I remember watching a PBS program on American religion.  One segment was about a Pentecostal sect of Christians who handle venomous snakes as part of their worship services.  A fundamental question that the program addressed was what kind of faith does it take to risk your life?  Would you come to church here at St. Luke’s if it were a matter of life and death?  Perhaps sleeping in or going to Bellevue Square would be more appealing.  It’s easy to dismiss the Pentecostal snake handlers as having false beliefs.  But I found myself challenged by their faith.

Today we hear the story of how Jesus walked on water!  Do you believe that?  Does your faith depend on whether it actually happened or not?  There are lots of interpretations of this story from literal to symbolic.  A miracle happened, but I believe it has more to do with faith than with belief.  Belief is the easy part I think.  You can analyze and poke around beliefs, talk about them and preach about them, exercising intellectual muscles.  But faith is for when the storms come, when action is called for, when our lives may very well depend on what we do.

Jesus had commanded the disciples to get into a boat and cross over to the other side of the lake while he went off to pray.  A storm came up, the disciples were far from land… the wind was against them and they were being battered by the waves.  Just then they see Jesus walking toward them on the sea.  They’re terrified.  But Peter, remembering the words of Jesus to have no fear, steps out of the boat and takes a few faltering steps on the water before he begins to sink.  I can imagine Peter, whom Jesus had nicknamed, “The Rock”, telling this story on himself.  A little embarrassed, hesitating before he tells how suddenly, like Wiley Coyote running over the edge of a cliff in those Roadrunner cartoons, he looks down, realized he’s doing the impossible and sinks like a rock.  But then he concludes, “I was terrified, I called out, Lord save me!  And Jesus reached out, lifted me up and calmed the storm.”

If this story is simply an historical account of Peter’s experience then it may be a miracle, but so what?  You can believe the story, and still sink like a stone yourself.  If however, it’s a story about risk, about stepping out in faith and focusing on the object of your faith, then the story may well have the power to save you during the storms of your life.  Peter was obviously afraid, but at least he got his feet wet!  Whether or not you believe Jesus literally walked on water isn’t the question.  If you accept the meaning of the story, it has the power to become the foundation story of your faith.  A storm that will keep you from sinking!

One of the earliest symbols of the church is a boat, like Noah’s Ark.   As God’s faithful people we’re all in the same boat riding out the stormy seas of life.  That’s why this worship space is historically called the nave, from the Greek root for words like “navy and navigation”.  We’re reminded that we’re in the ship of faith.

Remember the symbolic context of the story.  Jesus has commanded the disciples to get in the boat and cross the sea, but the winds were against them.  If the church is true to its calling it’s not always going to be smooth sailing, simply following the prevailing winds of the culture.  We’re called by Christ to set a course and to meet the challenge of going against the wind.  I think that’s what Brian McLaren in his book, “Everything Must Change”, challenges us to think about.

We are in some stormy seas right now.  Many people in our own community and throughout the world are crying out for mercy and justice.  The poor, hungry, and homeless are sinking.  What are we going to do?  We can give food through the Emergency Feeding Program.  We can provide a safe place to sleep for the homeless; we can study the initiatives and the candidates as we prepare for an election, and decide who and what to vote for based on what is just and right and benefits all people.  I believe that’s what Jesus calls me to do when he invites me into the boat. 

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church , believed he was called by God to be a missionary to America in the 18^th century.  The voyage took 4 months from November to February, the worst time of year to cross the Atlantic .  In the midst of the voyage, a violent storm arose.  The passengers, Wesley included, panicked.  There was one exception, a small group of German Christians, known as Moravians, gathered in the hold of the ship and sang hymns together.  They were calm in the midst of the storm and Wesley realized they had a faith he lacked.  He had been a believer his whole life, but what he discovered was that belief was just the beginning.  Faith was something that came to him in the midst of the storm, through the witness of others in the same boat who entrusted their lives to the Lord.

Perhaps some of you heard Anne Lamott when she spoke at St. Luke’s last year.  Like Pastor Tom I have really appreciated her writing and witness to faith over the years.  As many of you know she’s an author and a single mother who found her way on board the ship of faith after years of drug and alcohol abuse.  A big part of what enabled her to find her faith was the support and love she found from members of a small church she started attending.  Lamott has weathered many storms, and she has experienced the hand of Jesus reaching out to her and lifting her up through the friendships and prayers of those faithful friends in her church.  This is what she wrote in her book, “Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith”, “Its funny: I always (believed) imagined when I was a kid that adults had some kind of inner toolbox full of shiny tools:  the saw of discernment, the hammer of wisdom, the sandpaper of patience.  But when I grew up I found that life handed you these rusty bent old tools – friendships, prayer, conscience, honesty – and said, do the best you can with these, they will have to do.  And mostly, against all odds, they’re enough.”

I believe that’s a miracle.  That’s something you can build your faith on!  Against all odds, still, Jesus is walking on the water, reaching out to you and me in the storms of your life and mine with the hands of faithful people.  And we as faithful people can do the same.  Thanks be to the Lord.

Amen.

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