Stepping Out… Into the Storm

When I was a member of the Leadership Stephenville Class of 2006, the first class day that we spent together was the day we spent on the Ropes Course at Tarleton State University.  It was not my favorite day and yet it was a day that I will never forget, for it was a day when we were challenged to confront our fears and to learn to trust our classmates, who were... at that point… a group of strangers.   What was my nemesis?  My nemesis was a 45-foot tall telephone pole.  When they told me that I was to climb to the top of the pole, stand up on top of it, and then jump off of it for no compelling reason except to say that I had done it, I knew that I was in trouble.  As the first person in our class scrabbled up the pole, I could feel the icy grip of fear grab my ankles.  By the time the third person had completed the task, that fear had crawled up my whole body and grabbed my throat.  I knew that if I did not go soon, I would be paralyzed by it and would not be able to do anything.  Before I could change my mind, I opened my mouth and said I would go next.

I wish that I could tell you that I remember that experience.  I don’t.  Somehow, I climbed that pole.  Somehow, I managed to put the palms of my hands on the top of the pole and push up enough to get one foot on top of the pole – my knee almost touching my chin. Somehow, I let go of the pole and, without any assistance, managed to stand up straight on top of that pole.  Somehow, I then convinced myself to jump off of the pole and grab the trapeze that was hanging just out of reach.  They tell me I grabbed it, but I could not hold on and I fell from the trapeze, caught only by the safety harness that was held by three of my classmates.  To this day, I do not remember any of it, but there are photographs of what I did and fifteen other people in this town who will swear that I did it.  I am amazed by the power of the brain to block memories of times and events that are too fearful for us to recall.  I am amazed at the power of fifteen pairs of eyes to compel me to do something I would not do on my own.  And I am very happy that there is a record of my accomplishment… for I can tell you, that I will never, ever do it again.

 The disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee when the winds came up and pushed them away from the shore.  It was not their first time in a boat, nor, I’m sure, was it their first time to battle the winds on the sea.  At the very least, the fishermen had been there before… but some of them were not fishermen.  This time, the winds were strong enough to push them out to sea.  Jesus sent them out in the boat alone.  Why had he not gone with them?   Remember that Jesus had just learned that his cousin John had been killed by the authorities.  Remember that he had tried to get away to a quiet place, but the crowds followed him.  This time, after he fed the crowd and healed their sick, he sent the disciples away while he stayed behind… and then he went up on a mountain to pray alone.  Perhaps, from his vantage point on the mountain, he saw the troubled water and knew that the disciples would be afraid.  Perhaps, it was a sense of responsibility for them that caused him to leave his place of solitude and seek them out.  They could not come to shore as the wind was against them, so he went to them… walking on the water.  For some reason, the sight of him walking on the water caused even greater fear among the disciples.  Did they think it was just a vision that would fade… like a mirage of water in the desert that vanishes just out of reach?  Were they afraid that he would be swept away in the storm and leave them leaderless?  Or was the sight of this supernatural event, coupled with the power of the wind and the waves, simply too much for them to comprehend?

I can see the other disciples turning to Peter and telling him to do something.  I can feel eleven pairs of eyes compelling Peter to speak.  Fifteen pairs of eyes were enough of an incentive for me to do something that I believed was insane.  Eleven pairs of eyes might have been enough to push Peter to call out to this apparition:  “Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you.”  Unfortunately, the apparition did exactly as he requested and then Peter had no choice… he had to go.  Eleven pairs of eyes… He had to get out of the boat, despite his fears, and go. So, he did and, amazingly, it worked… or it did until he took his eyes off of Jesus and saw the power of the wind and the height of the waves.  Then, in fear, he began sinking… falling down into the swirling waters.  In terror, he called out to the only one he knows can save him… Jesus Christ… and Jesus lifted him up and restored him to safety, calming the storm.

What is it that we are supposed to learn from this story… besides the fact that Jesus, the Son of God, is capable of supernatural accomplishments?   Of the four gospels, this is the only version of the story that includes Peter’s adventure.  That takes the focus off of Jesus and moves it to Peter and tell us a little about him… and a lot about us.  What did Peter do… and what can we learn from his walk on the waves?   And we begin that exploration by asking what is it that we fear?   And what can we trust that God will provide?

I believe there are four things that we need to examine.  The first is this:  When Jesus sends us off to do a task, we are to go, but we should not assume the sea will always be calm.  In every significant undertaking, there will be rough water.  It will not always be smooth sailing.  Why do we assume, when the wind and the waves kick up, that we are on the wrong path… that the job we are doing was not ordained by God?   Rough water is not a sign that God did not give us the task… they are part and parcel of the path we tread.  Deitrich Bonhoeffer was martyred for standing up to Hitler and declaring that the church was the church of Jesus Christ not an arm of the German state.  His struggle and martyrdom was not a signal that he stood in opposition to God, but that he did not live in a perfect world.  We should not anticipate that the journey God calls us to will be easy.  In the struggle, we find ourselves and, in our weakness, God’s glory is revealed.

Second, when the wind blows and the waves push us far from shore, it does not mean that we have been abandoned by our Lord and Savior.  Just because we cannot see Jesus in the boat does not mean that God is not with us… or that God has somehow abdicated all responsibility for us. Our God has promised to be with us always… and God has never forsaken that promise even though we have turned our backs on God… or revealed our lack of faith in so many ways.  Remember the story of Elijah who defeated the 450 prophets of Baal.  After that incredible victory, he ran into the wilderness because he thought he was all alone and he was afraid of Queen Jezebel.  When confronted by God for his cowardice, he defended himself by claiming he was the only one left who was faithful to God.  No, God told him.  There were seven thousand others and, no matter where we go, the Psalmist tells us in Psalm 139, God is always there… even in hell itself.   The Apostle Paul was convinced that nothing could ever separate us from God.

Thirdly, when the storms of life are at their height and Jesus commands us to step away from the last remaining place of safety into the brunt of the wind, we must keep our eyes on him and not on the wind and the waves.  Our faith can sustain us in all that life throws our way, if our faith in him never falters.  How many times in the Bible do we read the words, “Do not be afraid” or “Fear not?”  The scriptures make this announcement over and over again.  In fact, they are usually the first words out of angel’s mouths when they encounter a human being.  Abraham, Moses, Mary, Joseph, shepherds tending their flocks, Paul sitting in a jail cell, the women looking for Christ’s body at Easter, and now the disciples struggling in a boat against the wind and waves… they all hear these words.  In all, these words occur almost 100 times in the scriptures.  So, Jesus tells Peter and, though this story, tells us, “Do not be afraid.”  Focus your eyes upon him and let the winds blow.

Finally, even when our courage fails… even when we fall prey to the storms and, in despair, are overwhelmed by the waves, our Savior is always there to raise us up again.  The Apostle Paul tells us in the passage that Denise read from Romans today, “if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Fear comes in many forms, private and public.  It knows no ideological boundaries and none of us are ever completely free of it in making decisions in life.  Releasing those fears… giving them to the winds… often feels like it is too great a challenge for us… like it is almost as frightening as stepping out of our safe boats and walking across the stormy sea.  Yet that is what Jesus invites us to do… to trust in him and give to the winds our fears.    We all struggle with our fears, but we are not alone.  Our Lord is always nearby and knows all our fears.  The tasks he gives will always have challenges, but through all those challenges, he will support and sustain us.  It is he who sends us out into the winds and waves.  He is the one who commands us to come… even in the midst of the storm.  If our Lord sends us out… or commands us to come in seemingly impossible circumstances… we can believe that he will be there to sustain us in all the rough water we encounter and that, if we ever should sink beneath the waves, he will raise us up again.  So, let us step out… into the storm… and give to the winds our fears!

Matthew 14:22-33