Be Peter!

Genesis 37: 1-4, 12-28
Matthew 14: 22-33

Fear makes us do funny things, and by funny things I do not mean laughter inducing. Fear causes us to act out. We say things that are not nice. We treat others with disrespect. We get angry at things we normally shrug off when we’re not afraid. We hide and cower when we’re afraid or sometimes we become paralyzed by our fear.

The passage we read today in Matthew is filled with fear, but it doesn’t end that way. It ends in worship. Trinity is about to begin a whole new chapter in its faith journey and we all know that new beginnings are scary. The fear of the unknown can make us hide away from doing risky things because we want everything to go back the way it was before - before the change.

One of the worst things we can do as a church is to be so afraid and filled with fear that we do not look at change as a chance to try something new and perhaps prosper in unexpected ways, but instead we look at change as something to avoid at all costs because the old way worked just fine. However, Jesus has something to say about that. He tells us that we cannot put new wine into old wineskins otherwise the skins will burst and all will be lost. Instead, we are to put new wine into new wineskins so both will be preserved.

The same holds true for this church. Do not be afraid to try something new. Do not be afraid to think outside the box when it comes to doing God’s work. This year, we had a little girl show us that we can make a difference in a place halfway across the world just by having faith. We raised so much money for the Philippines in one night that I was astounded and I think many of you were as well! We put our necks out and we tried something different and look at the result!

How do we go from fearing change to embracing it as an adventure? Prayer. In the book of Matthew, the author makes it very clear that prayer has a major impact on the things that Jesus accomplishes. Last week, Jesus went away to pray and was bombarded with 5000 people and so he healed them and talked to them, and before they left he fed them. How did he feed them? He prayed over the food and asked God to provide and there were BASKETS of food left over. In the passage we read today, Jesus once again goes away to pray and when morning comes, the disciples see him walking on the water unafraid of the violent winds and the raging sea.  

The only way to be calm in the midst of crisis; the only way to be successful in times of trouble is through a strong prayer life. Jesus tells us that all it takes is a little bit of faith and we can do miraculous things just like he has done. Not because we are suddenly powerful, but because we have invited Jesus into every aspect of our life and this church and where Jesus appears – miracles happen.

How many people are in this story of Jesus walking on the water? It's a trick question in that there are technically 13 people in the story if all the disciples are on the boat. However, as we read the text we see only 3 people. Jesus, praying and walking on the water. The disciples, as one crying out in fear and later worshipping, and Peter calling out to the Lord and walking on the water. We are one church, one body with one mission – to spread God’s loving gospel to all those who have ears to hear it. However, all it takes is one bold person, like Peter, to make significant changes to the course of journey for all of us.

All of the disciples sat in that boat and all were afraid. In Luke it tells us that they knew it was Jesus walking toward them and yet, they were still terrified. These are 12 men who understood that Jesus was the Messiah, but when he did things like this that defied all logic they could not believe. How much harder is it for us, who have not met Jesus face to face and spent three years with him, how much harder is it for us to go out on a limb and pray that it won’t break on us and that we’ll fall to our death?

But that is what we are called to do and Peter understood that on a deeper level than the rest of them. Peter calls out to Jesus and says, “Lord if it is really you, command me to come out to you.” Now, we can do the same thing as Peter does. We can call out to the Lord to tell us where to go and what to do when we’re frightened, but there’s a key point that most of us seem to miss. You see, in this passage, Peter calls out to the Lord, and then he waits for the Lord to reply before he does ANYTHING. He waits!

How often do we wait to have our prayers answered? Sometimes we pray DURING the storms of our life instead of BEFORE them like Jesus did. We pray the way the disciples did, the way Peter does when he begins to sink – we say LORD HELP US! Jesus prayed before the storm ever began, before the wind even hinted at how fast it was going to whip around them and he was able to be the calm voice of reason that says, “Do not fear for I am with you.”

So not only does Peter wait for Jesus to answer him before he does anything, but then when Jesus says to him, “Come”, Peter FOLLOWS Jesus’ directions and steps out of the boat and into the water. We all can remember a time when we knew God was speaking to us and we decided not only to ignore God’s voice, but then to do what we wanted instead. We prayed to God, we heard God and then we did what we wanted instead like stubborn fools.

You see, we fear so many things. We fear not only being forgotten by God, but we fear what God would have us do as well! God does not call us to sit safe and comfortable in these pews Sunday after Sunday. He does not call us to do the same things we were doing 20 years ago! Matter of fact, if we are doing the exact same missions as we did 20 years ago or even 5 years ago – then we are stagnant. We are not listening to the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we are not paying attention to where Jesus is and we are not following our Father’s command to spread the Gospel to every corner of the world.

I’m not saying that there aren’t great things that we can do every single year for all of Trinity’s existence. I’m saying that God calls us to try new things and to expand our horizons and to reach out to ALL kinds of people. Form a prison ministry that offers prayers and bible readings to inmates and clothes for when they get out. Once a month, join up with the UCC church in State College and walk the campus to offer students a chance to learn about God. Get in on Grace’s Kumba stuff and offer to host it here at Trinity whenever needed or form a yoga ministry that offers prayer and meditation along with fitness. Create a praise band and once a month hold a praise worship to reach out to younger people.

Fear and exhaustion hold us captive. Peter may have begun to sink as he noticed the high winds and the tossing waves, but he was the only one of the disciples brave enough to even try to be faithful to Jesus. He was the only one, and as soon as he called out to Jesus, Jesus lifted him up and did not allow him to sink. Peter did not fail. Peter was strengthened by his experience and Jesus may have asked him why he began to doubt, but it wasn’t to chastise him. It was to make Peter think about what he had accomplished before he allowed fear to take over his mind.

What can we accomplish here when we let go of the fear? What have we already accomplished by being brave and bold in a world that tells us to shut up and sit down? I’m leaving here, with the hope and prayer that the next pastor you choose takes you to the greatest heights you’ve ever known, but the only way that can happen is if you allow that pastor to lead you into new places. You’re going to have to do things in new ways. Forget the past. Let it go and embrace your future.

Begin to pray and begin to listen and begin to trust that God has a great plan for all of you. There is so much promise and hope in this church that you could bring a lot of people to Christ by being the loving people you are – but by doing it in new ways. Don’t be disheartened. Don’t be afraid. Trust that God has a great plan for you. Trust God and listen to what God is telling you to do and then DO IT! Do not let fear have you sitting paralyzed in the boat or in these pews. Be Peter, the brash and bold man who dared to walk on water because Christ told him to walk to him! It was Peter that helped all the disciples go from being huddled in the boat, terrified of everything around them, to worshipping God and giving thanks! Be Peter!

Amen.

Food for the Body and Soul

Isaiah 55: 1-5
Matthew 14: 13-21

Lord, Feed My Soul

Our two passages for this week speak to us on a very elemental level. They are about never being thirsty or hungry again. With rising food and fuel costs lately, it would be pretty great if we would never have to buy another thing to eat or drink again. Isaiah tells us that even those who have no money may come and buy milk, wine and bread with no cost to them. All they have to do is give their ear to God, come to God and you will have all you will ever need.

We spend a lot of time and energy trying to make enough money to feed our children and ourselves. We work forty, fifty, seventy hour weeks and we cut coupons and go on double coupon days to the grocery store. We check out all the shopping inserts and sometimes we visit several different places because while this place has the best dry goods prices, this place has better quality and cheaper meat. Then when we bring our food home we spend a lot of time and energy preparing the food.

Apparently, the older we get the more our lives revolve around meal times. I know this to be true because I have done a very impartial and professional survey that involves my grandmother. Basically, every time I visit my grandmother I have noticed her first real question to me is always, “What do you want to have for supper?” and the whole time I am at her house she is constantly asking me if I want something to eat, if she can make or bring me something and what does she think we should have that night for dinner. Now, if my grandmother was a big woman, I could understand her fascination with mealtime, but she’s a little bitty woman who doesn’t even eat all that much.

What is it about food that our minds constantly come back to it? Why does Jesus so often speak of food to his followers and why is there not just one story where Jesus feeds mass quantities of people, but there are two stories of him doing it in the Bible? In the next few weeks the Old Testament passages are about Moses and how he frees the Hebrews. While they are in the desert where there is no food or water to be found, they constantly complain to Moses that they’d rather be slaves because at least then they had food and water. Then when God provides manna to eat and dew to drink, they quickly become bored with these offerings and complain that at least as slaves they had variety. Then God provided them with other food.

Jesus understands our preoccupation with food and water. We pretend we are high above the animals of this world, but when it comes down to it we are just creatures that walk upright and have thumbs. We need to eat and drink to survive. We understand this on a primal level and our body and mind continually reminds us of our needs. Food and water are necessary to our continued existence. God understand all of that, after all, God did create us.

These two passages are definitely speaking of food and water in a physical sense, but as in all the scriptures there are many meanings behind these simple words. When the disciples realize the time, they go over to Jesus and remind him that these people are far away from home. They want the people to go home and eat so that they may eat as well. It has been a long day and they are bone weary. We can all appreciate how they must be feeling.

After a long day at work, often we just want to come home, eat a quick meal and then relax. But Jesus, who has been working hard all day as well, doesn’t seem to feel the same way as the disciples. He replies to their request by saying, “They do not need to go away. YOU give them something to eat.”  The disciples, whose minds are on the physical food, are absolutely incredulous. It is as if when we got home from our hard day of work and anticipating a quick meal, we are told by our spouse that we are having a houseful of guests and so put on an apron and help them rummage up some food.

The disciples’ minds immediately think of the impossibility of it and are probably secretly hoping when Jesus realizes how little they have to feed their own bodies that he will give up his crazy idea. But no, Jesus is not thinking of the physical side of things. Jesus had had one heck of a day and his mind was on the spiritual. He found out his cousin and fellow prophet, John the Baptist had been killed and when he went to grieve in private, a huge crowd – five thousand men, women, and children followed him. Instead of being angry and lashing out as we would have, Jesus had compassion and began to heal their sick. Then, instead of grasping on to the excuse the disciples were offering him, he said, “No, we will feed them. They do not need to leave.”

Jesus understood something we seem to only understand vaguely, if at all. These people needed fed in more ways that just bread and fish. They needed fed by the hand of God. They needed to be with someone who cared for them completely. Jesus, compassionate and sensitive to their needs, fed them the healing grace of God as he cured their diseases and then he fed them food to strengthen their bodies. Jesus does the same for us today. He hears our prayers and provides us with the ability to make it through our work day so that we may have money to buy what we need. Jesus hears our prayers for healing and also offers us his grace to get through each day.

The cynics will say that this miracle is impossible. You cannot take two fish and five loaves of bread and feed five thousand people until they are full. They will say that the law of matter is quite clear which states that matter cannot be created or destroyed, merely transformed. If you start with two fish and five loaves, no matter what you do to them they will only ever produce the same amount of food equal to their matter.

I’m not here to tell you this really happened or not. I believe it did, you may believe that it is a metaphor that Jesus feeds us in many ways. What I will tell you is that if you want to never be thirsty or hungry again, if you want peace in your life – Jesus will be your chef. There is a reason so many of our good memories revolve around a meal. This is when we commune with each other. This is what makes us different from animals. Not that we can talk, but that during a meal we share our food and we share pieces of ourselves with our fellow diners.

Jesus fed the people by offering them healing and by offering them bread and fish. Our mission can be no different. We open our doors and we welcome in everyone that would come in, but we also welcome everyone that will never walk in these doors. Our mission as Jesus’ church is to feed the hungry – those who are starving for the Word of God and the ones who are starving for bread and water too. If we do one and not the other, then we are not following Jesus. Jesus was never a halfway person and we cannot afford to be either.

Amen.