What Does it Take to Get Out of the Boat? A Sermon for an Instructed Eucharist

 

It seems perfect that the Sunday when I am preparing folks for our first bishop's visit since my ordination in January 2022, we have Matthew's tale of Jesus walking on water, and Peter trying to do the same only to find himself about to drown. 

I talk about leaving the boat as a sign of faith. And for me, leading an instructed Eucharist on a Sunday morning is a major leap of faith for me. I've done it with small gatherings but never on a Sunday. And it goes against my own preference not to do a lot of extra stuff like this in the service. But this is one of the key elements that I have included in my Inquiry 101 class, and I have at least one confirmand who did not attend the course, so now they'll get it along with everyone else. 

And since it's a Sunday where we are pulling back the veil and sharing all the secrets about the prayers, hymns, prayer book, etc..... why not also share what I go through to write a sermon. What do you think?

Text: Matt 14:22-33

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Good morning!

Since this is “Instructed Eucharist Sunday” I thought I’d first share a little bit about my sermon writing process.

Every weekday morning… I start with doing my own prayer…usually with the help of a service that’s online.

This has nothing directly to do with the sermon…and yet it does because it gets me into a dialogue with God.

On Monday… I take time to read through all the upcoming Sunday’s lectionary…the first reading from the Old Testament… the psalm… the Epistle or Second reading from the New Testament… and finally the Gospel.

I do this slowly.

I might even read them a second time to see if I am finding some things that might connect together.

Sometimes…I find myself drawn to a particular passage or some phrase.

Other times…it can be difficult to connect.

I let the readings kind of “cook” in my head for a couple of days… all while I go about life and seeing massage clients and listening to the radio.

It’s usually Thursday that I go back and re-read the scriptures…and start looking at commentaries and other resources.

And then Friday comes.

I know I should write my sermon.

I pray that I have something already brewing in my brain.

I get in several steps on my FitBit as I pace the floors of my house… or walk around outside.

I usually get a draft of my sermon finished at some point on Friday...hopefully before 6pm.

And if not… there’s always Saturday morning.

Isabelle kindly lets me practice my message with her.

We discuss it some.

If something doesn’t make sense…I’ll go back to work on it for another hour to fix it.

Even when she likes the sermon…I usually find something that doesn’t quite work for me and I’ll reword it.

All together… the sermon crafting process…from start to finish… takes me about six to seven hours.

I once heard about a priest who found out that his parishioners thought he spent about 45 minutes on his sermons.

Either his sermons were really lightweight…or more likely… his parishioners had a very skewed sense of time!

Even those of us who preach without a written sermon are not just winging it.

And unlike in some other Christian denominations…where preachers will pick a topic they want to talk about… the general practice in Episcopal churches is to work with the lectionary Scriptures that have been assigned for the service.

Our task is to hear the scripture… apply some reason to it… in light of our tradition.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Especially when presented with such a rich Gospel reading from Matthew.

There’s so much happening in these eleven lines!

I want to take a moment to employ a practice with you of reading and thinking about scripture.

We all heard Deacon Karyl’s reading of this Gospel.

Maybe it sparked a few thoughts in your head as you listened.

I’m going to read it to you again.

And as I read it… close your eyes…visualize the scene and pick up on what you hear….

(Read the Gospel)

What are some of the images that come to mind as you heard this?

(**Here give about a couple minutes for people to express themselves**)

So… thinking about the images… thinking about some of the words… is one way to enter the story.

Engaging in this way helps to draw connections between what’s on the printed page…and the threads of our own lived experiences.

Because the scriptures really are still speaking to us and touching on the human condition thousands of years later.

And as I said… there’s so much happening here.

Certainly  a LOT that I was looking at.

We hear that Jesus has gone off to pray and sent the disciples out on the water.

The winds begin to whip up a storm and the boat is rocking back and forth… and the disciples are rightly terrified.

Then Jesus approaches them… walking on the water.

Again… they’re terrified.

But Jesus… calmly without panic… tells them, “It’s me. Don’t be afraid.”

Peter says…”If it’s you, command me to come to you on the water.”

And Jesus responds…”Come on out here!”

Peter is fine at first.

He’s able to keep his eyes fixed on Jesus and walk.

But then the wind kicks up again.

Peter looks away…and that’s when he starts to drown.

Desperately, he cries out, “Save me!”

And Jesus… again… without fanfare and without panic… pulls Peter out of the water.

“You of little faith. Why did you doubt?”

And then when the two of them get back in the boat… the wind calms down.

Those who had watched this whole scene from inside the boat…  “worship” Jesus.

In so many ways… the “boat” could symbolize the church.

Think about it.

The deacon… or if there is no deacon, the priest… sends us out at the end of worship to “love and serve the Lord” into places with store clerks… peer groups…co-workers…teachers…and bosses.

Jesus sends the disciples out into the water… away from the certainty of the dry land… and into the turbulent sea.

That water often is an archetype of emotions… and the storms of life.

When waves are flooding the boat…when things are getting to be too much… Jesus comes to the rescue.

When matters in our lives get to be too tough for us…that’s the most common time that we cry out to God for help.

Jesus comes to us…and in this instance he comes to the disciples in the boat.

And then… almost on cue… Peter with his “if it’s really you” demonstrates to us what it means to be a person of faith.

Our tendency…when challenged to step out in faith… is often some hesitation.

We question… and then our faith pushes us out of our comfort zone…the boat… and onto the sea…this great watery representation of the unknown.

Such is what happens to Peter.

Out of the boat…he has nothing to orient himself but Jesus.

I was talking with a client recently about the time when I was driving on the Seven Mile Bridge from Miami heading to the Florida Keys at night.

It was spooky.

The water and the sky were dark.

The radio station I had been listening to… began to break up and I couldn’t tune in to another one.

All I could do was stay focused on the road and trust that I would make it to Key West in one piece.

I imagine that’s how it must’ve been for Peter.

He’s striding out of the boat and on top of the water.

With his eyes affixed on Jesus… he was fine.

But then… a gust of wind...blows against his body…and Peter takes his eyes off Jesus.

He gets distracted… realizes he’s out of the boat… out of his place of safety in numbers… sameness… protection.

Distracted and frazzled he begins slipping under the waves of chaos.

And just like before…he cries out…and Jesus lifts him up.

This is what it’s like for people of faith.

To have faith requires us to step out of the boat…into uncertainty… and sometimes stormy situations.

But as long as we center ourselves on God… keeping our eyes of our heart open to the source of love and light… we’ll be alright.

In the words of our psalmist:

“Search for the Lord and his strength

Continually seek his face.” (Ps. 105:4)

God will show up.

Finally… there are all the others who were watching this scene from the boat.

Having seen Peter take that chance of faith… having watched how even as he lost his way… Jesus came to him and pulled him up… now they know that God is not going to let them drown.

This is true for all of us.

When we take chances… when we venture out into the unknown in faith… we aren’t alone.

God is with us…ready to be there for us.

And by living into that faith and trust… we may be unwittingly helping others to have the courage to step out of the boat… and search for God’s strength as well.

Don't be afraid to get out of the boat.

In the name of God… F/S/HS.