8 Pentecost, Year B

"ON SOLID GROUND"
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mount Vernon, Illinois, Sunday, July 26, 2009
Proper 12: II Kings 2: 1 – 15; Psalm 114; Ephesians 4: 1 – 7, 11 – 16; Mark 6: 45 – 52

There were three Episcopal priests in this rather large metropolitan area who’d become not only good colleagues in ministry, but close friends. Two of them had been serving different parishes in the city for quite awhile, while the third one was a newcomer to the area.

These three had had the long habit of having the same day off, and, quite often, they’d spend at least a part of their day off together, cultivating an interest that they had in common.

One day, one of the three suggested they do something quite different. He said, “Today, let’s go down to the lake and rent a boat and go fishing together. I’m a member of the club down there, and the weather’s going to be great for a day on the water.” So, off they went.

As the day went along, and the sun got higher and higher in the sky, the one who’d suggested the outing looked at the other two and said, “You know, it sure is getting hot out here in the sun. I think I’ll go in and have a nice, cool drink out by one of those outdoor tables there by the clubhouse.”

And, so, over the side he went, walking on the water, his feet barely getting wet.

After a little while, the second one said, “You know, I think that sounds like a great idea…I could use a nice, cold beer.”

And over the side he went, walking on the water. His feet, too, were barely getting wet.

And so, the sun got a little higher still in the heavens. By now, it was the hottest part of the day, and there wasn’t so much as even a small cloud to block the sun’s rays.

So the third guy – the newest one – sat there in the boat, looking at the other two, who seemed quite comfortable in their lawn chairs under the shady area there by the clubhouse. As he sat there for a moment, the thought occurred to him, “You know, these two guys don’t have a thing on me….if they can climb over the side of the boat and walk in there to have a cool drink, I can, too!”

And over the side he went. Except that, immediately, he fell right into the water.

As he splashed around, trying to get his bearings, the first guy put his martini down, and said to the second guy, “Do you think we ought to show him where the rocks are?”

In today’s gospel, we hear the account of Jesus’ trip across the water. Except that Jesus didn’t need any rocks to master the power, the chaos, the destructive power of water.

Let me say that again…..Jesus masters the power, the chaos, the destructive power of water.

For, you see, that’s the “bottom line” of the account we consider today.

This event is all about Jesus’ divine power over water, over its destructive force, over its chaos.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, we should back up to “set the stage” for today’s event, reflecting on the ancient world’s view of the created order. We begin with creation account as we have it in Genesis:

Separation of the waters and the firmament: In the Genesis account (1: 6 – 7), we read, “And God said, ‘Let there by a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’ And God made the firmament and separated the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament.”

And so, with this account, we see that the separation of the waters (above and below the firmament) was one of the first acts of creation (following the creation of light and darkness).

Separation of the waters and the dry land: Next, (Genesis 1: 9), we read, “And God said, ‘Let the waters under the firmament be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’”

Here, we see that it is by God’s decree and God’s power that the dry land (which supports plant, animal and human life) is made to appear out of the midst of the waters.

More simply put, God’s design keeps the waters in their place, guaranteeing the safety of all plant, animal and human life.

But, God also has the power to reverse this design, as we see in the account of the Great Flood (Genesis 6: 17), where God says, “For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life from under the heaven; everything that is on the earth shall die.”

And so, put another way, being able to stand on dry land means safety and life. Descending into the waters means death and destruction.

In the ancient mind, the waters were also were the place not only of death, but of evil forces. The mythical sea creature, Rahab (often encountered in the Psalms) was though to dwell in the midst of the sea.

Likewise, descent into the earth and the time of death was seen in a similar light. For the dead dwelled in a shadowy underworld beneath the dry land, a place often called Sheol, where no one praised the Lord.

This ancient worldview permeates the account of Jesus’ walking on the water, even as it permeates Jesus’ death and resurrection.

As Jesus makes his way across the water of the Sea of Galilee, He demonstrates divine power over the waters, walking as if on dry land. That’s the point (we’ll say it again): divine power is at work here.

And, in case we miss it, there’s another marker of the divine, and this marker of God is to be found in Jesus’ words, spoken to the disciples as He nears the boat.

Translated more literally, He says, “Take heart, I am; do not be afraid.”

Notice what Jesus says, “I am” (in Greek, ego eimi = “I am”).

Where have we heard this phrase “I am” before?

If you guessed that those were the words that Moses heard, coming from the burning bush, you are right.

There (Exodus 3: 14), Moses asks God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” And God replies (in my own literal translation), “I am the one I am.”

(Alas, most of our translations miss this important point in translating Jesus’ words, for they translate Jesus’ words as “It is I.”)

Jesus shows His mastery over the sea, in much the same way that He had shown His mastery over the forces of nature, by calming the stormy sea (see Mark 4: 35 – 41) a little bit earlier.

To the early believers who made up the early Church, Jesus’ divine power was seen most completely in His conquering of the last and final enemy, the enemy whose power can swallow us up like a stormy sea: death.

Jesus had conquered death. He had risen from the depths of the earth, that watery and shadowy place which was regarded as a place from which no one was able to praise God.

The guarantee for all who had come to faith in Jesus’ victory over death is that, we too will also conquer death, by the power of Jesus’ victory, in which we have been clothed at the time of our baptism.

But along our way to that final victory, which is that time that we will see God in eternity, face-to-face, by the merits of Christ’s death and resurrection, we experience the power to conquer the forces of chaos that threaten to engulf us, as we live our lives day-by-day.

We see God’s power at work in us, giving us the ability to walk across the slippery sea of life.

We see God’s power at work in us, sometimes in very small steps.

We see God’s power at work in us as the small deaths that nibble away at life are conquered.

Relationships are restored: Husbands and wives rediscover each other anew, just at the time when it seemed that nothing would turn the tide of estrangement and distrust.

Old hatreds are overcome.

People who seemed to have lost their faith in God are restored to faith.

Addictions which threaten to engulf promising young lives are conquered.

These and many more markers are signs of God’s presence, working in us, with us, through us, to overcome the powers of death and destruction.

Thanks be to God!

AMEN.