On the Way to Wonder

First Reading: Isaiah 56:1, 6-8

 ¹Thus says the Lord:
  Maintain justice, and do what is right,
 for soon my salvation will come,
  and my deliverance be revealed.

 ⁶And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
  to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
  and to be his servants,
 all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,
  and hold fast my covenant—
 ⁷these I will bring to my holy mountain,
  and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
 their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
  will be accepted on my altar;
 for my house shall be called a house of prayer
  for all peoples.
 ⁸Thus says the Lord God,
  who gathers the outcasts of Israel,
 I will gather others to them
  besides those already gathered.

Psalm: Psalm 67

Let all the peoples praise you, O God. (Ps. 67:3)

 ¹May God be merciful to us and bless us;
  may the light of God’s face shine upon us.
 ²Let your way be known upon earth,
  your saving health among all nations.
 ³Let the peoples praise you, O God;
  let all the peoples praise you.
 ⁴Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
  for you judge the peoples with equity and guide all the nations on    earth.
 ⁵Let the peoples praise you, O God;
  let all the peoples praise you.
 ⁶The earth has brought forth its increase;
  God, our own God, has blessed us.
 ⁷May God give us blessing,
  and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe.

Second Reading: Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32

 [Paul writes:] ¹I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. ^2aGod has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.

 ²⁹For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. ³⁰Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, ³¹so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. ³²For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.

Gospel: Matthew 15:[10-20] 21-28

 ¹⁰[Jesus] called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand:¹¹it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” ¹²Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” ¹³He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ¹⁴Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.” ¹⁵But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” ¹⁶Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? ¹⁸But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. ¹⁹For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. ²⁰These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”]
 ²¹Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²²Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” ²³But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” ²⁴He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

CHILDREN’S SERMON:  Let’s groupthink for a moment.  What are some common explanations for what makes an apple become rotten?  Did you think of: 1. It’s in a barrel with a rotten apple that infected it, 2. A worm, or 3. It was dropped,

Let’s pray.  Lord may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.

SERMON

         Our text today starts with Jesus and the Pharisees banging heads on what makes an apple rotten.  OK, it wasn’t apples. But it is rather similar to our preoccupation today with using disinfecting wipes or gel.  Or noticing people aren’t wearing their masks!  We might even notice if people don’t wash their hands before leaving the restroom.  We see the signs about infection everywhere and can identify with the Pharisee’s alertness to cleanliness.  The Pharisees were conscientious spiritual leaders and tried hard to follow the rules.  The disciples who did not wash their hands were not only breaking the rules but were presenting a threat to their congregation.  It only takes one rotten apple to spoil the barrel! 

         Matthew in our Gospel text today relates how Jesus, in response, first delves into the causes of rottenness, defilement, and then Jesus lives out the truth for his disciples and us.   Jesus tells them to listen and understand.  We are listening. Lord, help us understand!

         Jesus uses a strong word, “defilement”, as he confronts the topic.  The Internet defines defilement as, “the violation of something considered sacred, or the act of making something ceremonially impure; desecration.”  Jesus is talking about what makes a person spiritually unacceptable, not just socially unacceptable, but he uses a common apple to prove his point about our sacred souls.

“Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David;

my daughter is tormented by a demon.”

The Agenda

         The Pharisees approach Jesus.  The disciples approach Jesus.  A Canaanite woman approaches Jesus.  All three groups have a different agenda.  The Pharisees point out that the disciples are not washing their hands.  They know that apples must be washed before they are eaten as they might be contaminated by chemicals, by germs, or by a worm.  They are concerned about defilement that comes from exposure to things outside themselves.  Their approach might be called, “ How do we avoid defilement?”  The disciples on the other hand ask for an explanation of the parable.  We might call that approach, “Knowledge prevents defilement”.  “Tell me about this apple,” might be their question.  The Canaanite woman however comes crying, “Lord, have mercy.”  The apple of her eye, her daughter, has been defiled by an evil spirit.  This is desperation thinking.  This is a faith the size of mustard seed thinking.  Our text presents three ways to approach spiritual defilement.  We might see glimpses of all three within ourselves.

         Some of us here today are doing the culturally appropriate thing we were taught by our parents – go to church on Sunday.   Somehow we believe consciously or unconsciously that if we follow the rules then God will bless us.  When we encounter problems we make sure we’ve paid our tithe, we’ve been nice to those we don’t really like and we have tried to live the Golden Rule – love God and neighbor. Buying apples at the right grocery store is the best way to avoid rotten apples.  Doing things the right way is important to us.  We understand the Pharisees.

         ¹⁵But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.”  For many, understanding God’s Word is very important also.  Some of us love Bible studies.  We like to read commentaries or listen to explanations of how the Greek impacts the innuendos of the translation.  Groups have sprung up that focus on hiding God’s Word in our hearts.  In the 60s, during the height of the Cold War we were challenged to memorize Scripture in case of a catastrophe.  Some Bibles have indexes with lists of Bible verses for common challenges that confront us.  That thirst to know God is as legitimate as the Pharisees wanting to do it right and please God.

         The third person, our unnamed lady just calls out “help.”  She believes that her daughter is demon possessed and her problems are far beyond her ability to cope.  Perhaps some of us have real empathy with her this morning.  We are the wrong gender, the wrong ethnicity, the wrong income level, the wrong education, just plane wrong.  We come to church today knowing somehow our life is defiled.  We may not say it out loud but in our hearts we are coming to Jesus today crying, “Help.”

         We read all sorts of motives into each person’s approach to Jesus today but only God knows the truth of their hearts.  Trying to please God by doing his will is not wrong.  Trying to know God by reading his word is not wrong.  Calling out to God when we are despairing is always right.  

¹⁷Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?

In/Out Thinking

         Jesus responds to each group with a kind of in-and-out processing of each group’s agenda.  Food taken into the mouth gets digested, and waste is eliminated.  For the Pharisee, Jesus points out that no matter how much clean food they eat, how it is processed is what determines what is eliminated.  Dieters raise your hands please!  Diabetics raise your hands please!  Alcoholics nob your heads please!  People in the congregation could process that apple and come up with different elimination, “outs”.  The diabetic gets high glucose readings.  The alcoholic is reminded of the apple wine from the night before and is drawn back into his addiction.  The dieter might feel guilty for taking in too many calories and decides not to record the apple on the chart. Actually it was a small apple and not a big apple!  The issue is not the apple but how each one of us processes that same apple.  It does not matter if the hands are washed but if the heart is washed.

         The disciples believe if they understand the truth that Jesus is expounding they will have grown wiser perhaps closer to God.  That might translate, more loved by God.  Just being in church, just hearing the word of God explained does not automatically mean growth.  “Word in, understanding out, and hence growth” is inaccurate thinking.  The sayings of God must be digested and thought about for growth.  In my youth I heard the reasoning that God is love and so free sex is God’s will.  Honoring our spouse is often used to defend abuse.  In Kenya it was believed that “multiplying and filling the earth” was a good reason for the wife to always be pregnant even if she almost bled to death in the last pregnancy.  A man must have children – sons.  It is in the Bible.  We can twist the word of God to justify any cause we are emotionally drawn to if our hearts are not in tune with his.

         So how about our nameless Canaanite woman with a demon possessed daughter?  Certainly all the names we use to describe her, she had heard many times.  She knows she is a woman and a Canaanite.  We know if we are the wrong gender for the goodies of society or welfare or benefits.  We know if we are the “other” ethnicity because we check that blank on most forms.  When our children flounder, we often know and probably we are not so anxious to just blurt out the details unless we trust the audience.  All the labels are told to this woman by her society and even by the disciples walking with Jesus.  “Send her away.”  She is an irritant.  Our woman knows and hears all this but what went on in her heart.  The labels go in but what comes out?

     How did she digest the messages bombarding her?  She approaches Jesus as “Lord” and as “Son of David.”  She acknowledges his superiority and she acknowledges his ethnicity and she cries for mercy.  She knew she and her daughter were rotten apples that had been defiled.   We do not know if she truly understood that Jesus was the Messiah or knew anything about theology but she cried out.  All the labels of our world pour into us every day convincing us that we are unworthy of God’s attention but our heart must process this information and agree or realize the truth that God is our only hope.

         Daily we hear about how to live life right – wash our hands, buy this or that product, go to this or that place and associate with this or that church.  Daily we have the opportunity to read the Word, listen to podcasts, watch TV, or meet with friends to grow in our understanding of God.  Daily we will meet messages telling us we are unworthy of God’s attention.  All those scenarios, our heart must process.  It would seem the Pharisees were distressed at Jesus’ answer and turned away.  The woman continued to plead and drew close to Jesus.  She did not allow the messages of society to silence her.  She did not give up on her apple.

“Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.”

Crumbs

         So we all want to do it right.  The Pharisees wanted to please God by following the rules and not being contaminated, keeping their apples from bruising.  They wanted to draw near to God by following the law.  We might even say they were trying to deserve God’s blessings.  The disciples wanted to know and understand Jesus by having Jesus explain his teachings to them.  They wanted the right diet so they could get the most out of eating apples.  They were drawing near to God through their minds, not just their deeds.  The woman, though, touched God with her faith.

         The Pharisees were the blind leading the blind.  The disciples were seekers wanting to know Jesus but that is not relationship.  They missed the big picture.  They thought Jesus was theirs and not to be shared with a woman, a Canaanite, possibly an unbeliever.  The food, the apple, was theirs.  Their hearts did not believe God’s desire is for all people to have apples.  The woman, on the other hand, has faith that God can deal with all kinds of apples, in all kinds of conditions, and in all places.  She does not ask for the whole apple, just the core.

And so…            

         Today we are challenged to ponder what or who it is that we feel defiles us.  Sermons usually identify the woman as the she-ro of Matthew’s report so we can ask ourselves what is attractive about the woman’s faith?

         The woman is crying for mercy for her daughter, not for things that are transitory. “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David.”  She is not pleading for food for her mouth but help for her soul.  She is not pleading for a miracle.  She is asking for mercy.   What is the cry of our heart today?  Money, health, relationships or mercy?  Can we be satisfied with a crumb?

         The woman kneels at the foot of Jesus in total humility and respect. “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David.”  Prayer is not just the routine she goes through at the start of her day, if it works – good – if not then no harm in trying. She works the insult of being called a dog.  She knows she is a sinner.  She seeks mercy respectfully and humbly, acknowledging and honoring Jesus.  Jesus is her last and only resort because she acknowledges that he IS the voice that counts.  Is Jesus our first box to tick or our only box?

         The woman has no name.  She is called a dog but she goes down in history as someone who moved God’s heart and experienced his blessing personally.

         I think this text challenges us to ask what we are putting in our souls today.  What are we eating?  Are we just looking for clarification of the rules to please God?  Are we looking for greater knowledge trying to develop a closer relationship with God?  Or are we crying out for his mercy for our family, our friends, our world and ourselves?  Let’s hope we are doing all three. This text challenges us to look at what we are seeking – rules, relationship, or mercy by persistent prayer.  Are we willing to accept a crumb from his table believing that is truly enough or do we want the whole apple?  These are hard questions. Jesus honored the woman’s faith. 

         May our faith not be like that rotten apple, forgotten in the back of the refrigerator of our life, allowed to be eaten up by the worms of hurts and prejudice, nor infected with the bitterness of others.  May we be seeking to please God.  May we be seeking to grow in knowing and understanding God.  May we humbly cry out in our need, “Lord, son of David, have mercy on us.”  Lord, help us to listen and understand!

And the people of God said, “AMEN.”

‘

First Reading: 1 Kings 19:9-18

⁹At [Horeb, the mount of God,][Elijah] came to a cave, and spent the night there.
  Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁰He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”
 ¹¹He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; ¹²and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. ¹³When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁴He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” ¹⁵Then the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. ¹⁶Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. ¹⁷Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. ¹⁸Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Psalm: Psalm 85:8-13

I will listen to what the Lord God is saying. (Ps. 85:8)

 ⁸I will listen to what the Lord God is saying;
  for you speak peace to your faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to you.
 ⁹Truly, your salvation is very near to those who fear you,
  that your glory may dwell in our land. 
 ¹⁰Steadfast love and faithfulness have met together;
  righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
 ¹¹Faithfulness shall spring up from the earth,
  and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
 ¹²The Lord will indeed grant prosperity,
  and our land will yield its increase.
 ¹³Righteousness shall go before the Lord
  and shall prepare for God a pathway. 

Second Reading: Romans 10:5-15

⁵Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that “the person who does these things will live by them.” ⁶But the righteousness that comes from faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷“or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸But what does it say?
 “The word is near you,
  on your lips and in your heart”
(that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); ⁹because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. ¹¹The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” ¹²For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. ¹³For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
 ¹⁴But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? ¹⁵And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33

²²[Jesus] made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side [of the Sea of Galilee], while he dismissed the crowds.²³And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. ²⁵And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. ²⁶But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. ²⁷But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
 ²⁸Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” ²⁹He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. ³⁰But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³²When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

CHILDREN’S SERMON:  Today our Gospel shares of a time when the disciples were in a great storm on the Sea of Galilee and they were so scared that they were going to die.  Can you think of a time when you were really, really scared?  Share with your neighbor.  What helped you?

Let us pray.  Lord may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.

SERMON

         “Déjà vu!”  If we step back from our text today, it looks like the same story as last week only in a slightly different context and with more detail.  Last week Jesus headed across the lake to the wilderness to be alone after hearing about the horrible death of his cousin, a fellow prophet, John the Baptist, one of the most righteous men ever and Jesus’ forerunner.  The crowds preceded Jesus and needed him.  He had to postpone his quiet time.  Today in our text Matthew continues from last week and Jesus is dismissing the crowds and headed up the mountain to be by himself and pray.  Jesus has not forgotten his goal and is still on course.

    Last week the crowd brought their sick that Jesus then healed.  The disciples handled crowd control, and at the end of the day when there was no food, they seated the people, distributed the fish and loaves that Jesus blessed and that miraculously satisfied all.  Today the text has the disciples then sent across the lake on a boat, preceding Jesus.  Traveling by boat is something many of them were familiar with even if they were tired.  Jesus comes to the disciples when a storm threatens them and does three more miracles.  He calms the storm and invites Peter to walk on water AND rescues Peter when he flounders.  Jesus again meets the disciples at their point of need.

         Last week the people were hungry.  They were hungry for healing, for teaching, and yes even physically hungry.  This week the disciples are overwhelmed with fear and terrified.  They too are hungry to be rescued. They are even so scared they think they are seeing ghosts when Jesus approaches.  Peter is overwhelmed with doubt, “if” he says.  If Jesus is real, prove it.  Jesus is present in our moments of need and has a solution that satisfies, even if we flounder and are overwhelmed with doubt!  Let’s dig in.

“he went up the mountain by himself to pray”

         The new detail this week is that Jesus was going across the lake to the mountain “to pray.”  When Jesus was confronted with the news about the death of John the Baptist, he did not turn on CNN to hear the “he-said-she-said” of political pundits.  It did not seem that he was concerned about riots in the streets or demonstrations.  He did something we can all do.  He went to pray. 

         Jesus did not go to the Temple to pray but went to the wilderness.  Interesting.  Prayer takes many forms and is not just formal prayers said kneeling by our pew or by the bed or sitting in our favorite chair or at our favorite place. Personally I like swimming laps and just letting my heart unwind with God.  Kneading bread and sitting listening to music and letting the words soak my soul helps.  Many like jogging, biking or fishing.  I remember the tune; “God speaks to little boys when they are fishing.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eAvPunye8Y ) We are invited to pray at all times.  Prayer is an appropriate answer to grief and exhaustion.

         Both texts speak of Jesus going by himself.  As I pondered that, I realized that “by himself” is not the same as “alone.”  Jesus was not alone spiritually because he was always in communication with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps another way to say this is that he went to where he would not be distracted and could have “focused attention.”  We are never alone either.  The Holy Spirit is always with us and available for conversation but sometimes we need to zero-in on his presence.

         In the evening, the disciples are struggling with a storm.  Jesus is aware of their need and does not go in search of another boat to get to them but walks across the sea.  Interesting again.  He does not say, “Transport me over there, Scotty,” like Star Trek.  He does not leave his incarnation behind to perform the miracle.  God’s identification with humanity seems to somehow impact his actions.  That says to me that we do not need to fear that somehow Jesus has ascended back to being God and forgotten what it is like to be human.  Likewise, some miracles are instantaneous like the fish and loaves, and others take time like walking on water.  We want the instantaneous but we must never forget that even if God seems absent, he sees, cares and is on course.

“Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

         Fear is such a crippling emotion.  Last week the disciples were afraid because it was evening and they did not have enough food to feed the people.  After a night of fighting a storm, they are now so exhausted they are terrified and think Jesus is a ghost.  When our resources are running low and we are afraid, it is easy to doubt the presence of God.  Conversely, our fear-paralysis does not stop God from being present to help us.  Jesus did not need the people to believe that he could multiply the fish and loaves in order for him to do it.  Jesus did not need the disciples to believe he could walk on water in order for him to appear.  Often we are taught that God’s actions depend on us having faith only as small as a mustard seed.  Somehow we get tied up in doubt, believing our faith controls God’s ability to help.  It is so easy for our focus to shift from God to our emotions and ourselves.

         Peter responds, “IF.”  THAT is a grain of mustard seed faith!  It sounds like Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof, looking to heaven and saying to God, “While you are in the neighborhood, my horse’s foot is lame again.”  I know I have been guilty of praying, “God, if you’re listening…”  Fear cripples us and often its friend doubt is right there also.  But our frazzled emotions do not stop Jesus from inviting Peter or us into a faith adventure.  Jesus invites Peter, “Come!”  Did you hear that?  We do not need to be theological giants, faith heroes, or have spiritual muscles like Super Person.  God can invite us into an adventure when we are exhausted, terrified, and doubting his presence.  I cannot help but ask us to take a moment to reflect on whether God is calling us today to “come” to him in an area of our life that we are terrified and doubting about.  He says, “Do not be afraid.  It is I.  Come!”

         Wait for it….  Peter steps out of the boat and floppo!  Peter looses focus and starts looking at the storm and starts to sink.  Oh my.  Yep.  Sometimes even in spite of my best intentions, I fail.  I’m guessing most of us do not have to think hard to remember moments of failure.  Sometimes relationships just don’t work out no matter how much we believed God was calling us into them.  Sometimes cars are lemons.  Sometimes adventures end in disasters.  My children all have litanies of “Remember the time we ate eggplant for a month,” or “Remember when mom…” and then I hang my head and reaffirm my humanness. 

         Again we confront the mystery of faith and works and God.  Jesus called Peter into an adventure.  Peter had the faith to step out of the boat but then lost focus on God and looked at the storm.  He has shifted from looking at God to looking at self.  But Jesus did not stop looking at Peter.  Jesus rescues Peter!  Peter may have lost focus on Jesus but Jesus did not loose focus on Peter.  The disciples may have lost focus on Jesus knowing he was off praying but Jesus did not loose focus on them!  You may have lost focus on God but he is still focused on you.

“Lord, save me!”

         Jesus had not died on the cross yet.  Peter was still figuring out what it meant that Jesus was the messiah and what that even means.  So often we discredit ourselves and we become grasshoppers in our own eyes.  We are seldom called upon to walk on water but we are always challenged to be ready to live the faith we confess.  That may only be the gift of a smile to a stranger or a word of encouragement to someone downcast.  It may mean biting our tongue when that snarky response jumps to our lips in response to another.  Then there is always the battle with the pocket book and how we spend our money and the battle with the clock with how we spend our time.  Living out faith just is not easy.

         Peter simply cries out, “Lord, save me!”  It is a simple prayer.  He did not flail around in the water blaming himself for his lack of faith or his stupidity.  He did not turn to the boat and yell, “Hey guys, I need a hand!”  He did not turn at God yelling, “You lied! I can’t depend on you.”  He simply cried “Help” to the only one who could save him in his circumstances.

         Perhaps you are on the top of the world today but I suspect that most of us have a point of pain, grief, or fear.  Making time and space for focusing in prayer on our relationship with God, is always a good choice.  When we can’t see him, he still sees us and is helping.  Our faith does not control God’s creativity in answering prayer.  There are no magic prayers. There are no icons we need to put in front of us.  Just a simple “help” touches the heart of God.  He sees and he cares and he is willing to use us in a faith adventure even if we are old, tired, or terrified.  Our response is to worship him.  Always remember, Jesus said “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Thank you, Lord.

Let the people of God say, “AMEN!”