Sermon for September 9th, 2018 - Revision history

Iraneal at 05:38, 4 September 2018

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Iraneal at 03:04, 4 September 2018

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Iraneal at 02:36, 4 September 2018

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 We need to read the next verse very carefully.  Verse 30: "But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”  Now, in English, we put a lot of stock in word order, and so we often assume cause and effect:  First he notices the wind, then (as a consequence) he becomes frightened, and then as a result of that, he sinks.  But Greek doesn't work that way.  The sentence could just as accurately be translated, "Having (already) begun to sink, he was afraid, and saw the strong wind, and cried out "Lord, save me."
-When Jesus lifts him up, he says, famously "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" It's usually interpreted as a criticism.  But "you of little faith" can just as easily be a compliment.  Remember Matthew has been talking about little faith that can move mountains, little faith that grows into a large tree, little faith that feeds 5,000.  And "Why did you doubt" can also be translated in the present tense: "Why DO you doubt, Peter while you at the same time showing faith?"
+When Jesus lifts him up, he says, famously "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" It's usually interpreted as a criticism.  But "you of little faith" can just as easily be a compliment.  Remember Matthew has been talking about little faith that can move mountains, little faith that grows into a large tree, little faith that feeds 5,000.  And "Why did you doubt" can also be translated in the present tense: "Why DO you doubt, Peter while at the same time showing faith?"
 Peter doesn't sink because he had faith and then wavered.  No, his faith AND his doubts were already there before (Lord, IF it's really you) they are there the whole time he is walking around, and they will remain long afterward (remember he's both the first to acknowledge Jesus as Messiah, and then the first to deny him at the crucifixion).

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 Step Four:  Get back in the boat.  Get into a community of people who can go along with you on the journey, who can love you, and support you, and care for you, and help you realize your crazy, impossible dreams.  Get into a community where you can worship God with other people, where you can pray, study, serve and give to something bigger and greater than any of us.
-We would love to be that community for you, but it won't happen if you're just a spectator, just cheering Jesus on from the sidelines, and not going through the process.  You have to speak up.  You have to get out of the boat.  You have to get wet, get messy, get involved in this messy, wet, imperfect community.
+We would love to be that community for you, but it won't happen if you're just a spectator, just cheering Jesus on from the sidelines, and not going through the process.  You have to speak up.  You have to get out of the boat.  You have to get wet, get messy, get involved in this messy, wet, crazy, imperfect community, chasing crazy, impossible dreams.
 We know that requires some faith.
 But we also know that a little faith can go a long way.

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:24, 4 September 2018
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	Step Three: Get wet. Walking, sinking, either way. Water in this story represents death and destruction, but it also represents new life. Whatever your crazy impossible dream is, baptize it. Place it in God's hands. Maybe your crazy, impossible dream is just simply the hope that there is a God who made you, who loves you, who wants you to be happy. If you want to experience that kind of new life, we can baptize you. And if you've already been baptized, perhaps as a child, then we can help you live into the promise of that baptism. That's actually step four...		Step Three: Get wet. Walking, sinking, either way. Water in this story represents death and destruction, but it also represents new life. Whatever your crazy impossible dream is, baptize it. Place it in God's hands. Maybe your crazy, impossible dream is just simply the hope that there is a God who made you, who loves you, who wants you to be happy. If you want to experience that kind of new life, we can baptize you. And if you've already been baptized, perhaps as a child, then we can help you live into the promise of that baptism. That's actually step four...

−	Step Four: Get back in the boat. Get into a community of people who	+	Step Four: Get back in the boat. Get into a community of people who can go along with you on the journey, who can love you, and support you, and care for you, and help you realize your crazy, impossible dreams. Get into a community where you can worship God with other people, where you can pray, study, serve and give to something bigger and greater than any of us.
		+
		+	We would love to be that community for you, but it won't happen if you're just a spectator, just cheering Jesus on from the sidelines, and not going through the process. You have to speak up. You have to get out of the boat. You have to get wet, get messy, get involved in this messy, wet, imperfect community.
		+
		+	We know that requires some faith.
		+
		+	But we also know that a little faith can go a long way.

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:07, 4 September 2018
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	So I have a question for you today. Do you want to keep sitting there in your comfortable pews, cheering Jesus on from the sidelines, missing the point and saying, "What a great guy that Jesus is. He can do miracles! He can walk on water! You go, Jesus!"?		So I have a question for you today. Do you want to keep sitting there in your comfortable pews, cheering Jesus on from the sidelines, missing the point and saying, "What a great guy that Jesus is. He can do miracles! He can walk on water! You go, Jesus!"?

−	Or do you want to join in DOING what Jesus DOES--great things, impossible things, miraculous things?	+	Or do you want to join in DOING what Jesus DOES--great things, impossible things, miraculous things? If you do, (and by way of summary) here's how:
		+
		+	Step One: Speak up. Whatever crazy, impossible thing it is that you think God might be calling you to do, say it. Out loud, before God and in the presence of other people. Even if you have doubts. Even if everyone else thinks you're crazy. You might actually Be crazy...but God might take you seriously even when no one else will. You won't know until you speak up, and speak out.
		+
		+	Step Two: Get out of the boat. Presbyterian Pastor John Ortberg wrote an entire book titled, "If you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat." You don't have to read the book to get his point. This step assumes that after you have spoken your crazy, impossible thing into existence, that you still feel God calling out to you, saying "Come." I realize it's sometimes hard to tell, and this is where our fear and doubt speak to us as loudly as the wind and the waves. But even a few steps with Jesus out on the water is worth more than a lifetime of sitting in the boat, wondering what it would have been like.
		+
		+	Step Three: Get wet. Walking, sinking, either way. Water in this story represents death and destruction, but it also represents new life. Whatever your crazy impossible dream is, baptize it. Place it in God's hands. Maybe your crazy, impossible dream is just simply the hope that there is a God who made you, who loves you, who wants you to be happy. If you want to experience that kind of new life, we can baptize you. And if you've already been baptized, perhaps as a child, then we can help you live into the promise of that baptism. That's actually step four...
		+
		+	Step Four: Get back in the boat. Get into a community of people who

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 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.
-It's actually 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.
+It's actually 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 can go a long way.
 In fact, sometimes a little faith is better than a lot of faith.
@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 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 check the weather.
+A little faith can go a long way, but it also helps to check the weather.
 Back in Matthew's story, the disciples are encountering some pretty bad weather.   They're out on the middle of the lake in the middle of the night, and the wind and waves are battering against the boat.  To make matters worse, they see something they shouldn't see--a figure walking toward their boat over the water.  Now when we read this from the comfort and safety of our pews, we think, "Yay, it's Jesus coming to save the day!"  But did I mention it's a dark and stormy night? Your first thought in that situation probably woudn't be, "Hey look, it's my friend Bob!"  I'm not going to say out loud what your first thought would probably be.
-Jesus identifies himself and tells them to calm down.  As if that helps the situation. Peter's response here is telling:  He says, "Lord, IF it is you."  In other words, he's not really sure.  He hopes it's Jesus, but he doesn't know.  Which makes his next words all the more remarkable.  He says, "Lord, if it IS you, then tell me to come to you on the water."  Probably the other 11 disciples are all thinking something more along the lines of, "If it IS you, then get in the boat and make this bad weather stop!"
+Jesus identifies himself and tells them to calm down.  As if that helps. Peter's response here is telling:  He says, "Lord, IF it is you."  In other words, he's not really sure.  He hopes it's Jesus, but he doesn't know.  Which makes his next words all the more remarkable.  He says, "Lord, if it IS you, then tell me to come to you on the water."  Probably the other 11 disciples are all thinking something more along the lines of, "If it IS you, Jesus, then get in the boat and make this bad weather stop!"
-But one disciple, for one brief instant, sees past the wind and the waves and the darkness, and sees a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  Not just to passively appreciate what Jesus is doing...but to DO what Jesus is doing.  And so Peter speaks up.  Peter speaks out.
+But one disciple, for one brief instant, sees past the wind and the waves and the darkness, and sees a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  Not just to passively appreciate what Jesus is doing and cheer from the sidelines...but to actually join in DOING what Jesus is doing.  And so Peter speaks up.  Peter speaks out.
-Notice that Jesus does not rebuke him for thinking big, for dreaming the impossible (here or anywhere in the gospels).  Instead he says, in effect, "Go for it.  You said it, now do it."   And against all odds, Peter does it.  He gets out of the boat.  He walks on water.  He succeeds in doing something that is impossible, amazing, and inspiring.  Yes, I said "succeeds."
+Notice that Jesus does not rebuke him for thinking big, for dreaming the impossible (here or anywhere in the gospels).  Instead he says, in effect, "Go for it.  You said it, now do it."   And against all odds, Peter does it.  He gets out of the boat.  He walks on water.  He succeeds in doing something that is impossible, amazing, and inspiring.  Yes, I said he "succeeds."
-The way this passage is usually preached doesn't give Peter enough credit.  Peter takes a few steps, gets afraid, starts to sink, and then Jesus rebukes him:  "You of little faith."  The moral of the story (usually) is something like, "Don't lose sight of Jesus, don't second guess yourself" and Peter is an example of what NOT to do.
+The way this passage is usually preached doesn't give Peter enough credit.  Peter takes a few steps, gets afraid, starts to sink, and then Jesus rebukes him:  "O ye of little faith."  The moral of the story (usually) is something like, don't lose sight of Jesus, don't second guess yourself, don't be like Peter.
-I think that's a lousy read on the story, and not consistent with the point Matthew has been trying to make all along.  First of all, when Peter gets out of the boat, what he does next is the Greek word περιεπάτησεν (peripatesen). The NRSV (and most translations) translate this word as "walked," but that's only half of the word.  πάτησεν all by itself means "walked."  περι is a prefix that means "around."  In other words, Peter didn't take two steps and start to sink...Matthew says that he "walked all around."
+I think that's a lousy read on the story, and not consistent with the point Matthew has been trying to make all along...a little faith can go a long way.  When Peter gets out of the boat, what he does next is the Greek word περιεπάτησεν (peripatesen). The NRSV (and most translations) translate this word as "walked," but that's only half of the word.  πάτησεν all by itself means "walked."  περι is a prefix that means "around."  In other words, Peter didn't take two steps and start to sink...Matthew says that he "walked all around."  That takes time!
-We need to read the next verse very carefully.  Verse 30: "But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”  In English, we put a lot of stock in word order, and we assume cause and effect:  First he notices the wind, then (as a consequence) he becomes frightened, and then (as a result) he sinks.  But Greek doesn't work that way.  The sentence could just as accurately be translated, "Having (already) begun to sink, he was afraid, and saw the strong wind, and cried out "Lord, save me."
+We need to read the next verse very carefully.  Verse 30: "But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”  Now, in English, we put a lot of stock in word order, and so we often assume cause and effect:  First he notices the wind, then (as a consequence) he becomes frightened, and then as a result of that, he sinks.  But Greek doesn't work that way.  The sentence could just as accurately be translated, "Having (already) begun to sink, he was afraid, and saw the strong wind, and cried out "Lord, save me."
-When Jesus lifts him up, saves him, and speaks to him, he says, famously "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" It's usually interpreted as a criticism.  But "you of little faith" can just as easily be a compliment.  Remember Matthew has been talking about little faith that can move mountains, little faith that grows into a large tree, little faith that feeds 5,000.  And "Why did you doubt" can also be translated in the present tense: "Why DO you doubt, constantly, while you are at the same time showing faith?"
+When Jesus lifts him up, he says, famously "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" It's usually interpreted as a criticism.  But "you of little faith" can just as easily be a compliment.  Remember Matthew has been talking about little faith that can move mountains, little faith that grows into a large tree, little faith that feeds 5,000.  And "Why did you doubt" can also be translated in the present tense: "Why DO you doubt, Peter while you at the same time showing faith?"
-Peter doesn't sink because he had faith and then wavered.  No, his faith AND doubts were already there before (Lord, IF it's really you) they are there the whole time he was walking around, and they will remain long afterward (remember he's the first to acknowledge Jesus as Messiah, and then the first to deny him at the crucifixion).
+Peter doesn't sink because he had faith and then wavered.  No, his faith AND his doubts were already there before (Lord, IF it's really you) they are there the whole time he is walking around, and they will remain long afterward (remember he's both the first to acknowledge Jesus as Messiah, and then the first to deny him at the crucifixion).
-Peter doesn't sink because of his doubts.  Peter sinks because he's had this amazing experience with Jesus, but now he needs something else, something more before he can go deeper, before he can do greater and even more amazing things.
+Peter doesn't sink because of his doubts (and neither will you).  Peter sinks because he's had this amazing experience with Jesus, but now he needs something else, something more before he can go deeper, before he can do greater and even more amazing things (which he clearly does--read the book of Acts).
-This is where the ancient picture of this story, hanging in the baptismal room of an ancient church, comes back into focus:  Matthew is using this story to paint a picture of a process we all go through, a process he wants the people in his community, the community he is writing to, to undergo if they haven't already.  This is the process:
+And this is where that ancient picture of this story, hanging in the baptismal room of an ancient church, comes back into focus:  Matthew is using this story to paint a picture of the process he wants the people in his community, his audience, to undergo if they haven't already.  This is the process:
-We are in the dark, alone on troubled waters in this world.  We have some kind of hazy notion of who Jesus is, but we're not totally sure.  Still, we step out in faith, in hope that through him--through his example, his teaching, his presence in our lives--maybe, just maybe we can do some pretty amazing things.  And we do.  Kinda. We walk around a little in the joy of having discovered something new--just us and Jesus.
+We are in the dark, living precariously on troubled waters in this world.  We have some kind of hazy notion of who Jesus is, but we're not totally sure. We have doubts. Still, we step out in faith, in hope that through him--through his example, his teaching, his presence in our lives--maybe, just maybe we can do some pretty amazing things.  And we do. We walk around in the joy of having discovered something new--just us and Jesus.
-But it doesn't last, it isn't enough.  We have go into the water (that's baptism), and be lifted back into the boat where the rest of the Christian community is wating for us--where, in verse 33, worship is happening, and where Jesus is being acknowledged as the Son of God.  Incidentally, the image of the boat is one of the most ancient symbols for the church (and if you look up at the vault of many churches, you can still see the upside down boat).  And baptism, in Christian tradition represents the point in time at which a person (adult or child) enters into the community of faith.
+But it doesn't last, because it isn't enough.  We have go into the waters of baptism, and be lifted back into the boat where the rest of the Christian community is wating for us--where, in verse 33, we see that worship is happening, where Jesus is being acknowledged as the Son of God.  Incidentally, the image of the boat is one of the most ancient symbols for the church, and if you look up at the vault of many churches (like this one), you can still see the shape of the upside down boat.  Baptism, in Christian tradition, symbolizes the fact that Jesus has saved us from the storm, and it marks the point in time at which a person (adult or infant) enters into the community of of the church.
-Peter is not an example of what NOT to do.  Peter is an example of what we SHOULD do.
+So I have a question for you today.  Do you want to keep sitting there in your comfortable pews, cheering Jesus on from the sidelines, missing the point and saying, "What a great guy that Jesus is.  He can do miracles!  He can walk on water!  You go, Jesus!"?
-So I have a question for you today.  Do you want to keep sitting there in your comfortable pews, cheering Jesus on and saying, "What a great guy that Jesus is.  He can do miracles!  He can walk on water!  You go, Jesus!"?
+Or do you want to join in DOING what Jesus DOES--great things, impossible things, miraculous things?
-−
-Or do you want to do what Jesus DOES--great things, impossible things, miraculous things?

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:10, 4 September 2018
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	We are in the dark, alone on troubled waters in this world. We have some kind of hazy notion of who Jesus is, but we're not totally sure. Still, we step out in faith, in hope that through him--through his example, his teaching, his presence in our lives--maybe, just maybe we can do some pretty amazing things. And we do. Kinda. We walk around a little in the joy of having discovered something new--just us and Jesus.		We are in the dark, alone on troubled waters in this world. We have some kind of hazy notion of who Jesus is, but we're not totally sure. Still, we step out in faith, in hope that through him--through his example, his teaching, his presence in our lives--maybe, just maybe we can do some pretty amazing things. And we do. Kinda. We walk around a little in the joy of having discovered something new--just us and Jesus.

−	But it doesn't last, it isn't enough. We have ~~to sink beneath~~ the water, ~~we have to cry out to Jesus "save us"~~ and ~~Jesus has to lift us~~ back into the boat where the rest of the Christian community is wating for us, where, in verse 33, worship is happening, and where Jesus is being acknowledged as the Son of God."	+	But it doesn't last, it isn't enough. We have go into the water (that's baptism), and be lifted back into the boat where the rest of the Christian community is wating for us--where, in verse 33, worship is happening, and where Jesus is being acknowledged as the Son of God. Incidentally, the image of the boat is one of the most ancient symbols for the church (and if you look up at the vault of many churches, you can still see the upside down boat). And baptism, in Christian tradition represents the point in time at which a person (adult or child) enters into the community of faith.
		+
		+	Peter is not an example of what NOT to do. Peter is an example of what we SHOULD do

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:01, 4 September 2018
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	A little faith goes a long way, but it also helps to check the weather.		A little faith goes a long way, but it also helps to check the weather.

−	Back in Matthew's story, the disciples are encountering some pretty bad weather. They're out on the middle of the lake in the middle of the night, and the wind and waves are battering against the boat. To make matters worse, they see something they shouldn't see--a figure walking toward their boat over the water. Now when we read this, we think, "Yay, it's Jesus coming to save the day!" But did I mention it's a dark and stormy night? Your first thought in that situation probably woudn't be, "Hey look, it's my friend Bob!" I'm not going to say out loud what your first thought would probably be.	+	Back in Matthew's story, the disciples are encountering some pretty bad weather. They're out on the middle of the lake in the middle of the night, and the wind and waves are battering against the boat. To make matters worse, they see something they shouldn't see--a figure walking toward their boat over the water. Now when we read this from the comfort and safety of our pews, we think, "Yay, it's Jesus coming to save the day!" But did I mention it's a dark and stormy night? Your first thought in that situation probably woudn't be, "Hey look, it's my friend Bob!" I'm not going to say out loud what your first thought would probably be.
		+
		+	Jesus identifies himself and tells them to calm down. As if that helps the situation. Peter's response here is telling: He says, "Lord, IF it is you." In other words, he's not really sure. He hopes it's Jesus; that would be a best case scenario, but he doesn't know. Which makes his next words all the more remarkable (or dense--take your pick). He says, "Lord, if it IS you, then tell me to come to you on the water." Probably the other 11 disciples are thinking something along the lines of, "If it IS you, then get in the boat and make this bad weather stop!"
		+
		+	But one disciple, for one brief instant, sees past the wind and the waves and the darkness, and sees a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Not just to passively appreciate what Jesus is doing...but to DO what Jesus is doing. And so Peter speaks up. Peter speaks out.
		+
		+	Notice that Jesus does not rebuke him for thinking big, for dreaming the impossible (here or anywhere in the gospels). Instead he says, in effect, "Go for it. You said it, now do it." And against all odds, Peter does it. He gets out of the boat. He walks on water. He succeeds in doing something that is impossible, amazing, and inspiring. Yes, I said "succeeds."
		+
		+	The way this passage is usually preached doesn't give Peter enough credit. Peter takes a few steps, gets afraid, starts to sink, and then Jesus rebukes him: "You of little faith." The moral of the story (usually) is something like, "Don't lose sight of Jesus, don't second guess yourself" and Peter is an example of what NOT to do.
		+
		+	I think that's a lousy read on the story, and not consistent with the point Matthew has been trying to make all along. First of all, when Peter gets out of the boat, what he does next is the Greek word περιεπάτησεν (peripatesen). The NRSV (and most translations) translate this word as "walked," but that's only half of the word. πάτησεν all by itself means "walked." περι is a prefix that means "around." In other words, Peter didn't take two steps and start to sink...Matthew says that he "walked all around."
		+
		+	We need to read the next verse very carefully. Verse 30: "But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” In English, we put a lot of stock in word order, and we assume cause and effect: First he notices the wind, then (as a consequence) he becomes frightened, and then (as a result) he sinks. But Greek doesn't work that way. The sentence could just as accurately be translated, "Having (already) begun to sink, he was afraid, and saw the strong wind, and cried out "Lord, save me."
		+
		+	When Jesus lifts him up, saves him, and speaks to him, he says, famously "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" It's usually interpreted as a criticism. But "you of little faith" can just as easily be a compliment. Remember Matthew has been talking about little faith that can move mountains, little faith that grows into a large tree, little faith that feeds 5,000. And "Why did you doubt" can also be translated in the present tense: "Why DO you doubt, constantly, while you are at the same time showing faith?"
		+
		+	Peter doesn't sink because he had faith and then wavered. No, his faith AND doubts were already there before (Lord, IF it's really you) they are there the whole time he was walking around, and they will remain long afterward (remember he's the first to acknowledge Jesus as Messiah, and then the first to deny him at the crucifixion).
		+
		+	Peter doesn't sink because of his doubts. Peter sinks because he's had this amazing experience with Jesus, but now he needs something else, something more before he can go deeper, before he can do greater and even more amazing things.
		+
		+	This is where the ancient picture of this story, hanging in the baptismal room of an ancient church, comes back into focus: Matthew is using this story to paint a picture of a process we all go through, a process he wants the people in his community, the community he is writing to, to undergo if they haven't already. This is the process:
		+
		+	We are in the dark, alone on troubled waters in this world. We have some kind of hazy notion of who Jesus is, but we're not totally sure. Still, we step out in faith, in hope that through him--through his example, his teaching, his presence in our lives--maybe, just maybe we can do some pretty amazing things. And we do. Kinda. We walk around a little in the joy of having discovered something new--just us and Jesus.
		+
		+	But it doesn't last, it isn't enough. We have to sink beneath the water, we have to cry out to Jesus "save us" and Jesus has to lift us back into the boat where the rest of the Christian community is wating for us, where, in verse 33, worship is happening, and where Jesus is being acknowledged as the Son of God."

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	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!).		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."

−	~~Growing up~~, Joe had always heard the stories about how his father, his grand-father, and his great-grandfather, had walked across the lake, when each one had come of age, on their 21st birthdays. Determined that he, too, was capable of this miraculous feat, on Joe's 21st birthday he headed out to ~~the lake with a friend. They rented a boat and paddled out to the middle of the lake. Joe, with confidence, pride, and~~ faith in ~~his family tree, stepped out of~~ the boat...and nearly drowned in the lake. After his friend helped him back into the boat and they paddled back ashore, Joe went back to the family farm and sought out his wise old grandmother. He asked her, "Grandmother, why can I not walk on the lake like my father, his father, and his father before him? Patiently, grandmother took Joe by his hands and explained, "Your father, your grandfather, and your great-grandfather were all born in January. You were born in July, my dear."	+	A little faith goes a long way, but it also helps to put your faith in the right place.