Homily for August 10, 2008

Homily August 10, 2008.
I don't know if my voice allowed me to communicate the tone of Jesus when he said, "Why did you doubt, oh you of little faith," so I want to bring that out.
When I was in high school more than 50 years ago, we had a  or more than 50 years ago  anyway, we had a religion teacher who asked us to go through the Gospels and find examples of when Jesus was angry, when he was sad, when he cried, and one of them was when he laughed.
None of us could find an example of Jesus laughing, because if you read through all the Gospels, you will not find any place where it says, in so many words, "and Jesus laughed." He used this Gospel as an example and just said, "Can you imagine Peter jumping out of the boat, walking on the water, and becoming frightened, and flailing about and sinking, and saying, 'Save me'? Can you imagine Jesus saying "Why did you doubt?" with a straight face?
So I just want to point that out, because Jesus' word, "Why did you doubt?" was not a chiding or a scolding word, but more the kind of bemused fondness that he would have toward somebody.
As I walk through the Gospel, I want to invite you to look a little bit at the biblical worldview. In the Bible creation is spoken of in two ways. Most of us would think of creation as making something out of nothing. So in the beginning there was nothing, and then God made this beautiful, ordered world. There is another view that would say in the beginning there was chaos; in the beginning there was absolute disorder; and creation was God putting order into the chaos.
Creation is God setting boundaries between day and night. Creation is God setting a boundary for the ocean and the sea and saying, "You will come this far but no farther," and separating dry land from the sea. Creation is God restraining and taming the wind and the rain and the ice so that they don't overwhelm us. Creation is God confining the sea monsters to the depths of the sea. Do you see where I'm going? In that worldview, it's only the hand of God and the presence of God that keeps things from falling back into chaos and disorder.
Think for a moment of our world today: Global warming, the sea no longer knows its boundary. There is the fear that regions now inhabited will be under the sea. Think of the earthquakes, the hurricanes, the tornadoes all around us. Year in and year out we live with that possibility, that the world could erupt into chaos at any moment. Think of the millions of possibilities that have to come together for life to be possible. It's mine boggling, and at any moment it could all unravel.
Think of our social fabric, the outbreak of violence and murders in our city, the acts of terrorism throughout the world. Do you get a feel for that, that it's almost like chaos is just below the surface and could break out at any moment? And it's the hand of God restraining that.
Now, with that worldview, think of the Apostles tossed about by waves on the sea and Jesus walking on the water. And by the way, it's not just walking on the water. When we speak of walking on something, we speak of subduing it. Only God can walk on the water in that sense. It's not just some neat little trick of suspending the law of physics, but it's subduing nature. So when they see Jesus walking toward them on the water, only God could do that, and that's why they're so awestruck.
Now think of Peter for a minute. "If it's really you, tell me to walk towards you on the water."
Jesus says, "Come on." He gets out and he begins to sink. How do you interpret what Peter did? Any idea, any guess? I've read many, by the way. I'll share them all with you. Yes?
A step of faith. So getting out of the boat is a step of faith. Good. I want to come back to that.
Some people say Peter’s sinking was a lack of faith. I think that's bad thinking and very dangerous. I mean, some people might say, "If only he had enough faith, he wouldn't have sunk." Have you ever heard it said you didn't have enough faith and that's why something bad happened? Have you ever heard people say that? Very destructive thinking. People have suffered real agony and hardship because somebody told them "You didn't have enough faith."
No matter how much faith I have, I'm going to die. No matter how much faith I have, I'm going to get sick, and my body will someday disintegrate. That's not what faith is about at all.
By the way, when Jesus uses the word "doubt," the Greek word he uses isn't doubt in the sense of skepticism. The word could be translated, "Why did you vacillate?" Well, I looked up the word "vacillate," and one of the definitions was "being of two minds," being of two minds, or two ways of thinking.
You know what? I vacillate all the time. I vacillate every day, because there isn't a single moment of my life when I don't struggle with being of two different minds. Can you relate to it? One of them is faith and confidence. The other seeing the dangers.
When I lived in New Albany, there was a blind man that I used to take to meetings. I would park my car on the street, a busy street. He would stick that white cane out and head across the street, and I would hold back. And he would say, "They'll stop."
And I would say, "Yeah, but you don't see them coming at us so fast." Well, there isn't a moment in my life when I don't see how fast those cars are coming. So I vacillate between sticking the cane out saying “they'll stop” and holding back.
Well, that's where Mary Pat's answer was right. Peter stepping out onto the water was an act of faith. But he vacillated. And our stepping out into the world is an act of faith, but the minute we do so, we are going to see all sorts of reasons to hesitate, and you know, like Peter, we'll fall and sink, and hopefully, like Peter, we will experience God reaching out and saying, "I'm here, don't be afraid."
As I was thinking of this, I remembered a poem by Maya Angelou  (You know, sometimes you let go of books you wish you'd have held onto) -- I remembered a poem by Maya Angelou, a wonderful, powerful African American poet and writer, where she talks about her mother, who always told her to have courage and step out on the word of God, and I want to read to you. I had to search a long time on the Internet to find it. I finally found it quoted in a sermon given at Rutgers University, and in a bulletin in an African American church from several years ago, celebrating black history month.

Father, Father
My life I give to thee gladly.
Deep rivers ahead
High mountains above
My soul wants only Your love
But fear gathers round like wolves in the dark. Have you forgotten my name?
Oh, Lord, come to Your child.
Oh, Lord, forget me not.

You said to lean on Your arm
And I'm leaning
You said to trust in Your love
And I'm trusting
You said to call on Your name
And I'm calling
I'm stepping out on Your word.

You said you'd be my protection,
And I'm stepping out on Your word.
The wonderful word of the Son of God.

You said that you would take me to glory
To sit down at the welcome table
To rejoice with my mother in heaven
And I'm stepping out on Your word

Into the alleys
Into the by ways
Into the streets
And the roads
And the highways
Past rumormongers
And midnight ramblers
Past the liars and the cheaters
The gamblers.

On Your word
On Your word.
On the wonderful word of the Son of God
I'm stepping out on Your word.

As we worship today, can you make that your prayer to God? “I'm stepping out onto the water. I'm stepping out into the world. I’m stepping out on Your word.”