Proper 14 -- Jonah
2: 1–9; Psalm
29; Romans 9: 1-5; Matthew 14:
22–33
A homily by Fr. Gene
Tucker, given at The
Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Springfield, Illinois at Sunday, August 10, 2014.
“IS GOD THE LORD PRESENT AMONG US?”
(Homily text: Matthew 14: 22-33)
“Is God, the
Lord, present among us?”
This
question is one that the disciples of Jesus, down through the ages, have
asked. Connected to the answer to this
question is another one: “If the Lord is
present among us, then how do we know that He is present?”
Perhaps
Jesus’ original disciples, as they made their way across the Sea of Galilee in
the depths of the night (sometime between 3:00 and 6:00 AM), surely thought
that they were all alone, for they had left the Lord behind as they set out for
the other shore of the Galilean lake.
Eventually,
as they see the Lord walking over the water, they come to realize that He is
present among them.
But this
incident is about much more than the simple miracle of being able to walk on
water. For a deeper understanding of the
implications of this event, we need to back up and take a look at the world
view of people in ancient times.[1]
We will
look at two specific, biblical accounts which tell us a lot about the way in
which the created order was regarded:
The creation account, as found in Genesis, chapter one; and the account
of the Great Flood, as found in Genesis, chapter seven.
Beginning
with the creation account in Genesis 1: 1, we find that the “earth was without
form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of
God was moving over the face of the waters.”
A little later, we see that God
said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one
place, and let the dry land appear.”
(Genesis 1: 9)
So we can
conclude, from these texts, that God made possible plant life, animal life, and
human life as we know it by creating the dry land.
Now let’s
move to Genesis, chapter seven, where we read that, as the Great Flood took
place, “On that day all the fountains of the deep burst forth, and the windows
of heaven were opened, and rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty
nights.” (Genesis 7: 11b–12)
Notice that
Genesis tells us that the “waters of the deep burst forth.” (We often forget that part of the flood
account….we concentrate on the rain which fell, but not on the fact that the
waters under the dry land also broke out.)
So, simply
put (but hopefully not too simply), we
can conclude that God’s control of the chaos of the waters, and the provision
for a refuge from the chaos of waters, is God’s working.
Now, let’s
return to the account of the gospel before us today.
The
disciples see someone walking on the water, and conclude that it is an
“apparition”.[2] Perhaps they were relying a notion that was
common in those days, that there were water spirits who hovered around bodies
of water, especially at night.
In the
midst of their terror, being in a boat which was likely to flounder in the
chaotic waters around them, and seeing what they thought was a spirit, the Lord
calls out to them and says,[3] “Have
courage, I am. Do not be afraid.”
In His
control over the water, Jesus confirms God’s presence, for Jesus manifests
God’s power to create safety in the midst of the chaos of the waters of the
sea.
As God had
done in making a pathway through the waters of the Red Sea for God’s people as
they made their way out of the land of Egypt, so now God controls the raging of
the sea by passing over it as if on dry land.
Moreover,
God’s presence is made known in Jesus’ comment (which is often poorly translated). Notice that He says, “I am.” (Not “I am here”, or “I am he”.)
This
statement is God’s marker: I am. “I am,” as in the voice which came from the
burning bush, spoken to Moses, which said, “I am that I am.” (Exodus 3: 13–15)
And so the
conclusion is that the Lord God was with these disciples in the person of
Jesus, who, Matthew tells us, is “Emmanuel”, a name which means “God with us”. Though
they were separated from Him for awhile, He came to them in their distress,
creating order out of chaos, making it possible for them to make landfall in
safety.
The early
Christian believers, and believers today, have wrestled with the question, “Is
the God, the Lord, present among us?”
Naturally,
the question then arises, “Are we all alone among the chaos of the world, much
as those first disciples were in the boat that night?”
Matthew
supplies some good reassurances to that question. Let’s look at some of them, specifically:
Jesus is “Emmanuel”, meaning “God with us”: In Matthew 1: 23, Joseph is told that Jesus
is to be “God with us.”
Jesus is present among His disciples: In Matthew 18:20, Jesus tells His followers
that, “Whenever two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among
them.”
Jesus will be with us: Jesus’ final words in Matthew’s gospel
account are these: “And remember, I am
with you always, to the close of the age.”
(Matthew 28: 20) It is worth
noting that Matthew never tells us that Jesus ascended into heaven. Instead, Matthew’s gospel account closes with
these reassuring words, that Jesus will be with us until the close of the age,
present always.
So the
Lord’s presence is assured, whenever faithful people gather together in the
Lord’s name, just as we are doing this morning.
We have that assurance.
We also
have the assurance that the Lord is present with us as long as the current age
endures. We will never be abandoned,
never be forgotten. We have that
assurance, as well.
In
addition, the Lord is present in the Holy Eucharist, for the Lord gave us this
gift to sustain us, and to remind us that He is actually present in the Bread
and in the Wine. For He said, “This is
my Body,” and “This is my Blood.” His
language is quite direct, indicating that He is actually present in each
element of the Communion.
Finally,
the Lord is present whenever God’s power is experienced. Sometimes, we see this power in miraculous
healings, or in lives that are redeemed from the clutches of despair or
addiction. We see the Lord’s power when
broken relationships are restored, when all human abilities to repair the
brokenness of the world have failed to bring about healing and wholeness.
For all of the
Lord’s goodness in His presence among us, may we give thanks!
AMEN.
