The Transforming Cross

Romans 12:9-21

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;

Love one another with mutual affection; 

outdo one another in showing honor.

Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.

Contribute to the needs of the saints; 

extend hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

Live in harmony with one another; 

do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; 

do not claim to be wiser than you are.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil, 

but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.

If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, 

live peaceably with all.

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, 

but leave room for the wrath of God; 

for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."

No, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; 

if they are thirsty, 

give them something to drink; 

for by doing this 

you will heap burning coals on their heads."

Do not be overcome by evil, 

but overcome evil with good.

Matthew 16:21-28

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples 

that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering 

at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, 

and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, 

"God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you."

But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! 

You are a stumbling block to me; 

for you are setting your mind not on divine things 

but on human things."

Then Jesus told his disciples, 

"If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves 

and take up their cross and follow me.

For those who want to save their life will lose it, 

and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world 

but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

"For the Son of Man is to come with his angels 

in the glory of his Father, 

and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.

Truly I tell you, there are some standing here 

who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man 

coming in his kingdom."

==========================

When we last left our loving Lord Jesus and his lovingly lost friend Peter, Jesus had rewarded Peter with the new name of “Rock” and the keys to the kingdom. All this because Peter had gotten the Final Jeopardy question correct: When Jesus said - “Who You Say I AM”, Peter replied, “What is, The Messiah, the Son of the Living God?” Way to Go, Peter! Clearly you are speaking Words that come direct from Almighty God. Nicely done.

But now, even though Peter is still feeling pretty good about himself, Jesus changes the sound of this next “Name That Tune” game altogether. When he begins to play, in a minor key, a song that speaks of his coming days, and his need to suffer, and die, and be raised again, Peter decides to make use of the Special Keys he was just given, and remind Jesus that life is now to be played in a major key - that what lies ahead is Easy Street, the Good Life, now that their Messiah will come and Pack Up All Their Cares and Woe. After all, didn’t they expect the Messiah to conquer the oppressors and let the Jews come out on top of the heap? Wasn’t this the turning point for the Jews to win the game, to have unlimited free lives from here on out? 

So Peter confidently pulls Jesus aside to remind him that he’s clearly got it wrong. But wait a minute - not so fast. Where Peter’s prior words had clearly been heaven-sent, Jesus wastes no time defining the source of these words - Get behind me, Satan! For you are a stumbling block to me. I just told you about binding on earth what is bound in heaven, and here you go focusing on human things, not divine.

Wow. Peter and the disciples must have felt like, Wait. What? But before they can even begin to try and figure out what Jesus just said, and more importantly, what he just meant, Jesus begins to explain to them what it means to focus on divine things. To be his disciples, he tells them, they must take up their cross and follow him.

Their cross. He hadn’t even gotten to specifying with them that he was going to be taking up his cross. Our cross, actually. Dying by the cross - well, there was no worse form of torture than that. And he said he was going to die. So are they going to die too? 

Somehow in the midst of all this, they seem to have missed it when he said, “and on the third day I will be raised.” Or maybe they heard it but just couldn’t comprehend. In any case, they find themselves in the middle of a teaching about taking up a cross, and losing their life to find it. In fact, if they try to save their life, they will lose it.

And isn't that what Peter was really trying to do? Keeping Jesus alive is the key, he thinks, to his safety, to the safety of all the followers of Jesus. As long as they can be “in with the in crowd”, they can reap the benefits of following the “right guy.”

Well, none of the Gospels tell us anything about what the disciples had to say in response to this. We can hope that they realized it was time to keep their mouths shut and listen. After all, it appeared from Peter’s experience that whatever they said either came from God or came from Satan. It doesn’t appear that there is anything in between for a disciple of Christ.

The contemporary theologian, Marva Dawn, has written an entire book on the one chapter from Paul’s letter to the Romans that our scripture text was drawn from today - Romans 12. Her book is called “Truly the Community”, and it seeks to reflect how this particular chapter in Romans gives us a view of the kind of community that is offered through our new life in Christ - the glad hope, the cheerfulness, that is ours when we trust the Great Giver of Grace to work through his gifts to us. That gift of cheerfulness is connected in the verse right before our passage, it’s connected to “the compassionate one” - the one who shows mercy.

So our passage for today in Romans could easily be seen as yet another “to-do” list for being a good Christian, a good follower of Jesus. As we read through this list, we could begin to think that this is what it means to take up our cross. It’s a pretty tough list for us to do. In fact, it’s practically inconceivable for any mortal. 

Let’s hear this “to do” list that Sharon read from the New Revised Standard Version translation once more, this time using The Common English Bible translation.

• Love should be shown without pretending. 
• Hate evil, and hold on to what is good. 
• Love each other like the members of your family. 
• Be the best at showing honor to each other. 
• Don’t hesitate to be enthusiastic—be on fire in the Spirit as you serve the Lord! 
• Be happy in your hope, stand your ground when you’re in trouble, and devote yourselves to prayer. 
• Contribute to the needs of God’s people, and welcome strangers into your home. 
• Bless people who harass you—bless and don’t curse them. 
• Be happy with those who are happy, and cry with those who are crying. 
• Consider everyone as equal, and don’t think that you’re better than anyone else. Instead, associate with people who have no status. Don’t think that you’re so smart. 
• Don’t pay back anyone for their evil actions with evil actions, but show respect for what everyone else believes is good. 
• If possible, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people. 
• Don’t try to get revenge for yourselves, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath. It is written, Revenge belongs to me; I will pay it back, says the Lord.
• Instead, If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. By doing this, you will pile burning coals of fire upon his head. [and by the way, this was a good thing for them, not the basis for shame, but a gift of burning coals that they could use to rekindle their fire, or to turn from their ways. You were giving them a way out of their enemy lifestyle.]
• Don’t be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good. 

Well, like I said, setting out to live by this list can surely feel like a cross to bear. We are just not wired this way, are we? And if anyone knows that, it’s Jesus.

But Marva Dawn explains in her book how this second half of chapter 12 of the Romans letter is describing what happens when we live our lives according to the first two verses of chapter 12. Please take a minute to look these up in your pew Bibles.  Chapter 12, verses 1 and 2, from the New Revised Standard Version.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. 

Paul says: Present your bodies as a living sacrifice.

Jesus says: Take up your cross and follow me.

Paul says: Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.

Jesus says: Those who save their lives (by conforming to this world) will lose it, but those who lose their lives for my sake will save it.

The renewed mind - the transformed mind - is able to discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

This is what Jesus told Peter he was doing, in fact, when he proclaimed those Rock-Solid Words - You are the Messiah. 

Jesus said, God gave you those words. You discerned the will of God right there. Way to go, bro!

Taking up our cross to follow Jesus is allowing our minds to be transformed - not settling for minds conformed to this world. And when we do this, we find ourselves rewired - renewed - to live according to this list, this “wonderful life” list, this list of ways the kingdom of heaven is here and now. 

What I love the most about life as a follower of Jesus is the way it turns everything we would typically expect upside down. Following Jesus transforms us, so we can reflect a transformed world. Here and now.

The instruction Paul provides in Chapter 12 is not to do our best to do these things. Rather, Paul tells us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. That’s the instruction. Take up our cross, understand that saving our life will only lose it, so be prepared to give up everything, to be generous with everything God has given us, to sacrifice our life to a kingdom life. When we choose the transformed life over the life conformed to this world, God will use us to live the way this list describes us, and to show the beauty of that transformed life to all he see us living that way. And what sort of wonderful world would that be?

Who We Are and Whose We Are

Exodus 1:8-2:10, Matthew 16:13-20

Today’s Old Testament story happens at the very beginning of the book of Exodus. This is the story of how the people of Israel were freed from, and freed to.  Freed from serving the King of Egypt as his slaves, and freed to worship God, to serve God as slaves of the Kingdom of Heaven. In the book of Exodus, the Lord told Pharaoh, through Moses, his servant, Let my people go, so that they may worship me. Serve me. Be slaves to me. We are not free – we are bound to God.

So Exodus begins by introducing us to this new King of Egypt, who did not know Joseph. Joseph’s death is recorded at the very end of Genesis, so here we are starting into a new era. Not knowing Joseph is code for not treating Israelites kindly, but placing them instead back into slavery and oppression. Controlling them through the use of force.

The King of Egypt used two primary tactics to control the Israelites – hard labor and population control. And so he ordered the midwives to kill all the Hebrew baby boys, and only let the girls live. Apparently he believed the females could not harm him as much as the males could. The midwives, however, Shiphrah and Puah, did not measure up to that assumption. They foil his plan, and they let the Hebrew boys as well as the girls live. Why do they do this? The reason given in our text, is not because they like babies, or because they decide it's more convenient; in fact they are risking their own lives to do what they do. The reason they do this is because they feared God. They feared God over this brutal King, over the laws of the Land. They knew who they were, and whose they were. They served the Lord of Heaven and Earth, and not just when it was easy or convenient. In all things, in all ways, even when it meant defying the laws of the land, even when it could cost them their own lives to do so.

So Shiphrah and Puah violate the law, and they make up a story to cover for their actions. "Hebrew women deliver so fast! We just can't get there in time to kill the boy babies at birth."

And because the midwives fear God, God is pleased with them, and  God gives them families of their own.

Pharaoh is not so pleased. He goes next to the Egyptian people, and orders them to throw every Hebrew boy into the Nile River to drown. And we must presume that this tactic is working, because not long after, a man and a woman from the house of Levi, definitely Hebrews, give birth to a son. And the mother clearly recognizes the risk to his life that her baby boy already faces. But she is not going to give in that easily. So she hides him for three months. Then she sends him down the Nile River, but not to his death. Rather, she makes a basket that is waterproof and strong, and she sends him away, in the hope that she is saving him by letting him go.

Down the river he goes, floating in a basket, while his sister hides and watches to see what happens. And who finds him? Pharaoh's own daughter. Now what was it that her father had commanded everyone to do again? Drown all the Hebrew boys you find. What does she do? She gets a Hebrew woman to nurse him so he will grow and be strong. Not so coincidentally, that woman happens to be the child's own  mother. 

And so the child grows, and his mother brings him back to Pharaoh's daughter who claims him as her son, and names him Moses, the Egyptian word that means "son". So nobody would think he was not her son.

And it is this Moses, of the house of Pharaoh, who becomes the one whom God calls to liberate the Israelites from oppression, and to free them for serving God. Moses "looses" them from the King of Egypt and "binds" them to the King of Heaven. And this mighty act defines Who They Are and Whose They Are.

Fast forward to Jesus and the disciples.

 In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus asks them one day, "tell me, who do the people say that I am?" And they say, well, some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and some say you must be Jeremiah or some other prophet.

But then he looks at them directly, and asks, "but who do you say that I am?"

And Peter speaks up, as he is prone to do, and he says, "you are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God." With these words, he proclaims witness not only to who Jesus is, but Peter also proclaims through these words Whose He Is. He is a follower of this Messiah, this Lord standing in front of him.

And Jesus then identifies him right back:

"You, Simon, Son of Jonah, you proclaim the Word of God, words from the King of Heaven, not your own words. you are Petros, Peter, which means "rock". And this is the rock on which I will build my church.

Does Jesus mean he will build his church on Peter as the rock? Some think so, and that is the basis for the Catholic Church to name a pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who has been given the keys to the kingdom, and the authority to bind and to loose, to permit and to restrict.

But others interpret this rock as being Peter's testimony, his witness, his bold proclamation that Jesus is the Messiah. They read it as this testimony is the rock on which Jesus builds the church. And when binding and loosing is based on that bedrock claim that Jesus is Lord over all, then that binding and loosing that happens on earth lines up with what Heaven would have us do.

The midwives got that. They feared God. They knew who was their True King, and it was not Pharaoh. Fully recognizing Pharaoh's power over their lives, they went ahead and defied him in order to follow the King of Heaven. Bound to God, they restricted Pharaoh's laws from controlling their actions.

But what does Jesus mean when he says, "whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven"?

Binding and loosing were judicial terms at that time, meaning forbid and permit.

But how is Peter to know? How are we to know what to forbid and what to permit?

The midwives knew. They knew the right thing to do was to save those children, even when the law of the land forbade them from doing so. 

Moses mother knew. She knew the right thing to do was to keep her son alive and safe, even though it meant violating Pharaoh's law.

How will we know? The answer to that is based on the answer to this question - Who are we and whose are we? Who do we serve? Who are we bound to, and who are we loosed from? Whose yoke is around our neck? For we are not free. We are servants, slaves to Christ, to the Living Word, to The Lord of Heaven and Earth. The sin we seek to be loosed from is not so much the sin of immorality, but rather it is the sin of not properly using the keys to the kingdom, the sin of turning away when we see others in need,the sin of turning away when children are sent across the border by their mothers to save their lives, the sin of turning away when the laws of this land result in the killing of innocents. We are bound to the King of Heaven, and we are called to love this King and to love one another, not only one another in this congregation, but one another everywhere, as much as we love ourselves. To keep our minds not on human things, but divine things.

And of course we are going to screw this up big time, at least as often as we pull it off. We know this. Even Peter turned right around after this awesome naming by Jesus and he screws it up. In the very next passage in Matthew, as Jesus begins preparing the disciples for his own suffering and death, Peter just cannot accept what he is hearing. Peter pulls Jesus aside and says, "no way can this happen to you!" Now who is Peter bound to when he says this? Jesus replies very sternly to Peter - get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to me. you set your mind on human things, not divine. We are no better able to do this right then Peter was. Only with God's help can we bind on earth what is bound in heaven and loose on earth what is loosed in heaven. 

So the midwives know whose they are. They fear God over the King.. Peter knows whose he is. He serves the Messiah, the son of the living God.

The midwives know how to serve God. Their actions to save the children please God, not the king of Egypt. They focus on divine things, not human.

Peter does not quite know how to serve Jesus, at least some of the time. Some of his actions reflect a focus on human things, not divine.

We face the same kinds of dilemmas today. Laws are made in an attempt to keep the peace. But when they are contrary to God's Commandments to us, we are to remember who we are and whose we are; whom we serve above all powers and authorities. We are children of God, we are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, who has saved us from death. Whom then should we fear? Whom then should we serve? 

May it be our testimony that "Jesus Christ is Lord", that is our abiding rock, that gives us courage to stand up for what is right,  that serves as the foundation we hold onto throughout our lives, as we bind ourselves to Christ who makes all things new.

We Are Family

Genesis 45:1-15

Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, "Send everyone away from me." So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come closer to me." And they came closer. He said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.

For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there--since there are five more years of famine to come--so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.

And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here."

Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.

Matthew 15: 21-28

Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon."

But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."

Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly.

According to the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in the USA, Baptism is the sign and symbol of inclusion in God’s grace and covenant with the Church. As an identifying mark, Baptism signifies

1.     the faithfulness of God,

2.     the washing away of sin,

3.     rebirth,

4.     putting on the fresh garment of Christ,

5.     being sealed by God’s Spirit,

6.     resurrection and illumination in Christ, and

7.     adoption into the covenant family of the Church.

Baptism signifies adoption into the covenant family of the Church.

Being part of a loving family is a beautiful thing.

Families can be wonderful, and loving. People in many families can be counted on to have our backs. They can be the closest relationships we often have in our lives. They can also be the greatest sources of pain and heartbreak.

Some families are dysfunctional beyond belief.

Some people stay in families despite abuse.

Some people disassociate with their families – give up, lose hope.

In our scripture readings today, Joseph and his brothers reunite and reconcile after many years of rocky relations. Joseph was their stepbrother; he was their father’s favorite; he had this terribly annoying “gift” of interpreting dreams; and they were jealous. This is the essence of what led them to try to kill him, many years before the time of our story.

They thought they’d gotten rid of him. Why would he ever want to forgive them, do well by them, save them, for goodness’ sake?

But that is what he did. He welcomed them back when they came, not knowing it was him, begging for help so they would not starve in the famine. He wept with emotion as he revealed himself to them.  He did this all before any of them repented or asked for any forgiveness.

The Canaanite woman who asked Jesus to heal her daughter is another family story. She is desperate, for the love of her daughter, to help her to be healed from the demons that possess her.

When she comes to Jesus, she acknowledges him as her Lord, and she asks for healing.

Jesus says no.

Now there is a side issue here, one that is not easily set aside for another sermon someday. Let’s look briefly at this issue. Why does he say no? And then why does he change his mind?

Why wouldn’t a perfectly divine Jesus know exactly who he was and was not there for, right from the start? Why would he first say one thing, and then modify it?

Some theologians think he may have been making a point to the disciples about the wideness of God’s grace and mercy beyond the children of Israel – getting them to first see it from the narrower, law-based perspective so they could then see him shift it, broaden it to others.

Some think this was a case of Jesus’ humanity showing, reflecting the reality that he was fully human and fully divine – and humans sometimes do misunderstand or get things wrong the first time.

I would suggest that this could be another case where God’s mind is capable of changing and being changed, as hard as that is for us to wrap our own minds around.

Abraham changed God’s mind, when in Genesis, chapter 18, God threatened to destroy Sodom. Looking back at this story, it appears that Abraham raised the question to God that we talked about a few weeks ago, the concern about not pulling out the wheat along with the weeds. Abraham says to God, what if there are fifty righteous people; will you wipe out the city including them? God says, ok, if there’s fifty, I won’t sweep the city away. Abraham says, what about 45? or 40? or 30? or ten?  He talks God down, so that God says, for the sake of ten I will not destroy it. That is not where God started from at the beginning of Abraham’s negotiation.

We hear shades of this as the woman engages with Jesus, negotiates with him, as it were.  The woman was not a Jew, but nevertheless, she sees and speaks of Jesus as Lord. But when he dismisses her and daughter, declares them exempt from his healing and mercy, she speaks back to him, acknowledging him as Lord, but also replying almost as if she were talking to her Brother, reminding him, as it were, of the grace he has revealed to all who have heard his words and believed in him.

Even the dogs eat the crumbs from the table.

She refers to the table, calling to mind, perhaps, for Jesus, the words of Psalm 23. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

She makes it clear she and her daughter will be more than satisfied with the crumbs. The crumbs of your grace and mercy will be sufficient, Lord.

Even as Jesus proclaimed that faith as small as a mustard seed would be sufficient, she knows that a crumb of what Jesus provides can save her daughter.

The woman’s love for her daughter and desperate desire to save her enables her to humble herself before Jesus her Lord, requesting only crumbs, but it also emboldens her to have a conversation with Jesus as if he is her brother (and, of course, he is), reminding him, even explaining to him that his living word, is, actually, for all.

Both these people, Joseph and the Canaanite woman, take bold steps in order to save others in their family. They do this despite past hurt and estrangement, despite being wronged, despite desperation, despite great barriers placed before them. Their ultimate mission and purpose is to save.

Jesus understands that desire. God steps in to help when we try to save one another, to love one another. God desires this type of family love from us for each other.

And who is our family?

Well, of course, our family is our family. But wait – there’s more! When we baptize Lisa, John, and AnnMarie, we claim them and their parents, Veronica and Moses, to be part of this church family, and we promise to do what is needed to raise them in the faith, to help Jesus who saves them.

Through our own baptism, we are all already family, here in this congregation as well as in the worldwide Church of Jesus Christ. When one of us is in trouble, or hurting, or hungry, or alone, we do what is needed to help one another as Jesus saves us, to lift each other up. Because we love one another as family.

Just like Joseph and his brothers, that love transcends the times that we sometimes are hurt by one another. It goes straight into the center of desperate situations like that of the Canaanite woman.

But wait – there’s more! Doesn’t our family extend outside the walls of this church, into our neighborhoods, our communities, across this nation, around the world? God desires all God’s children to be saved, not lost. And we are called to participate in that saving work. We are called to serve with Jesus, who came not to condemn, but to save. Just like Joseph did. Just like the Father welcoming the Prodigal Son. Just like God who eagerly desires for us all to be saved.

We are called not to give up but to persevere. Just like the Canaanite woman. Just like the friends who carried their paralyzed friend across town on a mat and lowered him down right in front of Jesus, so that he could receive a crumb of mercy and healing.

We are called to love one another as family, even when we’ve been hurt by one another, or don’t understand one another, or maybe even don’t like one another.

We must get on with loving one another, here in this community of faith, here at New Life Presbyterian, because there is serving and saving and healing work for us to be doing out in the world. Our attention needs to be out there as much or more than being focused in here.

The world is a mess. Conflicts of all kinds are raging, in our own neighborhoods and towns across America, as well as around the world.  Racial and socioeconomic differences divide us. We are killing one another in our cities out of fear. Many people feel unloved and need the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

We are called to love them, all of them, to be a link for them to the saving grace that we know is available for all as God’s beloved children. That love and grace is sealed in our baptism, the sign that we are adopted by God for all time, no matter what lies ahead.

So – let us go forward and do the beautiful and challenging work of loving one another, seeing one another as one family, showing in everything we do and say that we accept and rejoice in the unity that Christ came to bring for all people.

The Character of Discipleship

Romans 10:5-15

Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that "the person who does these things will live by them." But the righteousness that comes from faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) "or 'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

But what does it say? "The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because 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.

For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, "No one who believes in him will be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? 

As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Matthew 14:22-33

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear.

But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid." Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"

Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"

When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

Last week we spoke about the character of God, or at least a glimpse of God’s character, since the character of God is as limitless as everything else about God. We talked about the generosity of God and the way it turns scarcity into abundance, when it is paired up with our trust.

Today’s passages allow us an opportunity to look at the character of the disciples, and through that lens, at the character of discipleship itself. And what better day to talk about the character of discipleship than this joyful day when we welcome new members into our congregation and install an elder onto our leadership team?

So let’s take a look into these passages and see what new thing God is giving us to see and understand.

Walking on water is not a new thing. Well, at least, it’s not anything you haven’t heard about before. This sounds kind of funny, doesn’t it? I’m guessing nobody knows anybody who walks on water, but it’s an almost common expression, especially when we are trying to describe someone really special.

·      “I didn’t get that job because they were basically looking for someone who could walk on water.”

·      “He wouldn’t be satisfied even if I could walk on water.”

and so on. It’s an analogy we use for being perfect, for being Jesus-like.  But the story here is less about Jesus walking on water and more about Peter deciding he wanted to try it.

This is the first of two important distinctions I’d like to make. Much has been written about Jesus inviting Peter and us to get out of the boat, walk on water, be courageous enough to try something we’ve never thought we could do before. But the way the story goes, it was Peter’s idea first.

Jesus had sent the disciples out in the boat at the end of that busy day, when they had fed the 5000 after a day of healing and teaching, with five loaves and two fishes. He himself went off to find that quiet he was seeking at the beginning of the day. And a storm blew in. For most of that long night the disciples fought to keep control of the boat as the storm raged. And in the early hours of the morning, Jesus came walking to them on the water. Scared them half to death. They all thought he was a ghost.  How glad they must have been to hear Jesus say – “Take heart. It is I” – or a more accurate translation is “I Am” (just as God spoke to Moses) – and “do not be afraid”. Familiar words.

But Peter decides he needs to test Jesus, to be sure it’s him. He uses words very similar to those of Satan when he tested Jesus in the wilderness. “If it is you”…..””command me to come to you on the water.” He assigns a miracle test of sorts to Jesus. And Jesus takes it – and says “come”. Not so much an invitation from Jesus to Peter, is it?

But Jesus says, “Come.”

And so Peter climbs out of the boat – and this is of his own doing – and begins to walk to Jesus. But then he realizes his context – the storm, the swirling sea, the rolling waves, and he looks down, looks away from Jesus, looks at the water, and he becomes afraid, and of course he begins to sink.

In terror he calls out for help, “Save me, Lord!”.

And Jesus reaches out and takes his hand.

And Jesus says – “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” They climb back in the boat, and only then does the storm cease. And the rest of them then worship him, saying “Truly you are the Son of God.”

There is much in this story to teach us about what it means to be a disciple of Christ.

First of all, we can see that as a disciple, we are part of a community. The disciples are together in that little boat, having been sent out by Jesus, and they are doing everything they can, all night long, to keep it upright in the midst of the storm. They acknowledge their fear together as Jesus comes walking up to them on the water and they do not know it is him, and they worship the Lord together as they see not only his power in calming the storm, but also his loving compassion as he guides Peter, first out of the boat, and then back in, to safety. They are part of a community.

Disciples are willing to call on God. Once Jesus has made himself known to them, Peter calls on God’s providence and grace. He lets Jesus know what he thinks he is ready to do, and waits for God’s call.

[It’s interesting to note that this is not the first time Peter does this sort of thing. Up on the mountain at the transfiguration, where Jesus and Moses and Elijah all stood together, shining like the sun, Peter pipes up and says, “Jesus, how about I build three booths for you and Moses and Elijah up on this mountain?” (That time God said no). ]

Peter is courageous to step out in faith if called. He is willing to make suggestions and see what Jesus thinks. And this time, Jesus says, Come.

What we often say at the start of our scripture readings is what’s happening here – Listen for the Word of God to you. Through our prayer and through our scripture readings, guided by the Holy Spirit, we listen for what God is calling us to do. And sometimes we suggest, and then we listen. This, too, is a characteristic of discipleship.

We are aware of our own fear. God knows, we do have fears. Many of them are legitimate or logical; some are not. But we are mortal beings, and we become afraid, even when we are doing the will of God. Sometimes especially when we are doing that.

Peter became afraid along the way – again, it was human nature for him to do so. He recognizes his fear for what it is, and he cries out for help from God.

“Lord, Save Me! “

and when he is afraid – when we are afraid, whenever we are afraid – Jesus reaches out a hand for us to hold onto. “Remember, I am with you always.”  Discipleship means knowing Jesus is always present, and knowing that it’s OK and normal to feel afraid, and that the best way of handling our fear is to acknowledge the presence of Christ who is with us always, and take hold of his hand.

So Peter takes Jesus’ hand, to overcome his fear, and he goes forward in the assurance of Jesus’ presence and protection. And Jesus says to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” We might see this as Jesus gently rebuking Peter for not having enough faith. But if we remember the parable Jesus told about faith as small as a mustard seed being sufficient to grow into a great tree, then we can also hear in Jesus’ words to Peter that even our tiny shreds of faith, little slivers or glimpses of trust that we sometimes feel, sometimes that’s all there is – but that’s enough. No need to doubt. It will be sufficient. God does not turn away from us because our faith is not seen as strong enough. Jesus extends a hand, even to those of us with little faith, and says, have no fear. Do not doubt. I am with you always. Remember. Disciples take their wee bits of faith, and take hold of Jesus’ hand, knowing that Jesus is leading and we are following. Trusting in this.

And finally, and perhaps most importantly, disciples go where Jesus leads. The disciples row out into the lake for the night when Jesus tells them to do so. Peter goes where Jesus is – out into the stormy waters, and back into the boat with the community.

When and where God sends us, as disciples, off we go. Paul writes to the churches in Rome, “The Word is on your lips and in your heart. But how will they know if they do not hear? And How will they hear if it is not proclaimed? And How will they proclaim if they are not sent?

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!

We are all sent. Out of the church, out of the boat, acknowledging our fear, holding onto Jesus as we go where Jesus goes, where the need is great, walking out into the storm, trusting that Jesus holds our hand.

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!

Let us all serve as disciples, as those who are sent, praying for guidance, creating new ideas and listening for God’s call to try them, holding Jesus’ hand to keep going even when we are afraid, knowing our feet are beautiful, whether they get wet or dirty or tired, when they bring the good news to a world that so desperately needs it.