God's Last Words

LIKE A ROCK
Matthew 14: 22-33

I was on my first trip to Germany on a Lufthansa flight in 2001 when I had a remarkable experience.

I had been lucky enough to have been bumped up to Business Class and was sitting in a window seat next to a man in a suit and tie. The airline attendant asked him if he wanted a cocktail and he said he would like a Martini.

Taking one look at me and the Bible I was reading she asked me if I wanted some fruit juice. I thought to myself about what other book there is that can change a martini into an apple juice?

Changing one substance into another or performing an impossible task or deed is often viewed as a miracle. I remember a Catholic Priest who was a Navy Chaplain, tell us what the definition of a miracle was one Sunday morning:

A little nun was on a much desired mission trip to the Apache Indians. She was so excited to almost be at her destination that she drove by the last gas station before the reservation without noticing she needed gas.

She ran out of gas about a mile past the station and had to walk back to get some gas. The attendant told her that he would like to help her but he had no container that would hold gas.

Thinking quickly and wanting to help, the attendant said that he would search the garage and outbuildings for a workable container. The only container he found was an old dented bedpan. The grateful nun said that the bedpan would work just fine and had it filled with gasoline.

She carried it back to her car careful not to drop an ounce of fluid. When she got to the car she carefully poured the contents of the bedpan into the car.

A truck driver pulled alongside the car as she was just finishing emptying the contents into her gas tank. He rolled down his window and yelled to her, “I wish I had your faith, Sister!”

The question we ask about miracles is, “Do they happen because God acts or is it because a person has sufficient faith in God’s power to accomplish something extraordinary?”  The Biblical Dictionary defines it as: “a special intervention by God on behalf of humankind.”

The dialogue regarding miracles is further muddied because God’s power and activities are not limited as humans are and may not be fully discerned by humans. Remember that Jesus has already reminded us that we have trouble with earthly things, let alone heavenly ones?

John 3: 11-12: Jesus replied, “I assure you:  We speak what We know and and We testify to what We have seen, but you do not accept Our testimony. If I have told you about things that happen on earth and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about things of Heaven?”

In fact most of the miracles ascribed to God and Jesus are actions consistent with all powerful, all knowing, and creative beings responsible for the so called “laws of nature” and the entire universe. They can do what they want because it’s their creation.

Yet God often chooses to act without miracles as well. C. S. Lewis once wrote: “God seems to do nothing of Himself which He can possibly delegate to His creatures. He commands us to do slowly and blunderingly what He could do perfectly and in the twinkling of an eye.”

We think they have to operate within the rules they have created for us. And Jesus, being fully human, does limit his physical aspects to human limits while exercising His spiritual aspects as a God would do. Unlike some biblical scholars, I don’t have a problem with that.

But let’s look at what the miracle actually is as we consider what is happening. Listen to the story of one of Jesus’ miracles from Matthew 14: 22-33:

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray.

When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from land, for the wind was against them.  And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea.

But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.”

So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus.

But when he noticed the strong wind, be became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Jesus immediately reached out His hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Okay – is it any wonder that later on Jesus calls Peter a rock – after seeing how fast he sinks in water!

A priest, an evangelist, and a minister were in a row boat in the middle of a lake fishing. None of them had caught anything all morning but were out of bait. The evangelist stands up and says he needs to go get more bait, so he climbs out of the boat and walks on the water to shore. He comes back ten minutes later the same way. 

Then the minister decides he needs to go get something to drink, so he climbs out of the boat and walks on the water to shore. He, too, comes back the same way ten minutes later. 
       
The priest looks at both of them and decides that his faith is just as strong as his fishing buddies and that he can walk on water, too. He stands up and excuses himself. As he steps out, he makes a big splash down into the water. The evangelist looks at the minister and says, "I suppose we should have told him where the rocks were."

We humans are always looking for a way to “explain” how Jesus walked on the water and not just accepting the fact that He could when it was necessary to show the Disciples who He was.

Miracles that happen around us today (and they do happen) continue to display His presence and desire to extend His grace to all.

Those people who fail to see God’s miracles aren’t looking. Just in the last few weeks Israeli forces are talking about demonstrated Hamas rocket flight paths that deviated away from population centers at the last minute with no apparent cause and the location of sudden fogs that hid IDF movements from enemy actions and the like.

We continue to ask God for miracles and either don’t recognize them when they come or just outright disbelieve that they happened. It’s when (like Peter) we think we have a part in them that we fail utterly.

Jesus’ disciples are experiencing a storm at sea which can be a very frightening experience. I’ve been in 35 foot sea swells on a ship and it ain’t a fun experience.

Jesus comes to them and calms the seas and gives them peace. He goes on to change these bunch of people into the strongest, most effective disciples and missionaries the world has ever seen.

Isn’t that the greatest miracle Jesus can give us, that when we were sinners He died for us, to give us eternal life?

All we need, as Jesus tells Peter, is faith that will remove doubt.

Friends, look around in faith and see those miracles around us. It will change your life. Amen.