2024.02.25 | Rescue Me From Danger
“Rescue Me from Danger”
Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring, Senior Minister & Executive Director
Eden United Church of Christ, Hayward, California
Second Sunday of Lent; Feb 25, 2024
Matt. 14:22-33 | Español
The events described in today’s gospel lesson bring to mind the American disaster movie, “The Perfect Storm,” which was directed by Wolfgang Petersen, and opened in theaters in 2000. The main differences between Matthew’s version and Wolfgang’s perfect storm is that in Matthew’s version, everyone is rescued from danger, and in Wolfgang’s version, everyone dies. That’s a big difference.
Interestingly, the setting for the movie is the Massachusetts Bay shoreline, not far from the community where our very own Dave Wallace grew up, and where his father and sister still reside.
The film is not a documentary, and like a lot of “fish tales,” this one is a whopper and some parts are exaggerated for various reasons, and some parts are “spot on” true.
Matthew’s account had other purposes, and it may have included a little exaggeration here and there to make a point. Regardless, here’s the deal. Mathew’s purpose was primarily to pass on the good news that Jesus was the messiah--the real rescuer--who would take hold of his open hand.
II
In Matthew’s gospel, the Apostle Peter played the role of an Everyperson who struggled to keep the faith, while the disciples symbolized the vulnerable Mathean community, who like the disciples were stuck in a small water craft on a stormy sea.
The disciples were anxious about their plight; until they saw Jesus coming toward them, walking on the water. Peter wondered whether the being who he saw in front of him was the real Jesus, an apparition, or an imposter. So he said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
Jesus said, “Come.”
So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when Peter noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, Peter 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.
Like Jesus, who called on Peter to stay focused on him, Matthew challenged his contemporaries to keep their eyes on the prize and their faith in God, so that they might embody the courage of their convictions in a tumultuous time.
III
Matthew’s description of Jesus and Peter on the water epitomizes the way in which we are all challenged to hold fast to our faith in the midst of turbulent times. Sometimes our challenges are personal challenges, sometimes they are organization-wide, sometimes political, sometimes they are a combination of all three, and/or a WHOLE lot more.
It doesn’t take much effort to imagine the turbulent seas that Matthew describes in this story.
Let’s consider our personal situations. Oh, we don’t have to. They are already staring us in the face. We don’t need a preacher to tell us this part of the sermon because our life experiences are rich with “reels” and reels of “reals.” Yes, we have a complete archival set of perfect storms in our closets and attics. We don’t need to go to the cinema to see a movie so we can find sermon illustrations.
Closer to home, things got pretty tippy in the Eden ship this past week as our employees and consultants with young children finished up their “homework” and left town for a well-deserved winter break. Because it turned out at the same time, our security company called with the exciting news that the Sanctuary burglar alarm equipment we had ordered a while back could be installed this week, or at some unknown time in the future.
I’m sure that you’re not surprised that we (Javier and me) said, “Come.” Because everybody knows that we need that new burglar alarm system in the sanctuary before we can buy new AV equipment to replace all the equipment that was stolen on the eve of Christmas Eve 2023.
About the same time, the exterminators also called and offered to complete the much-needed termite abatement that we had requested. So we said, sure, come on Friday. That will be a day when the least amount of people will be on duty, but when someone will be on duty, to host the vendor who will do the work that will protect our building from collapsing. That’s a no brainer.
Guess what event also coincided with the termite abatement?
If you guessed, “The drop-dead day for closing the books for FY23 audit,” you nailed it.
Other examples of a “perfect organizational storm” come to mind; but I’ll save those for another time when I’m not still trying to recover from my sea sickness from a stormy fishing expedition, and the ushers have time to procure Dramamine to handout with the worship bulletins at the Sanctuary door.
IV
The times in which we now live are also tumultuous times. There is no quick way out of the storm. But there are some things we can do to remain steadfast in the faith in the midst of perfect storms:
1). Let’s be like Peter. Let’s acknowledge our need for divine intervention.Let’s acknowledge that we have some profound inequities and social and racial injustices in our society, and we will not solve these by ourselves or without the help of God. We need the spiritual equivalent of a 12-step intervention. We need to acknowledge our need for help from a higher power. We cannot embrace this truth by grabbing God’s hand in prayer, grabbing another person’s hand in Bible study, and by engaging in deep and challenging conversations about the structural sins in our society such as racism and classism.
2) Let’s be like Peter. Let’s focus on things that we control. Rather than making ourselves sea sick by focusing on the tumultuous waters, or hoping that we can pray away the storm! We can’t. God can bring an end to the storm, but--news flash--weather report. We can’t.
I am reminded, for example, of a vignette from the “It Gets Better Project” established in 2010. The designers’ posted numerous selfie videos of older LGBT people describing how, over time, their lives got better, even though they may have found their coming out processes difficult.
While I’ve generally found this to be the case—that things got better—one REALLY had to take the LONG view, and sometimes, truthfully, for some of us, things never got better.
The most memorable testimony that I’ve ever heard from that project was articulated by a middle aged Latinx who plainspokenly acknowledged that things don’t always get better. Sometimes they get worse. But in spite of all that, you can get stronger. You can survive. And thrive!
She was absolutely right about that!
And, I know, without a doubt, that there are people in this room who can testify to this fact, and I could get a witness right now, if one were needed. But I think we agree. So let’s save our testimonies for the youth, and the incarcerated, and the unhoused opioid users in our community who haven’t yet heard this good news.
3) Let’s be like Peter and the other disciples. Let’s never go fishing alone. There is “strength in numbers.” This concept is more than a basketball slogan. It’s compatible with the Apostle Paul’s teaching about unity and diversity in the Body of Christ. Yes, we can embrace Paul’s advice to the Corinthians, by accepting and affirming unity amidst our diversity. Let’s show up with our friends and neighbors in the Eden Area Interfaith Council, and say with pride: “White nationalism is not Christianity. Racism is not our religion. Anti-Semitism, islamophobia, and xenophobia of every type has got to stop. Now. Not in our town!
4) Let’s be like Peter and his people, and fisher people all around the world. Let’s keep our eyes focused on the shoreline--not on the rough seas. I grew up in a landlocked state, so I had to move to the coasts, and then return to the Great Lakes before I learned from professional seafarers what fisherpeople have always known. The reason that people get seasick is because they look at the waves instead of the shoreline. They lose their focal point. (People who have been in delivery rooms know what I’m talking about.)
I’m not saying that we won’t feel oozy in the midst of rough seas. I’m saying that we can endure those seas without losing our lunch if we keep our eyes on the horizon.
5) Finally, let’s be like our ancestors in faith who remembered and drew strength from the good news that they--that we--are not in charge of how this fish story ends.The one who wrote it, the one who wrote us into it, and the one who brings it to a close has promised that suffering is not our purpose and death is not the end. They will receive us into the safe harbor of Love when our last day comes on earth. And all will be well with our souls.
What a whopper!