - let’s move away for a moment from that familiar imagery of Peter stepping out of the boat and onto the water, of Jesus’ arm reaching out to take him as Peter begins to falter and sink. Don’t worry - we’re not going to ignore it… but if we focus only on that one moment, we can easily miss the rest of the story - and there’s a lot to gain from this bigger story.
This passage is set immediately after the feeding of the 5,000. The whole mess of people is still sitting there on the lakeshore, out in the wilderness - they’re still marveling over the 12 baskets of food left over from what started as just five loaves and two fish. And before this miraculous event even has time to sink in with the apostles, before they can process what has just happened, Jesus is back into action - it’s time to move on. Jesus tells the disciples to get into the boat and go back to the other side of the sea that he had only so recently crossed in the first place, then he dismisses the crowds and goes up the mountain for a moment to do what he had gone out in the wilderness to do in the first place - to pray and recharge.
The word immediately as we hear it in the Gospels here - it’s a powerful word. In the Greek, it is euthus, and it means without delay, in the blink of an eye - we see this term used many times in the Gospels, particularly in the miracle stories as Jesus acts and people are healed “immediately.” So even as the storm begins to set in and the disciples are bobbing in the center of it, there’s a sense of immediacy - Jesus has ordered them to go back across the sea. He didn’t tell them to help him disperse the crowds, he didn’t ask them to come up to the mountain with him to pray - he compelled them to get into the boat, to shove off and to make way to the other shore. He all but grabs the oar and pushes them on their way. But here they are now in the middle of the sea, the wind is against them and no amount of force, compulsion, or pushing is going to get them any closer to the other side. They are fighting against the storm, trying to make progress however they can without being swamped and capsized.
And in the midst of the storm, in the midst of the disciples’ struggles to keep the sails set, the ropes taught, the water bailed… and they’ve now been doing this through the night and into the morning… Jesus appears. And he not only appears, having decided to come down the mountain once more - he walks across the water toward them.
Is it any wonder that the disciples are spooked, that they think Jesus is a ghost? It’s early morning - probably somewhere between 3 and 6 in the morning. The disciples have been in utter chaos throughout the night in this storm, far out to sea and distant from any land, battered and even tormented by the waves and wind - and they see a figure coming toward them, walking over the water. In the midst of their exhaustion and fear, when they are at a low and dangerous point in their journey - Jesus shows up. They’re scared of him, thinking him to be a ghost, but Jesus tells them to take heart - he reveals himself to them and in the language he uses, the Jewish disciples and the Jewish community to which Matthew wrote his gospel alike may have heard the echoes of the “I AM” from the burning bush that appeared to Moses. Take heart. I AM. Do not be afraid.
And out of this statement, this reassurance, Peter takes a further bold step: he asks Jesus to call him out. He steps out, walks straight into the chaos and the figure that have terrified him in the hope that this truly is Christ. And as he steps out, he actually begins to walk on the water in the same way as Christ was.
Sure - Peter has a crisis of faith after he steps out. Again - who wouldn’t? But where we usually hear the story that “Peter let his eyes fall from Christ and that’s when he began to sink, so we need to keep our eyes on Christ,” we’re encouraged again to listen to the story more closely. There’s nothing in the text that talks about Peter looking away from Christ. In fact, as the story goes, Peter seems to be so focused on going out to meet Christ that he’s entirely forgotten the chaos and the storm all around him - until the strong wind reminds him. He gets blasted with another gust and it all hits home suddenly just what it is that he is doing. And in that one moment, that one second of fear, everything else flies away from him and he begins to sink. And as he’s up to his neck in the sea he cries out, “Lord, save me!” and then - there’s that word again - immediately. Euthus. Jesus’ hand is there to catch him and bring him sputtering back up, to get back into the boat and to calm the storm in the blink of an eye.
Jesus shakes his head, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” But I don’t think that he’s scolding Peter - not this time. Jesus feels sympathy for Peter and reassures him again - it’s not that Peter was afraid, necessarily, that causes Jesus to make this statement, but that Peter felt he had to cry out to Jesus for rescue in the first place - that Peter still doubted that it was Jesus who was calling him out into the tumult and not a ghost.
Peter didn’t need to cry out - he didn't need to panic as he sank, because Jesus was there - and he was there immediately. And that’s the most amazing thing in this story - Jesus is there immediately when the things get their worst. He’s there immediately when we’re up to our necks, whether we doubt that he’s there or not. And he’s there immediately to lift us up and to reassure us of his presence, even when we’ve been fighting the storm all night and feel that there’s no hope of a future calm.
And what’s more, Jesus calls us out into that chaos, into that storm - not because he wants to test us or to make us fight for things, but because he is with us through it. We’re called, even today, to take action like Peter, to step out of the boat, out of the places where we are comfortable, to go into the storm and the tumult. We’re called to face the winds that blow around us all the time - winds of change, winds of anger, of mistrust, of conflict and persecution. Winds that threaten to steer us off course, to drown us in a sea of danger and hostility. But we’re not called to be fearless. We’re not called to be stoic, keeping our face firmly planted forward and ignoring the things that threaten us. It’s perfectly fine to feel uncomfortable and intimidated - it’s even fine to sink from time to time as the storms and the unknown overwhelm us. But even as we’re overwhelmed, we can be confident in knowing that Jesus is there to immediately reach out and catch us, to help pull us back up, and to set us back on course.
So let’s step out of the boat, let’s be bold and step into the storm - let’s face the tumult in our lives and culture, the things that challenge us as the church and as followers of Christ each and every one of us, no matter what those things may be - and let us feel that comforting grip of our savior leading us onward through the storm. To God Be the Glory. Amen.
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28; Matthew 14:22-33
Up To Your Neck
Once again we find ourselves looking at another incredibly familiar passage - one that has been etched into our collective memory, even to the point that it has infused our culture as we talk about people who have a high opinion of themselves as “thinking that they can walk on water.” But the one thing that I am continually reminded of as I go into sermon preparation each week is that it’s often the most familiar stories from the Scriptures that are also the most difficult. Sometimes, we know a story so well that we forget to even hear it anymore.
So as we study this passage today, let’s step away from the story we know - let’s move away for a moment from that familiar imagery of Peter stepping out of the boat and onto the water, of Jesus’ arm reaching out to take him as Peter begins to falter and sink. Don’t worry - we’re not going to ignore it… but if we focus only on that one moment, we can easily miss the rest of the story - and there’s a lot to gain from this bigger story.
This passage is set immediately after the feeding of the 5,000. The whole mess of people is still sitting there on the lakeshore, out in the wilderness - they’re still marveling over the 12 baskets of food left over from what started as just five loaves and two fish. And before this miraculous event even has time to sink in with the apostles, before they can process what has just happened, Jesus is back into action - it’s time to move on. Jesus tells the disciples to get into the boat and go back to the other side of the sea that he had only so recently crossed in the first place, then he dismisses the crowds and goes up the mountain for a moment to do what he had gone out in the wilderness to do in the first place - to pray and recharge.
The word immediately as we hear it in the Gospels here - it’s a powerful word. In the Greek, it is euthus, and it means without delay, in the blink of an eye - we see this term used many times in the Gospels, particularly in the miracle stories as Jesus acts and people are healed “immediately.” So even as the storm begins to set in and the disciples are bobbing in the center of it, there’s a sense of immediacy - Jesus has ordered them to go back across the sea. He didn’t tell them to help him disperse the crowds, he didn’t ask them to come up to the mountain with him to pray - he compelled them to get into the boat, to shove off and to make way to the other shore. He all but grabs the oar and pushes them on their way. But here they are now in the middle of the sea, the wind is against them and no amount of force, compulsion, or pushing is going to get them any closer to the other side. They are fighting against the storm, trying to make progress however they can without being swamped and capsized.
And in the midst of the storm, in the midst of the disciples’ struggles to keep the sails set, the ropes taught, the water bailed… and they’ve now been doing this through the night and into the morning… Jesus appears. And he not only appears, having decided to come down the mountain once more - he walks across the water toward them.
Is it any wonder that the disciples are spooked, that they think Jesus is a ghost? It’s early morning - probably somewhere between 3 and 6 in the morning. The disciples have been in utter chaos throughout the night in this storm, far out to sea and distant from any land, battered and even tormented by the waves and wind - and they see a figure coming toward them, walking over the water. In the midst of their exhaustion and fear, when they are at a low and dangerous point in their journey - Jesus shows up. They’re scared of him, thinking him to be a ghost, but Jesus tells them to take heart - he reveals himself to them and in the language he uses, the Jewish disciples and the Jewish community to which Matthew wrote his gospel alike may have heard the echoes of the “I AM” from the burning bush that appeared to Moses. Take heart. I AM. Do not be afraid.
And out of this statement, this reassurance, Peter takes a further bold step: he asks Jesus to call him out. He steps out, walks straight into the chaos and the figure that have terrified him in the hope that this truly is Christ. And as he steps out, he actually begins to walk on the water in the same way as Christ was.
Sure - Peter has a crisis of faith after he steps out. Again - who wouldn’t? But where we usually hear the story that “Peter let his eyes fall from Christ and that’s when he began to sink, so we need to keep our eyes on Christ,” we’re encouraged again to listen to the story more closely. There’s nothing in the text that talks about Peter looking away from Christ. In fact, as the story goes, Peter seems to be so focused on going out to meet Christ that he’s entirely forgotten the chaos and the storm all around him - until the strong wind reminds him. He gets blasted with another gust and it all hits home suddenly just what it is that he is doing. And in that one moment, that one second of fear, everything else flies away from him and he begins to sink. And as he’s up to his neck in the sea he cries out, “Lord, save me!” and then - there’s that word again - immediately. Euthus. Jesus’ hand is there to catch him and bring him sputtering back up, to get back into the boat and to calm the storm in the blink of an eye.
Jesus shakes his head, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” But I don’t think that he’s scolding Peter - not this time. Jesus feels sympathy for Peter and reassures him again - it’s not that Peter was afraid, necessarily, that causes Jesus to make this statement, but that Peter felt he had to cry out to Jesus for rescue in the first place - that Peter still doubted that it was Jesus who was calling him out into the tumult and not a ghost.
Peter didn’t need to cry out - he didn't need to panic as he sank, because Jesus was there - and he was there immediately. And that’s the most amazing thing in this story - Jesus is there immediately when the things get their worst. He’s there immediately when we’re up to our necks, whether we doubt that he’s there or not. And he’s there immediately to lift us up and to reassure us of his presence, even when we’ve been fighting the storm all night and feel that there’s no hope of a future calm.
And what’s more, Jesus calls us out into that chaos, into that storm - not because he wants to test us or to make us fight for things, but because he is with us through it. We’re called, even today, to take action like Peter, to step out of the boat, out of the places where we are comfortable, to go into the storm and the tumult. We’re called to face the winds that blow around us all the time - winds of change, winds of anger, of mistrust, of conflict and persecution. Winds that threaten to steer us off course, to drown us in a sea of danger and hostility. But we’re not called to be fearless. We’re not called to be stoic, keeping our face firmly planted forward and ignoring the things that threaten us. It’s perfectly fine to feel uncomfortable and intimidated - it’s even fine to sink from time to time as the storms and the unknown overwhelm us. But even as we’re overwhelmed, we can be confident in knowing that Jesus is there to immediately reach out and catch us, to help pull us back up, and to set us back on course.
So let’s step out of the boat, let’s be bold and step into the storm - let’s face the tumult in our lives and culture, the things that challenge us as the church and as followers of Christ each and every one of us, no matter what those things may be - and let us feel that comforting grip of our savior leading us onward through the storm. To God Be the Glory. Amen.
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