Surviving the Storms

Matthew 14:22-33

Over my pastoral career, the many churches I served ran Vacation Bible schools. They were a LOT of work, but also were a lot of fun. One particular VBS focused on the stories of Jesus, which included this morning’s gospel lesson. In most VBS curricula, there is always some activity to bring home the message of each Bible story to the children.

When we came to the day focused on stormy seas with Jesus rescuing the disciples and grabbing Peter, we helped the kids understand the lesson by letting them walk on water. It sounds a bit more incredible than it was, but here is what we did. We filled a kiddie pool with water and then added some quick-setting gelatin, which was provided by the VBS kit. Within a couple of minutes, the water thickened and kids were able to “walk on water.”

This certainly is a challenging story about Jesus and Peter walking on the water. Plus, they walked on water without any quick-setting gelatin! Although the story appears in Matthew 14, Mark 6, and John 6, only Matthew includes the details about Peter walking on water at Jesus's invitation (v. 29). Let's take a closer look at today's passage to see what wisdom we can find.

First, let's set the context. Jesus is in his hometown of Capernaum after problematic encounters with his family (12:46-50), challenges from the Pharisees, healing the crowds, being rejected in his hometown synagogue (13:55), and feeding the 5,000 plus. After plenty of conflict, two full days of teaching, preaching, and healing, Jesus was ready for a break. One of the things that is revealed about Jesus in this story is his humanity. We sometimes struggle with the idea that Jesus was both human and divine. In this section of scripture, we can see his human side revealed. Even the Son of God got tired and needed rest.

So, when evening finally came, a weary Jesus told the disciples to get in the boat and go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee while he went up a mountain to pray. He needed time alone, time with God, time for rest. Where were the disciples headed and why? In the Gospels, the phrase "The other side" is often associated with uncleanness, something foreign, alien, and remote. In this case, the other side of the Sea of Galilee was the location of the nine cities of the Decapolis, a federation of ten Hellenistic cities that were not on good terms with the Jewish people. The mission ahead was going to be difficult. So across the sea they went.

The Sea of Galilee is a pear-shaped freshwater lake, not a sea; it is the lowest in the world, 715 feet below sea level. The sea is approximately twelve miles long and eight miles wide.

At some point, Jesus looked down from the mountain, noticed the storm arising, and saw the disciples in trouble. It is still quite common for sudden, violent storms to occur with little warning upon the Sea of Galilee. Cool winds from the Golan Heights collide with warm air rising from the sea. When these two forces meet, there are sudden, unpredictable, and powerful storms.

Verse 25 says in many translations, "Early in the morning," also often translated as "in the fourth watch of the night," meaning between 3-6 am. The disciples were on the sea, and Jesus saw them in distress. The wind and waves had stalled their progress to the other side. So, Jesus came down the mountain and walked across the water towards them.

There is a parallel here to when God speaks of creation in the Book of Job. Theologian Nicholas J Schaser writes, "God asks Job if he ever "went upon (elthes… epi) the springs of the sea (thalāsses) or walked (periepātesas) in the recesses of the deep" (Job 38:16 Septuagint). Earlier in the book, Job affirms that the Creator had traversed the oceans before the dawn of humanity, saying that God "stretched out the heavens and trampled on the waves of the sea" (9:8)." The message here is that Jesus can walk on water, just as God can. Therefore, Jesus and God are one, which will be reaffirmed just a couple of verses later.

The disciples did not see the correlation between Jesus and God. They were looking through the eyes of fear. They were terrified enough by the storm around them. Now some specter was walking towards them through the storm!

Jesus tried to reassure them and called out, "Take heart! It is I. Do not be afraid!" The translation misses a bit of the importance of his words. The Greek says "I am" (egō eimi)—the same thing God says to Moses at the burning bush according to the Septuagint: "And God said to Moses, 'I am' (egō eimi)" (Exodus 3:14). Again, Matthew reinforces that God and Jesus are one.

Peter said, "Lord, if it is you, let me come out to you!" Jesus said, "Come." (v. 29). To his credit, Peter stepped out in faith and walked on the water. Matthew doesn't tell us how far Peter walked, only that he did. Peter's action in getting out of the boat at Jesus's command was a striking picture of faith, even if it was fleeting.

Then Peter noticed the strong wind and became frightened. Suddenly the story shifts from faith to fear. He initially stepped out in faith, eager to respond to Jesus's invitation, but he took his eyes off Jesus and focused instead on the storms swirling around him. At that moment, despite his initial faith, he was overcome by fear, even though he saw Jesus walking on water and had done so himself for some time. Despite the evidence, he didn't believe it and began to sink.

When I was a young boy, around the age of five, I hadn't yet learned to swim. That summer, we visited my uncle's parents, who had a doughboy pool in their backyard. My sister and two cousins were there, and they invited me to go into the pool with them. I got into my suit but sat on the deck next to the pool. They couldn't fool me. Once I got into the pool, I just knew the water would go right over my head, and it would be the end! My cousin Anne stood waist-deep in the water, right in front of me, encouraging me to step off the deck and enter the pool. I didn't budge. Then she got a measuring tape from the house, measured how tall I was, and measured how deep the pool was. She then did the math for me and said, "See? The water will only come up to your shoulders at best. It is totally safe!" Even though the evidence was pretty straightforward, I was focused on my fears, and no amount of evidence would change my mind. My cousins and sister were very patient with me, and eventually, I turned from fear to trust and finally got into the water. And here I am today. I survived, after all!

Back to our passage, as Peter began to sink, he cried out, "Lord save me!" Jesus immediately reached out, grabbed hold of Peter, and asked him, " You of little faith, why did you doubt?" Then as they got back into the boat, the storm stopped just like that. The disciples then proclaimed, "Truly you are the Son of God!" (14:33). Their proclamation after Jesus saved Peter's life will reemerge at the moment of Jesus' death. When Christ yields up his spirit and an earthquake ensues, a centurion and his associates at the cross declare, "Truly this was the Son of God" (Matthew 27:54)

What wisdom for life can we take from today's passage? There are a few things.

First, storms will come- personal struggles with your life, family, loved ones, and the church will come and may cause you to fear. Jesus never once promised that following him would lead to a carefree existence. Instead, he called us to lose our lives, pick up our crosses, and follow. Storms will arise, and difficulties will come. American author and motivational speaker Vivian Greene wrote, "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain." Faith in Christ can help us learn to dance during the storm.

Second, where is your focus when those storms arise? You'll have that sinking feeling if it is on fear rather than faith. Placing our eyes upon Christ is vital in stormy situations.

There is plenty to be fearful about right now! It is fire season, and much of Oregon and Washington are on fire right now. The air in our valley hasn’t been too bad thus far, but once the wind shifts, we are likely to be in a long stretch of unhealthy air. Our university is in financial difficulty. Our hospital has canceled all inpatient services and is a shell of its former self. So many storms are right here, and we haven’t even touched upon the storms in our nation and world! If all we do is focus upon those storms, we will lose sight of Jesus, and we too will have that sinking feeling.

I have an old icon of Jesus, which I bought back in 1984 when I visited Russia. It is an image of Jesus staring intently. At times in my life, when I see the wind and waves, and fear begins to settle into my soul, I stop and look at that icon of Jesus, breathing slowly and staring into the eyes of the Messiah. As a gift for you today, there is a copy of that icon in the bulletin to put up somewhere at home. May it help you keep your eyes on Christ during any storms you face.

I have experienced many storms in my own life. But it was the aftermath of one storm from a couple of decades ago that I will never forget.

Hurricane Katrina was a catastrophic tropical cyclone that struck the southeastern United States in late August 2005. It was one of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history, causing approximately 1,392 fatalities and $125 billion in damages, particularly in and around New Orleans. The storm made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on August 29, 2005, with maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour.

The congregation I was serving at the time on the coast of Northern California, Fort Bragg Presbyterian Church, gave money immediately to help with the disaster, but felt a desire to do more. It took us a year, but we eventually mobilized a mission team through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance to travel to the Gulf Coast and rebuild. One of the hardest-hit communities from the storm was Waveland, Mississippi. PDA assigned our team to go there and help the small community, which it turns out was almost the same size as Fort Bragg.

The hurricane brought a 30-foot storm surge to Waveland, a population of 7000, devastating the city and surrounding Hancock County communities. 30 feet of water- that would entirely engulf the chapel and be above all of the lights in our sanctuary. Can you imagine? The surge, combined with hurricane-force winds, obliterated nearly every structure in the area. The Mississippi Sound’s southern border was inundated, and coastal flooding reached up to 10 miles inland. Federal estimates show Katrina damaged or destroyed 134,000 homes and 10,000 rental units in Mississippi, with Waveland among the hardest-hit.

We spent a week in Waveland rebuilding homes and listening to the stories of storm survivors. It was an incredible week doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly through the destruction in Waveland.

On the way back to our base camp after a long day of building, we saw a sign, erected right next to a trailer (Many people were still living in trailers even a year after that storm). The sign said,  “Katrina was big, but GOD is bigger.” We were inspired and humbled by that message, stopped our vehicles, and took a picture, which I keep on the wall in my office. It reminds me that no matter what storm I may be in, no matter how big, the God of the universe loves me and holds me, whatever may come.

Friends, whatever difficulties you are facing in your life right now, amid those dark nights of the soul we all face, amid the uncertainty of our lives here in Ashland, Oregon and beyond, remember, no matter how big the storm, God is bigger. Alleluia. Amen.