WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:04.320 The Holy Gospel according to Matthew, the 14th chapter. 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:05.839 Glory to you. 00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:15.359 Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and go on ahead to the other side of the Sea of Galilee while he dismissed the crowds. 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:20.719 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:23.440 When evening came, he was there alone. 00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:29.519 But by the time the boat battered by the waves was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:34.479 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:44.000 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, It is a ghost, and they cried out in fear. 00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:50.399 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, Take heart, it is I. 00:00:50.640 --> 00:00:52.079 Do not be afraid. 00:00:53.679 --> 00:01:00.399 Peter answered him, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you, walking on the water and came toward come. 00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:06.319 So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:14.799 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me. 00:01:16.079 --> 00:01:23.519 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, You of little faith, why did you doubt? 00:01:24.799 --> 00:01:32.959 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased, and those in the boat worshiped him, saying, Truly you are the Son of God. 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:35.439 The gospel of the Lord. 00:01:35.920 --> 00:01:37.040 Praise to you, Lord. 00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:38.959 You may be seated. 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:47.920 Little lad there. 00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:52.799 Grace and peace to you from God and our Savior Jesus Christ. 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:53.760 Amen. 00:01:56.640 --> 00:01:59.920 Take a moment and ask yourself this. 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:04.400 What does it mean to have faith? 00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:08.800 What does it mean to have faith? 00:02:13.919 --> 00:02:25.439 I have talked at this pulpit before about my journey of faith through all its ups and downs, profound experiences of God, and moments when I didn't believe in God at all. 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:34.719 Thinking about God, whether I believed in her or not at the time, has been a big part of my life since I was little. 00:02:37.199 --> 00:02:43.199 Yet for the longest time, I actually could not tell you what it meant to have faith. 00:02:43.840 --> 00:02:48.879 I couldn't figure it out if it meant to believe or something else entirely. 00:02:50.240 --> 00:02:58.159 It was only when I entered seminary and took my Lutheran theology class that I was actually taught what faith is. 00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:07.840 In class one day, the professor wrote out a very Lutheran phrase some of you may have heard of before on our whiteboard. 00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:12.400 Justification by grace through faith apart from works of the law. 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:14.000 Who's heard it before? 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:14.960 Yeah. 00:03:16.960 --> 00:03:26.800 It is one of the concepts that has historically described Lutheran theology, that it is God's grace that reconciles us to Him, not anything we do. 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:33.840 We began defining the major words in the sentence and discussed them as a class. 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:39.759 But when the professor asked us to define faith, we all got stuck. 00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:44.240 We threw out words and concepts like belief and knowing. 00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:48.719 But our professor told us we were missing something. 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:53.520 We were hitting the target, just not the bullseye. 00:03:57.199 --> 00:04:07.360 In our gospel this morning, we hear probably one of the most famous stories in Christian scripture, and honestly, one of my favorites as I've gotten older. 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:16.319 The disciples are out on the boat in the very early hours of the morning when a storm comes and is battering the boat. 00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:25.680 In the midst of the storm, they see a figure approaching them, walking on the sea, and get terrified that it's a ghost. 00:04:26.399 --> 00:04:33.040 We come to find out just a verse later, though, that this figure isn't in fact a ghost, but Jesus himself. 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:40.720 This is where the story shifts from a cinematic moment to a personal story. 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:54.000 Peter, one of Jesus' core disciples, probably still terrified and questioning if this beat the figure in front of him is his teacher, issues a sort of test to this being. 00:04:55.040 --> 00:04:59.680 He says, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. 00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:06.800 Jesus then directly commands Peter to come, and to his credit, Peter does. 00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:10.399 He steps out in faith and walks towards Jesus. 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:20.480 Yet even in the midst of this miraculous moment, Peter gets scared by the swirling sea around him. 00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:30.720 He sinks, crying out to the Lord to save him when Jesus reaches out and rescues him from the deep and asks him why he doubted. 00:05:32.639 --> 00:05:42.560 To all these wondrous things that just happened, the disciples, the rest that are in the boat, boldly confess that Jesus is the Son of God. 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:51.279 This is a fascinating story full of chaos, miracles, and ghostly figures. 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:58.000 It sounds like a story you would tell around a campfire, or maybe you would tell to kids before they go to bed. 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:07.680 But as much as I love these fun aspects of our gospel today, it's not actually why I love the story itself. 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:16.160 It is one of my favorite stories in the Bible because we are brought face to face with a core question about our life with God. 00:06:16.879 --> 00:06:19.199 What it means to have faith. 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:26.240 So again, take a moment to think about this question. 00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:30.000 What does it mean to have faith? 00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:35.600 Does it mean to believe in God, or is it something else entirely? 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:49.839 When my He defined faith for us, to find the answer that our professor was looking for, he defined faith for us. 00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:54.959 Faith, he said, is to trust. 00:06:56.879 --> 00:07:02.000 And now you may be saying to yourself, trust is not that much different than belief. 00:07:02.240 --> 00:07:04.000 And I would agree with you. 00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:07.519 Trust is often used as a synonym for belief. 00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:12.879 If you have faith in someone, you believe they can do whatever you need them to do. 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:20.079 Yet trust implies something deeper, more relational compared to belief. 00:07:21.439 --> 00:07:29.279 You may believe that people in the world generally have your best interest in mind, but that doesn't mean you sleep with your door unlocked. 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:38.240 Trust is built through getting to know someone by talking and spending time with them, not by just taking them at their word. 00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:43.360 It is something built through experience and effort. 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:45.439 It is deeper than belief. 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:52.560 While you may not sleep with your doors unlocked, you may trust a loved one with a set of keys to your house. 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:57.759 You have experience telling you that they care for you and would not use the key wrongly. 00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:06.160 Ultimately, beliefs are fairly flexible and potentially can change from moment to moment. 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:13.839 But trust is much more solid, less volatile, and takes more to break or change. 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:22.560 In our gospel, we see faith through Peter and Jesus' relationship. 00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:32.159 Peter may have questioned if this supposed ghost was Jesus, but when he hears the command to come, he goes willingly. 00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:41.039 He has faith that his teacher would not lead him astray, would not let him drown as the storm swirls around him. 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:49.039 And true to their relationship built on trust, Peter does walk on the water towards Jesus. 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:55.679 But Peter still has a moment of fear. 00:08:56.000 --> 00:09:03.440 He looks at the chaos all around him, gets scared, doubts, falls into the water, and struggles to swim. 00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:07.360 Jesus has to pull him out and save his life. 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:12.240 Did Peter not trust Jesus enough? 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:15.759 Was this doubt his undoing? 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:28.399 While Peter's fear and doubt may have been seen in this moment, that does not necessarily mean he didn't trust Jesus. 00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:35.679 And doubt is not necessarily the opposite of faith and trust, as doubt can teach us things. 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:47.440 It is in his moment of doubt as he is sinking into the sea that Peter has an opportunity to learn more about Jesus and build that trust further. 00:09:48.559 --> 00:09:52.639 He learns that Jesus cares about him, that Jesus will help him when he calls out. 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:54.080 He learns that Eve. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:10.639 More importantly, Peter learns that even when he gets distracted by the fear around him or when he doubts, God is not the kind of God who will abandon her children, but stays with them no matter what. 00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:19.200 Doubt was not the end of Peter's story, only another moment in Peter's journey of faith. 00:10:19.519 --> 00:10:22.000 It taught him about God's love and care. 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:28.320 It taught him about Jesus, God incarnate, who came to be with us and understand our suffering. 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:40.159 And even though he doubted, Jesus, just two chapters later, after today's gospel, declares Peter to be the rock on which he will build his church. 00:10:40.480 --> 00:10:48.399 Peter's life and work will all be at the core of the early Jesus movement that leads us all the way to the church today. 00:10:51.600 --> 00:10:54.639 Faith is a gift from God. 00:10:55.120 --> 00:11:04.159 It is a relationship that is not ours alone to tend, as God gives us everything we need in each and every moment to trust in their love. 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:18.399 However, like Elijah learned in our reading from 1 Kings today, that does not mean God will always give us or even appear to us in ways we expect. 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:26.080 For Elijah, God did not come in the great wind, in the earthquakes or fire. 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:30.000 These very extreme displays of natural power. 00:11:30.799 --> 00:11:34.320 God came to him in the sound of sheer silence. 00:11:36.559 --> 00:11:40.799 Elijah evading death from people who were trying to kill him. 00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:52.639 God shows himself to Elijah, not in the chaos of the world before him, but in a moment of quiet. 00:11:54.960 --> 00:11:58.720 For Peter and the other disciples, it's the opposite. 00:11:59.039 --> 00:12:07.279 God showed God's self in the midst of a chaotic storm and then a dramatic display of divinity through Jesus walking on the water. 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:17.840 Whether it is through the silence or the storm, God gives us what we need to trust in her word and build a relationship. 00:12:18.240 --> 00:12:23.600 God gives us everything we need to trust in God's love and promises. 00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:33.440 I have just spent a lot of time talking about what faith means and how God gives us faith. 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:39.919 But ultimately, what does it mean to trust in God and to have faith? 00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:47.840 I think this is best said by Paul in our Romans reading today. 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:56.399 To have faith is to acknowledge that, quote, the word is near you in your mouth and in your heart. 00:12:57.919 --> 00:13:00.399 The word is near you. 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:06.240 John 1.1 tells us that Jesus is the word. 00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:13.120 And so to have faith, to trust in God, is to know that Jesus is always near you. 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:18.879 No storm, no silence, nothing, not anything can take God away from you. 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:24.799 God is in the food of life, the bread and wine of communion. 00:13:25.039 --> 00:13:30.399 God is in the waters of baptism, ones that bring us into a new relationship with God. 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:37.440 God is wherever we gather, as Jesus tells us, where two or three are gathered, I will be there. 00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:41.919 God is with the sick, for Jesus tended the sick. 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:46.000 God is with the dying, for our God knows what it means to die. 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:52.399 There is nothing, no sin, no doubt, nothing that will cause God to abandon you. 00:13:56.720 --> 00:14:07.200 My siblings in Christ, if you are sinking in the midst of the storm right now or see the storm clouds rolling in, God is with you. 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:12.480 God gives you what you need to trust in her goodness and love. 00:14:14.159 --> 00:14:23.919 If you have questions for God, doubting if you are worthy enough or getting distracted by the chaos of the world around you, do not be disheartened. 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:27.840 God will not abandon or forsake you. 00:14:30.559 --> 00:14:39.360 Faith is our trust, our relationship with and in God, something that they help us to tend and grow. 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:49.840 On each and every one of your journeys of faith, may God give you what you need to trust in her goodness and mercy. 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:56.240 May God show himself to you in ways you can see and the ways you least expect. 00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:09.440 And finally, may God show God's self to you in the midst of the storms of your life, staying with you until the winds cease and the clouds disperse. 00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:12.559 Thanks be to God. 00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:13.600 Amen.