Walking on Water

When was the last time you encountered Jesus? Was it when you or a loved one was diagnosed with an illness? Or almost being in a car accident? Was it when you were in the midst of your own personal storm, a chaotic point in your life when you felt alone? Did you recognize Jesus in the moment? Were you surprised when He showed up? Or are you still waiting to see Him? 

Read Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b and Matthew 14:22-33.

Jesus had just fed the great crowds with merely a few loaves and fishes. He retreats to his prayer life on a mountain and sends the disciples along the way. As the boat gets away from shore, a wind storm picks up. With fishermen on the boat, they knew what to do – it happens a lot in their weather pattern. Yet fear takes hold of the disciples when they see a ghost walking toward them on the waters. Even after seeing Jesus perform a miraculous feeding, the disciples still don’t understand who Jesus is. After Jesus reassures them that it is Him (and it is God), Peter decides to step out of the boat and walk on water like Jesus. However, he looks to the waves and starts to slip beneath the water. His doubt at that moment is greater than his faith.

Storms are a part of life; but it’s when Jesus unexpectedly shows up that we get a little afraid. Ironically enough, even in the presence of Jesus, we (like Peter) doubt what he can really do. We doubt that Jesus will really show up. And because of that doubt, we choose to stay in the boat – we choose to stay with the familiar instead of stepping out in faith.

The Triniteens and I have recently returned from our mission trip to Goodland Academy in Hugo, Oklahoma. Stories and photos will be up in the parlor on Sunday, as well as part of worship. As we got to know the students at Goodland, I believe I see them as Peters. These boys have encountered Jesus through the love and care of their houseparents, teachers, and staff at Goodland. So they are willing to step out of the boat in their chaotic life, to take a risk to improve their lives. Those boys have stepped out in faith, moving away from home and learning how to be a family.

The Triniteens and I were like the disciples in the boat, getting to witness the miracles that Jesus is working in the lives at Goodland. And because of their act of faith, we too are saved – we too are transformed. We too get to encounter Jesus, even where it surprises us – in the laugh of a sixth grade boy, in the friendships between strangers that instantly form, in the cool rainy weather at the end of July.

So where have you seen Jesus? Are you in the boat, witnessing the grace and salvation of Jesus? Are you stepping out in faith, willing to test the stormy waters? Jesus is more than a man, more than a miracle worker, more than a good teacher. He is our Savior, the one who shows up when no one else will; the one who constantly offers us grace and unconditional love. As the Psalm says, "seek his presence continually. Remember the wonderful works he has done." Thanks be to God for our Savior who walks on water.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Kate

God Holds a High Bar: Pole Vaulting with Jesus

Have you ever seen a pole vault athlete leap with great speed over an incredibly high bar? They get a good running start, plant their pole and trust that it will stay, and then they fly through the air, reaching heights of over 19 feet! It takes a lot of practice, a lot of skill, and a lot of trust in their pole. When all their practice and all their talents come together, a miracle occurs as pole vault athletes can fly!

Read 1 Kings 17:17-24 & Luke 7:11-17.

Here we have two healing and resurrection stories of two widow’s sons, separated by thousands of years but both testify to the divine power of God. Elijah had met the widow at the city gate, similar to where Jesus meets the widow at Nain. Neither widow is given a name; instead they are identified by their relationship (or lack thereof) to a man – a widow. A widow in these cultures was vulnerable, as they could not own property themselves. They were dependent either on their sons or charity to provide for them. They were left on the margins of society, put in the same class as orphans.

And yet Jesus and Elijah see these widows. Jesus is moved with compassion for this widow who had not only lost her husband but also her son – moved with compassion for her lack of security. There is no great declaration of faith, there is no teaching – Jesus is simply moved with compassion for the widow, and with a touch restores not only her son but the widow as well.

Do you believe in miracles? All too often in our lives, we pray for big miracles, for people to be physically, emotionally, mentally restored to life – and we don’t get it. We bargain in our prayers, promising to be the best Christian ever if only God just healed our father/mother/children/spouse/friend. While miraculous events occur, they seem to be too rare for our preference.
But what about the smaller miracles that DO happen? Do we see them? This August, hundreds of kids will get backpacks filled with school supplies and a pancake breakfast. Those kids will really have no idea where the pencils, the glue, the dry erase markers came from. They won’t know about our VBS Mission Project or you tossing a few folders in your grocery cart. It will simply be a miracle to them, a miracle for their family.

For when Christians put our grief-broken hearts together, that is a miracle. And what we can do together with the help of Jesus are miracles. When we as a church take off running as pole vault athletes, aiming for the high bar that God holds, Jesus is our sturdy and reliable pole, the one we can rely on, the one who will help us reach that high bar. Jesus is our Lord who sees us, who knows our brokenness and loves us through it. Jesus is our Lord who empowers us together to reach the high bar that God holds – a high bar of reaching out and seeing widows, the least, the lost, those in need right here in our own city. With Jesus as our sturdy pole, imagine what miraculous height we might reach together, and how we might be transformed in that process – miracle after miracle!

Grace and peace,
Pastor Kate