August 21, 2011
Dear friends in Christ.
If you’ve ever taken a picture, then you know just how important focus is. Whether you use a high-end camera with all the attachable lenses, a simple digital camera, or even a one-time use camera that can be purchased at just about any drug store, you know that if you do not pay attention to the subjects upon which you are focusing, your picture won’t come out clearly. Instead it may turn out fuzzy, grainy, with streaks, or maybe even as something that resembles, but is not completely unlike, a Picasso painting. Well the same is true for our faith. When our faith is not focused on Jesus Christ our Savior, we find that our faith is fuzzy, grainy, and streaky, but when we are focused on Jesus, the object and provider of our faith, we easily find the courage to deal with all the distractions, hardships, and frustrations that life brings our way. In fact, as we focus our attention on the next window in our Stained Glass Window Series, we see a very familiar picture. We see the miracle of Jesus walking on the water. Yet, if we take a step back, so to speak, and examine the events that took place on either side of Jesus walking on the water, we see a number of other miracles that are designed to help us focus our attention and our faith on Christ.
In fact, as we take a look at our lesson today, let me remind you of some of those events. Just before the events of our lesson in Matthew 14, Jesus had feed about 5,000 men with two small fish, which were somewhere between the size of sardines and small perch, and five loaves of bread that were not much bigger than dinner rolls. Jesus had taken the bread and the fish, given thanks for it and then began dividing it among the 5,000 + people who were there. Though this miracle was designed to help the people focus their faith on Jesus as their Savior, their focus was blurry for they saw Jesus as some sort of bread king who would provide them with everything they ever wanted if they could just force him to be their king. Thus, Matthew records for us in chapter 14 beginning with verse 22: “Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”(Matthew 14:22–27, NIV84)
Rather than allow his disciples to catch the frenzy of the crowd and encourage Jesus to become a bread king for the people, Jesus instructed his disciples to get into the boat and head back across to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. He did this because he knew that they would be safer on the lake, dealing with the storm, than they would with the crowd having their faith blurred by false ideas. He also did this so that he could dismiss the crowd and send them away, so that he could spend time with his Father in prayer. For the truth is, this temptation by the crowd to become a king without suffering was no different than satan’s temptation to Jesus to bow down and worship him to inherit the kingdoms without suffering. Yet, Jesus defeated these temptations and went off by himself to be with his Father in prayer. He went off to pray to his Father, possibly for strength for himself, very likely for the people whose focus was blurred so that through the Word their faith would be sharpened and they would learn to focus their faith on Jesus, and very likely for his disciples as they were out on the Sea of Galilee struggling against the wind and the waves of a storm that was buffeting their boat.
Now, if this were a TV show, this is where the commercial would be. We would see a picture of the disciples struggling against the wind and the waves, the screen would fade to black, and the commercial would begin. Well, this morning, our commercial focuses on the Sea of Galilee. If you don’t know that much about the Sea of Galilee, I’m here to tell you a little bit about it. The Sea of Galilee was actually a small lake, located in the northern part of Israel, which was actually about 700 feet below sea level. It was roughly 13 miles long at the longest point and about 7 miles wide at the widest point. It was a lake that was surrounded by high hills on either side, so when the wind started blowing over the hills, violent storms could come up without warning, which is what had happened to the disciples. Though the water was undoubtedly calm when they started off, one of those very storms came up, and the disciples began struggling to keep the boat from capsizing. Even though they were experienced fishermen who knew well those very waters, they found themselves struggling with the storm for hours. Though they had left shore in the evening, probably while it was still light, by the time Jesus approached them, walking on the water, it was somewhere between 3 and 6 in the morning. They had probably been on the water for something like 9 hours battling the wind and the waves, and they had only made it about 1/3 of the way across the lake. They were tired from the stress of fighting the storm. They were exhausted from battling the wind and the waves. So when they saw Jesus, walking to them on the lake, their minds gave way to alarm, alarm gave way to superstition, and they cried out in fear.
Now, as we sit here this morning, it could be easy for us to think poorly of the disciples for letting their fears get the best of them, but how often doesn’t the same thing happen to us? How often don’t we allow our fears to get the better of us and blur our focus on Jesus Christ our Savior? If we are honest with ourselves, I think we’d all have to admit that it happens more often that we like? In fact, how often hasn’t it happened that you’ve scarred yourself silly while walking down a dark hallway, in a dark room, or down a dark street? How often haven’t you scarred yourself by almost superstitiously thinking that someone or something is going to jump out and get you? How often haven’t we given way to fear and lost focus on our Savior, if just for an instant, when we see the darkening sky, the flashes of lightning, the peals of thunder, and hear the tornado sirens calling for us to take immediate shelter. How often haven’t we lost our focus on Christ as we’ve been distracted by the waves of bills and other financial responsibilities crashing all around us? How often don’t other fears take hold, strip us of our courage, and change the focus of our faith away from Christ our Savior? How often don’t we find ourselves unable to relax as financial worries overtake us? How often don’t we find it difficult to sleep as worries about job security, or worries about things we’ve said, our countless other fears take hold, bring fear to the forefront and move our focus from our Savior to ourselves? How often doesn’t the guilt of things we’ve done or things we’ve left undone weigh heavy on our hearts until our eyes are no longer focused on our Savior, but are bowed down to the earth beneath? How often don’t our fears even cause us to doubt the Lord’s forgiveness or even his gift of eternal life?
If we are honest with ourselves, then we must admit that too often our fears get the better of us. Too often our fears cause us to lose focus on the source of our strength and our Salvation. Too often our fears lead us to doubt, despair, and even depression over the state of our forgiveness. But that is when our Lord Jesus calls to us and says, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” This is when we hear the voice of our Savior, calling to us, and helping us to refocus our faith in him. We hear our Savior reassuring us that we are his and there is nothing that can snatch us out of his hand. We hear him assuring us that all our sins have been completely washed away. We hear him calling to us in the midst of our hardships and struggles and fears, helping us to readjust the focus of our faith so that it points to him, rather than all those other things.
This is exactly what Jesus’ words did for his disciples, for when he called out to them and told them, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” (Matthew 14:27, NIV84) For as soon as Jesus spoke these words, Peter’s faith was refocused, as Matthew tells us in verse 28: “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”(Matthew 14:28–31, NIV84)
When Peter stepped out of that boat, he was focused on his Lord. He had no fear and he had no doubts. He knew the water would hold him up, because Jesus allowed him to walk to walk to him on the water. While he focused on Christ, he was able to walk on the stormy seas and the waves didn’t crash over him or threaten to knock him off his feet. But when he took his eyes off his Savior and focused on the waves, they threatened to wash over him and sink him, and he began doubting that Jesus would protect him. When he allowed the distractions of the wind and the waves to become his focus and lost focus on his Savior. That was when he started to sink. His fears and his doubts got the better of him and he began to sing. But in the very next moment his focus cleared, he was fixed on his Savior, and he immediately called for Jesus’ help.
Well, just like Peter began to sink when he lost focus on Christ, so also we begin to sink when we take our eyes off of our Savior. When we take our eyes off our Savior and are distracted by the world around us, troubles and hardships loom over us like ten-foot high waves, which threaten to crash down upon us. We are hit by wave after wave of trouble, hardship and grief, which spin us around and we too start to sink and must cry out with Peter, “Lord save me!” That is when our Lord reaches out his hand and catches us. He pulls us back to him, re-focuses our faith on him, and helps us to fight the distractions around us! We are able to deal with troubles and hardships that come, because they are not able to wash over us or knock us off our feet. We are able walk a straight path through life.
So dear friends, my prayer for you today is that the focus of your faith has been made that much sharper today. I pray that in the same way photographers will carefully dial the focus on their cameras to get the best pictures, so also through Jesus’ word and his miracles your faith has been made that much sharper as your faith and your trust reside in the your Savior who has freed you from your sins and given you the gift of eternal life. Though the Lord has never promised that it everything would work out perfectly when we are focused on him, when our focus is on our Savior, our walk is a straight path through troubles and hardships. Continue to focus your faith on Christ so that your faith life does not resemble something like one of Picasso’s paintings, but rather clearly resembles and reflects your Savior, Jesus.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
GraceEvangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN 