July 5, 2005

Thinking Outside the Boat

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

I love this gospel passage. It is full of information about who Jesus Christ is. I’m willing to bet you thought what I read was all about Peter and the strength of his faith or his lack of it. Or, you’ve perhaps traditionally understood this account of Jesus’ holding out his hand to a sinking Peter as reassurance that God-in-Christ will always be there as our friend and to rescue us in times of turbulence. Well… it’s certainly that, but much more as well. We could call the two interpretations I just mentioned the conventional or the easiest way to read the story--casting Jesus simply as a foil for the larger issue of the fearful and doubting behavior of the disciples, especially Peter. So, what else is going on here?

We read that the disciples—Jesus’ own disciples—are having a problem recognizing who Jesus is. They don’t seem to know that the figure who is walking along the waves is none other than Jesus himself. The wind has driven their boat far out to sea after Jesus tells them to go on ahead. They are drenched with spray; it’s dark. Then, at dawn they see a terrifying sight—a figure walking toward them on the sea! “It’s a ghost!” they shout in one voice. Whereupon Jesus calls to them and says, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” But even after he speaks to them, they are still not sure it’s Jesus; because Peter says something quite strange. He yells, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water”! "Lord, if it is you, command me to risk my life, to tempt death, and walk out across 6,000 fathoms of dark, threatening sea!”

“Lord, if it is you, command me to stick my hand into the fire!” “Lord, if it is you, order me to jump off a building!” If it’s you….

To me, anyway, it seems peculiar and fascinating that unless and until the voice in the wind commanded Peter into the deep end, into the turbulence, saying “Come on out, the water is fine,” Peter was uncertain that the voice belonged to Jesus! And that tells us a lot about Jesus.

Jesus doesn’t just call to us “o’er the tumult” as it says in the hymn we will sing at the conclusion of the service. He doesn’t just call us out of the tumult. He calls us right into the middle of it—he calls us to step out of the boat, risk our lives, throw caution to the winds, and defy death. What a guy! Conventionally, we think of Jesus as the peacemaker, the one who stills the storms of life. A comfy Jesus. When we’re thinking outside the boat, Jesus is the one who stirs up the waters and invites us to step into the sea; to wade into uncharted waters--to see what our faith is made of.

Here we are at Pilgrim Church, already into August. September isn’t far behind. We’re about four weeks from the start of our new church programming for the 2005—2006 year. And we have a newly-minted vision statement and lots of new people and energy on our boards. Did you ever stop to think that now may be the time that Jesus might be calling to us to step outside of the boat?

A Colorado congregation spotted an old vacant store on the main street of their small town, and immediately got a brainstorm that it might have incredible community-outreach potential. They had been anxious to reach their neighbors, especially those who seemed disconnected from God or without a church home. So they pounced on the building—just a short distance from their church--as an ideal place for a…café and bookstore!

They bought the building and turned it into a restaurant called The Lighthouse Café, an eatery now open to the public six days a week, with specialty coffees, pastries, sandwiches, and soups. It brings people into the building for breakfast, lunch, and community events. It establishes relationships, breaks down barriers, and makes it easier for neighbors to come on over to the church for other events.

The Lighthouse Café also stimulates community-building within their congregation. People worship at one of the two services, and then go eat at the restaurant during the other. Or they stop for breakfast before church or for lunch after church. People are hungry for food—and for relationships. The Lighthouse Café takes care of both very nicely. This congregation took its ministry way beyond existing, conventional boundaries, started thinking outside the boat—out where it was kind of risky—and caught an entirely new group of people. Talk about outreach!

Here’s another one. You’ll love it. In 1999 a church in Lancaster, California, was at a low point. Attendance had dropped to 50 members, and the congregation was desperate for revitalization. As the church discussed their future, a 92-year-old member suddenly stood up and challenged the church to become “mission-minded.” Well, they did just that.

The congregation took a leap of faith and embarked on a mission trip to Southeast Asia in the year 2000. They repeated the trip the following year, then went to Egypt and Southwestern China. To date, 70 percent of the congregation has been overseas on mission trips, and you can imagine the revitalization that’s happening in that little church. They no longer have trouble getting volunteers for church school or anything else. Granted, as a cautionary note, they were specifically “planting churches” on their trips, and that’s not exactly what we do in the UCC, but within our own context, the globe awaits us.

You know I’ve been to Chile three times, not to plant churches, but to plant friendship, share faith stories and worship experiences, and to launch projects together with a Pentecostal denomination there for the upbuilding of God’s shalom—God’s peace—among us, and for a better world. In January there will be a UCC mission trip to Chiapas, Mexico to visit coffee farmers who are finally able to make a living by virtue of their access to the Fair Trade farming co-ops. Congregations throughout the UCC have established any number of mission partnerships with churches in Central America, Africa, South Africa, and…Roxbury!

And, for heaven’s sake, the Mass. Conference UCC is planting a new church, right now, in Mashpee. And they’ve already approached every church in the Southeast Area, including us, to respond with awareness-raising, dollars, prayers, and our bodies—actually going there to help them get deacons up and running, greet at a service, take our youth group, loaning or giving office equipment and help.

So how are we, here, over the next year and beyond, going to climb out of the comfort of our own boat and into the waves that whip around us? How will we respond when Jesus stands on the water and beckons, “Come”? Maybe it’s not a café or trips to South America or even South Boston, but it’s a big ocean out there. If we dare step on out, we’ll surely discover that Jesus the Christ is way out there ahead of us. And he’s hoping to connect us with people who may never hear the joyful fullness of his story—and about who he really is--unless it comes to them through our words and our deeds. When Jesus sees us kind of scared and says, “Do not be afraid,” he means way more than “Rest easy.” He means “Take heart, “Have courage,” “Get ready for the new thing that God is about to do in your life!” Venturing into unknown possibilities is a lot harder than sticking to the tried and familiar. But if Peter had not ventured forth, had not obeyed the call to walk on water, then he would never have had this great opportunity for recognition and rescue by Jesus—whose hand was, indeed, right there when Peter needed it.

We have our vision statement; it’s time reflect on whether we are tired of simply splashing about in the safe shallows with too few opportunities to test our faith. If we want to be close to this Jesus, our scripture story tells us, we’ve got to venture forth out on the sea. Jesus Christ is not only the one who protects us and keeps us safe, but also the one who helps to make our lives more dangerous, difficult, and therefore, more interesting! Individual lives worth living, and Christ’s churches worthy of their name, are not those who always stay in the safe harbors, but are those who dare to push out into the storm and join Jesus, the Son of God, on the waves. Amen.

Rev. Beverly Latif Duncan