Wandering Heart: Rescue me from Danger
We continue our series this morning which follows Peter’s life of faith as he journeyed with Jesus. And so, we are also discovering what parallels we might find in our own lives as we journey with Jesus through this Lenten season. You may notice, if you are familiar with the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Many Blessings,” that each week, the theme “Wandering Heart” is from that hymn. The phrases paired with that overall theme each week are also from that hymn. Last week it was “Jesus sought me,” as in “Jesus sought me when a stranger.” This week, as you can see in the worship folder, it is “Rescue me from danger,” which is part of that same verse. The series creators noticed how the hymn fit Peter’s experiences so well and decided they would use the phrases as themes for each week. So this week we see how Jesus rescues Peter from danger.
Reading from the Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33 (NLT)
22 Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home.23 After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.
24 Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. 25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”
27 But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!”
28 Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”
29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said.
So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”
32 When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.
Silence
Listen to the voice of the Spirit speaking to the Church. Thanks be to God.
Message
We find ourselves in another story about the disciples in a boat today. It’s a familiar story – one many of us have heard multiple times over the years – and the focus always seems to be how Peter steps out in faith to walk on the water but loses that same faith in Jesus and starts to sink when he sees the stormy sea all around him.
Peter does sink when he takes his eyes off Jesus, but maybe that isn’t the message we should take away from this text.
I listened to a message from Nadia Bolz-Weber on this same passage of scripture when I was preparing my sermon, and I thought really seriously about just letting you listen to that sermon. I particularly liked what she said about Peter stepping out of the boat to walk on the water to Jesus:
…that day on the lake, when the disciples were in a storm and they saw Jesus walking toward them…Not one person asked Peter to step out of the boat and walk on water like Jesus was doing. His fellow disciples didn’t put him up to it. Jesus didn’t come up with the idea as a way to test Peter’s faith. Peter made that up his own damn self. So you know what that was? Optional. (https://thecorners.substack.com/p/the-case-against-wwjd-bracelets)
Nadia points out that Peter – and I can so identify with this – when given the option to do things the hard way or the simple way, Peter thinks the best way is the hard way. Peter apparently believes that because it is the harder way, it must be the better way. He could have stayed in the boat. He could have simply taken courage, as Jesus had said they should do, and believed him when Jesus said he was there.
How often do we do that? Take the harder way because we think it’s better? Decide to rely on ourselves instead of asking for help because we don’t want to put someone else out? Think that always being the responsible one is better than sharing the load? Think that living up to everyone else’s expectations – or what we think is everyone else’s expectations – rather than simply being our authentic selves is best?
How often do we end up in need of rescue because we end up in over our heads?
Really, it was no wonder Peter started sinking. Why did he think he could do what Jesus was doing? It was pretty miraculous that he could walk on the water even a little bit. And it was probably a good thing that he did sink. Otherwise, he might have started believing that he didn’t need Jesus, that he could just rely on his own self, be his own savior, and, somehow, I don’t think that would have been a good thing. As Nadia also pointed out, “Faith isn’t you doing the impossible – it’s remembering that God can and has and will again do the impossible. And to have faith is to know that God is God and we don’t have to be.” (https://thecorners.substack.com/p/the-case-against-wwjd-bracelets)
There’s an essential element in this story that we need to pay attention to. Peter is sinking when he realizes he’s in the middle of a storm and it’s dark and maybe he can’t even see Jesus anymore. But he does have the presence of mind to call out, “Jesus, save me!” Whether he can see him or not, he’s aware Jesus is there. And not only that, in the midst of his terror, his fear of being swallowed up by the storm and the raging water, he knows that his only hope is Jesus.
Jesus asks him, “Why did you doubt me?” Perhaps Jesus wasn’t asking Peter why his lack of faith let him start sinking into the water. Perhaps Jesus was asking Peter why he doubted it was Jesus who was there in the first place, that it was Jesus who had told them to take courage. After all, Peter had stepped out in faith and he had trusted Jesus to save him when he started sinking. What Peter and the rest of the disciples hadn’t done was trust that it was Jesus who was coming to them in the midst of the storm.
Perhaps the lesson we need to learn from this story is that Jesus will always be there in the storms of life and that all we need to do is call out to him, and he will reach down his hand to pull us out of the water that’s closing over our heads.
I suspect, though, that learning that Jesus is always with us, trusting that he is always near, is one of those lessons that we have to learn over and over. And remembering to ask for help is the other lesson we might have difficulty with.
When our group met this last week to reflect on the devotional materials for this Sunday, we talked about how none of us like to ask for help. To do that, we would have to admit our vulnerability. We don’t want to put people out – we assume that they wouldn’t want to help us.
One of our group talked about an experience she had had that week. A young man, seeing her light on late at night, had knocked on her door. When she answered, he told her he was trying to get to Fulton, but he had been walking for a long time and was exhausted and needed to find a ride. He was hoping she could help. Understandably, she didn’t feel she could give him that ride, but she did call the sheriff’s department who were able to help him. She lamented that she hadn’t done enough, thought of things she could have done. As I reflected on this story, it struck me how much it must have taken for that young man to approach her house, knowing it was likely that whoever answered might be fearful, that whoever was there might open the door and tell him to go away or, even worse, have a gun in their hands ready to shoot. And yet he took a chance and found a person willing to help, willing to call for someone to meet the need when she didn’t feel she could do what he asked herself.
The writer of the commentary on the scriptures for this series is the cofounder of a nonprofit in Atlanta, Love Beyond Walls, an organization that mobilize others to join them in moving past the walls that divide people to take love to people in need in creative ways. Dr. Terence Lester tells the story of a man named Mark who was found digging through their dumpster. Mark told Dr. Lester, “I’m cold, and I haven’t eaten in days. I was hoping to find something to eat.” Mark held a business degree and had owned his own home. He was utterly hopeless, contemplating suicide. He added that he was crying out to God. Dr. Lester said, “We offered him shelter and support. God used Mark’s courage to lift him. Mark became one of our most dedicated volunteers at Love Beyond Walls, and over time, emerged from homelessness. We even facilitated a reconnection with his children.” [from the sermon planning guide for “Wandering Heart” from A Sanctified Art]
I watched a video of Mark talking about the help he received. In it he said, “You need help from others to get out of homelessness, because you can’t just do it by yourself. It’s going to take helping hands along the way.” Mark’s advice is what all of us need to hear. Whatever the storm is in which we find ourselves, we can’t just get out of it on our own. We’re going to need help. We’re going to need to call out to God for help. We’re going to need to reach out to others and to take the hand that is offered. And sometimes we might even get to be the hand that offers.
The end of Nadia’s sermon went like this:
[Every time] we have the faith it takes to just call out Lord save us. Every time we cry out for help, The Lord reaches out his hand and catches us. There’s not some kind of deductible of self-reliance you have to meet before your spiritual benefits kick in. You can be downright wasteful with your prayers for help.
Because God never tires of pulling us out of the graves we dig ourselves. Never tires of being our help and our salvation. Never tires of walking toward us in a storm.
Pray with me.
God who is always present with us, help us to remember that when we find ourselves in the storms of life, as well as when life is calm. Help us to remember to turn to you, to ask for help when we sense we’re about to have the water close over us. Help us to reach out to others when life is calm enough for us to hear them calling for help as well. We pray this in the name of Jesus, who walks on water and who saves us every time we call to him for help. Amen.
An Invitation to Be Rescued
Lift Off by by Nicolette Penaranda
Inspired by Matthew 14:22-23
Acrylic, ink, paper collage, and mixed media on canvas
The art for this week is one of my favorites of the series. I love the colors. I love all the symbols. Here is some of what the artist, Nicolette Pe.aranda, says about the symbols:
Inside the wind tunnel in this piece, we see the West African symbol, Adinkrahene, symbolizing leadership and charisma. Peter embodies all of that when he follows Jesus onto the water. But the bottom of his foot holds the Mako. Mako reminds us that not all peppers grow the same. As charismatic and eager to impress Jesus as Peter is, he does not necessarily embody the same level of development as Jesus. The hand of Jesus reaches through the image of Asase Ye Duru, reminding us that the earth has weight. Jesus, the divine, is greater than the limitations of the flesh, the fears we carry like the uncertainty of the water. What we also see around the hand of Christ is Nyame Dua, the sacred stump symbolizing God’s presence and protection. The ever-present God protected Peter from drowning. All of this storytelling is set inside the symbol of Mmusuyidee, signifying prosperity and sanctity. We are invited to maintain a hopeful outlook and persevere.
Here’s a link to more about these symbols: https://www.adinkrasymbols.org
For now, though, take a deep breath in and let it out. Breathe in… breathe out. Settle yourself in your chair and gaze on the image above. Look for the symbols in the image. Immerse yourself in the story. Feel the waves and the wind…Sense the darkness…Imagine the terror…Can you feel the water?...Do you get the sense of feeling you are no longer in control?...Imagine calling out for Jesus to save you… Do you feel his hand? …Do you feel him pulling you from the water? …What are you thinking? …When have you felt like this before?... What are you feeling now?
Write your reflections in your journal.