Sermon for Aug. 10, 2008

Out of the Comfort Zone Rev. Shannon Mang

Matthew 14: 22-33

When living a life in the company of Jesus, expect the unexpected. I believe that is a significant part of the message that the writers of the Gospels were trying to convey within the early church as they wrote down the stories that the community of the Way of Jesus told themselves.

*People will be made whole- healed; brought back to life…. and it won’t always be the folks you’d expect

*there will be abundance in Jesus’ presence- 1,000’s will be fed, with baskets of food left over

* the stories are great, but the punch line will usually be strange- turning the usual way we see the world upside-down

Expect the unexpected- there will be unexpected healing- unexpected joy- and we’ll be asked to go to unexpected places… we’ll be expected to move out of our comfort zone.

In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark- whenever the disciples get into a boat to go somewhere (other than go fishing) they end up in stormy weather. When disciples get into boats they face life-threatening storms and end up crying out to Jesus for salvation. In these dramas, Jesus is either fast asleep in the midst of the storm and the disciples have to shake him awake to save them; or, like in our story from Matthew today- Jesus comes to them in a most unconventional manner- walking on the waves of the storm-tossed sea. In all the storm stories Jesus first addresses the disciples saying “Don’t be afraid!”. “Don’t be afraid”.

I want to give a little bit of background around the symbolism of water and boats in the early church. In the ancient Near-Eastern mind, water was all about chaos. Water was the place where humans did not hold any control. It was a place of large, frightening creatures and large frightening, life-threatening storms. Fishing was a dangerous enterprise. Fishers would learn the ways of the water and how to harvest fish but most likely did not swim. “Crossing” waters was considered highly dangerous. In Hebrew scriptures the waters of chaos were in place when God started to bring order out of the chaos by separating land from water and sky from water. A Hebrew scholar writes: “to the biblical mind, being on the sea is itself a threat representing all the anxieties and dark powers that threaten the goodness of the created order. To be at sea evokes images of death. “ Deep in the Hebrew mind and heart- the waters are all about uncontrolled chaos… and it is God that brings control to that chaos. God is the one who walks on the waters:

Job 9: 4He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength—who has resisted him, and succeeded?— 5he who removes mountains, and they do not know it, when he overturns them in his anger; 6who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble; 7who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars; 8who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the Sea; 9who made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the chambers of the south; 10who does great things beyond understanding, and marvellous things without number.

Psalm 77: 16When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; the very deep trembled. 17The clouds poured out water; the skies thundered; your arrows flashed on every side. 18The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook. 19Your way was through the sea, your path, through the mighty waters; yet your footprints were unseen.

20You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

The disciples, in their little fishing boat, are being tortured or tormented by the wind. The Greek is referring to the boat and verb used in an unusual way here as it is supposed to be used in reference to humans being tormented- here the boat is tormented by the storm. The primordial chaos is prevailing against the little boat of disciples- then Jesus shows up, doing what only God can do- walking on the water.

The boat was an early symbol of the church. Along with the fish shape, the boat shape was a code symbol for the community of the Way of Jesus. The community of followers saw themselves as a small sea-faring vessel navigating the chaos of the death-dealing powers around them. When the early hearers of the stories heard about a boat, they knew that the storyteller was talking about “us”- we’re the ones in the boat. We don’t often use the word “nave” anymore- it is another word for sanctuary- the part of the church building where we worship God. Nave comes from the Latin navis which means boat or ship. We’re still the ones in the boat.

If we live our lives in the company of the Risen One, we have to expect the unexpected; we have to have to live outside our comfort zones…

That boat called the Christian church has navigated stormy waters for 2 millenia and we’re still here to tell the stories because the Risen Christ still comes to us walking on the waters.

So- some questions that arise for us as disciples who have recently experienced the miracle of the loaves and fishes and who have been sent by Jesus to the “other side” while he goes up into the hills to pray:

*has our boat left the shore line, or are we staying where it is safe in the shallows?

*If we risk leaving the shallows and crossing over deep, life-threatening waters- storms will arise. It is not always clear sailing- storms will come that will torture our small vessel. We will fear for our lives. In the midst of the storm, will we recognise Jesus when we comes walking over those waves towards us, or are we too busy trying to solve the problem of the storm ourselves?

*What does it mean for us to hear Jesus say: "Courage, it's me. Don't be afraid."

And what about that crazy Peter? Frankly this story is dramatic enough with the storm and Jesus doing the water-walking… but then Peter wants to get in on the act too. The astounding thing is that he does it too. With his eyes on Jesus, he too does the impossible. Now, of course he gets distracted and sinks and nearly drowns. But Jesus does not fail him.

If we are the disciples of Jesus in the boat, I have no doubt that there are crazy Peters among us feeling moved to take up water walking with Jesus.

Our First Steps in Faith... by Robin Jensen

"Come…"

Boldly I step out of the boat toward the

Shinning Light,

Ripples radiating behind me with each step.

Fish watch in amazement…

I'm walking to Jesus on the water…

Waves suddenly splash over my feet…

Where did that wind come from?

Why is that rooster walking behind me?

My feet sink into the sea, has He deserted me?

Save me!

A hand pulls me into the bouncing boat…

With Him…

The wind dies down…my heart is calm…

Why did I doubt the love of God?

Matthew 14:29

http://robinjaunt.com/poetart.htm

Friends, what is life like outside our comfort zone? We are called away from the shoreline; we are called to live in the midst of storms and know that the Risen Christ comes to us, and yes, we are even called to step outside of the boat and do the impossible with Jesus.

May it be so.