Sermon for August 10, 2014 9 Pentecost 1 Kings 19:9-18; Psalm 85:8-13; Romans 10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33 by G. Elmore

“I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, for he is speaking peace to his faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to him.”

The lessons for today talk to us of faith, not belief, but trust in God. The mystics speak of emptying ourselves and being filled with God’s presence. Why does this seem so hard? Trusting in a God who is love, who wants us to be guided by the Truth and is here with us, whether we acknowledge God’s presence or not, sounds so simple, yet when it comes to doing it, it seems out of reach. We pray in our liturgy, “Lord have mercy,” yet the Lord God is here handing out abundant mercy. We pray in our liturgy, “Lord hear our ,” but we know in our hearts our are always heard. Do we try to make God in our image rather than acknowledging we are made in God’s image? The psalmist says, “I will listen to what the Lord God is saying...” But do I? How do I listen? How do I hear?

Elijah had a dream as he was sleeping in a cave, trying to hide from the who wanted to kill him. “Go” said the voice of his dreams, “Go up the mountain, for the Lord is about to pass by.” So went up the mountain. Now if we were Jews in the early times, we would know that the mountain was where one went to encounter the Lord. went up the mountain, and the prophets went up the mountain, and so did . Of course Elijah will encounter God; but how? There was a great wind, and there was a great earthquake, and there was a great fire, but the Lord didn’t appear. And then there was silence, and a still, small voice. Elijah wrapped his face in his mantle, because he knew if he laid eyes on the Lord, he would die. Everybody knew that! “What are you doing here, Elijah?” the voice said. Elijah listened and heard. He even answered. Have you heard that still, small voice? Where do you go to listen?

In today’s gospel, the disciples had been with Jesus and if we take the stories chronologically with no time lapses, they had just finished witnessing the feeding of the five thousand, give or take a few, with five loaves and two fish, and there were even leftovers—lots of them. The crowds were amazed at this miraculous abundance of food and wanted more of Jesus, the miracle worker. So Jesus, rather than basking in the glory of his success and the adulation of the people, goes away to the mountain to pray, and sends the disciples off in a boat.

“Now hear this”, the gospel is saying, “Take the time away from your busy schedule, make the time to go to your place of solitude and listen for that still, 2 small voice.” It’s also saying, “Time to go fishing!” The message to us in this little pericope might be the same. No matter if you’re escaping the trials of everyday life, or the crowds who want to tell you how amazing you are, take some time for yourself, take time out to pray, find that place of solitude, be it mountain cave or boat at sea, a log on the beach, planting and reaping in your garden, or your favorite chair. Where do you go?

But that’s only the beginning of the story. Have you thought about what it would be like to have been in the boat with the disciples? According to James Martin, the author of “Jesus, a Pilgrimage,” the boat they were in was approximately 28 feet long and 7-½ feet wide. That’s a pretty good sized fishing boat, but then there were 12 men in it, plus all the fishing gear. I imagine it was cozy. I’ve been in a dory, about one-half the size of the Galilean boat, in the ocean off the Oregon coast. There were only six of us in that boat and it had a motor. When we were fishing that fine summer day, the wind kicked up, and our captain headed back to shore. It was rough, and I felt a bit queasy as well as a bit scared, but we made it safely back with our motor purring and our catch of fish for the night’s feast.

The twelve? Well it wasn’t quite the same. They spent the night in their boat, and according to the story, the water was pretty rough. They had oars to propel them. They probably were scared, but then again, there were some hardy fishermen in that boat, whose experience and temperament might calm some fears. That is until they saw the ghost coming toward them! Then their fear really kicked in. The ghost turned out to be Jesus, so the story goes. Peter wanted proof, so challenged the ghost to call him out to walk with him.

Now I’ve made challenges in my time, ones that I really didn’t expect the other person to take. Was Peter’s challenge like that? Did he really expect this ghost to call him out of the boat, onto the water? “Don’t be afraid,” said the ghost “Take heart, it is I. Come.” And Peter went, over the side and onto the water. Think about that—could you step over the side of a boat in stormy waters, even if it was Jesus asking you to?

Fear is that paralyzing force that freezes us in place. Fear keeps us in the boat. Fear is used by those in power to control the masses. Fear is used by politicians to make us vote against our consciences. Think of the many ways fear has caused you to do something you haven’t wanted to do. In our neighborhood in California the house alarm salesmen are almost batting a thousand with their fear-based pitch. The gun lobby uses fear to get people to arm themselves, and fear to get members of congress to vote against any form of gun control. “Do not be afraid,” Jesus says, “Come.” 3

What does it take to move us out of the safety and security of the boat? How loud does that still, small voice have to get? What are the issues in today’s world where you can hear the voice of sheer silence asking you to step out of the boat and trust in the presence of God to support you? Did you get the part at the end of the gospel when Jesus says to Peter, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” It only took a little faith for Peter to step out of the boat. That’s all he had. And when he started to sink, Jesus was there to save him. Doesn’t this message say to us, we only need a little faith, a little trust, and when we call for help, Jesus is there to save us, to walk with us back to the safety of the boat? He is there to calm whatever stormy seas we may be swimming in. That little bit of faith is all we need. It’s like a seed that grows within us.

I just returned this week from almost a week in Sooke, BC, where my brother lives and where my niece was married. Bruce’s home is on the water and looks across the Straits to Port Angeles. Chloe and Dan were married in the garden overlooking the sea and the Olympic Mountains. Last Saturday, wedding day, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, the water shimmered, and the salmon were jumping. It was beautiful, or as my grand-niece said, “Today is awesome!” And indeed it was. So was the wedding. Chloe and Dan were so present during the ceremony, their love infused all present. It was a love-filled, spirit-filled, God-filled day.

Elijah went to the mountain to experience the Lord; Jesus went to the mountain to pray; the twelve went fishing; and I went to Sooke. Where do you go?

Amen.