Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you
from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Amen
Immediately he made the disciples get into the
boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the
crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
In the name of Jesus
The
disciples spend their lives around the one who daily worked miracles. I can’t see how that could get old. Seeing the Lord change the lives of so many
people, with simple words, with simple touching, with the love and compassion
of a tender father, it must have been so amazing. The disciples had to have strong faith, have
such a great trust and belief in the Lord.
To wake up each day, not knowing what they were going to see, but knew
they would be left awe of their master.
Well, maybe not quite.
The
disciples again found themselves in a familiar place. On a boat, out on the water, which again seems
to be anything but calm. Immediately he made the disciples get into the
boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the
crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was
against them. Jesus had sent the disciples out
ahead of him while he dismissed of the crowd, the 5,000 from last week’s
reading, and went up on a mountain to pray alone.
Hard to tell
if this storm was as bad as the storm in Matthew chapter 8, when Jesus and the
disciples were headed across the sea and encountered that storm of the
century. And
when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And
behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being
swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And
they went and woke him, saying, “Save
us, Lord; we are perishing.”
It is very
interesting our Lord seems to lead the disciples into danger. I mean, in our account for today, Jesus makes,
maybe even forces his disciples onto the boat.
Immediately he made
his disciples get into the boat
and go before him to the other side. In storms where twelve men, who were well
accustomed to the sea, find themselves fearing for their lives, Jesus is the one who placed them into
it. They might have even thought it
would take a miracle to get them out of the storm. If only they knew someone who could
help.
Storms,
impossible tasks, impossible situations present themselves to us every
day. We are presented with opportunities
to show God’s love by speaking, by sharing, by helping, by being a Christian
example. We wonder why we are in the
situation, we wonder what it would take to get out of the situation. We might say it would take a miracle to be
relieved of the task that was in front of you.
You have heard of the fight or flight reaction, what is your reaction, fight
or flight, when it comes to mission work, witnessing, being that beacon of
light to people in a world of hurt?
It’s so easy
to run and try and hide. To think, doesn’t
God know that I am not worthy of such a task, that I am not a worthy servant, I
am not capable of witnessing like God wants me too. I would be more comfortable in my home town,
in my home church, in my home. I am
sure these thoughts have crossed the minds of pastors and missionaries alike.
Do you
remember that miracle that the disciples were praying for to get out of the
storm, that we pray for to get out of a difficult task that we don’t feel
worthy of doing? By the grace of God it
took a miracle to put you into that situation.
He calms our fears just like he calmed the fears of the disciples who
thought they saw a ghost on the sea and said “Take heart, it is I”. God
takes all that you have experienced in your life, all the trials, all the
difficulties, all the joys, and prepares you for the task ahead. God sends out into the mission field those
who feel under qualified, those who think they can’t do the work, those who are
sinners.
Our Epistle
reading was from one who was completely unqualified to do God’s work. In fact, he persecuted, tortured, even killed
Christians. He was unqualified because when called to him on the road, he
was not even a believer. But God, by his
infinite grace, took that man, Saul, called to him, and converted him. He took the most unlikely man, Paul, a man
who calls himself the Chief of Sinners, and put him into His service. If God used him, he will also use you.
The importance
of the task of taking the Gospel message to the ends of the earth lies in our epistle
reading from Paul. How
then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to
believe in him of whom they have never heard? And
how are they to hear without someone preaching? And
how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How
beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they
have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord,
who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith
comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
God uses his
children to spread the good news so that all may call upon him. Yes he uses you who are a sinner, you are as
unqualified as the next person. But in
that which you are to witness about, the Cross, the tomb, the Savior, your
sins, your reproach are taken away. God
in his infinite wisdom, took away any excuses we might have, any doubts we
might have about doing his work. You
think you are not special? God created
you. You think you are a horrible
sinner? God sent his Son to redeem you
from your long list of sins. You think
you are a nobody? The Holy Spirit has
called you by the Gospel and sanctified you in the waters of Holy Baptism to do
his work. Take heart and know that it is
God, who works far more abundantly through us than we even know, who has called
you into his service.
God calls us,
God sends us to do his mission work. He
sends us into situations where we are not comfortable. He send us into situations that are not a
guaranteed success, by our standards. He
sends us not where we think we need to be, but where he knows we need to be. And as we struggle witnessing to our friends,
neighbors, our family, as we struggle living a life of example, he says to us “Take heart, it is I”. I have called you, I will strengthen you, I
will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
The question
you are sent to answer, the same question which the disciples had during both
storms. Who is Jesus? When Jesus calmed the storm they asked
amongst themselves, who is this who even commands the sea to stop. When Jesus walked miraculously on the water,
the disciples thought it was a ghost.
Still today, people ask who is it that who does such great things? Who is with us during times of grief? Is there any help?
There most
certainly is. Jesus, the name above
every name, Immanuel, God with us, is just that. With us.
He is with us, to give us strength, courage, words when we are called to
bear witness to his great and awesome deeds.
He is with us to comfort us, to uphold us, to cleanse us in times of
great worry and need.
There are
people all over the world who are thirsting for the knowledge of Jesus
Christ. There are people all over the
world who would give up their most prized worldly possessions to have what you
have on a weekly basis. They desire to
know the one who walks on water, feeds 5,000 men with just five loaves of bread
and two fish, who died on the cross and rose again.
What a
blessing to know the one whom people around the world desire to know, even the
one whom people are giving up their lives for.
As God calls us to share his saving name, remember one of the most
important mission fields, and the best place to start, is in our back
yard.
God bless us always as we find ways to be a
mission church. May he bless us with a
servant attitude that we show Christ’s love in all that we say and do, for the
sake of His Kingdom. Now to him who set
the foundations of the earth, who set the limits of the sea, who has numbered
our days in his way, be glory forever and ever.
Amen.
+SDG+
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