In the Boat
A Sermon for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
August 13, 2023
The Rev. Robin Teasley
Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Matthew 14:22-33
Did you know that a boat is an ancient symbol for the church? A boat was seen as a vessel of salvation and has long been used to portray the church. This image still resonates in the word used for the central portion of a church, the nave, which comes from the Latin word for ship, navis. This imagery portrays the church as a ship, protecting those inside it from the waves and storms of the world. Architecturally, many church buildings make this analogy even more visible by constructing the ceiling over the nave in a vaulted fashion, exposing the wooden beams, which resembled the reversed look of a ship’s keel. We have a plaster ceiling, but I’m guessing there are wooden beams up there!
In ancient days the sea was a terrifying place of chaos, believed to be the one part of creation that had not been tamed by God. In an age when everyone believed in sea monsters and an earth so flat that you could sail right off the edge, it took great courage to set sail in a wooden boat. Ancient sailors had to trust in God and in each other, just as we are trusting God and each other right here in this boat, when we are not sure what is going to appear next on the horizon, in a world that seems filled with chaos.
Jesus sent his disciples to the boat while he went to the mountain to pray. Jesus needed some time away after he was not accepted in his hometown, after hearing of the death of John the Baptist, and after feeding the 5,000 plus people. Jesus models the importance of sabbath time and prayer as essential for accomplishing the miraculous work God gives us to do.
While the disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee in the boat, and Jesus is praying up on the mountain, a storm arises that threatens their lives. While the disciples are being battered by the waves, Jesus walks across the water to meet them.
Christ Walking on the Waters, Julius Sergius Von Klever
Mistaking Jesus for a ghost, the disciples grow even more alarmed as he draws near. In response, Jesus reassures them saying, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Hearing this, and recognizing the voice of Jesus, Peter bravely asks if he might join him out on the water. He confidently steps out of the boat, but then Peter notices the strong wind and begins to sink into the deep, dark waves of the sea. Peter has lost heart, lost his courage, or has he? I think Peter is amazing here. He believes he is about to drown, and the first thing he does is call out to Jesus. Immediately, Jesus reaches out and grabs him saying, “you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
I wonder if Jesus asks this more for the other disciples’ benefit than for Peter’s, because it’s at this moment that the disciples see Jesus as if for the first time, and they confess, “Truly you are the Son of God.” We can interpret these words in different ways, but I hear Jesus gently comforting Peter, and reminding everyone in the boat that only the tiniest amount of faith is needed, and that it’s our collective faith that gets us through the storms of life.
Often this passage is heard as an imperative, a strong encouragement to get out of the boat, to take some risks in our personal or congregational lives. Other times it’s explained as a call to keep our eyes on Jesus, sometimes even implying that we are sinking because we don’t have enough faith.
I wonder if there might be a third way to look at this passage. Perhaps we might learn something here about the power of fear. Fear, although it can be a helpful self-protective instinct, can also hold us back and prevent us from stepping out of our comfort zone. It can also make us anxious and unable to find peace. The disciples could never have imagined that Jesus would walk on water and meet them in the storm that was threatening to drown them. No one walked on water!
Christ Walking on the Water, Amedee Varint
It was fear that prevented the disciples from recognizing Jesus when he came to them in a way they never expected. Fear can blind us to possibility, to something new God is doing in our midst.
The disciples were caught in a powerful storm; they had every reason to be afraid. We know something about this fear and the power it has to sink us. We fear for our loved ones and the choices they make, we experience fear in our loneliness after a great loss, some of us may fear financial instability, sometimes we fear for our very lives. These and so many more are the fears we face in our personal boats.
When we look over the bow and see the chaos and storms all around us, fear increases even more. Flooding in Alaska, devastating wildfires in Hawaii, life-threatening heat across the globe. We fear the political unrest in our nation and around the world. All that fear can be debilitating. It sneaks up on us, paralyzes us, and makes it difficult to move forward at all, let alone with confidence. It’s also fear that can create reactions of anger, violence, injustice, and exclusion. Fear has the power to drown the hope the children of God have for the abundant life intended for us.
The Hand of God, Yongsung Kim
Responding to the fear that is gripping Peter, Jesus doesn’t tell Peter to pull himself up by his bootstraps, or to swim harder. Jesus reaches out, grabs him, and puts him back in the boat. And so also with us! Jesus will not let us go. Jesus is with us whether we are safe in the boat, or walking on the terrifying waves of life. Jesus will not give up on us, will not leave us in our fear.
This is the promise at the heart of this story, the promise of the Gospel: that God is with us and for us, that God, in the end, will do what we cannot. In these days of anxiety and fear, this promise helps us take heart, take a deep breath, and trust God.
Jesus Walks on Water, Ivan Aivazovsky
We live in a culture of fear as real as any storm, as deep as the dark sea. Things change as unexpectedly as the wind whips up, and waves of chaos break in on our safely constructed lives. What will help us manage our fear and come to deeper trust in God’s faithfulness? The end of our text tells us.
When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
In these chaotic times when the waters rage and our anxiety and fear threaten to drown us, we can gather here, in this boat, and worship. Jesus is with us here, and Jesus is outside of this boat, walking on the waves of uncertainty, keeping watch, and interceding on our behalf.
Title Image: The Disciples See Christ Walking on the Water, Henry Ossawa Tanner
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