Pentecost 9: Shock and Awe

1 Kings 19:9-18

Psalm 85:8-13

Romans 10:5-15

Matthew 14:22-33

Every once and awhile we need to remind ourselves of the sheer majesty and overwhelming power of God.  SHEER SILENCE.  SOMEONE WHO CAN WALK ON WATER AND CALM STORMS. 

This doesn’t take away from the love, mercy, grace, and comfort of God. If anything, it ENHANCES it.  The fact that the God who created us and all that exists and whose very presence is too much for us chose to become a tiny baby and then a person…wow!

First Lesson: 1 Kings 19:9-18

Challenges:

Sometimes I have heard preachers wax eloquent on the fact that God comes in the sound of sheer silence and not in the great wind or earthquake or fire. This is taken to mean that God might be soft and gentle and warm and loving. They like to forget that the voice that comes in the silence says some things that are very much NOT soft, gentle, warm and loving. “Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill.” This sounds like it should be coming from a Martin Scorsese film rather than a spiritual retreat weekend.

Now don’t get me wrong, I do believe God is loving and I do believe that we can find joy and comfort in God, but I don’t think we should just bend the text to be something that it is not. 

Opportunities:

To add what I said above, I imagine that the sound of SHEER SILENCE would be just as overpowering as the other things. I believe that the sound of sheer silence was not meant to be in contrast to the other things, but a continuation of the power of God. Can you really envision SHEER SILENCE?  There is apparently a chamber at the Orfield Laboratories in South Minneapolis that is 99.9 sound absorbent.  The longest anyone has ever been able to say in this room is 45 minutes: scientist believe that if you stay in their too long you will start to hallucinate.  SHEER SILENCE would be awe-inspiring. It cause Elijah to wrap his face in his mantle.”

Good News:

We are Jesus-People. We are Christ-followers.  Sometimes people see Jesus as some “hippy-like-peace-and-love-guy” with no real power.  Many like the sayings of Jesus but when push comes to shove, they dispense with them because they seem weak.  As a Christ-follower who believes that Jesus is the Son of God and “in the form of God” who also loves me and gave his life for me and justifies me…I hear this story and I know that the God who is so awesome and powerful and gigantic has decided to treat us in a merciful way. This is huge.

The Psalm: Psalm 85:8-13

Challenges:

This psalm appears to be very much centered in the particular land of Israel/Judah.  How does this transfer to our own time, or other lands. Sometimes I’ve heard people say, “Well, that applied to Israel and not to us…” When God is telling them to do something we don’t want to do. At other times God will tell the people of Israel to do something that we really want to have happen and the same people will say, “See, God told them to do this and it applies to us too!” I’m not saying this is particularly wrong: we all have to discern what applies in a particular situation. The issue comes when we are unwilling to see that we all (liberal, conservative, etc.) do this. We also have to ask, do you do it guided by the Holy Spirit or is it just according to what WE want?

Opportunities:

You might hear this psalm and sentences like “Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land,” and you will think to yourself “Wow, that’s very exclusive and works-oriented.” Fair enough. But how about this? Salvation is at hand, the question is who will really want it? Or think it’s worthwhile? Or something that we really need?  Even Martin Luther (in all of his “bound-will” talk) admitted that we are capable of resisting the Holy Spirit. If we weren’t then God obviously really wants people on the Soccer Fields on Sunday Morning and giving up on Jesus when they get older.

And also this: steadfast love, faithfulness, righteousness, and peace are personified here.  It reminds me of the superhero cartoons I occasionally watched as a kid where certain attributes were personified in a particular superhero. You can have some fun describing what these things would look like if they were personified.

Good News:

“The LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield it’s increase.” God’s Kingdom, God’s way, God’s reality is there…as a matter of fact it is coming…whether we want it to or not…can we get on board this reality?  I certainly hope and pray so!

Second Lesson: Romans 10: 5-15

  

Challenges:

Okay, if you are a mainline liberal Protestant pastor (and let’s face it, you probably are since you are reading this blog) it will be extremely tempting to bend over backwards showing how this text doesn’t REALLY support a fundamentalist, evangelical look at evangelism.  Okay, it might make you feel better to give this message, but do we really want to be defined by who we are not?  Is that life changing? Inspiring? Transformational? Maybe to a select few, but certainly not all of us.

Don’t turn your pulpit into a mainline liberal Protestant soapbox. Not only is it counter-productive, it’s also damaging to the Body of Christ.

Opportunities:

When Peter was sinking into the waves he screams, “Lord, save me!” That would be confessing that Jesus is Lord.  Has there been a situation in your life when you have had a similar experience?

Could this be a chance to talk about sharing the faith with the people around you?  Maybe you could talk about how you don’t necessarily have to convince someone that they need to change, you can simply talk about the difference that Christ makes in your life and they’ll want to get in on what you have as well.   

Good News:

This section is called “Good News” and Paul’s words here are talking about actual, literal, “news that is good to hear.”  It’s news that is so good, you even love the smelly, dirty feet of the person who brought it to you.  When was the last time you received amazingly good news?

I live in the Toledo area and over the weekend the entire city did not have potable water running through its pipes. You might have noticed this in the news.  I was on vacation at the time (and we lived just on the other side of the county line and thus were not effected), but many people we knew were.  I noticed it first via Facebook and I watched as countless people posted news-stories about the Algae-Bloom and what people were supposed to do to keep safe.  When the ban on the water was finally lifted those messages went up too. What if hearing the good news of Jesus could be like hearing that the water was once again safe to drink?

There are stories about what it was like to be in Occupied Europe during WWII when people listened to the BBC, waiting to hear that the Allied invasion had begun.  What must it have felt like to finally get the word that the Allies had landed in Normandy?  Do we hear the Good News in a similar way?

Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33

Challenges:

It has often been said that this story was meant to describe the early church’s situation after Jesus has ascended into heaven: there they are rocked and bashed by the ‘storms’ around them and they don’t know what they will do.  And then Jesus comes to them and they feel his presence and are comforted. That’s great, it really is. The problem comes from the fact that I have heard people act like that is ALL this story is: just a metaphor or analogy and that it probably didn’t really happen. This is problematic on many different fronts.  First of all, I will say that if you get up and preach this as a metaphor or analogy alone, why should that grab the attention of the people listening? We pastors love metaphor, analogy, stories that speak to “greater truth” and all that, but I think that the people listening will hear a pastor say or insinuate that “this didn’t REALLY happen” and completely lose interest.  Does this story describe the early church…and us today? OF COURSE! YES! VERILY SO! But that doesn’t mean it’s just a story that the author of Matthew developed out of nowhere.

Also, and this is especially important if you are reading the Gospel lesson yourself, the tone in which Jesus says “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” is critical.  People interact with God in a way that reflects their view of God. If the tone of Jesus is annoyed, frustrated, or anything like that, people will see God in that way.  Now Jesus does get upset and angry at times (and it actually says this in the text) but here we don’t get an idea of his tone.  Think carefully about how you would like to say this line of dialogue: it will make a difference.

And one other thing: on a regular drive of mine I pass by a small country church that has a sign which says “OUR LIFE GUARD WALKS ON WATER.” Clever right? Or very, very cheesy.  But it creates a very problematic situation. Why doesn’t Jesus lift everyone who is falling beneath the waves?  Let’s face it, some dedicated and faithful Christ-followers have been lost at sea.

Opportunities:

The opportunities for this lesson are practically endless.  Peter’s part in this story is very compelling. You could do a whole sermon that played on Peter’s name: Peter, or “Rock.”  On one level he is very much “Rock-Like” he is the one disciple who is steady enough to call out to Jesus as his master walks on the waves.  It could be a ghost, right?  And let’s not forget that Peter ACTUALLY DOES WALK ON WATER if even for a few steps. Let’s not lose sight of this: HE ACTUALLY DOES IT! That’s huge! It’s easy to be down on Peter (and he quite often deserves it) but he’s actually walking on water.  Then, of course, Peter lives up (or down) to the other attributes of his name.  After he notices the wind and the waves he certain imitates what a rock would do in this situation!

One of my favorite old hymn tunes is Melita and any chance I get for the congregation to sing, “On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand,” or “Eternal Father, Strong to Save,” I go for it.  It’s awesome music.  You can’t use it in worship, but if you can hear a Navy Choir sing a version of it, it’s very good.

And also, while I made a big deal about how this story is MORE than a metaphor or analogy, it certainly does describe our situation as the church today (and pretty much everyday). We’re in a boat together and there’s a storm.

Good News:

Like the opportunities, there are plenty of examples of good news here.  Above all I find good news in one particular word: IMMEDIATELY.  When Peter is sinking and cries out to Jesus it says “JESUS IMMEDIATELY REACHED OUT HIS HAND AND CAUGHT HIM.” He doesn’t let him sputter for awhile, he doesn’t seem to do it grudgingly, he reaches out IMMEDIATELY.  To me, this says something about who Jesus is. Just a little while ago Jesus was trying to get off by himself, only to be confronted with crowds that followed him everywhere. At that point he looks on them with compassion.  Now, he IMMEDIATELY reaches out to lift up Peter.  When I hear about what kind of person Jesus is, I feel excited, comforted and inspired all at once. Jesus is worth following.