As I said earlier, I am the youth director here and first, I’d like to thank the youth this morning for volunteering to usher, greet, be liturgists, and help with the scripture reading.  The youth of this church are really good and jumping up and saying when and where when there is a need expressed.  That’s part of what makes our service trip every year such a success. 

Most of you are very familiar with the service trip as we talk about it all year leading up to it, and then afterwards as well AND you support and help make it happen.  But for those who aren’t familiar with service trips, the approx 75 high schoolers and 25 adults get out of Kansas and head off to different cities with our primary objective of helping the people of that town. It’s a wonderful tradition started long ago here at Rolling Hills Church. 

When we come back from our service trips we have many stories…some poignant, some fun, some silly, all very interesting. 

One story that stuck out to me as I was thinking about this morning was from this year’s service trip.  A little background:  one challenge we have on the trips is that we typically stay in a church or large building that can house us.  And even if they do have showers, it’s usually not enough to cover our need.  And after 75 teenagers have been sweating it out in the sun working all day…trust me…there’s a big need for showers and LOTS of them! 

So before the trip we have to figure out how to manage 100 showers every day.  Sometimes we are fortunate enough to have a fitness center that can accommodate us, or the Y.  This year was a little different. 

One of our work sites was the County Fair.  The county fair in Rapid City does a lot of great work to help the city by brining in revenue, providing jobs for those who need them, and helping out folks in need from Rapid.   ALSO, they had showers.  LOTS of them.  And offered to let us use them.  So every day the busses would drop off work groups in shifts and they would shower at the county fair.  It was a GREAT set up.  And one really awesome part about it was that the first 30 people to shower got warm water.  Ah…fortunate for those 30.  While the rest of the 70 of us froze out with icy—take your breath away cold water.

An advantage to working at the fair was that on that day, your group could knock off 5 minutes early, walk over to the showers before the busses roll up, and be one of the elite warm shower takers for the day. 

One group had been sweating it out in the hot sun all day staining bleachers.  A girl whose dad worked with the fair attached herself to their group-cute little girl probably about 8 years old named Sierra.  She got right in and helped paint and talked with our kids.  She became an honorary member of that small group. 

Around lunchtime was typically when the shower talk started.  They would plot, scheme and make elaborate plans for how to get there before the first bus and still get the work done that they needed to do.  They started complaining about the past few days of frigid water and the little girl who was working with them said, “I never take warm showers; we don’t have hot water at my house.”  Oh.  Well…hot water’s overrated?  How do you react to that? 

Except to realize how big the world is, and how small we think sometimes.  We have an idea of what is normal for all people, until we realize that’s only what’s normal to us.  But it’s so hard to think in those terms.  It’s also scary to think in those terms…and that’s probably what prevents us from going there.   To acknowledge the world where is actually is, leaves us responsible with some sort of reaction.  That’s scary. 

We are going to read the scripture again, but this time I am going to have some friends of mine come up here and help me with interpreting it.  (the youth come up to help as visual aids)

Just to clarify…I believe that the Holy Spirit speaks to us individually as well as in community through scripture.  The words in this book my have a different message each time I lay my eyes on the pages.  So I do not stand before you claiming to have the end all be all meaning of this scripture.  What I can tell you is what it means to me, in hopes that it will encourage you to read it and figure out what it means to you. 

Having said that, let’s begin.  We need someone to play the part of the disciple Peter (Taylor Gudgel), then we need someone brave to play the part of Jesus (Scott Watson).  Would the rest of you represent the other disciples (Collin Hoefer, Linde Allison, and Robert Enders)?  Great thanks! 

Read Matthew 14:22-36

Commentary on scripture…

Went up to the mountain to pray…This is the first time in this gospel that we see Jesus praying to God.  We’ve just seen him perform miracles, feed thousands and preach for hours, and in a bit will once again see him speak and act in the person of God…but now we see him portrayed as praying in dependence on God.  I think it’s great that we don’t actually know what Jesus was saying in those moments with God.  It makes it more real and applicable to our lives, in my opinion.  If Christ is our example, and even HE needed to take breaks, center, pray, commune with God…who are we to go it alone? 

In early morning he came walking toward them on the sea…

The translation here is actually “4th watch”.  Jews and Romans, divided the night into 4 watches.  First watch started around 6:00PM and the 4th started around 3 in the morning.  Some versions of the English translated bibles actually say at 4 o’ clock in the morning.  We don’t know exactly when, but we know it was between 3 and sunrise.  So these disciples were sent off without Jesus during the daylight.  This was not typical practice.  They usually went with Jesus.  But instead they were given brief instruction to go ahead to the other side.  So here they are in the boat and they have gone through 9 o’clock, 1 o’clock, and 3 o’clock watch changes and no sign of Jesus.  Did we just get ditched?  Is this the grab your purse, coat, and car keys as you excuse yourself to the “ladies room”?  These disciples are a little on edge to begin with.  Not only are they being beaten and battered in the boat, but they don’t know what’s going on with Jesus.  And now they see “something” coming toward them on the water?   Of course they freak out!

Take heart, it is I…

Jesus immediately attempts to alleviate their fears.  With the simple phrase, it is I, reminiscent of “I am” which in itself implicates the presence of God. 

Lord if it is you…

Peter has to be one of my favorite people in the bible.  He’s so quick to react and half the time he has to fall back and regroup from his hasty reactions.  (Probably why I like him)  But his first reaction when he sees Jesus is to force Jesus to prove himself by letting him walk on the water.  Who thinks like that?  I might ask him to toss some i.d. into the boat or flash our secret handshake sign, but to get out of the boat and walk toward him?  I don’t think so…

Peter got out of the boat and started walking on the water…

Stop!  This story is often talked about as Peter’s failure to walk on water.  But…exhibit A.  where is Peter right now?  On the water.  Where are the other disciples?  In the boat.  Watching.  We all know what’s going to happen next, but I’d like you to keep in your mind this moment. 

You of little faith…

Here it is.  The part that we seem to hold onto above everything else.  Jesus always told it as it is, so for him to call out Peter MUST mean Peter messed up BIG time.  OR…what if Jesus was looking at Peter the way a parent watches their child riding on two wheels for the first time.  You know, they’re kind of wobbly, but they’ve practiced their balancing enough, they know how to do it.  You watch them take off with confidence, then take their eyes off the sidewalk to gaze at the street on one side, the neighbors dog on the other and the increasing speed at which they’re traveling then CRASH, they’ve fallen.  What if when Jesus was pulling Peter up, almost in embrace, he whispered to Peter…Peter, you had it!   You were there, why did you doubt?  Not as a chastising speech to put Peter’s inadequacies on display, but as an intimate expression of love and concern.  Not shaking his head in disappointment, but having compassion for someone he loved.  Just as a parent who picks up their freshly fallen child off the ground and helps them back to the driveway, Jesus helps Peter back into the boat.  

Thank you all for helping us take a look at that scripture in a little different light… (the youth sit back down)

I know what you are thinking, this is all nice and great for Peter, Emily, but what does it have to do with me? 

I feel like this story is presented to us to challenge us.  To make us ask ourselves where in our lives are we jumping out in haste, or stuck white knuckling the side with our feet planted on the inside planks of the boat?   

What lessons or opportunities are we missing from our fear of getting out of the boat? 

Getting out of the boat doesn’t necessarily mean selling off all of your possessions and moving to Northern Ireland to help bridge Catholic/Protestant gap.  It could.

But getting out of the boat for you might simply be letting yourself think about Sierra not having hot water and what that means for you in your life. 

Getting out of the boat for you might simply mean asking for that raise at work that you feel you’ve earned.

Getting out of the boat for you might be taking that AP course or harder math class

Asking your boss or good friend to stop telling racist and sexist jokes

Or to stop laughing at them

Getting out of the boat could be taking the time to understand your political stance and standing up for what you believe

OR even understanding your theological stance and not being afraid to talk about your relationship with God. 

We all have something in our lives that we could get out of the boat and DO…but why don’t we?? 

We are afraid of that moment when Peter began to sink.  We are afraid, we doubt, we are afraid of our doubt.  It is easier in sit in a smelly, wind battered boat then take a leap off the side.  Because inside that boat is familiar.  It may not be where we need to be or want to be, but it is what we know.  And we like that.  Sometimes we’d rather have miserable familiarity, than glory in the unknown. 

So picture that moment that I asked you to remember.  Where Peter is actually walking on water.  Picture yourself there.  With confidence.  Accomplishing that thing that you need to accomplish.  And as you picture yourself…if in that next moment you begin to sink…don’t let that stop you from getting out of the boat.  You can always swim.   But really, God has great lessons in our accomplishments, but even greater lessons in those moments of doubt and perceived failure. 

I leave you with a quote from Marianne Williamson: 

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

(~Marianne Williamson in Return to Love Often mistakenly attributed to Nelson Mandela)

So when we actually climb over the edge of the boats in our lives, we help others do the same for themselves.  What an awesome risk and what a blessed responsibility.