YOU’VE GOT TO GET OUT OF THE BOAT
A sermon by the Rev. Dr. James G. Kirk
Harundale Presbyterian Church
Text: “So Peter got out of the boat.”
First
Second
This past Wednesday, I did a service for a 79 year-old gentleman who had three children, seven grand children, fifteen great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren. I used the story with the people about the man who wanted proof of God’s existence. The man whispered, ‘God, speak to me.’ And a meadowlark sang. But the man did not hear. So the man yelled, ‘God, speak to me!’ And the thunder rolled across the sky. But the man did not listen. The man looked around and said, ‘God let me see you.’ And a star shone brightly. But the man did not notice. And the man shouted, ‘God show me a miracle!’ And a life was born. But the man did not know. So, the man cried out in despair, ‘touch me God and let me know you are here!’ Whereupon God reached down and touched the man. But, the man brushed aside the butterfly that had lit on his shoulder and walked away.
As I told the story to those in the funeral home I mentioned how each one of the three children, the seven grandchildren, the fifteen great grandchildren and the two great-great grandchildren had been butterflies on their father’s, grandfather’s, great grandfather, and great-great grandfather’s shoulder, but he’d never brushed them away. Rather, he’d taken the time whenever each one of them landed on his shoulder to cherish them, to appreciate their beauty, and to treasure their presence. Because, the point was that each one of them had been God’s presence in his life.
Matthew tells us a similar story this morning. It also has to do with God’s presence and how God speaks to us in so many ways, ways that we don’t always notice or appreciate. For example, Matthew begins by telling us how Jesus sends his disciples in the boat to the other side of the sea. He then goes off by himself to pray. Jesus himself, like the man in our story, asks God to be present in his life. But the important difference between Jesus and the man in our story is that Jesus doesn’t ignore the many ways that God speaks to him.
The next
thing we know is that the disciples are in the boat, a distance from land and
the waves are beginning to toss the boat about.
Now, before we go any further, there are two observations that need to
be made at this point. One is the
The second observation is that many writers interpret this whole story as a description of the church. Jesus calls the church together, sends the church out, the church gets itself involved in stormy debates, and throughout all its experiences Jesus is always there to guide it.
But, back to our story. The next episode is early in the morning. The last we’ve heard is that Jesus has been in prayer, asking God to be present in his life. The next thing we know is Jesus is walking toward his disciples who’re obviously experiencing some turbulence in their lives. Their immediate perception is that it’s something of a ghost. Again, just as with the man in our story about the butterfly, God appears in so many ways and we fail to recognize God’s presence.
This past week a friend called and said that he had a prayer request. He’d been praying to God for some time, but God seemingly wasn’t answering his prayers. The problem, he surmised, was that he hadn’t been specific enough with God. So now he was asking me to help him get specific. He wanted me to pray that God would answer his prayer in a certain way on Thursday. When I saw him Thursday evening I asked him if God had answered his prayer. He told me that he guessed God had answered him but it wasn’t the answer he’d wanted or expected. He finally had to admit to me and probably also to himself, that God had been answering his prayer all along. The problem was it wasn’t the answer he’d wanted to hear. Now that he’d got someone else involved in praying on his behalf, especially someone connected with the church, and still got the same answer; he was beginning to rethink what it was God was saying to him.
Again, the butterfly man didn’t hear the meadowlark when it sang. He didn’t listen to the thunder when it rolled across the sky. He failed to see the star that shone so brightly, and didn’t notice the birth when it occurred. And when the butterfly lit on his shoulder, all he could do was brush it away and continue on his journey.
When
finally the disciples recognize that it’s Jesus walking towards them, Peter
asks if he can come to meet him. Now
this is where our story takes a decisive turn.
Peter asks Jesus’ permission to come to him. As Tom Long says, he doesn’t “vault
impetuously over the gunwale.” (Matthew,
But let the point of the story capture that extraordinary moment. We, too, have got to get out of the boat. The boat in this case may not only be the church going through tempestuous times. The boat may also be our lives. We get very comfortable in our boat. We set off from shore intent on the direction we want to go. We’re the captains of the ship. We know what’s on the other shore. Just like my friend who wanted me to pray for him, we have every intention of reaching our destination. “Lord speak to me,” we say, but we’re not always ready to recognize how or when God does speak to us. Then when the waves begin to beat against our boat and the destination we chose becomes imperiled we panic and fear for our lives.
However, there may come a time in the midst of all that havoc when we ask Christ’s permission to come to him. And as though we hear the meadowlark for the first time, or notice the thunder as it rolls across the sky. When we finally see the brilliance of the star that shines brightly above us, or realize anew the miracle of a birth. When like the person whose service I did this past week, we take time to admire the beauty of the butterfly that’s come to light on our shoulders, it will be at that time that we hear Jesus calling us plainly to come. And we’re empowered and enabled for a time to do extraordinary things.
As with Peter, so also with us, it may not last long. We may once again panic, begin to sink, and cry out “Lord, save me!” Then it will be at that time that we feel once again Jesus reaching out to us and saying with a comforting voice, “why did you doubt?”
Why did we ever doubt indeed?
“In silence my soul thirsts for God; For God alone I wait
My enemies may chase me down; Love shields me from their hate.
God is my rock. God is my strength. God is my salvation.
My refuge, my abiding peace, I shall not be shaken.
In stillness I pour out my fears. The solitude builds trust.
My rescue rests in God’s great grace. My anxious thoughts are hushed.
In quietness my Lord conferred. Two truths I now declare.
No greater love than God’s is known. No power can compare.
God is my rock. God is my strength. God is my salvation.
My refuge, my abiding peace, I shall not be shaken.”
(Psalm 62, Words by Tammy Wiens. Music by Sheldon Sorge, Rapt CD, 2000)
Thanks be to God,
Amen