Pentecost 12

Matthew 14:22-33- Pentecost 12- September 4, 2011 

  The Presence, the Power, and the Promise of God

 This morning, our Gospel reading picks up where last week’s Gospel reading left off, and begins with Jesus saying goodbye.  After He had miraculously fed over 5000 people, it was finally time for everyone to go his own way.  He sent His disciples across the Sea of Galilee in a boat, and He sent the well-satisfied crowds to their own homes.   Jesus said goodbye.  We do the same thing when we go our own ways after having spent time together.  We say goodbye.  And with our goodbyes, we send off those whom we love with a certain part of ourselves along with them, even if it’s nothing more than the fond memory of when we were together.  To say goodbye for us is to say, in a certain sense, I will still be with you. 

It is interesting to look at how goodbye is spoken in other languages that have been influenced by Christianity over the centuries.  In French, for example, they say Adieu.  In Spanish, they say Adios.  In German they say Tschüss.  In English we say Goodbye.  All of these words mean, and derive from, the same thing: God be with you.  What an appropriate blessing to give someone when you have to go your separate ways.  God be with you.  This is even better than saying to someone, “I will be with you,” because God is much stronger than we are.  God can protect.  God can guide.  His abiding presence is much more than just a fond memory.  It is good for God to be with us, because with God’s presence, there is also God’s almighty power.  Let us consider this, because in order for us to truly benefit from the presence and power of God, WE also NEED TO know THE PROMISE OF GOD in Christ.   

Now, one doesn’t need to go to church in order to be in God’s presence or see His power.  God is everywhere after all.  He is omnipresent.  In Psalm 139, David exclaims, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.”  God is everywhere.  And there are certain things you can learn about God even without hearing a single word.  You simply have to be where He is, and you’ll learn quite a bit. 

Consider the great outdoors.  For me there is nothing in the world like going up to the lake in north-eastern Minnesota – surrounded by beautiful trees, fresh fragrances, peace and quiet, water so clean you can drink it from the end of the dock.  Where I come from, we call this God’s country.  And God is most certainly there.  It is God who paints the sunset; it is God who fills the forest and lake with life.  On a beautiful day, it is hardly possible to take it all in.  God’s creation teaches constant lessons about His wisdom, beauty, power, and even, to a certain degree, God’s love and kindness. (After all, God is gracious to give us such a wonderful world to enjoy.)  God’s creation will teach us many things about God, but it won’t teach us a thing about His mercy for sinners.  For that we need more than the power and presence of God; WE NEED TO HEAR THE PROMISE OF Christ. 

You often hear people deny their need to go to church and hear the word of God, making the excuse that God is everywhere.  “I can find Him in nature,” they say.  Well, that’s true.  The question is: what does God tell you in nature?  Consider the serene vacation spot that I just described.  What is it that we learn about God when mosquitoes swarm by the thousands around you?  What can you learn about how God regards you when He sends a forest fire to kill your beloved trees and burn your childhood home?  Or what could God be telling you when you are in a boat in the middle of a stormy lake, with waves pouring in on every side, and the wind keeping you from going where you need to go?  What is God saying then?  Where is God’s love and kindness there? 

Oh, in nature we encounter God alright.  But you can’t trust the God you encounter in nature, because God doesn’t make any promises that He can be trusted in nature.  Just think of the destruction that New England has seen in the last couple weeks because of Hurricane Irene.  Irene. That is a funny name for a hurricane, because it comes from the Greek for peace.  What begins as peaceful often ends in destruction.  We see how quickly God’s expression can change when we seek His face apart from Holy Scripture. 

Now, of course, man does have a natural knowledge of God apart from the Bible.  St. Paul says in Romans 1, that “since the creation of the world [God’s] invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made.”  But this natural knowledge is not a saving knowledge, because this natural knowledge is a knowledge of the law.  By nature we are able to discern that there is no god besides the Maker of heaven and earth.  By nature we know that we should worship Him alone.  By nature we can conclude that we should honor our parents and others in authority.  By nature we know that we should defend our neighbor, speak well of him, and assist him in keeping what is his.  By nature it is obvious that we should be faithful to our spouses and that we should promote the institution of marriage through which God blesses us with children.  This is the natural knowledge of God.  These are the Ten Commandments. 

The Ten Commandments that God wrote on tablets of stone on Mt. Sinai only confirm that which God had already written in the hearts of all men.  That is why we are able to look at nature and arrive at many of the same conclusions that the law teaches in Scripture.  But these conclusions won’t save us, because these same conclusions condemn us.  We cannot by nature do those things that we can by nature know.  Our natural knowledge of God reveals to us that we are by nature sinful and unclean.  We can suppress our knowledge of the law by denying our sin, but the facts remain that we have been disobedient to God our Maker.   “The heavens declare His glory; and the sky shows His handiwork.”  But nothing in nature will reveal His mercy. Nothing in nature can ever reconcile us to our holy and righteous God against whom we have sinned.  For that WE NEED TO HEAR THE PROMISE OF GOD. For that, we need Jesus. 

In our Gospel lesson, while Jesus was praying by Himself to the Father, His disciples were being violently tossed around on the Sea of Galilee, and they were scared.  It had not been so long before this that Jesus had calmed another storm when He was with them in the boat, and saved them from certain disaster.   If only Jesus were with them now.  Then everything would be OK.  His powerful presence could calm the storm, and bring them safely to shore.  All they needed was for Jesus to be there – simply to be present. 

But then Jesus came.  He was there – walking on water.  He was present, but He didn’t calm the storm.  In fact, the disciples were even more scared than before.  They thought that they had seen a ghost, a phantom, something that wanted to hurt them and not help them.  What a sad moment this was for them.  All night long they had been struggling against nature, fruitlessly laboring against wind and wave in order to save themselves.  And now the powerful presence of Jesus who was able to walk on water proved no more comforting than the powerful presence of God who was able to whip up such a violent storm.  This is because although Jesus was present and displaying great power, He had not yet made them any promise.   Without a specific promise from God, faith has nothing to hold onto. 

But then Jesus spoke.  He spoke the same words that Gabriel spoke to Mary when Jesus first became present in her virgin womb.  He spoke the same words that the angels sang to the shepherds when the glorious presence of Jesus lay sleeping in a manger.  “Do not be afraid,” He said.  “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”  “Do not be afraid of the wind or the waves.  Do not be afraid of the wrath of God; do not be afraid of Me.”  With these words, the presence of Jesus turned from a presence of terror, to the gracious presence of their merciful God and Savior. 

Such words of Jesus will never be heard in nature.  Despite how much of God’s power we might see in such things as hurricanes, earthquakes and fires, this is not, as Elijah learned, where we find God at His strongest.  Despite how much of God’s power we might see in the thundering demands of the law that accuse and condemn and frighten you, this is not, as we have learned, where we find the greatest strength of God.  No, we find the power of God in the death of Christ on the cross where He took the sin of the whole world upon Himself.  We see God’s greatest strength where we see God at His weakest, as He takes on our feeble flesh and blood and is crushed by the condemning judgment of His Father for sins that He did not commit, but that we did; when He dies the death that by nature was not His, but ours.  We find the greatest power of God where God forgives us our sins for the sake of His Son who suffered and died to take our sins away.  That is why “[we are] not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it and it [alone] is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe.” 

We do not look for a gracious God in anything we might see in nature.  Instead we find God in the clear promises that He makes to us in the Gospel.  We find God where Jesus tells us to come to Him, because such an invitation is stronger than everything in all of His creation.  This is what Peter learned when He took Jesus at His simple word to come.  Jesus didn’t stop the wind; He didn’t stop the waves.  But He told Peter to come despite what everything else was telling him to do.  And he did.  Peter actually walked on water.  Think of that!  He did what was impossible with man.  But then he did what was typical of man.  He took his eyes off of Jesus and shifted his attention from the clear words of Christ to all the commotion and troubles that were surrounding him. 

When we are distracted by all the things in life that seem to have more power than the simple word of God, when we are frightened by the destructive fury of nature, by our finances, or by our failing health, and our own death, and especially when we are distracted by the threats of a bad conscience –– in other words, when we do the same thing that Peter did, we receive the same rebuke: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”  But just as with this gentle rebuke, Jesus held out His hand and with it provided the very thing that Peter’s faith needed, so also Jesus rebukes us with the very Gospel promise upon which our faith relies.  “Oh you of little faith, do not doubt, but trust in Me.” 

He sweetly [says]: “Hold fast to Me,
I am thy Rock and Castle.
Thy Ransom I myself will be;
For thee I strive and wrestle.
For I am with thee, I am thine,          
And evermore thou shalt be mine;     
The foe shall not divide us.”

We hear this word of Jesus.  And we believe it, because when everything else points us to our sin and to how little we deserve to be blessed by God, Jesus directs us to where He took our sin away and to where He continues to give us the fruit of His life, death and resurrection. 

When we say goodbye to friends and family, realistically, we are not really thinking about blessing them with “God be with you.”  We’re just saying bye.  And often even the fondest memories of the best of times fade away.  We are not with them; and they are not with us. 

But when God says goodbye, that is, when Jesus says “God be with you,” He means it.  And His blessing actually does something.  “Peace be with you,” Jesus says.  And so you are reconciled to God.  And as soon as His body and blood become present here on the altar for us Christians to eat and to drink, you will also hear, “The peace of the Lord be with you always.”  And it will be.  And after you have received Him, you will hear, “Depart in Peace.”  And you will.  There are all sorts of goodbyes that Jesus gives.  But Jesus’ goodbyes are not mere fading memories of an absent Savior.  When Jesus says “God be with you,” He remains with you and never leaves.    When you hear your sins forgiven, God is Present with all His Power according to His Promise in Christ to save you. 

In Jesus’ name, Amen.