Eleventh
Sunday after Pentecost. August 13, 2023.
August
13, 2023
Rev. Neli Miranda
For
the Israelites, the sea was the embodiment of chaos, and in the Bible, it is
often used as a metaphor for chaos and threat. On the other hand, the Bible
also tells us of God’s powerful rule over the elements of chaos. In the story of Exodus, for instance, God’s power divided
the sea for the Israelites who were escaping from the power of Pharaoh and his army.
The psalmist also proclaims, “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders the Lord, over mighty waters” (29,3).
Today’s Gospel
tells us of Jesus’ disciples facing a storm in the middle of the Sea of Galilee
and experiencing Jesus’ power over the turbulent waters. To understand what was
going on with the disciples, we must read this passage in the context of the
preceding verses. First, Herod had executed John the Baptist and his disciples had
taken his body and buried it; then, they went and told Jesus. Matthew does not reveal
an explicit response from Jesus nor how his disciples reacted to this shocking
news, but Matthew does say that “when Jesus heard this, he
withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself” (14,13). Surely,
Jesus was experiencing great grief and needed time to mourn the loss of his
cousin and master, the great prophet of Israel! The disciples may have been experiencing
grief, too, as some of them had been John’s disciples before becoming Jesus’
disciples. On the other hand, this event could have raised fear among them
because Herod’s wicked power loomed over them.
Matthew also says that while Jesus was trying to mourn his loss,
great crowds were following him on foot from different towns. They too had
heard about John’s execution and maybe they were looking for answers. When
Jesus sees the crowds, he responds with compassion and not only cures the sick but
also feeds them despite the disciples’ resistance and request to send the crowds
away to buy food for themselves. But Jesus says to the disciples, “They need
not go away; you give them something to eat.” Mathew adds that those,
“…who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children” (14,16-21).
What a huge, needy crowd was following Jesus! Were the disciples not
willing to offer them assistance?
While Jesus dismisses the crowd, he made, (forced) his
disciples get into a boat and go on ahead to the other side. Why did Jesus
force his disciples to get into the boat? Were the disciples so tired and
overwhelmed that their call to fulfill their mission was weakened? At this
point, they may have been so overwhelmed by the huge crowds and at risk of
suffering John the Baptist’s fate. Perhaps they need a time to face the
turbulent waters, the chaos that arises within them.
While Jesus goes up the
mountain to pray, the disciples sail to the other side and when evening comes,
they have not reached the other side but face a storm in the middle of the
lake. They are experiencing their deepest fears. Matthew says that “… the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the
wind was against them.” (14,24). Through this
scene, Matthew depicts the chaos Jesus’ disciples were experiencing: sadness,
grief, a death threat, fear, frustration, and the “pressure” of the needy
crowds following Jesus.
While the disciples battle in the midst of chaos,
Jesus approaches them by walking on the waters, but they are not ready for this
because they still do not realize who Jesus is, even though they have spent a
long time with him. They are terrified and call out, “It is a ghost!” Matthew also adds that “… they cried out [squawked]
in fear”. They panic and cannot recognize the One who rules over the
waters. Immediately, Jesus tells them, “Take heart, it is I; do not
be afraid” (14,26-27). Note Jesus
does not say “It is me” but says “It is I”. The Greek here is ego
eimi which means “I am”. These are the same words that in Hebrew refer to
God in the Old Testament, “I am who I am”, The Eternal (Exodus
3,14). In the midst of chaos Jesus
reveals his divinity!
Peter wants to walk on the water, and he is bold to say, “Lord,
if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Jesus invites him to
come, and Peter leaving behind his fellows, gets out of the boat and starts to
walk on the water, but then he sees the power of the storm and begins to sink.
He cries out [squawks] saying, “Lord save me!” Jesus saves him and gives
him a gentle rebuke, “You of little faith…” If Peter’s
faith had been stronger, could he have walked on the water? If our faith were
stronger, could we overcome all our problems in spectacular ways? If Peter had
had stronger faith, he would have stayed on the boat and believed Jesus’ words,
“Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid” (14,28-31).
Dear sisters and brothers, Jesus does not want us to walk on the
water, but he does want us to believe, to be strong in our faith! And, to quote
the theologian Eugene Boring,
“Faith is not being able to walk on the water – only God does that
– but daring to believe, in the face of all the “evidence”, that God is with us
in the boat, made real in the community of faith as it makes its way through
the storm, battered by the waves” (2009, p. 66).
Without doubt, today we face the global chaos as well as our
internal chaos. Are we ready to cross to the other side and face our deepest
fears? Are we ready to experience God’s presence in the midst of chaos? If we
are in the midst of chaos let us stay confidently in the boat and listen to Jesus
saying, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”Amen.
Boring, E. (2009). The People´s
New Testament commentary. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press.
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