Matthew 14:22-33 Pentecost 11
Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace—Tucson, AZ
August 13, 2023
4.8 feet per second for a distance of 66 feet. 4.8 feet per second for a distance of 66 feet is the time and length basilisk lizards can walk on water. And they look good doing it! Okay, they actually look comical doing it. You should really Google it—or go to someplace like Costa Rica where you can see them whisk upon the water in person. It might seem disrespectful to some of us, but you can understand why the basilisk is also known as The Jesus Christ Lizard. Obviously, it is because of the gospel account of Jesus walking on the water. The Jesus Christ Lizard sprints across water to escape predators when it feels threatened; Jesus himself walked on water and showed his power to help and save when his friends felt threatened by a furious storm. As Jesus walks on the water of the Sea of Galilee, we see him reach out his hand to help a doubting disciple. As we talk about the details of that account today, let’s think about how A Christian Answers Doubt with Faith. Last week our gospel reading was the account of Jesus feeding over 5,000 people with what was essentially a sack lunch. The disciples and all the people there saw the miracle and were amazed at it. However, the crowd then viewed Jesus as what we sometimes call “a bread king”—a leader who could provide for them and improve their earthly lives. Those with the loftiest expectations would have seen Jesus as the king who would rule the nation of Israel and get them out from underneath Roman rule. Jesus could see into their hearts and minds and knew that they were more interested in national/political concerns than what he had taught them and shown them—that he was the spiritual Savior God’s people had waited thousands of years for. And he saw that they were preparing to take him by force and make him their king. So, he made his disciples get in a boat and make for the opposite shore. Meanwhile, he had something important to do. He needed time alone, time away from people, time to pray to his Father—a quiet time away on the mountainside. You might know what that need feels like, even if you don’t know what it feels like to have the devil throwing at you the temptation to rule in an earthly sense like he did to Jesus once again, just as he did when he offered him all the kingdoms of the world if he would just bow down to him. It’s not hard to imagine Jesus praying about that…or for the crowd to see him for what he really was…or for the disciples who were out on the water in a furious storm. At any rate, Jesus needed this time for prayer before he would return to his friends. It was his return to them that inspired faith in him…then doubt…then faith again! It would be remarkable if we have never ridden a rolling wave of faith and doubt like Peter did. That would require us to look into the eyes of the person sitting next to us today and with a straight face say, “I have never wavered in my faith in Christ. I have never doubted at all…ever.” If you can do that, you have matched Jesus’ trust in his heavenly Father, which would really be something!