(There is no evidence that this sermon was preached on 16th August at Laugton Church) (Photo is of a sailing boat, taken from the ferry over to Mull on our way to Iona)
Morning! I am Lucy’s husband. I’m also the Vicar of St Leonards and St Luke’s in Seaford and I’m also the Rural Dean and I am also on Sabbatical. So if you see any of my congregation and they ask you about a rumour that I preached this morning, perhaps you say “I couldn’t possibly comment”!
This Gospel reading comes on the back of the feeding of the 5k. In John’s gospel we’re given the detail that the disciples helped clear up and filled 12 baskets for their own lunch boxes for the following day. But Jesus can see that the disciples are tired and need to leave now while they have some strength and get to the other side of the Sea of Galilee and their beds. So Jesus makes the Disciples get in the boat and to get sailing.
Meanwhile, Jesus sends the crowds home. And then He himself takes a moment to recover, to pause, to pray. Its important in your diary when you know that you have given out a lot to set aside some time to receive again from God rather than rush on to the next thing. Take a moment to give thanks to God for what went well, and to pause and prayer and receive again God’s love.
Firstly, we see the God of Suprises. Jesus walks on the water. I was chatting with someone earlier in the week who has decided the bible is all metaphor – so this walking on water isn’t really a thing. I think that’s sad because she does like surprises and it seems to me that when you have decided that God can no longer surprise you then you have locked yourself up into a very small cage.
I love Jesus walking on the water. It is utterly bonkers, utterly unbelievable. But that is what you might expect from a miracle. And I’ve tried thinking about where else we see someone walking on water. You don’t get Roman, Greek, Viking, Egyptian pagan gods walking on water. Let me know if you spot such a story.
Its so bizarre that I’m left with the conclusion that Matthew couldn’t have made this up. Its just too weird. He didn’t need to make it up, there are plenty of other miracles going on.
But its good for us to have a little shake up. In our hopes and fears and prayers to remember not only that Jesus does miracles but also that Jesus is capable of doing a miracle that you cant even imagine!
We worship the God of Surprises.
The Disciples are afraid – it’s a ghost. Good for them, that is to some extent an intelligent reaction to what they’re seeing. It makes no sense and this is their best guess. But Peter starts up a conversation with Jesus on the water and asks the most stupidest question: Lord if it is you – so even Peter is only about 80% sure this point – if it is you then tell me to come to you.
What would possess Peter to think, to ask, such a stupid question? The key thing about a Rabbi and a disciple is that when the Rabbi says to you Come Follow Me – that the Rabbi thinks that you have it in you to teach what I do, to live the life that I do, to do what I do.
Peter gets out of the boat and starts to walk on the water. I’ve often wondered why we don’t hear more about this later. But I imagine that they would have seen cleansing someone of leprosy, or the raising of Lazarus, as something altogether more useful, interesting, glorifying. ‘What was it like Peter?’ Well it was great a bit wobbly, and then it was scary, and then it was wet’.
What’s amazing about this is that Jesus when He called Peter – Come follow me – was saying to Peter – you have it in you to do what I do, I believe in you.
So many of us have been shaped by parents, perhaps more so teachers, who have said things like – ‘Well you’ll never amount to much’. I’ve been listening to the Harry Potter books and again I’m reminded of how certain teachers – Severus Snape – has this way of just being so discouraging and negative about any student. And I’ve got those sort of memories, and I suppose the author JK Rowling does too.
But Jesus comes to you and calls you and sees more in you than you can see in yourself, and believes in you, and encourages you, even to calling you out of the boat.
I hope that you will hear a sermon from time to time about the importance of putting your faith in Jesus. When you do then take the invitation and put your faith in Jesus. But this is a sermon about how Jesus has faith in you. Jesus believes in you.
So we have the God of surprises – walking on water!
And we have the God who believes in you.
And now we see Peter sinking. He becomes frightened. And yes that’s very sensible. Who wouldn’t be!
His reaction is not to say – Well this faith thing is a bit rubbish. I put my faith in Jesus and it just got me wet. More fool me for getting out of the boat.
Fear rises in Peter, he’s beginning to struggle and suffer and his faith isn’t what it was. His conclusion is NOT oh well, I suppose Church isn’t for me, I tried it once.
His solution is to cry out to Jesus. Help me! Lord, save me!
And there is Jesus’ hand, holding Peter. I suspect that the little faith that we do have does do more than we think – that Little Faith is what keeps us connected to Jesus. It’s what calls us to Church Sunday mornings, calls us to open our bibles, calls us to pray little prayers – prayers for courage as we phone someone up to ask them how they are, or to ask for someone to pray for us as we go to have another Drs appointment or something. Its that faith that helps us to step out of the boat and follow as best we can the voice of Jesus.
For Jesus is the God of surprises when we were not expecting,
Jesus is the God who believes in you and calls you,
Jesus is the God who holds you as we call out to Him. Amen.