Matthew 14: 22-33
How often have you and I heard people
say “If I only had enough faith.” I hear it when people are sick,
or a relationship fails. I hear it when people are faced with difficult
decisions, or when a business venture goes wrong. A young woman
lies in a hospital, badly injured from an accident that occurred after
a party with friends. The parent laments the situation, and says "If
only my faith was stronger."
It’s a sense that all humanity has at
some time or another. And thus, because it is ageless and
universal, it is a subject that is addressed in the Bible. Here
are many stories extolling the virtues of a strong faith, and others
illustrating the results of strong faith. Often, little faith is
singled out as a weakness.
Today, the international lectionary
has given us two stories about faith- one from the Old Testament and
the other from the New. The Old Testament story is about Joseph, and
the New Testament text is about Jesus walking on the water.
First, let’s look at the Joseph story.
There is a lot of history bound up in this story; this, I believe,
makes it more understandable. Joseph is one of 12 brothers- in that
culture, daughters were seldom mentioned. The father of Joseph is
Jacob- an unlikely person to be a hero, since it was through conniving
with his mother Rebecca that Jacob received the blessing of Isaac.
Usually, the eldest son received the blessing of the father to carry on
the family tradition. In this case, poor old Isaac, now blind, was
conned into thinking that Jacob was Esau. So, he gave Jacob the
blessing. Esau, the eldest son, was a hunter and a worker in the
fields, but Jacob was more of a home boy, favoured by his mother who
aided him in the deceit. You can read this story, in Genesis 27 to
about chapter 45 or 46.
Not surprisingly, this action made
Esau very angry. So Jacob left home and fled. During his flight,
Jacob had a dream, and out of that encounter he received a covenant
from God that he would be brought back to the land from which he was
fleeing. Jacob built a memorial where this incident took place- a
memorial of stones. And he called the place Bethel. This is where
Jacob promised to follow God, and to give to God one tenth of all his
possessions.
Hearing that Jacob had been blessed by
Isaac and had agreed not to marry any Cananite women, Esau, went to
Ishmael and married Mahalath, the daughter of Abraham's son Ishmael.
The significance of this simple statement is that Abraham, whom you
will recall was married to Sarah, had been unable to have children by
her. So Abraham had a son named Ishmael by Sarah’s handmaiden named
Hagar. Later, when Sarah gave birth to Isaac at an advanced age,
Abraham dismissed Hagar and Ishmael to the desert. Historically
speaking, Ishmael, son of Abraham, became the head of the Arab people,
whereas Isaac- also Abraham’s son- through his son Jacob, renamed
Israel- became head of the tribes of Israel or the Jewish people.
Are you still with me?
Jacob went to Haran where he met
Laban. The story is too long for me to tell you in detail, but suffice
to say Jacob fell in love with Laban’s youngest daughter Rachel, and
agreed to work for Laban as a shepherd for 7 years, after which he
would marry Rachel. This was done, but on the wedding night, Jacob
found that Laban had given him his eldest daughter Leah as his wife.
Jacob went to Laban and complained
about the switch in brides. but was told that he, Laban, could not give
his youngest daughter away before the eldest. So, Jacob agreed to
work for Laban for seven more years in order to get Rachel as his bride.
To shorten this story, Jacob had sons
with Leah and/or her maids in waiting. Finally, he married Rachel, and
with Rachel and her maids-in-waiting he had more sons- twelve in all.
One of the sons born to Rachel was named Joseph. (You have to read this
stuff- it's an intriguing-sort of 5th century BC National Inquirer)
Meantime, God tells Jacob that his
name will be changed from Jacob to Israel. Thus, you have Israel and
the twelve tribes, each named after one of Israel’s 12 sons.
When Joseph was born, he was clearly
the favourite of Jacob. Not only that, but Joseph also felt he had a
strange spiritual affinity which he didn’t mind telling his brothers
about. Joseph clearly had a dream of his greatness. This fact
made him very unpopular with his brothers. In due time, Joseph was
captured by his brothers, and thrown into a pit deep enough that he
could not escape. One of the brothers said "since he is our own flesh
and blood, let not us cause his blood to be spilt." So they sold
Joseph to a wandering group of traders who were on their way to Egypt.
They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites, dipped his cloak in the blood of a
goat, and went home and told their father that Joseph had been
killed. Jacob mourned greatly. Now, you see how long the
controversy between the Arabs (Ishmaelites) and the Jews (Israelites)
has been brewing.
Joseph’s faith remained strong. He did
not waver. Joseph became a successful leader. His master saw his talent
and made him his overseer. Joseph forecast through dreams that there
would be a famine. So Egypt, wisely, stored crops from the good years
so as to have them to eat during the lean years. Pharaoh was pleased,
and gave Joseph authority over the whole land.
Finally, the brothers went to Egypt to
get grain, but Joseph did not know them until they told him who they
were. He asked to see the youngest, Benjamin, whom they had left with
their father. When Benjamin was brought, Joseph gave his brothers many
gifts, which they took home to Jacob, along with the word that Joseph
was alive and a leader in Egypt. Jacob had one wish- to see his son
before he died. That was accomplished, and Joseph threw a great
banquet; there was reconciliation. and Jacob was a happy man.
The great faith of Jacob was rewarded
by his becoming Israel, and the faith of Joseph resulted in many having
food. Joseph’s faith also resulted in reconciliation, so that God was
honoured as the Lord of the family and thus Israel and the tribes. To
this day, the story is told among believers as an example of victory
through an unwavering faith in God.
We come now to our New Testament
story, which is an equally powerful example of faith. We have come to
call this story, Jesus walking on the water. Getting the purpose and
meaning of this story is a graphic example of what sound Biblical
interpretation seeks to do. In the gospels, the first account to
be written is that of Mark. Many of the stories in the gospels are
either identical to or similar to those of Mark. However, there are
some stories that are uniquely Matthew’s, others uniquely Luke's and
still others not found in any known source. Scholars call that source
“Q,” or unknown, and the whole process is the QLM theory of New
Testament interpretation.
In Mark's account, the disciples are
in a boat when a storm arises. During the fourth watch, sometime
between 3 and 6 AM, they see Jesus walking on the sea. Here the text
says "he meant to pass them by." When they saw him they were
afraid, and said "it’s a ghost." But Jesus saw their fear and
said "Take heart, it’s me, don’t be afraid." And he got into the
boat, and the wind ceased.
Notice now Matthew’s account. It
begins the same as Mark’s-they are in the boat, a storm arises, they
are afraid and they see Jesus walking on the water, and he says "It is
me!" But here the story changes. Matthew then has Peter
saying, “if it’s you Lord, let me come to you on the water.” Jesus
says, “come.” So Peter gets out of the boat. But when he sees the
waves from the storm, he is afraid, and he begins to sink. Jesus holds
out his hand and catches him, saying “O man of little faith, why did
you doubt?” Jesus then gets into the boat, the winds cease and those in
the boat worship him, saying “Truly, you are the Son of God.”
Why do you suppose there is this
difference between Mark, the oldest rendition, and Matthew the later
rendition? And why is the incident not mentioned elsewhere?
To understand this, we need to remember that each of the gospels was
written to different audiences, for differing reasons. Mark’s
word is written to the suffering believers who are under persecution
because of their faith. Mark urges them to be strong and firm. Matthew
writes to the Jewish believers who have accepted the Christian way. In
this early Church, Peter is the leader, and his leadership needs to be
recognized and given authority.
Matthew grants this step. In Matthew’s
gospel, Peter appears twice before this story. In chapter 4, Peter is
the first disciple called. In chapter 10, Jesus calls his disciples
together and gives them authority to cast out unclean spirits and heal
sicknesses; again, Peter is the first one named.
Two stories. Joseph blurting out to
his family that he is like the sun and they like the stars who take
their reflection from him.
Now Peter "let me walk on the waters
with you" - and he does until he begins to sink and is asked by Jesus
"O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
These are stories about faith and they
pertain to each of us. There are times when, after we have proclaimed
our faith, some - maybe even family members- will not accept our words
and plot against us. There may even be a seizure and an attempt to sell
us to other persuasions. But if our faith is strong and
undeterred by what could be anger and revenge, we will be the victors,
and have the opportunity of welcoming others back into the family and
restoring wholeness.
I think this is a great story for the
Church to embrace. Church folks are misunderstood. People wonder why do
they go to worship and work in the Church where some are not loving and
accepting? But faith wins. Those who are faithful find their friends in
the Church. Those who are faithful find others who are seeking
understanding, just as they are. People who are faithful in the Church
find that the friends they make within the faith are usually stronger
and more reliable than those outside of the faith. Faithful people find
out that their faith does not shield them from the troubles of life,
but it does give them the strength to endure and to overcome. Like
Joseph, faithful people succeed, and are instrumental in reconciling
the family of faith to God.
Like being in a boat when a storm
arises, we find that within our lives there are occasions when we are
afraid. In such circumstances, we find our Lord coming to us, walking
on the waves of our troubled seas, and saying "don’t worry, it's me. I
am with you." And the seas of trouble and worry subside.
But let us also understand that faith
requires some action on our part. We can’t walk on the waters of
trouble unless we are willing to launch out. Too many say "I believe,"
but they are afraid to leave the safety of whatever characterizes their
life at that point. If we are people of faith, we cannot hang on
to old securities. We have to launch out and accept the way of Christ.
And then we have to let go: that is a part of launching out. Sometimes
it is hard to let go of our old views, beliefs or opinions, and to
accept newer and clearer ones that will enable us to walk on the waters
of trouble.
Then lastly, we must expect to be
caught. No matter how hard we try, our faith at times falls
short. What do we do? We launch out; we let go and we expect that
God will catch us. We make living the life of faith virtually
impossible by putting up with old conditions - you can’t have faith and
do that! You can’t be a person of faith and say that! We don’t need
faith; we need a more business-like approach. We can’t elect them to
our boards, they haven’t proven themselves! You know the sayings and
excuses. Faithful living: it isn’t glamorous; it’s often
ridiculed; sometimes it is called a crutch. But it works, because
it calls on the power of the Spirit. So we strive to be faithful
followers of our Lord, and like those of old we cry out - "Lord, I
believe- help my unbelief;" and he says "have no fear, it is me."