Sermon for 8/9/26: Proper 14a

CLICK HERE for the sermon audio.

In the Deep End

Matthew 14:22-33
 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The people did not understand the true nature of our Lord’s ministry. It was not until Jesus suffered, died, and rose from the dead that people began to understand why He took up human flesh. Before the Passion, the crowds were looking for an earthly king: someone who would make life easier, someone who would drive out the Romans—heck, maybe He would even restore the kingdom of David. They did not understand that Jesus came to save the entire creation from sin, death, and the power of the devil.

The events we heard about in today’s Gospel happened right after the feeding of the 5,000. Jesus had just spent a day ministering to people. He healed their diseases, and then, when they got hungry, He hosted a banquet for 5,000 men and their families. The crowds began to think that someone who could heal diseases and provide free food would make a pretty good king. They did not know that they were tempting Jesus to be an earthly king; if they did know, they didn’t care.

Jesus needed to deal with the situation. He quickly sent the disciples back across the Sea of Galilee. Then He dismissed the people. After he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by Himself to pray while the disciples were struggling to cross the sea against a strong headwind.

Jesus finished His prayers and set out to rejoin the disciples. In the middle of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. On top of the terror from the storm, the sight of Someone walking toward them on the water was too much. They cried out in fear.

But then Jesus spoke. ”Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” Because they were troubled, Jesus said, “Take heart.” Because they did not know who He was, He said, “It is I.” Because they were terrified, Jesus said, “Do not be afraid.” He does not come to bring doom, but salvation. In His reassuring word, Jesus has given them all they need. This should be enough.

Apparently, this was not enough for Peter. Matthew does not give any insight into Peter’s mind, but he does give us Peter’s reply to Jesus. “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Peter wanted more proof than the simple word of God. He wanted a personal sign. So Jesus does something that is quite consistent with the actions of God throughout the Bible. Sometimes, when God’s people ask for something outrageous, God gives it to them as a learning experience. Jesus said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water. At first, everything went well. But when he saw the weather, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”

We talk a lot about faith, but it is important to talk about faith accurately. It is not enough to have a very powerful and very sincere faith if that faith is in the wrong thing. Our culture tells us, “You gotta have faith.” But it doesn’t aim faith toward our Lord Jesus. The world says, “Believe in yourself.” But examine yourself in light of the Ten Commandments; do you really want to trust in yourself? The world says to trust in science, but science can be skewed by our interpretation of the evidence. For Peter, trusting science meant trusting his fisherman’s experience with wind and water. But that misplaced faith drew him away from faith in Jesus. Thankfully for Peter, and for us, Jesus is patient and merciful. Jesus took hold of Peter and brought him back to the boat.

Ever since the days of Noah and the flood, the boat has been a symbol of Christ’s Church. There are times when we are not satisfied with the Word Jesus gives us. Like Peter, we want a bigger experience. We want more emotion. We want pizazz. So we leave the Word in order to find a greater experience—something new, something a little more spectacular than what we’ve always had. We put our faith in our feelings instead of in God’s promise.

Jesus is patient. Even though we often find ourselves sinking in a situation that we ourselves created, He is always ready to rescue us, to haul us back to this nave, His Church, where He restores us with His gifts. Jesus did a lot more than walk on water to save His people. The ultimate expression of His desire to save us comes in the cross. It is on the cross that Jesus became the greatest sinner of all time—not with His own sin, but with the sin of the whole world. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write, “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus carried that sin to the cross and sacrificed Himself to remove that sin from the world. When Jesus died, that sin died with Him. When Jesus rose, He left that sin in the grave where it can have no power over us.

Jesus brings salvation to you. He comes to you in the water of Holy Baptism. When water is joined with God’s Word according to His command, the old natural Adam who was enslaved us to sin is drowned and dies. In his place a new, holy man arises who lives before God in righteousness and purity forever. In those Worded waters our Lord says to you, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” He welcomes you into His Boat, His Church, where you are safe. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.