“Maybe we could walk on water.” [1]

Matthew 14: 22-33

Sermon by Rev. Caela Simmons Wood

February 25, 2024

This short journey across the lake was supposed to be easy. An opportunity to catch their breath. Get away from the crowds for a minute. Rest their weary feet a bit and let the wind and water do the work. 

It had been A WEEK. It started with Jesus in a boat, out on the lake, teaching. Everywhere they went these days, the crowds followed. They came from the cities, the farms, the villages along the lake. And every time Jesus tried to catch a breath, there they were again. On this particular occasion, he had tried to sit down to rest along the lake’s edge, but so many came to speak with him that he eventually climbed into a boat, maybe hoping to get some space. But the crowd was undeterred. They stayed there along the water’s edge, crowding up to the water, hoping for….what? Something. 

And then Jesus began to teach. If you want to call it that. He spoke in riddles - nope, PARABLES was what he called them. Stories about wheat and weeds, pearls that would break the bank, mustard seeds that turned into giant bushes, buried treasure, and yeast hidden in dough. What could it all mean? Who knows. But every story started out the same way, “The kingdom of God was like this, the kingdom of God was like that.” 

And what was the point, anyway? Were all these stories just meant to placate the people? To soothe them to sleep while the world burned around them? Who knows. 

What was obvious was that the kingdom of God was not here. Not now. Because this land that they lived in was carefully divided, carefully marked and God was most certainly not the king in charge. Jesus’s core group of friends, fishermen who called the north side of the lake home, knew all too well about who was in charge. Their fishing waters straddled the border between two kingdoms - one ruled by Herod Antipas and another ruled by his brother Phillip. Both of them were given the land by their late father, Herod the Great. These were the kings whose names they knew. These were the men who decided how much of their catch had to be paid to the Empire in taxes. These were the men who made the decisions that governed their everyday lives. These were the kingdoms the disciples and their families called home. 

Eventually, Jesus took a break from speaking in riddles in his boat out there on the lake. And so the disciples hopped in with him, rowing across the clear, smooth water to the other side. And then they took a day’s journey on foot to Nazareth. Most of Jesus’s crew were foreigners here, but this was Jesus’s first home. And so the disciples rested in the shade outside the Nazreth synagogue while Jesus went in to teach. They figured it would probably just be a repeat of his performance on the boat - wheat, weeds, pearls, mustard seeds, buried treasure, yeast. “The kingdom of God, the kingdom of God, the kingdom of God.”

So when Jesus came out of his hometown synagogue looking a bit off-kilter, they were surprised. The locals followed him out, accosting him: “Who do you think you are to come in here and teach these things? Who gave you the authority to work miracles? Aren’t you Joseph’s son? And Mary? Who died and made you king?”

Up and back on their feet. The time in the shade had been nice but recess was over. As they left Nazareth, a group of John’s disciples arrived unexpectedly bearing terrible news. Whispers of King Herod’s disgusting behavior at a party. The details didn’t make much sense but the end result was clear: Jesus’s cousin John, the one who prepared the way, was dead. Executed. The threat to the Empire neutralized. Game over. 

When Jesus heard about John, he retreated again. To the water, his happy place. When you’re on the water, it’s difficult for people to bother you. Sometimes they’d just go out there and sit in the middle of the lake. Just to get some space. Out there. Between kingdoms. 

By the time Jesus got to the other side, the crowds were already there. They had taken the long way around but they made good time. The disciples were surprised when he had enough energy to help those who were sick. They knew what he really wanted to do was keep going up onto the mountain (another good place to escape).

But the people kept coming. By the time the sun started to set, everyone was hungry. The disciples tapped Jesus on the shoulder: “It’s late. People are hungry. You need to send them back into their towns and eat dinner.”

Jesus had other ideas. “There’s no need to send them away. Feed them.” 

Was he starting to lose a grip on reality? Had all the stress of the past week been too much? The disciples looked around but saw only five loaves of bread and two fish. Nowhere near enough to feed this many people. 

And yet - Jesus took the meager offering into his hands - closed his eyes and prayed quietly. Those who were closest to him made out the words, “Your kingdom come, your will be done -” They knew this one and joined in. “On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread…..”

The bread was passed. Elders told the children stories about their ancestors: Manna in the desert. Water from a rock. Bellies were filled. 

And now - now, FINALLY - they would catch a break. Jesus told his friends to return to the boat and head over to their home base. Capernaum - in another kingdom on the other side of the lake. Jesus said he was going to stay behind for a bit to pray and would catch up with them in a few days. 

But this quick trip across the lake was turning out to be anything but relaxing. By the time the disciples reached the middle of the lake, 3 or 4 miles from dry land, the wind had kicked up to the point where things were getting scary. A chaotic end to a chaotic week. Stuck out here in international waters, between kingdoms, far from the shore with nothing but their fear to keep them company. 

On and on the wind blew. Time crawled by. Jesus’s friends huddled together for warmth as the boat rocked and the waters roiled. A quiet prayer could be heard beneath the wind: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns.” [1] 

But dawn was a ways off and the disciples were still stuck in no man’s land. Plenty of time to wonder just how they got themselves into this mess in the first place. Plenty of time to realize just how much their hope had dwindled and how unsure they were of the ground beneath their feet. 

It was then, deep in the night, during the fourth watch, that time just before dawn when you start to lose hold of reality - THAT was when it happened. You know how it is at that time of night. You can’t quite tell up from down. And even the steadiest among us have been known to slip a bit. We hear things, SEE things….

And that was when the disciples saw a figure moving towards them across the water. Now I know this makes no sense because fishermen, of all people, are smart enough to know that’s not how water works. You don’t walk on top of it. I’m just telling you this story as it was told to me. 

Exhausted, windswept, and confused, the disciples screamed in terror. It had been a rough week, sure, but a ghost? COME ON. 

And then they heard a voice they knew all too well. Jesus. Jesus, who was supposed to be back on the other side of the lake taking some time for himself. Jesus’s voice reverberated over the water, “Take heart! I am here. Don’t be afraid.” 

Before anyone had time to think about how to respond, Peter was in it. “Lord, if that’s really you, tell me to come to you.” And the voice said, “Come on then.” In an instant, Peter was in the water. Well, not IN the water, ON the water. Walking ON the water towards the figure at sea. 

And for a moment, the other disciples couldn’t hear the wind at all. Or feel the boat rocking violently on the waves. For a moment, time stretched out to eternity while simultaneously standing stock still. They saw Peter, impossibly standing on top of the water. And in their hearts they also saw the Spirit of God, the Ruach, the breath moving over the chaos of the waters at creation. They saw Jesus, extending a hand. And at the same time, they saw Moses stretching his hand over the sea, parting the waters. Making a pathway to freedom for those who had lived in slavery for so long. 

They heard Jesus speaking to Peter in broad daylight, closer to the shore, “Push out into deep water. Cast out your nets one more time. Trust me. You’ll see.” And they saw Peter accept the invitation to come and fish for people. 

And they saw something else, a bit murkier because it had not yet come to pass, but, sure enough, it was Peter once again. This time it was early morning and they were closer to shore. Peter was in a boat and someone who looked familiar stood on the shoreline. “Children, have you caught anything yet today? Cast your nets out again, this time on the right side of your boat. And you’ll find something there.”

And then Peter, in an instant, in the water this time. Not walking on it but swimming to shore. Running into the arms of this man who looked and sounded so familiar. Sobbing like a child. And once again, a story they already knew so well. Jesus. With bread and fish. “Take, eat,”  he said. “The kingdom of God is like this….”

And for a moment  - it may have been a second, it may have been eternity - as the disciples looked on, Peter stood on the waves with Jesus. The very embodiment of faith. The manifestation of trust. The actual incarnation of hope.

Between kingdoms. In the already but not yet. One brief, shining moment of liberation. “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

NOTES

[1] Sermon title borrowed from an article by Robert Williamson, Jr.. I am indebted to him for his interpretation of this passage which inspired my reimagining of this well-known story. Williamson says, “Taken together, these two stories [feeding the 5,000 and Jesus walking on water] demonstrate the radical nature of the kingdom of heaven, which stands over and against the coercive power of the Empire.” You can read the article at robertwilliamsonjr.com/maybe-we-could-walk-on-water

[2] Psalm 46.