I will post it here, along with a few thoughts and reflections.
But first, here is my morning view with a Psalm (Psalm 5:3) that I found to go along with it:
As I sat down to have my centering prayer time, I started off with the same prayer that I had last week and realized maybe why I had been so open last week:
God of the Silence: Calm and quiet my soul at the fount of your loving presence. In your silence, replenish me with a force for love, especially for those who are the most demanding. When there is nowhere else to go, inspire me to drop into my heart and find your life-giving grace there, weaving the fabric of human reality into a tapestry of love. Amen. (Peter Traben Haas)
Life-giving grace. I am always in need of that.
I tried to concentrate this morning while two hummingbirds were fighting it out for one feeder before they flew off to the next one. My thoughts kept going all over the place and I'm not sure I really got in my full time this morning because the timer skipped back to the beginning. However, I went ahead and listened to the closing sounds and prayed the closing prayer:
"Come, Holy Spirit, Come. Ignite within me the living flame of Your love." A great prayer.
It was time to finish getting ready and head to Flintstone.
I will post the written version of the sermon above the video, though it won't be the exact transcript. I am still working on the transcript (the words I actually said, not wrote). Though I stayed fairly close to the manuscript, I did vary off course some. Honestly, I didn't want to vary too far off because transcription takes precious time. I normally weave in what was shared during the children's sermon, but I didn't today.
Even though I might not have fully been myself, my free self today (I was a little self conscious with the camera), I tried to remember that it's not about me, it's all about God. After all, that's what I say, preach, and teach. I'd better live into it. This risky faith stuff, I don't just talk about it. I live it.
I couldn't do this without support. I have literal support staff at two of the three churches that help me and my co-pastor keep things rolling. Without them, I'd be more crunched for time.
Because this sermon was at Flintstone, specific thanks go to Mary Cline for working with me in advance on the bulletin and for getting me the PDF versions.
Thanks to David and Gary for pulling together the songs for today (and every Sunday).
I want to say a HUGE "Thank you" to all my friends, near and far, on FaceBook (and elsewhere) who lifted me up in prayer for today's sermon and who offered me words of encouragement. This isn't just my journey.
I am grateful to each church in the parish as you have been on this journey with me through my Provisional Elder time. Thank you for your encouragement and your prayers.
As I did this sermon today at Flintstone UMC, an additional thank you for the encouragement leading up to today and through today and for being willing to dream, vision, and take the risky steps of faith out of the boat when Jesus commands us to "Come".
An even BIGGER thanks goes to Riley, who is with me every Sunday when he's not at work and thanks for being my camera man today.
There is one technical glitch in the video.
If only we had known prior to today that Nikon has this import limit on still cameras where they can only tape 29 minutes at a time. OOPS. So, that's where there are 24 words missing in the sermon, right around the 29 minute mark.
You hear: "'Well, Jesus, the strong winds started blowing and". Then it goes to "clearly, we can still trust, right?" The missing words in between are: "it scared me. With all the salt water blowing in my face I couldn't see you clearly anymore.' Okay. Even when we can't see".
You can find this portion on the written sermon below too, if that helps.
Thanks for reading. Thanks for watching. Thanks for the journey.
As I learned at the end of today's service, F.A.I.T.H. stands for "Fantastic Adventure In Trusting Him". It is truly a fantastic adventure and I am blessed to share it with so many.
I don't know what you're being called to do, but whatever it is, may you be blessed as you step out of the boat and walk by faith.
Blessings on your journey,
Debra
---------------------------
Sermon:
"Discipleship: Walk
By Faith"
Matthew 14: 22-33 (NRSV)
August 13, 2017 (10th
Sunday after Pentecost)
Flintstone
UMC
Matthew 14:22-33 (NRSV)
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 25 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
28 Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
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THIS
IS THE WORD OF GOD FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD.
THANKS BE TO GOD.
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As
we continue this series on discipleship, today's passage takes up right where
we left off last week. A quick review:
Jesus took the bread and the fish, blessed it, broke the bread, gave it to the
disciples to distribute and they shared it, feeding many-- with leftovers. Jesus' compassion on the crowd turned out to
be an opportunity of learning and service for the disciples.
After
this time of ministry and teaching, Jesus sent the disciples away, but stayed
behind to dismiss the crowds. He then
went up the mountain by himself to pray. (v. 23) Notice the first thing Jesus does is spend
time in prayer after a big event, refilling and recharging.
The
next day he goes to join the disciples who are out on the water. He doesn't take another boat to join
them. The disciples see someone walking
toward them and terrified, think it must be a ghost. (v.26) But as Jesus tends
to do in these frightening situations, he tells them to not be afraid because
it's him. (v. 27)
Peter,
is the first to respond, which is not a surprise because Peter often jumped
right into situations. Peter's quick
response, however, doesn't display full confidence for he says, "if it is
you, (v. 28), command me to come to you on the water." Jesus commands Peter to come.
A
moment of truth. Peter had thrown it out
rather quickly to Jesus, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on
the water." Jesus didn't hesitate. "Come."
Peter
gets out of the boat and starts walking on the water toward Jesus. What could have been going through his mind
at this time? 'This really IS Jesus out
here on the water. I actually stepped
out of the boat. What WAS I thinking?
Keep walking toward Jesus.' Okay, so we
don't know his thoughts, but I imagine we've all taken risky steps out of the
boat to move closer to Jesus.
Think
for a moment. When was the last time you
questioned Jesus in your faith and Jesus' response to you was "Come." And you knew you had to take that first step
of faith?
You
might have been a little scared or a lot scared, but you stepped out in faith
and started walking by faith toward Jesus because you trusted his voice and
knew he was there for you.
Once
you've started walking by faith, have you experienced a moment of doubt,
insecurity, or fear?
For
Peter, the moment came when he noticed the strong wind around him (30), became
frightened and began to sink. It doesn't
specifically say so in the passage, but we gather that the surrounding
circumstances of the wind caused Peter to take his eyes off Jesus, that the
scary stuff overwhelmed him. We get that
too, don't we. How often in our lives do
circumstances overwhelm us and keep us from hearing or seeing Jesus and we
begin to sink?
Personally,
my entire ordination journey has been an example of walking by faith. I was in the boat and Jesus said
"Come". I finally decided to
lift my leg up over the side of the boat, step out over the boat and onto the
water. There have been times when I take
my eyes off Jesus and I notice the strong winds around me and I feel the salt
water blowing in my face. It can be
overwhelming.
It
is in these moments, like Peter in verse 30 and going through 31 I have cried
out, "Lord, save me!". You and
I can follow Peter's example here and cry out to Jesus when we are overwhelmed.
Notice
that Jesus immediately reached out his hand to Peter and caught him, saying "you
of little faith, why did you doubt?"
This
isn't the first time Jesus has responded to the disciples with a similar
message. In Matthew 8 when Jesus was
asleep in the boat during a storm, the disciples woke him up, verses 25-26: " 25 And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We are
perishing!”26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid,
you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and
there was a dead calm."
In fact, there are a total of four instances in Matthew when the
term "little faith" is used. Besides
the two I have mentioned, you can also find it in Matthew 6:30 and 16:8, each
time spoken to the disciples. Jesus was always in teaching mode with the
disciples, who did struggle with their faith.
We
don't have Jesus' voice inflection in any of these passages. I think we often read the one in today's
passage especially as a strong rebuke or condemnation, but it could be a gently
questioning, simply asking Peter to recognize and review his situation. Why DID he doubt? 'Well, Jesus, the strong winds started
blowing and it scared me. With all the salt water blowing in my face I couldn't
see you clearly anymore.' Okay. Even when we can't see clearly, we can still
trust though, right? If we seek to
understand Peter in this situation, maybe we can understand our own doubts.
Doubts
don't keep us from relationship with Jesus. Notice that Jesus helped Peter back in the
boat. Doubts are part of our faith
journey. They can help us better
understand ourselves and our relationship with Jesus, if we examine them.
Notice
how the passage ends: verse 32--
"When they (Peter and Jesus) got into the boat, the wind ceased." It was then that everyone worshiped Jesus and
called him the Son of God. (33) Because Peter had taken a risk in his faith
relationship, the others benefited and now knew that this wasn't a ghost, that
it was Jesus, the Son of God.
Not
everyone took a risk. Peter did. But even in taking a risk, he still had
doubts and fear overtook him.
Yet
Jesus showed him grace.
It
made NO sense to get out of that boat to walk to Jesus, did it?
Philip
Yancy says: "Faith means trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse."
Peter
trusted Jesus. When Jesus said
"Come", Peter trusted. Peter
didn't know what would happen. He simply
trusted. Yes, Peter's anxiety, fears,
and doubts kicked in, but he also knew who to cry out to for help and did so,
immediately before he got in over his head.
When
we walk by faith, we are trusting in advance what will only make sense when we
look back.
Today's
passage shows us faith. Faith is
foundational in our relationship with Christ.
Right
here in this congregation, in this room, within the heritage and history of the
little rock church, we also have stories of walking by faith.
We
have families here who have raised their children and are raising their
grandchildren (even great-grandchildren) by walking by faith, trusting in
advance what will only make sense in looking back. We have Vivien who walked or flew by faith to
San Diego for her surgery and all of you who prayed for her.
We
rarely get a glimpse of what God is going to do or how God will answer prayers.
That's why it's called faith. Our faith is challenged as we trust and obey.
Our faith muscles grow each time we step
out of our comfort zone into the unknown areas.
For
Peter, it was stepping out of that boat, onto water. Water. Not frozen water that could hold him,
but water in liquid form. We all know
that we can't stand on water, much less walk on it, right?! Yet, Jesus commanded Peter and Peter trusted
and obeyed. It was his faith that caused
him to step out of the boat and start walking.
"Everyone
who claims to live in Jesus must walk as Jesus walked." 1 John 2:16 We are to walk in the footsteps of Jesus... this
was the Holston Conference summer camp theme in 2012, one of the summers that
I was Minister in Residence (MIR).
Camp
Lookout continues to walk by faith... just this past Sunday they held a
groundbreaking ceremony for the new cabin that will hopefully be ready for the
2018 season. This is the first
"new" cabin in a while. The
yurts were put up as temporary housing and have become permanent for now. But, the board, the staff, and many others,
including you have continued to have faith that God has a plan for Camp
Lookout, for the kids in our community, and for other ministries to take place
on that place that is set apart.
How
is God calling us here at Flintstone UMC to get out of the boat and walk toward
Jesus? Last week you saw the pictures of
the 3 blessing boxes in the shop at Ridgeland High. One of those boxes is now at Chattanooga
Valley Elementary and will be put up soon. Then we, along with others in the community,
can begin to fill it with non-perishable food and other items.
How
is God calling you to get out of the boat?
Walking
by faith means saying "yes" to God. I'll be honest. Most everytime I say "yes" to God,
there is some fear and trembling. I
rarely feel equipped or ready for what is at hand. How do you think Peter felt? To edit an overused cliché, God will equip us
as we are called to the task. If we were
fully ready for the task, would we need faith? How would our faith grow if we weren't having
to rely on God to meet us where we were and take us forward the next step(s)?
Notice
something here in today's passage-- faith is risky. Faith isn't about staying in the boat; it's
about stepping out of the boat and following Christ, wherever Christ leads. It's about keeping our eyes on Christ, through
the ups and downs, the ins and outs, the joy and the grief.
We
grow deeper in our relationship as we walk by faith, building authentic
relationships with God and others.
I'm
re-reading "Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood
Church is Transforming the Faith" by Diana Butler Bass for an upcoming
book club. Here is one quote that struck
me as applicable to today's message: "Being a Christian is not a one-moment
miracle of salvation. It takes
practice. It is a process of faith and a
continuing conversion. And it can be a
long walk." (75)
This
walking by faith is risky, but it is also exciting and a fulfilling way
to live life to the fullest. I hope we
will all be willing to get out of the boat to walk by faith when Jesus calls us
to "come" to him.
AMEN.
