The reading from Matthew 14 which tells the story of Jesus walking across the water is more than an assertion about Jesus capacity to do miracles but is one which symbolises God's commitment to care for the very fabric of the creation.
It
would be easy, looking at the reading at face value, to get caught up in thinking that the story revolves simply
around Jesus doing something pretty fantastic, which he does. Jesus walks across the water and calms the
storm. But as with most of the things
that are recorded in the Bible Matthew is not simply telling us about Jesus
aquatic acrobatic abilities, he his trying to tell us much more and it is those
things that I want to concentrate on today.
First off, I want us to think
about the images of the sea and the storm.
The sea, which we might think of as the waters or the deep have strong
connotations in the Bible. If you were
to think of the sea as ‘the deep’ it might bring to mind images of looking into
dark and stormy waters. What lies below
is unknown, threatening, and maybe even a little chaotic. This is the sea which Jesus is walking on the
deep threatening waters that lie below.
Turning our thoughts to the
very first story in the Bible, in Genesis, we hear that in the beginning when
God created the earth God drew back the waters from the waters. This is highly symbolic language. The waters represent the nothingness of
uncreation. The waters also represent
the chaos which threatens to break through into the order of God’s creation. The story tells us how God made a space
between the waters above and the waters below and that it was in this space,
the ‘in between space’, that God makes all things.
So, in the Old Testament we
are given an image of God drawing back the waters and holding back these
waters, the waters above and the waters below, which threaten to undo the
creation. The Bible goes on to remind us
of the destructive powers of these waters in the great flood of Noah, the
waters wipe the slate clean so things can start again.
Now in Jesus walking on the
waters, over the deep, Jesus demonstrates his power over this forces which
threaten life and creation itself. The
disciples in the boat are exposed to this threat but Jesus is on top of it and
Jesus words “It is I” echo words spoken by God long before “I am who I
am”. Jesus lordship over the creation
and over that which threatens to undo life is affirmed.
To skip ahead to the calming
of the storm, the imagery of the storm is connected with the same threat. The storm is the waters above breaking into
creation: threatening life and limb, threatening to unmake what God has
made. Jesus calming of the storm once
again is an affirmation of Jesus power, God’s power, holding back the threat to
creation and upholding the existence of all things.
The story of Jesus walking
on the water conveys much more potent messages than Jesus can do a cool miracle. There are message about Jesus identity as
divine, there are messages about how God holds back the deep and the waters to
sustain creation and all life.
Yet whilst this power of God
to uphold the creation is present the disciples are still cowering in the
boat. The combination of sea and storm
could be their undoing. Buying in to the
imagery of the story, as Matthew tells it, the predicament of the disciples is
a parable which speaks to all of us in the midst of life.
The deep, the waters, the
storm are around us and even within us.
The waters represent all of those things which confront us with our
mortality and threaten our undoing. What
is the deep for you and for I?
Maybe it is terrorism and the
uncertainty that people feel in our modern world for their safety. Maybe it is the pain of broken relationships,
a rift between husband and wife that has become irreconcilable, or between
parent and child who have become estranged.
Maybe it is the disease within us, slowly unmaking our bodies,
destroying our health, our minds, slowing us down. Maybe it is the despair and hopelessness that
so many people feel. Maybe it is the despair we feel when we see images of war and violence on our screens and in the news. The deep, the waters, the storm, threaten our
existence and like the disciples we might find ourselves hunkering down in the
bottom of the boat.
Yet the promise of the good
news is that all is not lost, for see coming across the waves and through the
storm comes Jesus to bring hope. Here is
another significant image of the story; that it is Jesus who comes to those in
despair at the time of their greatest need. When hope seems to be running out the door and
fear and trembling are all that is left Jesus comes with those words, “Take
heart it is I do not be afraid.” “Do not be afraid.”
Jesus words are words of
healing and of hope for those of us who find ourselves threatened by the stormy
seas of life. In the boat the disciple
Peter wants confirmation of Jesus identity and sets out to test his faith. Jesus’ beckons Peter out on to the waters and
we see that Peter at first focussed on Jesus is able to walk on the waters
towards Jesus. But then seeing the
threat around him begins to sink, he loses focus, and as Jesus indicates his
faithlessness betrays him. But even in
this moment of failure Peter is able to look and cry out “Lord save me” and
Jesus immediately reached out his hand and catches him.
There is an immediacy in
Jesus response to Peter’s need that gives us hope and here we might catch the
overtones of what Paul wrote to the Romans, “everyone who calls on the name of
the Lord will be saved.”
This is a promise of healing
and hope to us all. It is a promise that is born out in Matthew’s retelling of
the story when we move from Jesus disembarking from the boat and people flocking
to him to be healed. Reaching out and
simply touching the hem of his garment brings healing to people’s lives. When the Lord comes near lives are changed.
Now the mystery of life and of
faith tells us that there are times when we like Peter reach out and are healed,
but we also know that we all die, that in our crying to Jesus “save me” we
still experience the depths of pain that life can bring. But as we also know the Scriptures reassures
us that death is not the final word; that the deep and the waters, will not
overcome. Jesus in his death gives
himself over to the waters and the deep; he surrenders to the death which is
the very antithesis of God and life. Our
greatest hope is found in knowing that Jesus rises from the grave and defeats
death to walk over the waters once again.
On this day remember the promises of God to sustain life and not let the
creation be destroyed. Remember that
those who call upon the Lord will be saved. Remember that Jesus brings healing and hope to peoples lives
now. Remember that Jesus has
travelled the paths of the dead to return again as our hope and our salvation. The deep of uncreation has been defeated: life goes on!
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ReplyDeletePrecious Lord, take my hand
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