Wind and Water
August 7, 2011
A Priest, a Rabbi and a United Church Minister were out in a boat fishing on a small lake. After a while the priest had to use the restroom so he jumped out of the boat, walked across the water, used the restroom and then came back to the boat the same way. A little while later the Rabbi also had to use the restroom, so he jumped out of the boat, walked across the water, used the restroom and then came back to the boat the same way. Finally, the United Church Minister also had to use the restroom. He thought to himself, surely I can walk on water, I think I have as much faith as these guys. So he jumped out of the boat and immediately began to sink. At which point the Priest turned to the Rabbi and said, “I guess we should have told him where the rocks are.”
The name Peter means rock, something you probably know and something I learned at an early age. It was the name that was given by Jesus, yet so often in the Gospels it doesn’t seem to fit. Rather than being rock solid, Peter is impulsive, mistake prone and always wavering. Yet with the doubtful exception of Chris Angel who includes standing on water as part of his magicians act, Peter is one of only two people credited with walking on water because he was willing to get out of the boat.
In our gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus has once again been ministering to the crowds. Teaching and healing and just before this he miraculously fed 5,000 people by sharing five loaves and two fishes. Now he has sent the disciples on ahead in the boat, and he spends several hours alone in prayer, renewing his spirit and preparing for what still lies ahead.
Meanwhile back in the boat, its rough going. They should have already been across the lake but they’ve been caught in a storm, and the driving wind is keeping them from making progress. Finally, in the early morning – Jesus comes out to join them on the boat. Of course, he takes a shortcut – straight across the water. The disciples must be tired and weary. They’ve been fighting the wind and waves for hours now and suddenly they see a shadowy figure coming toward them across the water. Immediately they are seized by fear. But Jesus seeks to calm them as he calls out, “Take heart, It is I, do not be afraid.” While all of the other disciples stood there shaking and dripping, Peter says, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Jesus says, “Come” – and Peter got out of the boat. Despite all of his weaknesses Peter is the only one to take the initiative.
Faith is not simply knowing that God is there. It is more than mentally believing. It also means doing something about that belief. It means getting out of the boat.
It is from such faithful initiative that Moses led slaves to freedom. That Elijah challenged 450 prophets on behalf of the Living God.
That the prophets of the 8th Century BC and beyond challenged the social and economic injustices of their day at great personal risk.
It is from such bold initiatives that social change and social justice take place. Speaking in South Africa, 30 years before the fall of Aparthied, Robert F. Kennedy spoke these words, “It is from numberless, diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a person stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, they send forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centres of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”
In 1789 William Williurforce stood before the British Parliament and called for an end to human slavery within the British Empire. Every year for the next 18 years he introduced a Bill to end slavery and every year for 18 years his Bill was defeated, but he never gave up the campaign. Then in 1833, just four days before he died, Willberforce saw Parliament pass a bill abolishing slavery. But it wouldn`t have happened if someone hadn`t gotten out of the boat.
In the late 1800`s Willbur and Orville Wright believed that the age of the flying machine had arrived but for ten years their experiments continued to fail. Then on December 17, 1903, on the sands of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, their little plan lifted off the beach and a new day of air travel had begun. But it never would have happened if they hadn`t moved their dreams to reality. If they hadn`t got out of the boat.
Walking on water was a powerful moment of faith for Peter, but then something happened, he notices the wind, he begins to look around at the storm – and that’s when he began to sink. He stepped out of the boat with his eyes and confidence fixed on Jesus – but now he starts to look around.
As Peter shifts his attention from Jesus to the wind he begins to sink and he cries out the worlds shortest and most honest prayer ``Lord save me”. Peter`s faith is not gone, he just lost his focus – and he still knows where to find help. In fact, there is an insight in what Jesus says to him – “Why did you doubt?” That word doubt literally means to be double minded – to be of two minds. That’s exactly what happened to Peter – its not that he didn’t believe in Jesus, its just that the wind was too strong and the water was so scary that he lost his focus. He became double minded.
It’s not the last time that Peter’s faith will waver. Over in Chapter 26, we can read abut the night when the guards came and arrested Jesus in the Garden. Peter followed, yet standing by the fire that night and confronted by people who accused him of following Jesus, he lost heart and denied any connection. Yet even then, in the days following Jesus’s death and resurrection, God’s grace reaches out to Peter and restores him to service, and he becomes the first great proclaimer of the risen Lord on the Day of Pentecost.
We are in the season of Pentecost where the wind is associated with the Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, when the disciples and believers were all together in one place the Holy Spirit came with a sound like the rush of a mighty or violent wind.
In the opening verses of Genesis we read that, In the Beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters’.
But wind does not always have such positive connotations in our lives or in the Bible.
A little over ten years ago, Saskatchewan Conference of the United Church of Canada decided to move from ten presbyteries down to seven. Each new presbytery could choose their new name with the provision that it couldn’t be named after a city within the presbytery. Wascana Presbytery eventually became the name that was chosen for our region. But the first name that was suggested was Wascana Winds. It was close to being selected when a presbytery Elder rose to his feet and said that when he heard Wascana Winds all he could think about was the Legislative Building. That concluded the matter and Wascana Presbytery was born.
On the prairies we know the spiritual realm of the wind – Who has seen the wind. But we also know the potential destructiveness of the wind. This church had to be rebuilt after the cyclone of 1912. I have become increasingly cautious with the wind. My wife, Pearl, and I have spent two nights in basements – once in Prince Albert and once in Regina during the course of the last month because we weren’t willing to take any chances with storm or tornado warnings.
In both of this morning scripture readings the wind represents this destructive chaotic force and a distraction of our focus. The wind distracted Peter from his faith.
In the Old Testament reading from 1 Kings 19, the wind also acts as a distraction to Elijah. He is waiting for God at a time of depression and disillusionment. Elijah had demonstrated courage before Ahab in the King’s palace, he had defeated the false prophets. However, faced with the threat of Jezebel and the obvious fact that there would be no immediate turn about in the land, he has become fearful and discouraged. At Mount Sinai God asks Elijah to wait for him on the mountain. There a rock shattering wind hit the mountain around Elijah. Surely such a spectacular event would announce the presence of the Lord and the plan for the future. But no, God was not in the wind. Neither was God in an earthquake or a fire. But after the fire, Elijah heard a gentle blowing, a faint whisper, a still small voice, a sheer silence. Elijah knew it instantly. It was God.
In our lives we feel the winds, we are flooded with information, there are many loud voices and many distractions. We long for focus.
Worship is about focus. To worship is to remember who we are in the midst of everything that would have us forget. Worship is nothing more than recalling our roots, it is nothing less than reclaiming our identity as God’s people. No matter what happens we can never forget this identity. We must do those things that remind us, that recall our biblical history. We remember our tradition and God’s action in the world. We tell the stories again and again because in remembering everything is at stake.
Communion is the drama of remembering of focusing – Jesus says, “Do this in remembrance of me”. Why are we told to eat this bread and drink this wine over and over again. Because we are so forgetful, we need to be reminded again and again. The origins of communion or the Eucharist are in the Passover meal. The keeping of the Passover reminded the Jewish people of their liberation. Of their deliverance from the Egyptians and of God’s continued faithfulness. In the midst of the Passover meal, Jesus instituted the breaking of the bread and the taking of the cup to remind the disciples of his suffering and death. Jesus did not want them to forget how he gave his life and what there vocation would be. Every time we partake of the bread and the wind, we recall God’s grace and liberation and we recall Jesus way and what our way is to be.
Last Sunday during the sacrament of baptism when we were asked to promise our love, support and care, Rev. Kitchen told us that this also was a reaffirmation of our own baptisms. Another opportunity for focus and remembrance.
In conclusion:
In the days and weeks ahead may we look for opportunities to jump out of the boat but let us keep our focus when we do. And for such opportunities may we say thanks be to God. Amen.
Preached by Peter Gilmer
Knox-Metropolitan United Church
Regina, Saskatchewan