Walking
on Water Without the Stones
Proverbs
3:1-8, Matthew 14:22-36
Grace
Presbyterian Church
November
10, 2013
Rev.
Dr. Richard E. Miller
The Water
Strider If you’ve ever sat and
watched the activities of pond life, you no doubt have laid eyes upon Water
Striders. Water Striders are six legged insects that not only walk on water,
they also jump up and down on the water. They can do this because they have
superhydrophobic legs that distribute their body evenly over the tension of the
water surface. They are so adept that they can propel themselves across the
water’s surface at 100 times their body length per second. If swimmers could do
this, they’d be able to swim 400 miles per hour. I think that would break a few
Olympic records, don’t you?
Humans But how about us? Can any of you walk on water?
Without the stones? I don’t know how many of you know this, but over the years
I have walked and jumped up and down on water many times without the stones. I
don’t talk about it very often for it might appear that I’m bragging. However,
if the truth be known, I do slip upon the ice sometimes.
Back in 1999, a man by the name of Ron Major
proposed to install a submerged hydraulic operated platform just an inch below
the surface of the Sea of Galilee. His plan was to charge tourists to be taken
out to the platform and it would appear from land that they were walking on the
water, just as Jesus did about 2,000 years ago.
Jesus on
the Water That event in
Jesus’ life took place while Peter and the disciples were out on the Sea of
Galilee in a boat. A great storm came upon them in the night and their boat
soon was close to capsizing. Just before dawn, during the fourth watch, they
noticed someone who looked like Jesus walking toward them on the water. Peter
said, “Lord, if it is
you, bid me come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come!” So peter got out of the boat and began walking on
the water toward Jesus.
He was doing just fine when he suddenly noticed the
strong wind. He panicked, took his eyes off of Jesus, and began to sink. Peter
cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus reached out and caught him saying, “You of little faith. Why did you doubt?” The word for faith in Greek is also translated as
trust. So when Jesus said to Peter, “You
of little faith” he was really saying,
“Why did you suddenly no longer
trust me to keep you upon the water? Take courage. It is I. Never be afraid.
Trust me. Have faith in me.”
Trusting
in God is not a new concept. After all, each of us affirms that fact everywhere
we go. How? By every coin and bill we carry, each of which states, “In God we
trust.” However, our currency didn’t always have this great statement of faith.
It all started with the Rev. M. R. Watkinson, pastor of a small congregation in
Ridleyville, Pennsylvania in 1861. He deplored what he called the
godlessness of a nation seven months into the Civil War. So he sat down and
wrote Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury. He said to Mr. Chase, “One
fact touching our currency has hitherto been overlooked. I mean the recognition
of the Almighty God in some form on our coins.” Rev. Watkinson went on to
suggest the theme of “God, Liberty, Law.” Secretary Chase thought it was a
wonderful idea and promptly instructed James Pollock, Director of the Mint in
Philadelphia, to inscribe the word, “In God We Trust,” on all coins. Many years later, in 1955, the Congress of the
United States passed a bill to inscribe “In God We Trust” on all paper currency
[first appeared in 1957].
In God we trust.
Why should we trust God? God said that he has borne us from our birth and
carried us from the womb and will carry us into our old age with our gray
hairs. “I
am God, and there is no other. My purpose shall stand, and I will fulfill my
intention. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass. I have planned, and I
will do it.” [Isaiah 46] In our scripture
from Proverbs it says, “Trust in
the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all
your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. “ [Proverbs 3:5] Trusting in God is
vital for us individually and as Grace Presbyterian. Why? Because,
very simply we can’t make it through life alone. We need help. Where is that
help? The psalmist answers that question by saying, “Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.”
[Psalm 124:8] All of us must depend upon God for guidance and strength.
Blind Skier Trusting
God can be scary at times since we can’t see the future. We feel like the
people who are totally blind skiing down a mountain. Such people have a guide
skiing with them, telling them to go left or go right. Talk about having to
trust someone with your life! For many years I took teenagers on one to two
week long Mission Trips. Sometimes, in the evening after supper, we would have
everyone pair up. One would be blindfolded while the other one would lead them
through the woods. The blindfolded youths had to trust their partners to lead
them safely through without hitting any trees or stumbling over any rocks.
Storms of
Distraction Just like Peter,
each of us encounter storms of life - times when we feel as though we are being
tossed around on a raft by gigantic waves. And when those times occur, we
realize that we are completely powerless and helpless to get through the mess
we’re in. Such times can be brought on by a mortgage crisis or by health
problems, or concern over a child’s behavior or losing our job. The list of
such storms in our lives could go on and on. Then it is that we finally cry
out, “Save me!” And Jesus comes to us and says, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t
be afraid.”
To
trust God with all our hearts instead of relying on our own insights is vital.
To acknowledge God in all our ways is essential. Far too often, we act upon our
own desires instead of trusting in the Lord. We trust the Lord with all our
heart by surrendering our future and the future of this congregation to him and
when we allow God to take control, personal and congregational anxiety and
worry lessen. Why should we do this? We are to "let go and let God"
simply because God knows far better than do we what is best. We are to
"let go and let God" because fretting and stewing about the future
does not enhance his kingdom here on earth.
So
I encourage us this morning to go forth into the future trusting God and
trusting each another. Is this easy? Not always. If you’re like me, you’ll
trust one day and not the next. Or you will trust a little bit one moment and
more the next. Trust is a fluid and ever-changing dynamic. Jesus is the only
one who trusted God fully and completely every moment of his life. We will
never duplicate that, but our individual trust relationship with God and each
other can and will grow stronger if we consciously work at it.
As we leave here this morning, I ask this question.
“Who in this world do you trust completely?” If you have such a person in your
life, consider yourself greatly blessed. I would also ask “Who trusts you 100%
at all times and in all things?” Be careful never to betray that trust, for it
has been said that “To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.”
[George MacDonald]
Final
Thoughts Charles Albert Tindley, born 1851, the son of
slaves, taught himself to read and write at age 17. He worked as a janitor at
the Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. But as he was doing
this, he attended night school and earned his divinity degree. In 1902, he
became the pastor of the 130 member church where previously he had been the
janitor. At the time of Tindley’s death, his church had 12,500 members. He was
a prolific hymn writer, one of which was “Stand by Me” written in 1905.
“When the storms of life are raging,
stand by me. When the world is tossing me like a ship upon the sea, thou who
rulest wind and water, stand by me.
In the midst of faults and failures,
Stand by me. When I do the best I can, and my friends misunderstand, thou who
knowest all about me, stand by me.
When I’m growing old and feeble, stand
by me. When my life becomes a burden, and I’m nearing chilly Jordan, O Thou
“Lily of the Valley,” stand by me.
Let us leave with the comfort in knowing that
whenever we ask God to stand by us, he will. Always. And then we too can walk
on water without the stones. Amen.
Proverbs
3:1-8 NRSV
My
child, do not forget my teaching,
but
let your heart keep my commandments;
for
length of days and years of life
and
abundant welfare they will give you.
Do
not let loyalty and faithfulness forsake you;
bind
them round your neck,
write
them on the tablet of your heart.
So
you will find favour and good repute
in
the sight of God and of people.
Trust
in the Lord with all your heart,
and
do not rely on your own insight.
In
all your ways acknowledge him,
and
he will make straight your paths.
Do
not be wise in your own eyes;
fear
the Lord, and turn away from evil.
It
will be a healing for your flesh
and
a refreshment for your body.
Matthew
14:22-36 NRSV
After
Jesus had fed the 5,000, “he 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 towards them on the lake. But when the disciples saw him walking on the
lake, 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 towards 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
worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’
When
they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. After the people of
that place recognized him, they sent word throughout the region and brought all
who were sick to him, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of
his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.”
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