“When Our Attention (to God) Is Strong, We Walk on Water” (Matthew 14:22-33)

 “I don’t know where it comes from,” the young married man confessed to me, “this sense of dread.  But I can tell when it all started.  My wife and I had only been married three days when she said to me, ‘Honey, let’s not cook tonight.  How about you grab a few sandwiches and a six pack from the grocery store.’”

I had to chuckle.  I’ve been married too long not to.

“What did you experience at that moment?” I said to the young man after making the necessary adjustment in my demeanor.  He said, “I experienced fear.  I mean, when I was growing up, we always ate a home cooked meal—oh on occasion we’d all go out, like for birthdays—but on a Monday, to not cook our supper, well, this was out of control.”

Don’t you just love the word CONTROL?  Do you react to it as strongly as I do.  Let’s look it up in Webster’s Dictionary.  Control means, “To exercise direction over; dominate.” 

I once heard a young man say to a good friend, “My plan is to dominate my thirties.”  I thought to myself, “Good luck. Dominating your thirties is like trying to dominate a pair of panty hose—if you’re female—you don’t wear pantyhose, they wear you!”

A woman, I’ll call her Jackie, was diagnosed with a degenerative neck condition and had to undergo surgery and wear a neck brace for quite some time.  “I am so mad,” she confessed to her coffee drinking lady friends one day, “I mean, I’ve done everything in my power to stay thin and strong.  Everyone else at this table is pretty relaxed about their health.  I don’t mean to offend you, but you all are a tad bit on the chubby side.  You don’t walk on a regular basis and you don’t choose the stairs at work.  I do all the right things and I’m sitting here with a neck brace on and you’re not.”

Control.  It is no wonder that the Old Testament Book of Proverbs offers this wisdom, “We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it.”  The Yiddish proverb sounds like this, “Man plans, God laughs.” 

How old were you when you discovered that life is hard? 

How old were you when you discovered that life is hard, but God is stronger?

Methodist Pastor Pamela C. Hawkins, in the religious journal WEAVINGS, tells the story about the day her husband received three depleting diagnoses:  progressive, degenerative neurological diseases.  “Life sentences,” she writes with candor, “for Ray, my life partner of 35 years, and I to live out the rest of our love together.” It’s painful for both of them.  He cannot settle himself in his own bed.  She cannot get a full night’s rest—a baby monitor sits beside HER bed enabling to listen to his fitful sleep and the signs that he’s in distress and needs her help—a gift from a friend who observes the signs of strain and sleeplessness in HER eyes. 

 “Marks of the care giving life I have undertaken with the man I love,” she states quite frankly.

How does she manage this part of the marriage journey with Ray?  Hawkins confesses, “Bathtub time with God.”  In the early hours of the day Pam finds peace and space to breathe in her “Self-imposed solitary confinement with God,” she says, “In the small, tiled room in the center of our home.”  Here she finds her voice through honest prayer, like the psalmist:

“O God, my God, our God,

Hear my prayer.

Listen to my worries,

Guide me through my fears

For in you, alone, I find refuge.”

Hawkins concludes, “I recognize God as holy Caregiver—Care is God’s idea, God’s example, God’s creativity.”

What a beautiful image:  God as holy Caregiver.  Do we think this is the image of God Jesus is familiar with in our story from Matthew, the story of Jesus walking on water?

Let’s look at the text.  First, we meet Jesus alone with God.  He’s fed a large crowd of persons both spiritually and physically, and now he’s creating a space for God to renew and inform him.  Last Sunday I introduced the importance of the spiritual discipline called solitude.  Solitude is “the practice of being alone with God, of giving God access to you.”  Jesus is giving God the necessary time, undistracted time, so that God can increase God’s gifts in Jesus.

While Jesus prays, the disciples are struggling through the night in a boat against a stormy sea. 

If you remember your dreams, and recall a storm either at sea or on land, the dream is letting you in on a little secret:  at the moment your life is rough.  Storms are a metaphor for difficulty, and difficulty is scary—difficulty in your own personal way of thinking, difficulty in the family, difficulty at work, difficulty in the nation and difficulty abroad.  Peter has two options at this moment in the presence of this storm—he can stay in the boat and panic with his friends or he can step out of the boat walk towards Jesus on the water, like Jesus invites him to do.

Peter chooses to step out of the boat and walk towards Jesus on the water.  However, let us recognize that Peter isn’t walking because he has received special powers, he’s walking because Jesus invites him to walk and whatever Jesus invites us to Jesus makes possible.  This is the truth of life in the Spirit---where there is God’s in-breaking and invitation there is risky but life-giving, supportive activity.  God said to Abraham, “Leave your home and I will bless you,” and God gave to Abraham what God promised.  God said to Mother Teresa, “Help the poor people who are suffering,” and God provided.  The world is filled with stories of people who have been enlightened in a dream, and in a vision, and in a simple sentence to leave this and go there, to stop this and start that, to wait for God instead of meddle themselves;  they even have received words and lyrics to songs and scientific formulas.

I read a sentence years ago that I keep very close—“(God’s) provision is promised for the price of your trust.”

Isn’t this what faith is all about?  A God who PROVIDES.  Or as Pamela C. Hawkins would say, “A God who CARES.”

“Take a step towards me,” Jesus says to Peter. 

What Christian isn’t familiar with this invitation—the one that the Spirit offers all of us, saying “YOU take a leap of faith towards me”—and not the other way around?  In the same breath, what Christian hasn’t lost their nerve in their surrendering to God—and began to sink, like Peter?

That’s why spiritual disciplines are so important.  By spiritual discipline I mean a daily commitment to be accessible to God.  I don’t know about you, but I discovered a long time ago that a one hour worship service once a week does not carry me deep enough into God’s presence where I hear God and surrender.  Trust is a daily conversation—surrender is minute by minute. 

 A sure sign that we’re NOT trusting God, or not surrendering to God, is the lack of attention (time) we give God AND the fruits of our perceived separateness:  our inability to let go of worry or the need to control a situation, our addictions to spending money or stock-piling it, to accumulating wealth, power and status; our dependence on alcohol and other drugs, including our reputation.  Whether its solitude or silence or reviewing the day or downward mobility so that we’re less consumed by the demands of our stuff—a spiritual discipline says to God, “I desire you.”  The absence of a spiritual discipline says to God, “I’m looking elsewhere for power, for peace, for support, for strength.”

I love how Matthew’s story of Jesus walking on water ends for us, his listening audience.  Jesus doesn’t withdraw his love from Peter even though Peter is scared to get out of the boat and take Jesus’ hand.  Jesus simply points it out to Peter.  Jesus doesn’t live and work among us to make us feel guilty; Jesus lives and works among us for our health and wholeness—to open us up to a better self, a more rewarding life.

“You might want to know, Peter,” Jesus says directly to Peter, “You have lost your nerve.  However, I have not.  Here, take my hand and let me pull you up.” 

“Caring, after all” we must remember if we are going to be determined in our surrendering to God, “is God’s idea.”

Let us Pray:  May we find the courage, Gracious God, to let you secure our faltering faith.  Amen.

(Preached by Reverend Dana Keener at Central Christian Church in Billings, Montana on August 10, 2014.) 

The Dreamer

 

 He was his father’s favorite son . . . strike one!

He was a dreamer . . . a dreamer that made his brothers angry with him because his dreams had them bowing down to him . . . strike two!

We all know that three strikes and you are out.  Joseph’s brothers would deliver the third strike when they accost him, rough him up, throw him down a well, and then sell him to a caravan of Ishmaelites to be haul off to Egypt as a slave . . . strike three!  Joseph is out!

At least that is what everyone thinks, but Joseph is a dreamer and his dreams are a part of God’s plan.

Author Christina Westover writes: “Someone who dreams cannot be forced to stop—there are no limitations to dreams, because we do not own dreams, dreams are from God.”  Pastor, psychotherapist, and author John Sanford wrote a whole book about dreams and God titled Dreams: God’s Forgotten Language.  In this book he argues that God has always talked to people through dreams, and that there are many examples of this God-talk in the Bible . . . there is the story of Jacob . . . there is the story about Joseph . . . and, even the story of Jesus’ earthly daddy, Joseph, being talked to by God through dreams.  You cannot stop the dreams, they are of God.  Little did the brothers of Joseph understand that.

Dreamers make people uncomfortable.  The part of the scripture reading left out this morning—between Joseph being his father’s favorite son and his brothers selling him—had to do with a couple of dreams Joseph shared with his brothers.  Though the dreams had different images, the message was the same.  In the first dream there are twelve sheaves of grain with eleven of them bowing down to the one . . . the one that represented Joseph.  In the second dream there are eleven stars and the sun and the moon—of which the eleven stars bow down to the sun and the moon . . . again, which represents Joseph. 

The brothers were not ignorant about what the dreams meant.  They understood the symbolism of the dreams . . . the eleven of them would bow down to their little brother.  This did not sit well with the brothers, especially on top of the fact that Joseph was their father’s favorite son.  It made them uncomfortable . . . it made them angry, especially when they considered that the dream just might come true.  Joseph was making them uncomfortable.  Dreamers have a tendency to do that.

So, you get rid of the dreamer.

History is filled with stories of dreamers being eliminated . . . of dreamers being gotten rid of.  Rarely did the dreams die . . . especially when the dreams were of God’s will, God’s desire.  We have all said it before, if it is of God it will come to be.  So it would be for Joseph and his dream.  As the story goes, Joseph is taken to Egypt as a slave, finds that he has a gift of dreams and dream interpretation, and works his way up to the place of power as the Pharaoh’s second-in-command.  In this position he is given the responsibility of preparing for a great drought that will decimate the nations . . . again, according to a dream by Joseph.  And, he does create a safety net for Egypt to withstand the great drought.  Because of Joseph, Egypt is smelling like a rose while everyone else is scrambling to find food and survive.

Which bring us back to the brothers.  Jacob sends the brothers to Egypt to see about making a deal for a little food.  The individual that the brothers have to deal with is Joseph, whom they do not recognize . . . but he recognizes them.  After toying with them a while by accusing them of trying to steal he reveals himself.  Through it all, just like his dreams he shared with them years before, they bow down to him.  In the end Joseph arranges for the family to come to Egypt to weather out the drought . . . Jacob and all of his sons . . . all twelve of them . . . are together again.  Jacob, also known as Israel . . . the sons also known as the twelve tribes of Israel . . . set the stage for what is yet to come . . . a great nation.

We all have the potential to be dreamers.  Some of us still are, and others of us have had the dreamer beaten out of us; but we all have the potential to be dreamers.  It has been said that the world does not have need for dreamers, but without dreamers where would any of us be today?  Dreamers are a necessary part of life for it is the dreamers who see things unseen and ask why not?  Those who have lost the capacity to dream ask why.  It is hard to dream when everyone around you is putting down the dream and the dreamer.  But remember, “. . . we do not own dreams, dreams are from God.”

Where would we be without dreamers . . . without dreams?

If you are a dreamer . . . I encourage you to continue to dream.  If you are someone who has had the dreamer beaten out of you . . . I encourage you to dream again.  Either way, announce yourself to the world . . . let the world know that you are a dreamer.  Author Vera Nazarian writes: “It is interesting that we call something good a ‘dream,’ but being called a ‘dreamer’ is somewhat of a putdown.  Without dreamers, no dream would ever be given reality, and we would live in a very small and shallow world.  If you are a secret dreamer, it’s your time to announce yourself.”

We are where we are today because someone had a dream.  Think of the things that all of us take as commonplace in our lives . . . the technological advancements that make our lives easier . . . the innovations that simplify our lives . . . the fact that we have sent people into outer space.  Think back to the way life was when you were a kid and all the things that have changed since then.  Where did these come from?  They came from dreams . . . someone had a dream and they pursued that dream.  Writer Robin S. Sharma says, “Dreamers are mocked as impractical.  The truth is they are the most practical, as their innovations lead to progress and a better way of life for all of us.”

The story of Joseph and his dreams in the Bible is a powerful affirmation of dreams and their importance in the faith journey of the children of God.  Dreams can change the world . . . dreams can change us.  Never should we let go of our dreams as they are not our dreams in the first place . . . they belong to God.  Never should we allow others to stomp our dreams . . . to shatter them into a million little pieces because they cannot see or believe.  Dreams do come true as Walt Disney used to say.

Ask Joseph.  God will succeed . . . so, dream.  Amen.

“Attention to the Kingdom Already Present” (Matthew 14:13-21)

Sometimes I find it helpful, when working with a passage of scripture, to spend some time putting myself in the shoes of all the characters presented in the story.

Let’s do that this morning.

First let’s connect with the crowd.  We’re thirsty for something other than Rome and its oppressive spirit (the Roman agenda was divide and conquer) and empty religious practices.  If we’re a wealthy Roman we own a villa outside the city—away from the despair and the smell.  We adorn our lovely home with statues of the gods.  We observe religious rituals so that the gods will grant us prosperity—in other words, religion is about spirits and gods existing to promote my welfare, my family’s welfare, and my nation’s welfare.  Religion binds me to my family, to the emperor, and to my country—even if the emperor is blood thirsty and greedy. 

If we are poor, we live in town—in the middle of the despair and stench.  We may eat and we definitely work hard.  If we’re male we are head of our household, like the wealthy Romans.  If we’re female, we own nothing, and often leave our newborn babies in the streets to be adopted by wealthier families as slaves—because we cannot afford to feed our households.  We wonder, “Is this all that there is to life?  Is this as good as it gets? “

If we are Jewish, we understand that there is one God but the God we meet in the synagogue is heavy on ritual and purity and light on compassion—God will abandon you if you don’t perform every aspect of the law.  We hear that there is a man—God’s man—who is empowered to heal, to forgive sins, to raise the dead, to love, and to unite.  He is so different from the emperor and the local priests.  He’s not afraid, or worried, or selfish, or violent, or judgmental. We want to know more.

Second, let’s connect with the disciples.  Unlike the crowd that’s just catching on to this breath of fresh air called Jesus of Nazareth, we’re on the journey with him.  We’ve seen miracles and heard stories that wake us up to a new reality:  God is with us, and God is deeply concerned about our well-being and the well-being of our neighbors.  He’s an instrument of God’s goodness and invites us to discover this life for ourselves.  We are waking up to this new reality Jesus calls the Kingdom of God, “God with us.”  Will we take the risk and listen to God—instead of the emperor, and the priests?  Today we’re resistant.  All we can see is a lot of hungry people and our limited resources.  We don’t factor God into the situation and want to dismiss the crowd.   

Third, let’s connect with Jesus.  Before this WHOLE story takes place, Matthew records “When Jesus got the news (about the death of his cousin John the Baptist), he slipped away by boat to an out-of-the-way place by himself.” In the NRSV we heard, “He slipped away to a deserted place.” This is not the first time one of the gospel writers notes that Jesus spends time in solitude. 

“Solitude,” writes Lionel Fisher, “is a means to an end, not an end in itself.  It brings us things nobody else can give.”  UCC Pastor and Spiritual Director Jane Vennard observes, “Every summer for almost twenty years I have gone to a small house, high in the Rocky Mountains, for my annual five-day solitary retreat. I make this annual retreat to immerse myself in creation, learning what nature can teach me about stillness.  I enjoy talking to the animals---greeting the birds, telling the deer how beautiful they are. Sometimes a dream re-emerges with an important message.  Sometimes an old relationship that ended in grief needs to be revisited.  Solitude allows me to listen and see with the ears and the eyes of the heart.  I yield to another agenda in the world.”

Vennard’s last sentence describes the life of Jesus very well, don’t you think?   Jesus yielded to another agenda in the world—to another voice—to another spirit, the Holy Spirit of God.  Whereas a citizen of Rome might yield to the emperor, or a Jewish citizen might yield to religious law or rules, Jesus yielded to God’s very self.

As Richard Rohr writes in his book Falling Upward, “There is a deeper voice of God, which (you) must learn to hear and obey.”  Jesus says it this way, “The Spirit of God is upon me.”  What Jesus, and Rohr, are talking about is relationship—developing a relationship between God and yourself through prayer.  Prayer, as Jesus models it, is not just conversation, it also consists of solitude.  Jesus would empty himself of the day’s demands so that he could connect with the Spirit of God, with the energy of God which is life-giving and loving.  This relationship affected Jesus deeply; this relationship affects everyone deeply—when we pay attention to it.

How does the Spirit of God affect us?  The Apostle Paul is quick to offer his list of the “fruits”, or visible signs of the life of a Spirit at work in a person in the fifth chapter of Galatians:  ^22-23 But what happens when we live God’s way? God brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

What Paul invites the church at Galatia to understand is this…where we’d prefer life to be void of crisis so that we might be safe and comfortable…God prefers to equip us with the gifts we need to respond to the crisis so we aren’t overcome by change and challenge.   “Pay attention to the Spirit,” Paul often coached churches, “It will reveal God’s hopes and plans for you.  It will make you well.”

So often WE are focused on the day’s events, like the disciples in today’s story, afraid of what the events will cost us, convinced that what we see with our eyes is all that’s there. Unaware that God is somehow with us, and that THAT awareness changes everything—including how we will respond to a crisis.   In today’s story Jesus, attuned to God’s deeper voice and infused with the Spirit’s gifts:  charity, patience, generosity, responds differently to the hungry crowd.  Jesus is charitable.  What is charity?  Charity is self-giving love instead of self-seeking love.  Jesus is patient.  What is patience?  It’s long-suffering; Jesus can wait with hope.  Jesus is generous.  What is generosity?  It’s the daily offering to God of our meeting the concrete needs of others without wanting anything in return.  These qualities aren’t something we see operating in a person very often, and when we do, we marvel at it.   

We are still talking about Jesus…and Mother Teresa, and, well, who do you remember for being charitable, patient, and generous?  Who does the difficult work of loving?  This week the Billings Gazette told the story of the humble Roundup, Montana farmer who left $38,000,000.00 to our two hospitals.  How many people will benefit from his gift? 

To demonstrate that the Kingdom of God ISN’T far and away but accessible TODAY, Jesus desires to meet the needs of the crowd instead of dismiss them.  Isn’t he amazing?

How does this little story affect us today?  Hunger is everywhere.  It is a real crisis.  “Don’t dismiss the hungry, “Jesus says to us, “and forget about them.  Feed them.”  Do we have the joy, the meekness, the patience—the charity of Spirit?  Are we attentive to the Kingdom of God in our midst?  What place does solitude play in the life of our congregation—and in your life?

Let us pray:  Encourage us, Loving God, to create space for your Holy Spirit to infuse our lives with your precious energies:  charity, joy, peace, kindness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.  Your vitality in us saves our life, the life of our family, and our world.  Your vitality in us makes us amazing, like Jesus.  Amen. 

(This sermon was preached by Reverend Dana Keener at Central Christian Church, Billings, on August 3, 2014.)