At some point, I think most of us have been told don’t swim alone. If you haven’t or if you’ve forgotten this bit of social wisdom, even if your swimming skills have proven how competent you are in the water, it’s still not a good idea. All you need to do is watch the first few minutes of the 1975 movie classic Jaws. If you don’t remember, the short of it is a girl leaves her friends on the beach for a midnight swim. Happy, laughing, next thing you know… the great white shark Jaws gets a midnight snack. I still can hear the music that always played when the shark was coming in for the attack. It grew louder and sounded more menacing as he came closer and closer and then, well, her part in the movie was over. Like a lot of activities, it is best to use the buddy system. Even if we prefer our own company, there are times when we need others or others need us. From the earliest times humans have built communities, combined resources, protected one another, and developed higher knowledge together. It is the same within Christ’s church.

From Genesis chapter 1, we read how the Spirit of God swept over the deep waters of chaos and emptiness to bring forth creation. “When God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth was complete chaos, and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.” In the ancient world, the deep waters of oceans, seas, and rivers were often symbols of places only God could control. They were an enter-at-your-own-risk kind of place and certainly one you didn’t go alone. The only one who could control the raging waters on the earth was God.

In the Gospel of Matthew, when the disciples find themselves stuck in a storm, surrounded by the chaos of wind and waves, without Jesus, they are understandably afraid. Even though they followed his command to go without him to the other side of the sea, they found themselves in trouble. The disciples and the fishing boat have often been compared to the church. After all, the Twelve Disciples were the initial Christian church and evangelist. If we consider the early church and all the chaos and evil that raged against it, then we can understand how, in the first few centuries of Christianity, the communities identified with the Twelve Disciples who were caught in the storm. I don’t think it has been hard for any generation of Christians to recognize the similarities between the chaos surrounding the church and the waters surrounding the disciples. We see how important it is to have Jesus in the boat. And when we cannot see him, he is on the near shore, he has not forgotten us as he did not forget the disciples.

Over the generations of Christianity, while trying to follow his commands, the church has found itself struggling hard against the waves, insisting we know the way and have the strength to do Christ’s will. Even when we are arrogant and self-righteous, it is Jesus who comes to us when we are willing to let him into our lives and lead his own church.

Like the Disciples, there is much we get right in our struggle with the waves and deep waters. First, they listened to Jesus and tried to go where he sent them. Even when it seemed impossible to reach the distant shore, they rowed together into the darkest part of the night as a great storm raged against them. They did not abandon the task given to them. But they find themselves so involved with their struggle that they can’t recognize Jesus coming to them. Then Peter did something that is all too recognizable to the contemporary church. He got out of the boat. For whatever reason, Peter decides he wants to go solo. Jesus did not invite Peter to leave the others and the safety of the boat, but in answer to Peter’s questioning, “If it is you,” Jesus does agree to let him come to him. So the boat, the church, is not enough for Peter or, if we are truthful, a lot of us at different times of our lives. Peter steps out into the surrounding chaos to walk upon the water. While at first, it looks good for Peter, he soon realizes he is walking on dangerous ground. At that point, he takes his eyes off Jesus. With none of the others to help him in his fear and hold him in his time of danger, he begins to sink. His faith was too small, he needed to be where Jesus had told him to be, in the boat. We are in a time when many Christians believe they, too, can leave the boat and walk to Jesus by themselves. They are choosing to swim alone. 

From those earliest days, the church has been Christianity’s home. The place, where we gather to listen to and follow Jesus, where we find we can weather the chaos around us, and be there for one another. It is where we support one another and row together through the storms. Yes, Jesus saved Peter and later he became one of the great leaders of the church. But Jesus saved him by picking Peter up and putting him back in the boat. It’s true that we can find Jesus anywhere in this world. And some boats aren’t seaworthy. But in the boat, the church, despite its flaws, is where Jesus expects to find us when the storms rage. And no matter how big or small we think the boat is, there is always room for other weary travelers. After all, it’s Jesus’s boat!

Join us Sunday morning as we consider some of the many teachings that come from this powerful Gospel story.

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!

Pastor Rick