Sermon August 10, 2008

Pentecost 13/Proper 14

1 Kings 19:9-18; Psalm 85: 7-13, Romans 10: 5-15, Matthew 14: 22-33

The central image on the shield of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia is an old open sailing boat with a single raised sail. While it might be there because our diocese's western border is the Pacific ocean it is, in actual fact, because boats and Christianity have a long history of linkage. For instance, it's fairly common in religious architecture to see the nave of a church as an overturned boat, with the internal, curved beams as the ribbing going up to a central ‘keel'.

Today's gospel story is part of the reason why – but exactly how close the connection is will surprise you.

There is some historical warrant for some of the events in this story. Based on a 1^st century fishing boat recovered on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee in 1986 it's possible to say that the average boat was about 26 feet long, 7 feet wide, and 4 feet deep, with a central sail and room for four oarsmen and one tillerman, plus lots of fish or ten passengers.

Storms are not uncommon on the Sea of Galilee and they can come up very quickly. Given the nature of the boat it's easy to see that any fisherman would fear a storm, that they would feel absolutely helpless, at the mercy of the sea.

That's about as far as we need to go into the realistic nature of the initial scene! Like last week I want to invite you to see as our central focus not the actual events. To ask "what actually happened?" is to be distracted – for one thing, a possible translation from the Greek of the phrase "to walk on the water" is "to walk near or beside the water", which takes away some of the supernatural perspective that we in the 21st century find so challenging.

Let's focus, rather, on the gospel story as it relates to the Hebrew scripture passage – and, for that matter, on the intent of the author of the gospel.

In both the readings there's an awesome display of power – in wind, fire, and earthquake in 1 Kings, and in sea storm in Matthew. But notice this: It's not in the display of power that God is found in either story but in what follows – in the still small voice to Elijah and in Jesus' words to the disciples, which are both the same: they both contain the sacred phrase "I AM".

• God identifies the divine self to Elijah as "I Am Who I Am", which the Israelites shortened to "I Am", YHWH.
• Now look at the Gospel. The phrase we have in the Gospel, translated as "It is I", doesn't accurately reflect the Greek, which is – can you guess? "I Am".

So there's a clear message here: Jesus is the one who does what God alone can do. In the saving at the Galilean Sea, echoing the saving at the Red Sea, Jesus is, Matthew wants us to understand, "God with us".

This is underscored by Matthew's overall intent in writing his gospel. Matthew is concerned to portray Jesus as the second Moses, so Jesus, like Moses, is, in Matthew's gospel, constantly withdrawing to mountain tops to commune with God. The obvious second parallel is Jesus leading the people through the challenging, threatening waters and on to the safety of solid ground. "God's Salvation is among us again", Matthew is saying to us.

And in both the stories there is fear. Not willing to trust in Yahweh Elijah retreats into a cave; not willing to trust in God the disciples are afraid they're going to drown, and Peter actually plays out that fear, he is in danger of "sinking below the waves".

So the stories are about God with us. What are they wanting us to understand?

The stories are posing a question for all of us: where are we to place our trust, our loyalty? Are we going to place our trust in ourselves, or in God?

In a sermon written in the fourth Century, St. Augustine of Hippo – considered by some to be the second greatest theologian the Church has ever seen (Paul was the first) – Augustine said this about this story:

"Think, then, of this world as a sea, whipped up to tempestuous heights by violent winds.

A person's own private tempest will be his or her unruly desires. If you love God you will have power to walk upon the waters, and all the world's swell and turmoil will remain beneath your feet. But if you love the world it will surely engulf you, for it always devours its lovers, never sustains them." (Sermon 76:1.4.5.8.9: PL 38, 479-483)

That, for sure, is part of the picture – underscored by the fact that the dark waves are Hebrew scriptural symbols of chaos, death and sin – that the story is about our lives, and how we can live as selfish, insular, uncaring individuals, separated from any community of meaning.

But that's only part of the picture. Think of the boat as the Community of Believers, as the Church.

And we, as sailors on this voyage of life, don't we all have fears of being abandoned, of being lost, of being injured by all the different sorts of realities that we face in our daily lives.....just like the disciples? If there is really a God then why is there so much hatred, tragedy, and suffering?

As individuals and as a community the fear remains, and the fear can overcome faith.

To see Jesus walking over these unruly waves, and calming them, calming the chaos, overcoming the death, ending the fear – isn't that the most powerful part of this story?

And if we have faith in Jesus, if we come together in the unity and love that lies at the heart of the Body of Christ then Jesus walks across the stormy waters of our lives and calms them, and says, "Do not fear".

When we are united in love as a community then we, like Peter, can step out of the boat and "walk on the water."

When we are united in love as a community it must be like Jesus getting into the boat with us.

So this is a story about community, and love, and discipleship. If we are to encounter God we can't stay in the cave of our fears.

If we are to encounter God we have to trust in one another and believe that every storm we face is susceptible to the calming, loving presence of the Spirit of God which dwells within each of us and all of us.

At Jesus' presence the storm dies down, and the disciples – the whole Church – bows down in worship as he gets into the boat.

And we, perhaps unknowing, do the same thing in this "boat", we bow down in worship.

And the challenge for us is this: are we that community of love and discipleship, united as one; are we able to let go of the fear, and embrace a common future as trusting, faithful disciples, are we willing to take the risk, and step out onto the water? Amen.