Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor
When we think of what Jesus did during his lifetime, we often think of the miracles he performed. After all, this is how he proved to the masses that he was who he said he was. Only the Son of God could turn water into wine and heal the sick with just a touch of the hand. Jesus walking on the water is one of the biggies. When someone asks you to do something that seems impossible, all you have to say in response is, “What do you want me to do, walk on water?” and they’ll know what you’re referring to.
And yes, that often becomes the crux of the story. The disciples are out at sea. The wind and waves begin battering the boat. They are afraid of capsizing and drowning. But then they see Jesus, who was on shore, walking towards them. They are in shock. How could they not be?
But there is something else that is going on here that might be just as important — or at least it registers as a close second. Peter wants to walk on the water as well, and he does at first. But when he looks down and notices the strong wind he begins to sink. Now, as I said before, there is a great joke here. Peter’s name is Cephas, which means rock. This is why later on Jesus would tell Peter that he is the rock, and upon this rock I will build my church. The joke is that when he tries to walk on water, he sinks like a stone. Rim shot!
But that is not why this is significant. It is significant because Jesus is not the Son of God. He is just a man, just a person like you and me. When he steps out in faith, he can do the impossible. It isn’t until his mind focuses on logic — i.e., people cannot walk on water — that he begins to sink.
We sometimes think that we can do the impossible — that we can do things that defy logic. But once we lose our resolve, once we realize that we are only human, we begin to doubt ourselves and we sink back into what is only possible. Hear that again: sometimes think that we can do the impossible — that we can do things that defy logic. But once we lose our resolve, once we realize that we are only human, we begin to doubt ourselves and we sink back into what is only possible.
But that isn’t how the story ends. Jesus reaches out and saves Peter, just as he beckoned him to come to him on the sea. One obvious lesson to this story is that Jesus will reach out to us as well when we are falling when we fail to do what we want to do, what we really want to do: a task that seems beyond our ability.
I think there are many times when we see what Jesus does and we want to step out in faith and do it too. I am not talking about performing miracles: raising the dead, exorcising demons, or enabling the deaf to hear. There is a wonderful prayer in the UCC Book of Worship that asks God to give us tasks that challenge our powers, not to simply grant us tasks that are within our ability. It is about striving to go above and beyond what we think we can.
It’s all about faith. It’s not about what we know we can do or think we can do. It is about challenging ourselves to do what Jesus calls us to do.
Three chapters after the passage we are reading today, there is a story about the man who comes to Jesus asking him to heal his son because he suffers greatly from seizures and sometimes throws himself into the fire. The man says to Jesus, “I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.” Jesus gets angry at the disciples and says, “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “How long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?” After Jesus heals the boy, the disciples want to know why they couldn’t do it. Jesus says, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Read Matthew 17:14-20 when you get home.)
A mustard seed. The smallest of seeds. If you have that, you can move mountains. Is Jesus being serious here? Is he being literal? Have you ever, by faith (or any other means for that matter) tried to move a mountain? It can’t be done. Yet Jesus says it can. What’s going on here? What’s going on with Peter first being able to walk on water and then sinking like a namesake stone?
William Barclay tells us that Jesus did not mean this literally. “When Jesus spoke about removing mountains he was using a phrase which the Jews knew well.”[1] Barclay says, “What [Jesus] meant was…Faith in God is the instrument which enables [people] to remove the hills of difficulty which block their path.”[2] Literal mountains sometimes get in our way but the mountains or hills of difficulty here have more to do with the idea I mentioned a moment ago from the UCC Book of Worship: not asking for tasks equal to your power, but for power equal to your tasks.
Jesus will give you what you need when you need it if you have faith. That’s the lesson! In the end, if you find that you cannot do it — if you find yourself sinking in the surf — Jesus will reach out and catch you. In other words, if you are facing a difficult task (one that you do not think you can do), pray — pray for the strength to do it. Then, just do it, as Nike says. Do it. Try. If you find that you can’t, you will not be alone. You will not drown in the waters of despair. Jesus will catch you. That requires faith too: believing that Jesus will not leave you or let you fail. You may fail, there are no guarantees, but you will not be consumed by the waves.
So do it. Go back to school. Take that new job. Mend that relationship. Take that trip you always wanted to take. Talk to someone about your faith (that’s a tough one). Whatever it is, all you need to do is step out in faith. You may be surprised at what you accomplish. Maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll fall flat on your face. If you do, just raise your head a bit and open your eyes. You’ll see Jesus right there with his hand extended. You’ll find that you were successful just the same. Amen.
[1] William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 2, revised ed. (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1975), 167.
[2] Ibid. 167-168.