Walking on the water

As Evensong at Dallington was cancelled tonight due to the snow & ice, here are the jottings I would have preached from.

Sun 12th Feb

2nd Sunday before Lent

Psalm 107:1-9, 23-32 (p610)

Mark 6:45-56 (p1009)

V46 – Jesus goes up a mountain, away on his own, to pray.

Think about it for a minute:

If Jesus (the perfect, sinless Son of God) needed to take time out to pray, how much more do we.

If we can, we all need time alone sometimes to pray.

And we need God’s help to understand his word, so let’s pray.

[prayer]

How do Jesus’ disciples end up in this bother on the lake?

The surprising thing is that Jesus sends his disciples in to difficulty and danger.

It was Jesus (v45) who “made the disciples get into the boat”.

And he deliberately doesn’t go with them.

He leaves them and goes up the mountain (v46) so that (v47) when evening comes they’re in the middle of the lake and he’s alone on the land.

It seems Jesus has abandoned them.

He’s not there in their hour of need.

It’s getting dark and v48, they’re “straining at the oars” with “the wind against them.”

You can imagine their spirits sinking: they’re tired, perhaps they get irritable, worried.

Maybe they even begin to think this might be their last voyage.

And they’re at it for hours:

From evening (v47) to about the 4th watch of the night (v48).

The 4^th watch of the night is between 3am and 6am.

This wasn’t a massive lake.

And some of these disciples were experienced fishermen.

Things are going wrong.

And where’s Jesus?

This was his idea: it’s his fault!

It’s not all plain sailing with Jesus.

It’s not meant to be.

So why do Christians face hard times?

Doesn’t Jesus know what he’s doing?

Perhaps he’s not in control?

Perhaps there’s nothing he can do?

Perhaps he doesn’t care?

Last time the disciples were in a storm on the lake Jesus was asleep in the boat: he didn’t seem to care if they drowned.

Now he’s not even there at all: he’s away on the hill side praying.

Jesus doesn’t spare his disciples the storms of life.

In fact, Jesus sometimes deliberately sends us into tough situations and asks us to do hard things.

Jesus doesn’t magic away all difficulty.

Sometimes God leads us not away from storms but into storms.

But importantly, he leads us through storms too.

He comes to us in the storm.

If things seem to go wrong, it doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve somehow stepped outside God’s will for our lives.

God plans to use storms in our lives.

Storms are part of the plan.

Rough seas and sleepless nights straining at the oars are an ordinary part of the Christian life.

But Jesus does really care about his disciples.

It’s his love that leads him to lead us into the storms.

Remember last time, Jesus had compassion on the crowd because they were like sheep without a shepherd and he taught them (v34) and fed them.

Now in V48: “He [Jesus] saw his disciples straining at the oars”.

Jesus sees.

Jesus knows his disciples circumstances and needs and fears.

Jesus knows what you’re going through.

He knows even better than you do:

He knows the end from the beginning.

He knows what’s in your heart and mind even when you can’t make sense of it.

Jesus sees what no one else sees.

He sees our secret fears.

Psalm 139:

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.

² You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

³ You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

⁴ Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.

⁵ You hem me in--behind and before;

you have laid your hand upon me.

⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

¹¹ If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,"

¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;

the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. ¹⁷

And so it goes on.

Jesus sees and he comes.

V48: “he went out to them, walking on the water.”

Jesus won’t leave his disciples alone.

He’ll come to us in our need.

Jesus said: “I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you” (John 14:18)

“I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28)

God says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Heb 13:5)

The old Sunday school chorus is corny but true:

“With Jesus in the boat you can smile in the storm!”

No one is saying we should pretend everything’s happy if it’s not.

We’re not expected to have a smile on our faces all there time.

There are times for tears even as a Christian, but Jesus is with us even in the worst of times.

Though its tough, we can trust Jesus whatever the storm.

Jesus reassures them (v50): “take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”

When he climbs in to the boat with them the wind dies down (v51) and soon they’re safely landed.

God uses this storm to reveal to the disciples who Jesus is.

It’s far more important that we should know Jesus than that we should have a nice, easy, jolly time.

Of course God wants us to enjoy ourselves, but it matters more that we’re holy than that we’re happy.

God wants to make us like Jesus, not just to make us comfortable.

It’s often in tough times that we realise our need of Jesus.

No one on an aeroplane that’s about to crash is an atheist.

Everybody prays then.

When we realise that we can’t cope on our own we turn to God.

Which is silly of us, of course.

We ought to pray every day.

We should always try to be conscious of God’s presence.

Yet, God uses tough times in our lives to bring us closer to him and reveal more of himself to us.

Tough times are tough, but they can be times of great growth.

What doesn’t kill you can make you stronger.

So who is Jesus, according to this passage?

How does he reveal himself to his disciples in the midst of the storm?

Well, vv48 and 49, Jesus walks on the water.

Pretty amazing!

If you can do that, please see me afterwards.

Here is amazing, supernatural power.

Power, ability, control.

The disciples inability, weakness.

The disciples are straining at the oars and Jesus comes striding over the seas.

Did he stride? Perhaps he just strolled?!

In fact, the Bible specifically talks about God walking on the waters.

Genesis – God created and rules and separates the waters.

Job 9:8 says that God alone treads on the waves of the sea.

Psalm 89:8-9:

“O LORD God Almighty, who is like you?

You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

⁹ You rule over the surging sea;

when its waves mount up, you still them.”

Ps 93:3-4

“The seas have lifted up, O LORD, the seas have lifted up their voice;

the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.

⁴ Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea—

the LORD on high is mighty.”

Isaiah 43:1-3 “But now, this is what the LORD says--he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel:

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. …

³ For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour;”

Psalm 77

The Psalmist crying out to God in the night.

¹³ Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? ¹⁴ You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. ¹⁵ With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Selah ¹⁶ The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed. ¹⁷ The clouds poured down water, the skies resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth. ¹⁸ Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. ¹⁹ Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen. ²⁰ You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Our 1^st reading, Psalm 107.

Those who went on the sea in ships saw the works of the LORD and his wonders in the deep (v24).

The Psalm could almost be a commentary on our Gospel reading:

The storm comes up and the sailors are afraid.

But the LORD brings them out of their distress and stills the storm.

They were glad when the sea grew calm and he guided them to their desired haven.

OT: Only God rules the wind and the waves.

Logical syllogism:

(1)   OT: Only God himself rules the wind and the waves

(2)   Jesus rules the wind and the waves

(3)   Therefore: Jesus is God Himself

Not a ghost (v49) but God.

In verse 50, Jesus says, “it is I” – literally, “I am” – the special covenant name of God, his personal name  – Yahweh / (Jehovah), that he revealed to Moses at the burning bush - Ex 3:14

(cf. Marc not Rector)

V50 – “Do not be afraid” – you would be afraid if you met God!

God is a terrifying person.

Awesome power.

Holy, pure.

When people meet him their always terrified and think they’re going to die, because they’re sinners.

V52 tells us the disciples “had not understood about the loaves [that’s the feeding of the 5000 from last week]; their hearts were hardened.”

You can know a lot about Jesus and hang around with him for years without really understanding and while still having a hard heart.

Can be coming to church for years and years…

If we don’t get it, we’re in good company.

The disciples are pretty slow on the uptake, but Jesus sticks with them.

The disciples come good in the end:

That should encourage us: there’s hope for us all!

What should they have understood about the loaves (v52)?

Jesus refers back to the Feeding of the 5000, which was last week’s passage.

An opportunity to preach last week’s sermon again!

(As we weren’t here / as not many of us were here).

Well, what should the disciples have learnt from the feeding of the 5000?

That Jesus cares – his compassion & generosity.

That Jesus is powerful – his ability.

That Jesus is the New Moses.

Just as Moses gave the people Manna in the wilderness, so Jesus gives them bread in the wilderness.

Jesus will lead them and take care of them.

Like Moses, Jesus is able to lead the people out of slavery bring us safely to the promised land – to heaven and the New Creation.

Jesus is in fact the long-promised Messiah, the Shepherd-King, the one who will save them and put the world to rights.

V52 - If Jesus can feed 5000 men with 5 loaves, it’s not so surprising that Jesus can walk on the water.

Indeed, if Jesus can do all this, he can take care of our lives too.

He knows what’s best.

Clearly, Jesus is the Lord of Creation.

Jesus, it seems, can do whatever he wants.

Jesus is also The Second / Last / Ultimate / Real / True Adam.

In the beginning in Genesis, God put Adam in charge of creation.

Human beings were meant to rule the world under God.

Humanity has messed up ruling the world.

But Jesus perfectly rules the world, in an amazing way.

V56 – An encouragement to bring your needs to Jesus.

Superstition about touching Jesus’ cloak?

There was nothing magical about Jesus cloak.

It was Jesus who could heal, not his wardrobe.

And yet just touch the fringe of Jesus’ cloak and you’d be healed.

Power.

Mercy, compassion, generosity, grace.

Only a touch needed.

Just reach out to Jesus!

It’s not our faith in Jesus that saves us, its Jesus.

The main thing is not the quality or the quantity of our faith, it’s where we put it.

Like the disciples, we may not understand much.

We might be pretty confused about lots of things and have lots of questions: Jesus can cope with that.

We may even feel that from time to time we have hard hearts.

Well, Jesus is able to give us new hearts.

The disciples didn’t understand and had hard hearts, but Jesus didn’t fire them!

Jesus is committed to his disciples.

He’ll come to us in our need.

He won’t necessarily take us round the storm, or even make the storm stop, but we can trust him to bring us through it.

May God renew our trust in his Son. Amen.

* * *

V49 – ghost – gk: phantasma - Phantom

Yah paddle – Talmud – Paul Barnett, Aquilla commentary, p123f

I am and do not be afraid often go together in the Bible – Barnett – e.g.s p124