Sermon for September 9th, 2018

Matthew 14:22-33

22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 25 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

28 Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Miracles: Walking On Water

What you're looking at is one of the oldest images of Jesus from one of the oldest churches in the world. This is a fragment of a wall painting from a house-church in the ancient town of Dura-Europa in modern day Syria. It dates to about the year 240--about five generations after the gospel of Matthew was written (and it was probably written in Syria!).

In the background is a boat, and in the foreground are two figures--one with his feet slightly below the water, and the other (just a fragment) with his feet slightly above the water, who appears to be lifting the first figure out of the water. So this is perhaps the very first illustration of Jesus and Peter, walking on the water. And it was found in this ancient house church on the wall of the room that was used as a baptistry, perhaps indicating that this particular story, for the early church, was connected with the act of baptism. More on that later.

The fact that this story, of the hundreds of memorable stories from the New Testament, was one of the first to be depicted in art, shows just how powerful an image it is. To this day, when we say about someone that he or she "walks on water" we're referring back to this miracle, comparing someone to Jesus, saying in effect that he or she is "perfect" or "can do no wrong."

And just like I've done for the past several weeks, I'm going to try to make the case today that as impressive as walking on water might be...if we focus too much on that aspect of the story, if we take it too literally, we're going to miss the very important point that the author of this gospel (let's call him Matthew) is trying to make here.

In fact, it's the same point Matthew has been hammering home for several chapters now, first through parables, and now through miracles. The point is simple enough, and it's this: A little faith goes a long way.

In fact, sometimes a little faith is better than a lot of faith.

Jimmy had a lot of faith, but not much sense. He had grown up hearing the legends about his father, his grandfather, and his great-grandfather. When each of these men had come of age on their 21st birthday, they had walked across the surface of the lake to the pub on the other side. In Jimmy's family, it was said, nothing could keep a man from his whisky. So on Jimmy's 21st birthday, he went down to the lake with confidence, pride, and great faith in his ancestry. He walked out onto the long pier, and without hesitation stepped out into the deep waters...and nearly drowned. Coughing and sputtering, Jimmy climbed back onto the dock, and made his way home. That night he asked his grandmother, "Why is it that I cannot walk across the lake like my father, his father, and his father before him?" With great love and patience, his grandmother took Jimmy's hands in her own, and explained to him, "That's because your father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all born in January when the lake freezes over. You were born in July."

A little faith goes a long way, but it also helps to put your faith in the right place.