Union Church

August 10, 2008.
Matthew 14: 22-33.

Today’s reading is filled with so much material and symbolism that I could go on and on for an hour or so.
But fear not, I will attempt to control myself and remember that we are in the midst of summer.

In 2001, John Ortberg wrote a book based on today’s gospel lesson called, “If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get out of the Boat.”

The book focusses on a number of personal motivations for engaging the story line of getting out of the boat, but I want to focus on the collective motivation.

If we want the Church to walk on water,
we have to get out of the boat.
If we want to revive the Church’s valued position in society,
we’ve got to get out of the boat.
If we want to silence the ‘nay sayers’ about religion or Christianity in general and the United Church in particular,
we have to get out of the boat.
If we want the Church to walk on water once again; if we want the Church to walk the talk of radical hospitality then
we have to get out of the boat and get serious about water walking.

It is not just the other person’s responsibility.
It is not just the minister’s responsibility.
It is not just the Board or Session members’ responsibility.
It is each and everyone’s responsibility.

Let’s remember the story. It all begins from our reading last week.

Jesus hears about the mindless, murder of his mentor John the Baptist. In his grief, he seeks to get away to a lonely place. Instead the crowds find him and so he heals them throughout the day.

At the end of the day, the disciples seek to disperse the crowd but Jesus suggests that they feed the multitude. The disciples find 5 loaves and 2 fish. When the disciples fail to access God’s grace: When the disciples fail to understand that 5 loaves and 2 fish can be more than enough, Jesus takes what they have, blesses it, breaks it, and shares it with the crowd.
And there is more than enough.

Today’s reading continues from that point.

Now Jesus, in the cover of darkness, goes off to a lonely place to grieve. He sends his disciples ahead of him by boat across the lake. In the middle of the night, a storm comes up and batters the boat.
Jesus comes walking by on the water and scares them half to death. They think they are seeing a ghost.

Jesus identifies himself and Peter boldly says,
“If it is really you call me out on the water.”
Jesus says, “Come on out.”
Peter jumps out of the boat and begins walking towards Jesus. Then he realizes what he is doing, panics and begins to sink.
Peter the Rock begins to sink like a stone.
He calls out to be saved. Jesus reaches down, grabs Peter’s hand and says, “Faint heart what got into you?”
The two men climb into the boat and the wind dies down.

So what does this mean for us today?

If we want the church to walk above the waters of cultural chaos;
if we want the church to stand against the storms of life;
if we want the church to be a healing, life-restoring safe haven in our world,
we need to get out of the boat and get serious about water walking.
Jesus certainly expects us to, just as he expected the disciples to feed the 5 thousand and he expected Peter to walk on the water to him.

Let’s remember that the gospels were written after the disciples became true apostles. After Jesus’ death, the disciples discovered that they could do what Jesus expected them to do while he was living.

As followers of Jesus, we are called,
we are expected to become water walkers.

We need to take this seriously enough
to step out of the boat and stand out from the crowd and
care more.

We need to give ourselves permission
to step out and stand out and
give more.

We need to let go of limiting beliefs
and step out and stand out and
bless more.

We need to relax our grip
so we can step out and stand out and
show gratitude more.

We need to let go of our security blankets
and step out and stand out and
include more.

Water walking means
being intentional about entering every situation with Christ in mind.

Water walking means
being in the moment knowing Christ is calling us out.

The church that walks on water has
ministry happening everywhere by everyone.

The church that walks on water
transforms membership into apostleship.

Now, this is not magic. It is not always easy.
There always will be problems and challenges and storms.
We will step out and at times, we will begin to sink.
And yet, we will be buoyed up again.

The good news is that the Risen Christ is always there for us
when we get out of the boat
and get serious about water walking.