Sunday, August 13, 2023

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
Job 38:4-18
Psalm 18:1-6 (7-16)
Romans 10:5-17
Matthew 14:22-33

Yahweh is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.

We laugh at the weathermen. I know that meteorologists are highly educated and that they have incredible computer programs that help them predict the weather. The meteorologist on my lunchtime news even said that they are using artificial intelligence to prepare their forecasts. I have recently been impressed at how well they can predict the day fairly well, getting it right more often than not. Although when the forecast is 100+ almost every day, it is hard not to get it right! It is sometimes quite amazing to watch the model predictions of expected storms and see how close they came to the real thing.

The laughter comes with the long-term predictions. For weeks now they have been predicting that the high that is creating this incredible heat will move and disperse, and for weeks they say the same thing. It doesn’t just happen in the heat of summer. Two-week forecasts are not very reliable. It isn’t even certain that they will be right when they look forward during Monday’s forecast for the weather the next weekend. You can watch every local newscast and hear different expectations. One puts the chance of rain at 60% while the other does not expect rain at all. Their models all come together by Friday, and the forecasts look amazingly similar for Saturday and Sunday. Weather science is getting better, but it is still not something we can predict with any real accuracy too far in advance.

You can see this most clearly when the weathermen display the computer models for hurricanes. They call it the spaghetti model because the picture of the many different possibilities looks like a plate of spaghetti. Early in the formation of the storm, the models have it going many different directions. There are a few that tend to be more accurate, but even those will change as time goes on. In the end, the models tend to tighten up only when the storm is close to land, and then they can make their landfall predictions. Unfortunately, some storms still surprise them and veer one way or another. One hurricane was expected to make landfall around Corpus Christi, putting our city directly in its path. We prepared, and though we are well inland, and the hurricane would be downgraded significantly, we still expected nasty weather, flooding and the other problems associated with a storm. It turned at the last minute and made landfall much farther east. We had nothing but windless and sunny skies. The last-minute turn proved devastating because the area could not evacuate fast enough. People were stuck on the highways for hours trying to escape.

I am sure it is a frustrating job to be a meteorologist because no matter how many times they get things right, we still laugh when they get it completely wrong. We joke that it is the best job to have in our neck of the woods because they are right nine months out of the year when it is always sunny and hot. The local weathermen have created all sorts of new ways of sharing the weather to fill their five minutes, comparing temperatures in different zones just to show that there is something to predict. There is one map which puts up the expected temperatures in different neighborhoods as if a few degrees difference will be noticeable. Is 99 all that different than 100, really? It is hot. And the reality is that it might be 100 in my front yard where it is sunny and slightly cooler in my backyard where it is shady.

It is an important job, though. We need to know the weather and even if I joke about their forecasting, I turn on the TV before bed just in time to see what it will be like tomorrow. I even followed the two-week forecast as I was preparing for our spring vacation. I wanted to plan appropriately so that we wouldn’t be hiking when a storm hit and so we could pack the right clothing. It is good to know if a hurricane might come our way so we can make sure that we have the supplies we need. Families who live on the coastlines where hurricanes make landfall need to board up their windows or evacuate. Families who live in tornado alley need to make sure that they have a safe place to hide. People in flood zones need to be prepared in case the waters rise. We need to know the temperature so that we can dress appropriately.

Through it all, however, we have to remember that the weathermen are not God. They might get it right most of the time, but sometimes they fail. They can’t predict the unpredictable.

I thought about the weathermen as I read today’s passage from Job. God wasn’t speaking to the scientists that try to predict how much rain will fall, but He is talking to all of us when we try to be in control. Sometimes we think we know better than God. Job certainly felt that way as he made his case, claiming that he did not deserve the suffering he experienced. We do the same; we cry, “Why me?” and then lay out all the reasons why we deserve better. We have been good. We went to church. We did nice things for our neighbor. “Why did this happen to me?”

We never really know the answer, but sometimes we discover that we are blessed through our suffering. In this speech, God reminds Job that he can’t possibly know everything that God knows. Neither can we. We weren’t there when He created the world. We don’t know the measure or the line. Science may understand a more each day about the way the world works, but no human being will ever know what God knows.

We suffer, not because God is making life difficult for us, but because we live in a perishable and imperfect world. No matter how good we are, we are not perfect. Sometimes suffering is a consequence of our frail flesh. Through it all, however, we can continue to trust in God because He does know. We might be sick or going through a difficult situation. We make wrong decisions; we turn down the wrong path. Our mistakes are not always blatantly wrong; we aren’t evil because we make a mistake.

I was in Charleston, South Carolina for a conference a few years ago. I arrived early and spent time enjoying the sites, but on my way back to my hotel I decided to locate the venue for the conference. I knew it’s approximate location, but I did not have exact directions. I found a part of the campus, but it did not make sense. I drove around the block and could not find a place to park or even a building that looked correct. I made a turn down one road and ended up at a dead end. I made another turn which took me into the city. I went around the block several times, and spent nearly an hour trying to find the place but never did. I went back to my hotel hoping I could find someone who had the answer. I found my way, but I have to admit that there were some crazy, scary moments.

I don’t like to be lost in a strange city. I have ended up in dangerous neighborhoods late at night because I made a wrong turn. It is scary because I have heard too many stories of people who were robbed and even killed because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I could ask the question, “Why me?” but the reality is that I was in that situation because of my own imperfection. Some suffering can be attributed to sin and the sins that we commit, but sometimes it is simply a reality of this flawed world.

I suppose this is especially true when it comes to the weather. Can a family be blamed because their house was destroyed by a tornado? Are they experiencing the consequences of sin because they lose everything during a hurricane? We can’t even blame the weathermen for inconvenient weather, so we certainly can’t blame the victims. And we shouldn’t blame God.

Sadly, we do blame God when we experience unexpected suffering. We cry out, “Why me?” We lay down the reasons why He should have protected us or saved us or stopped the bad thing from happening. We don’t deserve it. This is actually true. We don’t deserve the bad, but we also don’t deserve the good. Sometimes it happens. What we need to do is trust that God will help us through the bad and the good. Trust. It is all a matter of trust.

The disciples experienced an unexpected storm. Jesus sent them across the lake to the other side while He went to the mountain to pray. He was planning to catch up with them later. Unfortunately, the wind blew so hard that they could not make the boat go forward. It kept them in one place, a way off the shore.

Storms can be frightening. In this story, the disciples were familiar with the lake, with the boat, and with wind, but that didn’t make it any less frightening or frustrating for them. They might have thought that they had enough time to cross, but the Sea of Galilee was notorious for unexpected weather. The disciples weren’t prepared. They were exposed to the elements. Imagine, then, what it must have been like to see a man walking toward them. There is no way a man could walk there, even in the best of weather. Who could it be? Why would he be there? They thought it must be a ghost, and I don’t blame them. Things like ghosts help us explain the unexplainable, and Jesus’ walking on water is one of those unexplainable events. They were expecting to see Him on the other side, they never expected that He would catch up with the boat on the lake. They were already frightened, and the image of a man in a place he shouldn’t be would just add to the fear.

In this story we see a wide range of emotion, especially from Peter. In just a few lines, Peter is terrified, uncertain, demanding, trusting, doubtful, and then confident. He believed and then he didn’t believe and then he believed. He trusted and then he didn’t trust and then he trusted again. Isn’t that it is with us? We trust God with our whole hearts until something happens that makes us uncertain or doubtful. Like Job we cry out, “Why me?” and demand proof that God is really there. Like Peter we realize in the midst of faith that it is all so ridiculous. We take our eyes off God and realize that we can’t walk on water.

God has proven Himself in Jesus, who is truly the Son of God. He has promised that we will be blessed, and He is faithful. It might seem like we should have that perfect life today; it might seem to us that the reality of the world should not interrupt our lives, but we aren’t in control. We can’t possibly know what God knows or see what God sees. We can trust that God is near even in our bad times and that He will make all things right.

The storms of life will come, the winds that blow will frighten and frustrate us, and no matter how good we are at predicting the weather, something will catch us off-guard. It is important to be prepared. Life in this world means that we should do so by having bottled water and non-perishable food, and a radio with fresh batteries to listen to the news. We can buy generators to provide electricity and make plans for evacuation.

The Psalm for today reminds us to be prepared in another way. Where do we get our strength? Who is our stronghold? In whom do we put our trust? Do we trust in the weathermen who get it wrong so often, or do we look to the God who created the whole world? It is good to be prepared for the storm, but what will we do when the storm strikes without notice? Will we be like Job, crying “Why me?” or will we look to our God and say, “You are my strength”?

It is good to be prepared for the inevitable storms. Even more so, it is good to be prepared for the storms of life that can make our faith waver. As the world tries to harm and your enemies attack, remember that the Lord God Almighty is your rock, your refuge. all out to God in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of His Holy Spirit you will know His love and grace. He will see you through.

We often face our suffering by demanding something from God. Job demanded an answer. Peter demanded proof. We demand healing or vengeance or salvation. Paul reminds us, however, that we can’t make God do what we want Him to do. We can’t go to heaven or hell to bring Him to us. We can only trust that He has done what He promised and that He will be faithful. Man didn’t need to demand Jesus come to save us because God planned for His mission and ministry from the very beginning of time. God sent Him and Jesus obeyed, not because any man could foretell Jesus’ death and resurrection but because God raised Him from the dead and restored Him to life so that we can live with Him in eternity. We can’t do it; we can only trust that He can and that He did. It is in that trust that we find life and hope and peace, even in the midst of suffering.

Here’s the real joy of Paul’s words: God invites us to be a part of His work. Though we cannot go to get Jesus for ourselves, He is with us and near us in our hearts and in the Gospel, which is spoken into our lives. Paul says that when we believe His Word in our hearts and confess Him as Lord with our mouths we are saved. Of course, we often look at faith in extremes: it has to be fully God’s grace or fully our decision. But when we do this, we lose the beauty of the relationship God has ordained between Himself and His people. We are given an active role in His Kingdom, even from the beginning of our relationship with Him. We join our hearts and minds with His by participating in His wonderful grace. It cannot happen without God, we can’t make it happen ourselves, for without Jesus none could be saved. By His grace we receive that which He has promised, confessing with our lives that He is indeed Lord of all.

When it comes to faith, I wonder about those who hold to extreme views, and yet by listening to discussions between people of different perspectives I have realized that there can be an understanding that falls in the middle, joining the good things of both extremes for the glory of God. Too many of the debates separate grace and confession when they belong together as one. Grace and faith reveal itself in word and action so that we can live in the assurance of God’s promises. We trust in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is truly the Son of God. Through Him we have life and by His grace we are blessed.

He invites us into His work by giving us opportunities to tell others about Him. Those of us who know the Lord Jesus can’t imagine what life would be like without Him. We wonder at those people who are able to live day after day without some relationship with God. We can’t fathom the atheist who claims there is no God, especially when we see a perfect rose, a brightly colored rainbow, or feel a cool breeze on a hot day. We see God’s hand in the coincidences that seem to occur at just the right moment in just the right place to answer our prayers. We see Him in our relationships, in our worship, in our lives as we walk in faith. So, we cannot understand how they do not see Him also.

Yet, even as we do not understand how they do not see Him, do we show them? Those who hear us speak about the Lord may not believe when they hear our words. They may not even believe it in a week, a month, or years after they heard our words. However, when the time is right God will reveal Himself to them and they will know that God is there. Then it is hard to miss Him in everything. Eventually they will realize that coincidences are not coincidental, but are moments designed by the living, loving God of creation. It may all begin with a seed we’ve planted.

It isn’t easy to share the Word, to introduce people to Christ, especially if they look at our lives filled with suffering; they refuse to believe in a God who would allow it to happen. That should never stop us from sharing Jesus with the world. We have been invited to be the mouths that confess God’s grace to our neighbors. Our confession not only reminds us of the God who is near and who is trustworthy, but it offers that same grace to those who as yet do not believe.

Here’s a joke for today: An enthusiastic young Protestant minister was posted to a small town where there was both a Catholic church and a Jewish synagogue. The Catholic priest and the Jewish rabbi welcomed the young minister warmly and offered any assistance he might need in his new charge. Then they invited him to go fishing with them. As they were sitting in the boat about fifty yards from shore, the priest said he was thirsty. But they had left the cooler on the dock. The Rabbi said, “I’ll get it.” With that he stepped out of the left side of the boat, walked to the dock, and returned with the cooler. Later the rabbi hooked a large trout, but the net had been left on the dock also. So, the priest stepped out of the left side of the boat, walked to the dock, and returned with the net. By this time the young minister was a little red in the face. Then the old priest said that he had left his knife on the dock, and he couldn’t get the hook out of the fish’s mouth. The young minister stood up and said, “I’ll get it!” With that, he stepped out the right side of the boat and promptly sank to his eyebrows. The rabbi turned to the priest and said, “Well Father, if we’re gonna’ help this boy, we should start by showing him where the steppingstones are.”

The emotions of the disciples that night on the sea were intense. Peter was on a roller coaster. He saw Jesus walking on water and he wanted to believe. He wanted to believe so much that he thought he had to prove that he had enough faith to walk on the water. He did well in the beginning because he kept his eyes on Jesus. Then suddenly he turned his attention to something else: the winds that were blowing around him. His thoughts turned inward to his safety and the ridiculous nature of what he was trying to do. He realized that he could not walk on water after stepping out of the boat. He was sure he would drown.

The joke is funny because the priest and the rabbi didn’t really walk on water. They knew about steppingstones that would take them to the dock safe and dry. The young minister did not know there were stones. He thought that the priest and the rabbi had so much more faith and he thought he had to prove that he was as faithful and holy as they. His purpose for going to the dock was not to serve the others but to prove his faith.

I suspect that none of us will ever really walk on water as Jesus did. No matter how much we trust God we do not need to prove our faith by doing something impossible and amazing. However, Jesus calls us out of our boat all the time. He calls us out of our comfort zone into situations where we can serve others even though it seems ridiculous. He calls us to come to Him in ways that are beyond our ability so that we will learn to keep our eyes on Him for strength. The problems come when we turn our thoughts inward. We get into trouble when our motivation is self-centered, when we allow fear and envy to guide our steps. When Jesus calls us out of the boat saying “Come,” we will stand as long as we keep our eyes, and hearts, on Him.

We weren’t there when God laid the foundations of the earth, and we will never be able to fully understand Him. But He is with us, near us, in our lives and hearts and mouths. He knows how to turn suffering into blessing. He calls us to trust in Him, to believe and confess that He is Lord. It won’t be easy. We are no different than Job, Peter, or Paul. We can rest in the knowledge that God is our rock and our fortress, our deliverer and refuge. He knows everything about us good and bad, and that He has sent Jesus as the way of forgiveness. He will be there to pick us up whenever we fall because He has promised, and He is faithful.