Sunday, January 29, 2006
Lectionary readings :
Isaiah 40:26-31
Romans 4:18-22
Matthew 14:22-33

I'm very late with this one. Sorry, but ... life.

Jesus ... and Peter ... walking the stormy waves of lake Kinnereth.
It's a very, very well-known image.
To walk on water is - at least in this country - synonymous with doing everything right, and getting maximum benefit from it.
... which could be said to be slightly odd, because the benefit gained by the two people who do walk on water in this story, is being tortured and executed ...

But the story is so well known, that jokes are being told, which pivot around this one, and they would not be told, if you had to start people out with the gospel-story.
And yet, it is one of the "uncomfortable" stories.
Because ... frankly ... we know, we the sensible 21st century people of the western world, we know that it is not possible to walk on water unless it is frozen.
So quite a lot of ink, and quite a few forests, have been spent explaining away the uncomfortable miracle (and this is a very frequent occurence with the miracle-stories in both the Old and the New Testament).
The problem about that, however, is, that if you take away the miracle, you take away the story, and also the things we might learn from it, disregarding whether we believe the miracle or not. In order to understand the story, we need to accept the miracle. It isn't just part of the story, it is the centre of it, and the part from which the rest gains it's significance.

So, let's try to look a bit closer at the component parts.
First there's the storm.
Now, whenever we encounter a storm in the bible, and there is water involved, we have an internal reference to Genesis 1, where the spirit of God blows over the waters of chaos and calms them (for a more direct picture of this, Psalm 104 might be useful, as might Psalm 89).
What is essential is, that the waters represent chaos. Not neccesarily evil, but that which opposes the creative order of God.
So, when Jesus walks through the waters, in the storm, we are not dealing with an ordinary little miracle. This is God, the creator of Heavens and Earth, who once again subdues the threatening waters.
What is more, at his command, Peter can do the same !
And this is where the story can get a very personal connection indeed.
No so much with regard to water-walking capabilites or the lack thereof, more with regard to doing the impossible.
Because we can do the impossible.
When God commands, we can do it, just like Peter did !

And when it happens, to us as it does to Peter, that we suddenly realise that we are doing something we can't, and we fall off, plump into the murky, stormy waves of life at it's really bad, it's good to know that we can do something.
We can ask for help !
And we get it.
Just like Peter did.

To me, love is walking on water. It's a dangerous business, where we constantly fall through. It's a risky endavour at best, where we are at our most vulnerable, and where our lives are constantly on the line.
And no, I'm not talking of the big, romantic / erotic love here.
I'm talking of the "everyday" love, which makes the world and our lives work, and a powerful (the most powerful) expression (to my mind) is the love between parent and child.

We have all been children, and as such, we know how very hurt and bewildered we are, when our parent/s do not see us or love us. And being children, we take the burden on ourselves. When mom / dad doesn't love me, it must be because I am not loveable.
That is an awful way to hurt a child. It is a terrible wound to get.
... and as parents, we do the same.
We put the burden on our children, when we find ourselves unable to cope, and to love them. And let's be quite frank about this : there are times when we, as parents, do not love our children. It might be just a split-second where we wish them at Jericho (or worse places) and we might feel horrible with ourselves for feeling that way. But the emotion, however fast you squash it, is there. What is worse ... the child will pick it up !
And when this happens, we plunge into the stormy waves, drowning.
Now, I'll probably (possibly, hopefully) write much, much more about love in this blog, because the love between parent and child is one of the most powerful forces in the lives of most people, and therefore, one of the most powerful descriptions of the relationship between God and man.
In this post, however, I'll just remind you, that you can reach out and ask for help.
... and that you should.
Love is walking on water, and to do that you need to have your spirit, firmly fixed on the only one who can do it, the only one who can help you do it.
So ... Open your spirit to recieve the love that comes, always, from God your parent (!)
Open your ears and hear the command, that you should love as you are loved.
Reach out, and let Him take you by the hand, guiding you, holding you, helping you.
And walk safely on the stormy waters of your life :-)
God bless you.