Sermon preached in St. Peters Church Carrigrohane on Sunday 9th August 2020
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be now and always acceptable in thy sight O Lord our strength and our redeemer. Amen
I don’t know about you but I long for normality - just rewind a little bit - to the days when we were able to sit together, share peace … invite a friend over, not have to hand sanitise, social distance, wear a face covering and contact trace … but those days are gone for now.
I also have been longing for a bit of structure - my old structure when I was leading services and preaching - rather than sorting microphones, cameras, recordings etc
I’m so thankful that I’m able to get back to some sort of structured week again … but as of last week - its not the same - Ian is away.
Things will be different - but also we are called by God to be his church in our day - and I’m so thankful to God for the work of this Union of Parishes as we remain faithful to the calling we have as his Children and his disciples today
Over these weeks - we’re being challenged by the teachings in the Gospel of Matthew - under the theme of Ordinary Time, Extraordinary times … amazing God.
Ordinary time is meant to be a time in the churches year when we talk about ordinary things … talk about growing, leaving space for growth —> I wonder how you are growing in your faith —> I would love to challenge each one of us including myself - how is your walk with the Lord at the moment?
Today I would want to take a look at this Gospel reading - usually when I take this gospel reading - of Peter walking on water … I use the idea that its Peter keeping his eyes on Jesus stepping out of the boat and that being the point
But the more I’ve read the more challenged I’ve become about other parts of the story
Matthew’s Gospel is one that is very well structured and we see him using event’s in Jesus’ life and the life of his disciples - for the purpose of convincing his readers that Jesus was the Messiah - the Son of God
So …
Back in Matthew 8 - we read a similar story of an similar event - the Story of the stilling of the Storm where Jesus was with them, storm, they are afraid in the boat and say don’t you care if we drown
Jesus stills the storm … and the disciples exclaim - “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
Now time has passed … they have heard his teaching, they have understood a bit more, they have seen some amazing things
Play Matthew 14 - They are in the boat … same sea of Galilee, this time Jesus is not with them, storm …. Jesus passes them by - Phantom? If it is you - Facinating words … fear not … it is I
If it is you? … Peter questioning Jesus’ identity … who else did that ? … Back to Temptations in chapter 3 - If you are the son of God … is on the lips of the devil …
Peter Walks on water … he doesn’t do it in his own strength - its because Jesus is there
We don’t hear Peter being congratulated but what we do see … is not the question about identity but Jesus gets in the boat with the disciples and him being worshipped - That’s huge … Its the first time in the Gospels we see Jesus being worshipped - These guys are all Jews - they know their commandment - worship no other God’s but me
There are so many strands to this passage and this incident pointing both backwards and forwards
I want to pick up on just two of those strands this morning
Jesus’ Identity - Peter said if it is you tell me to come - From What kind of man is this … to —if it is you to worshipping him - They are growing in their understanding of the master through the intensive discipleship course they have been on - seeing how Jesus works, how the kingdom of God works - It’s remarkable that he doesn’t know everything! And as we’ll see in subsequent weeks … we see Peter’s understanding increasing more and more.
That gives me hope - That we just don’t get zapped and understand everything about Jesus in an instant in an encounter with Jesus … Its a process, a long process - a life long process. Which occurs in difficult circumstances along with normal everyday circumstances and also moutain top experiences.
If we take the time to be with Jesus.
The Safety of the boat - This is really really important - vital - Jesus didn’t stay out on the water - he could have but he didn’t - he got into the boat with his disciples
When you look at images from the first couple of centuries of church history and down through the years … the imagery of the boat is of high emphasis in Church circles … Paralleling a boat to safety - and equating the boat to the church
This is interesting - Today the symbol of the world council of churches is a boat - a sail boat
In our day - I wonder what your view of Jesus is? … In the safety of the boat … what is your take upon Jesus - It was CS Lewis who said - Lunatic, Liar or Lord. We see the disciples prior boat journey asking What kind of man is this? … Now they are worshipping him
This is huge - Today we Worship him
Then there is the safety of the boat … Jesus Joins them in the boat … He’s there with them
As the storm raged they were safe in the boat … In our world today there are many storms raging … I do think that the imagery of the boat is a good one - not a luxury yactch but a fishing boat … Jesus joined them in it.
In our little fishing boat - Jesus is with us - as we go about our journey Jesus is with us
In the storms we face he is with us.
Conclusion
I come back to where I began today - In the midst of the changes - This year isn’t the same as last year quite obviously - we’re not going around in circles - we’re living breathing humans and in our lives we’re made to grow and to learn. We’re also meant to be responsible for our own growth and development. In our understanding of Jesus - in our faith development how are we using these times of growth.
How can we journey with Jesus during these days - maybe its digging into his word more and more
- Maybe it’s simple things - like acknowledging his presence at meal times - thanking him for provision
- Maybe its taking time to pray at other times during the day
- Maybe its stepping up to do something you’ve not done before
- Maybe its serving in new ways
- Maybe its trusting him in things that might appear scary
Over these weeks - I would love each person here to take time to grow in their relationship with Jesus - Stepping a bit further than you have up to this point - even in the midst of the storm around about us at the moment - take time to worship in a different way
I do hope in my sermons over the next few months to leave you with some questions to ponder
2 Key Questions today
- Do I know who Jesus is? … where am I on my Life’s journey of Faith ?
- What could I be doing differently in my spiritual life?
Let’s pray
No comments:
Post a Comment