Following The Feet Of Jesus - Walk On Water

3.15.15
"Following Jesus When He Walks On Water"
Audio Sermon Can Be Heard Here.

Okay. I welcome the invitation form Jesus to follow him. To learn as we walk. To watch and listen and be transformed by being with him. I can appreciate his love for me and his intentional leading through the minefields of temptation - knowing that if he can do it in his human form, so can I. But walk on water? Come on! How am I suppose to do that?

My mom was fond of telling us as kids that God wold not ask more of us than we could handle. I think that was a loose translation of Paul's encouragement to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 10:13 when he tells them "God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear." So reflecting on mom's words of wisdom, and on Paul's words of encouragement, how do I answer the calling to follow Jesus as he strolls across the stormy sea?

To begin, I believe we have to look at the story I am referencing in the call to walk on water. In Matthew 14 and Mark 6, we have recorded one of the real super human feats that Jesus conducted while on earth. Let's set the stage: Jesus has a cousin who he is very fond of and loves deeply, his name was John. John was known as being a very vocal opponent to the local government. He would often preach against the appointed King and his wife - who happened to be the king's brother's wife until he had his brother killed and took his sister-in-law as his queen. The queen apparently was okay with the arrangement, and she wanted John killed for using the local social media (watering holes and marketplaces) to spread the dirt on their illicit marriage.

The queen had a daughter who apparently was very beautiful and alluring to men. She used her young daughter to entrance her new kingly husband and make him swear an oath to do what she wanted. The daughter danced her inviting dance, the king watched and was aroused, and in that moment of hormonal weakness vowed to kill John the prophet. Bound by his word, the king killed John - beheading him and serving the head to the daughter on a silver platter.

Jesus was in the countryside teaching and healing.When he heard what had been done to his cousin, he left the crowds and removed himself to a solitary place. The word used in the original language offers a deeper meaning - it was a lonely place. In his grief he wanted to be alone.

But this is Jesus, and like a pack of ravenous paparazzi, the crowds discovered where he went and followed him there. Instead of being upset or withdrawing further, Jesus did a peculiar thing: he had pity on them. Mark records in his account of the event that he saw the mass of people like sheep without a shepherd. He was a shepherd, and instinct told him to act. So he gathered the people together and taught and healed and loved on them as a good shepherd would. When the time was late, the problem of dinner came up. Jesus took what food they had and blessed it, multiplied it, and fed over five thousand people! While in his grief, he took time to meet the needs of others.

After dinner, he asked the disciples to board a boat and go across the sea to the other side. He then dismissed the masses, and retired to a quiet spot so that he could speak with his father alone. That prayer is not recorded, but I have to wonder if it had to do with the loss of his cousin, the many needs of the people, and his inner turmoil on staying the course all the way to the cross.

As God, Jesus had surely felt loss when the people of this earth were wiped away in the Great Flood. He must have heard the cries of the Israelite slaves in Egypt - the bible records in Exodus that he did. Jesus watched as his disobedient children were conquered by invading armies and carried off into slavery. His heart had felt loss before, but in this frail fleshly body I have to wonder how these feelings were being processed in a new way.

After his time with the Father, he went to catch up with the disciples. A common pattern: ministry - prayer alone - catch up and explain what just happened. Except this time the disciples weren't just down the road, they were half way across the Sea of Galilee. On a boat. Surrounded by stormy water. Jesus does what anyone without a car, or taxi, or plane, or boat would do - he starts walking. Down from the lonely mountain prayer retreat, past the hill where he had taught the day before, over the sandy beach and on and on. Rock, soil, water...any surface will do for the Son of God.

The disciples are struggling at the oars and not getting very far when they look into the misty sea and see a figure striding across the water's surface. "A ghost", someone shouts! They tremble in fear. First this nasty storm, and now some water walking specter. Great, what next?

What happened next was even more than they could process. There coming towards them was none other than their Rabbi and leader, Jesus. Mark makes note that it appears Jesus intends to pass them by. Matthew tells us that Peter, of course it was Peter, yells to Jesus and asks to walk out to him.   Jesus allows it, and Peter becomes the second human to walk on water. He is fine until he shifts his focus from Jesus and onto the windy waves. Once that faith is broken, he sinks and has to be rescued by Jesus. The two get in the boat and the seas calms. The others in the boat exclaim: "You must truly be the Son of God!"

What if we look at the water as not being water? What if we see it as the turmoil in our life that rocks our security - in this case pictured by a boat. What if we look at Jesus with his humanness at full display? He is grieving. He is bombarded by the needs of the masses. Sean Connery gave up being James Bond because fans and the press would not respect his need for occasional privacy, but Jesus cannot opt out of his role. There have been other actors play the role of Bond, but there is only one Jesus who is the Christ, the Messiah, the means of salvation for mankind. No, we cannot walk on water and stroll over lakes or rivers, but we can follow the example of Jesus and realize that no matter the circumstances we must be who we were created to be.

The approach Jesus took was to simple walk above the turmoil. He walked on the water. I would assume with his infinite abilities, he could have easily walked under or through the water. He instead sets the example of rising above the situation and he remained calm. He remained aware of who is in charge (his Father), and he rose above the challenge before him.

There are times when we are in tune with God and can duplicate this effect. Perhaps in your own life you have experienced such a period of time. A season in your life or even a short moment in your life when all the world around you feels unstable. The sea was described as harassing the men at the oars. Has life been harassing you? Can you pray that God will give you supernatural faith to rise above your circumstances and stride forward in life secure in who you are and who God is?

Or maybe you are like the men who stayed in the boat. They clung to the experience and security of the wood. They had perhaps weathered similar storms like this before in such a boat while out fishing. But even with their experience, and faith in this boat, there was no peace until Jesus entered into it. What is in your life that you are clinging onto for hope and security? Is it tradition? Church membership and attendance? Regular tithing? Are you holding onto and investing in the perceived things of religion but not in the relationship with whom controls the storm? Maybe you were taught it is holy and right to simply "ride out the storm". If this is true, then today is the day for you to call out and invite Jesus into that boat you have crafted. Because without him in it, the craft will surely let you down.

"Follow me" Jesus beckons. "Walk on water" or "Wait till I am with you" he calls out to us while we bob up and down, up and down on the open stormy sea of life. How will you answer the call?