Grasp Jesus' Hand and Never let Go

Proper 14A, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, August 13, 2017 by Annette Fricke

This Gospel text is not just about the disciples, but about the early church. This is emphasized in Matthew. Matthew explains that the boat is "being tortured or tormented" by the wind. This word is normally used of people rather than a boat. The boat represents the early church whereas the wind and the sea are those things which toss us about in our daily lives. Matthew has a different take than Mark where this same word describes the disciples: "When Jesus sees the disciples being tormented or having difficulty in their rowing.” Matthew's addition of Peter's walking on the sea also supports the early church aspect of the story. It is no longer just a story about what Jesus alone can do. Courageous disciples can also walk on the sea -- and Peter both illustrates the faith to do this and the doubts that sank him.

Imagine, if you will, a priest who will soon lose his 53-year-old daughter, also a priest, to pancreatic cancer and whose wife has ever worsening dementia.  He continues to work hard providing pastoral care to the many folks who have decided to retire in a nearby retirement community.  Outside his family, there is an even younger daughter of the congregation dying of pancreatic cancer.  Of the many years I had seen him, this was one in particular in which the 2-month break in the summer was most needed. The sea can become stronger than the boat. The task of providing pastoral care is a daunting one, especially for someone who is going through his own walk with grief and loss.  A person in this situation is a prime candidate for both administering excellent care as well as succumbing to the hurt that is within, ever in danger of leaking out at an inopportune moment.  Worst case scenario, this can occur when someone who is really struggling needs us to be strong the most.  No one is immune, if indeed we have any feeling at all for another’s pain in life.  This is why there are spiritual directors.  There are certain predicaments in our journeys here on earth, which demand the assistance of others, most of which have an element of emotional pull.  To put it bluntly, we are all vulnerable to the temperamental waves of life’s ocean.  Most of us are fearful of climbing out of the safety of the boat, because we fear the force of the wind and the waves.  We may not be aware, as children, but as mature adults, we do know what’s out there, beyond our comfortable seats in the boat.  And if we don’t know, it is surely pretty close to our imaginations, based on our past experiences.

However, the church is not about just taking care of our own.  We are also called to pay attention to what it going on outside our boat.  A friend of mine writes, “This weekend I'm watching in horror as white supremacists descend upon Charlottesville, VA. Hundreds of them-- no doubt many who consider themselves Christian-- threatening with torches and hate, surrounding a church full of people praying for an end to hatred.”  And this week’s news topics also includes a possible conflict with the US, Guam, and North Korea.  I will not go into details.  It is in the news if further research is needed.  Still, we are called to push on.  Push on despite the pressures all around us, both personal and global. This is how life comes to us in reality.  The boundaries become blurred because at the same time we are in process of comforting someone in their painful moments, we are going through our own conflicts, our own struggles, and our own monumental strife.  As much as we might like to give as a valid excuse for not being involved in the pastoral care of those around us, that we have our own problems, that simply will not cut it. There are no credible reasons for not caring.  We are never off the clock because we are not called to compromise our caring for each other as well as the entire world if we indeed have decided to follow Jesus.  It is Jesus who has commanded us, like he did Peter, to come out of the boat.  Our attitude should be that of Peter’s, “Jesus, is that you?  I want to be where you are.  If that is you, command me to come to you.”

When we feel God’s absence in our lives, when it seems that everything is crashing down around us, when we are feeling totally abandoned, this gospel reading emphasizes that God’s presence is always there.  God is there even when we don’t feel that God is present.  God will do more for us than just be there in our joys and sorrows.  God will defend us and lift us up when our faith falters, just as he lifted up Peter when Peter began to sink.  God raises our whole beings to a new level of faith when we become weak, when we unite our lives to Jesus.

There is just one more thing that God illustrates for us in this gospel text and that is this: the importance of spending time in prayer.  If we follow the timeline, we will notice that it appears that Jesus sent the crowds away in the late afternoon.  We are told that Jesus was alone for most of the night.  He was there praying.  He does not come back to the boat where the disciples are until 4:00 am.  Prayer is our connection with God just as it was for Jesus while he was with us here on earth.  It is prayer that grounds us for ministry to and with others, allowing us to see that we are truly on equal terms with others.  There is no hierarchy of this or that person being of a higher spiritual plane, because we all have the potential, in our own lives, small as they may seem to the world, to help lift others when they are sinking from the turbulent waves of life.  The love of God in Jesus Christ needs to be our sole motivator for our actions towards others.

I can still see that priest as he moved about with the skill and resiliency obtained by practicing the principles of compassion learned by many years of listening to the story of others and countless hours of praying fervently both for and with them, unselfishly giving his all.  How does he do it? The message from this text is not, "If Peter had enough faith, he could have walked on the water," just as the message to us is not, "If we had enough faith, we could overcome all our problems in spectacular ways.”  Rather, the story about Peter graphically depicts what it means to be a Christian caught midway between faith and doubt. Peter represents all who dare to believe that Jesus is Savior, take their first steps in confidence that he is able to sustain them, and then forget to keep their gaze fixed on him instead of on the towering waves that threaten to engulf them. In the depth of crisis, when all seems lost, they remember to call on the Savior, and find his grace sufficient for their needs.  We are people who worship and doubt at the same time.  Our faith is like that of Peter’s, a person we admire and extol as an example, Peter the Rock.  Sometimes our rock is not so strong and becomes like putty.  That is when we need God and each other to maintain, to bless, to send forth into the world to be the presence of God to a people who really need to experience and understand God’s presence. It is up to us to embrace and take hold of that presence which holds us up.  We need to be reminded that God is always there to strengthen us to the end: in the midst of all that troubles us, in the ordinariness and in our joyful celebrations.  God never abandons us; and even though at times we sense that perhaps God is absent, God is not absent.  God is always there.  God will sustain us at all times, even when we are shattered by the realities of accident, disease, aging, hatred, oppression and other circumstances and we begin to sink. Jesus will hold out his hand to us when we call out to him.  It is our choice and wise decision to grasp onto that hand and never let go. Pray for Charlottesville and our country.  Do what you can to make this a better world. Hold on to Jesus' hand and don't let go!