Sermon for the 10th Sunday after Trinity – 13th August 2023: Matthew. 14: 22-33

ordinand Clary Read  – St Paul’s Athens

 

“May all our hearts be filled with the Holy Spirit, today and always.  Amen

 

(Sung) Be Still for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here

Come, bow before him now, with reverence and fear.
In him no sin is found, we stand on holy ground.
Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One, is here.

 

I love this hymn because of the atmosphere it creates encouraging stillness and silence to hear God and feel his presence.

 

In today’s readings, in addition to the wonderful storytelling of Matthew  involving Jesus, waters, storms, disciples and faith, we hear of taking times of silence and aloneness with God.

 

In our first reading, we hear of Elijah who, being very distressed has retreated to a cave feeling deflated and simply wanting to die at this point.  As I heard one person say recently, he feels like a punctured balloon, deflated and lifeless.  I am sure we can all relate to feeling like that at one time or another.  Elijah is one of the prophets whose ministry is closest to Jesus in respect of amazing miracles of nature happening but at this stage, even though there are some mighty natural events that shout at him on the mountainside, it is not in these that Elijah receives any clear message.  It is not until he hears the sound of sheer silence that the voice of God comes to him and guides him back on his path of faith.

 

This shows us that prayer is not just talking to God, though, it is about being with God.  Mother Teresa said “If you face God in prayer and silence, God will speak to you. Then you will know that you are nothing. It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness, that God can fill you with Himself. Souls of prayer are souls of great silence.”

 

In our Gospel reading, Jesus has just performed the miracle of feeding the 5000 and has sent everyone away.  He has even directed the disciples to set out in the boat ahead of him.  He realises that he needs some silence and aloneness to be with his Father.  He had already tried to find space to have time with God earlier in this Gospel but the crowds expected otherwise.  This time, however he succeeds and he finds that time.  I wonder where we can go to get away from the busyness of our everyday lives.  Somewhere without the technology perhaps – not many of those places left anymore. So Jesus makes his way up the mountain where no one will follow.

As we know from our reading last week, the presence of God was often found in the mountains and Jesus felt that he could be alone and undisturbed here.  We do not know what he prayed but I wonder if it could have been for inspiration in getting the message across to his disciples about who he actually is.  Even when Matthew in chapter 8 tells of Jesus calming a different storm, they are still are only asking ‘What kind of man is this?”  How frustrating this must have been for Jesus.  Or perhaps he was asking God for advice on how to show Peter how strong his faith needed to be as he knew that it would not be long before it would be tested and would lead him to become the rock of the church?

 

During my training, I have been introduced to the power of contemplative prayer – prayer in silence, inspired particularly by Henri Nouwen, a Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer and theologian whose interests were rooted primarily in psychology, pastoral ministry, spirituality, social justice and community.  I was encouraged to sit for periods of silence at home which did not come easily, as when I did not hear God’s voice loud and clear I became distracted by other things that needed doing.  Gradually, though, as my periods of silence developed from 5 minutes to 30 minutes, it became emotional and intimate.  Sometimes, I thought I hadn’t heard anything but afterwards, in my actions and behaviour, others around me noticed a difference.  The power of silent prayer has helped me develop a deeper friendship with an infinite and mysterious God.  Teresa of Avila, calls it “nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us.”

 

Such depth doesn’t come easily but involves commitment. Attempting it only occasionally would be like a couple committing to be together, then only meeting sporadically to talk about the weather.  Even in ministry, it is important for a priest to find silence and space to sift and sort their agitated hearts. Times of quiet give us a balance and rhythm to undergird our living out our calling.  Only in silence can we truly listen to God and to each other and I know that Deacon Chris is going to give us some ideas of how to do this next Sunday and I look forward to hearing those.

 

The second part of our Gospel Reading, Jesus walking on the water is also recorded in the Gospels of Mark and John but only Matthew includes the part about Peter also walking on the water.  Why was this?  We know that the Gospel writers were writing for different congregations and the author of Matthew’s Gospel was writing to encourage his small fragile community of Christians to continue in faith despite being battered by storms of persecution from the Romans. He uses these sudden storms that are common on the Sea of Galilee as symbols that his readers would have had no difficulty recognizing in order to give a powerful message about the importance of faith both for the community, those disciples in the boat sticking together and of individuals called to step out to lead.  Peter.

 

Jesus does not calm the storm before Peter takes those first steps.  Instead he invites him out into the storm and the rough seas.   His rebuke of Peter’s lack of faith was simply to remind him that through any trials he must keep his focus on Jesus.  We tend to think that peace is found when the waves of life are calm but Jesus never promised us smooth sailing.  Instead he promised to be with us, to love us and to guide us through the storms, even when we have doubts.  Peace is found in the presence of Jesus, and all he asks of us is that we develop our relationship with him and listen.

 

We do not know why Peter stepped out of the relative safety of the boat.  He was a fisherman and knew the risk he was taking.  Perhaps he wanted to show his call to leadership to the others or perhaps having been inspired by Jesus, he wants to earn his love and to emulate him.  Whatever his motives, we do know that he trusted in Jesus and he took those first steps on the water but then he starts to see the raging storm and fierce waves below him and forgets who is in front of him.  He begins to sink but even then in his distress and fear he does remember and he calls out to Jesus to save him.  Not to his fellow companions who may be able to throw ropes out to him to save him, no.  He puts his trust solely in Jesus who does not turn his back on him.  Jesus reaches out his arm and guides Peter back to the safety of the boat.  Only then does Jesus calm the storm and finally the penny drops and the disciples recognise that he is indeed the Son of God, the Messiah.

 

I wonder how many of us have said yes to doing something without thinking about it and then once we are on that path, we see all the things that could go wrong and begin to doubt that we can fulfil that promise.  Since I have begun my ministry in training, I find myself often saying yes to things without hesitation and then found myself beginning to drown in doubts and worry.

 

This is when I need my periods of silence to be with God and give me the peace to hear his voice and feel his presence.  In that calm, God restores me in what I have been called to do.  This is the power of God, and we need to remember to find time in the busyness of life to reach out to him and ask his help.  I had to remember that everything I do is not in my own strength and that if God has called me I should have the faith to follow.  It is important to take time out to sit with God, to listen in the silence and feel God’s spirit speak from within ourselves.  It is then that we become more adept at listening to each other.

 

When we are worried about sustaining our chaplaincy here over the coming months we have must have faith that God is in control and he will lead our ministry team, our congregation and those who come to assist, so that this chaplaincy will continue to flourish without fear and with love and faith.  Just as Peter trusts that Jesus does have the power to save him, we too can have that faith, knowing that Jesus loves us so much we will safely be led over the stormy waters.  So step out in faith and keep your eyes on Jesus.  Follow any calling you may have that will help this church.  Jesus will reach out and guide us all, if we just take time to listen in the silence, just as Elijah did.

 

I would like to finish with a poem called You come to us, from a resource released by the Iona community written by Dave Prentice-Hyers

 

You come to us early in the morning, wind howling, waves crashing,
the world unravelling around us.
You come to us walking on the water,
proclaiming peace when we feel anything but peaceful.
Somewhere in our fear,
in our finitude,
we decided that we must be water-walkers to earn your love.
Forgive us when we step out of the boat to test ourselves, to test you,
to shore up our faith, our egos, our fear.
You do not call us out to test our faith, you call us out in love, to be love,
and you are ever by our side.
Comfort us when the waves rock the boat.
Steady us when the wind is up, and our guard is down. Challenge us to live our faith from grace’s perspective, knowing you match our steps,
stride by stormy stride.

Amen.