Talk by Alun

I want to invite us to go for a walk – not one of Julia Bradbury’s Railway walks or even Alfred Wainwright’s walks in the Lake District, however inviting they are. Instead, we are going on a short walk with Peter as he undertook one of the most extraordinary walks of all time.

Peter’s walk stands in a line of unforgettable walks in the Bible. There was the long walk that Abraham took to get from Ur in modern day Iraq to Canaan. There was the liberating walk that Moses and the Israelites took to leave Egypt across the Red Sea to freedom, and the frustrating walk that took them around Sinai for the next 40 years. There was the disciples illuminating walk to Emmaus, not to mention Pauls interrupted walk to Damascus. And what about that final walk that Jesus took, so sad and holy that it received its own name, the way of tears or Via Dolorosa, from the Praetorium to Golgotha. But perhaps the most unforgettable walk of all was taken by Peter, the night he got out of the boat and walked on the water. It is unforgettable because of two facts, he was walking on the water, and he was walking with Jesus.

Whereas all the other walks had their challenges, Peter’s walk above all stands out as an example to all of us at one time or another to leave our comfort zones, walk out in faith and experience something more of the power and presence of God.

The context – The disciples had been sent by Jesus out across the lake whilst he went on his own to pray. A storm arose. Not a minor rain shower either like we had yesterday! The Greek says that the boat was ‘tormented’ by the waves. By the fourth quarter of the night, or 3am, we can imagine that the disciples weren’t thinking about getting to the other side, they just wanted to stay alive! Then one of them noticed a shadow moving towards them on the water. As it got closer it because obvious that it was a human being and he was walking on the water. Let’s take a moment to let that image sink in. They cried out in fear – ‘it’s a ghost!’ I think that would have been our reaction too.

They didn’t recognise that it was Jesus, how could they fail to recognise him? Maybe Matthew wants us know that sometimes it takes the eyes of faith to recognise when Jesus is around. Often, in the midst of the storms that swirl around us in our lives, we are no better at recognising his presence that they were. So, what was Jesus doing walking across the water at 3am? Mark’s account includes the interesting statement – “Jesus intended to pass them by” This phrase in the Bible is used to define those moments when God reveals his glory. I’m sure we remember that well known story of God putting Moses in a cleft in a rock, so Moses could see “’while my glory passes by’…The Lord passed before him.” God told Elijah to stand at the entrance of the cave “for the Lord is about to pass by”

These appearances come when God is about to call his people to do something extraordinary. So, the same thing is happening here, Jesus goes to pass them by in order to reveal the power of God and at the same time challenge Peter to do something that no-one would ever think possible.

It is interesting to remember that the disciples entered the boat in the first place at Jesus’ command. They would have to learn as do we, that obedience to God is no guarantee of being spared adversity. But now that the storm had their full attention, Jesus decided that his disciples needed to get to know a little more about the Rabbi they had been following. He was revealing himself to be God himself.

Alone out of the disciples it seems Peter spoke. “If it is you, command me….”, Peter had learnt what we all need to learn, water-walkers need to discern between faith and foolishness. He makes sure that Jesus thinks this is a good idea. And in the darkness, maybe Jesus smiled, maybe he laughed. At last, one of the disciples has got it.

But put yourself in Peter’s place for a moment. You have a sudden insight into what Jesus is doing – the Lord is passing by. He’s inviting you to go on the adventure of your life. But at the same time, you’re scared to death. What would you choose? the water or the boat?

The boat is safe, secure and usually comfortable. On the other hand, the water is rough, the waves are high. The wind is strong, you are in the midst of a storm. If you get out of the boat, there’s every chance you will sink. But if you don’t get out of the boat, there’s a guaranteed certainty that you will never walk on the water. Therefore ‘if you want to walk on the water, you’ve got to get out of the boat.’

To conclude: someone once spelt the word ‘faith’ as ‘R I S K’.

Is that the kind of faith you relate to? Or would you rather be in the comfortable world of security and safety? Only you can answer that question.

Every blessing, Peter