Follow Me

( Jeremiah 15, 15-21; Romans 12, 9-21; Matt. 16, 21-26. )

There’s a version of the Gospel that is preached by some evangelists, particularly some of the tele-evangelists in the United States, which says that if you live according to what the Bible teaches, pray regularly and tithe your income in your gifts to the church, you will experience material prosperity in this life. Pastor Ike in the 70’s said “Don’t wait for pie-in-the-sky by and by. Get yours now with ice cream on top.” The Lord does not want anyone to be materially poor, they say, and they deny the traditional picture of Jesus as a poor person. They argue that he was wealthy enough to support his 12 followers. Rather than having a special concern for the poor, they say, God wants all his followers to be rich, and if they obey him, they will be given the power to become wealthy ( and the limousines and private jets of the tele-evangelists are proof that this is right).

 

 

There is some support for this view of faith in the Old Testament, particularly in the Book of Deuteronomyand in the history books that follow. They constantly re-iterate warnings to obey God and be faithful to the covenant, so that “your life may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you” and Deuteronomy 8.18 specifically promises “Remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you the power to become rich”. The belief came into prominence again, to a certain extent after the reformation. Some groups taught that you could tell ‘the elect”, those pre-destined to God for salvation, by their material possessions. This lead to what the sociologist Max Weber called ‘The Protestant Work Ethic’ credited by him with promoting the rise of capitalism in the West. 

 

There is also a version of the Gospel that is taught that maintains that those who have true faith will never get things wrong, and never encounter doubt or despair. If you really believe and trust in God, this version of Christianity says, you will sail through life in peace and confidence.  

 

But the view that God rewards those who are faithful with peace of mind and prosperity in this life did not even hold sway throughout the whole of the Old Testament period. As early as the prophet Elijah, we find him complaining ( like Jeremiah in our Old Testament reading) that doing God’s will has brought him only misery and danger – and we get similar complaints against God in the Psalms and the Book of Job. 

 

Perhaps we find it strange that some of the major Old Testament figures berate God so vigorously in their prayers. We are more used to hearing about God’s dependability from  those who have faith. Jeremiah’s experience seems to have been quite different. He was called before birth, he says, to preach the word of God, and he was promised God’s support; he has been faithful to his commission, and all it has brought him is misery, and he has no sense that God is supporting him. God’s support he says, is as unreliable as a stream that dries up in the heat of the sun.

 

It is not a comforting God who answers. Stop wallowing in self-pity, he says to Jeremiah. Stop wasting your words on complaining to me and go back to preaching the message I sent you to preach. I won’t make life easy for you, and your message will not be welcomed by those you speak to – but I will be with you and you will not ultimately be overcome.

 

I imagine that in the euphoria of accompanying Jesus on his ministry in Galilee, witnessing the success of his preaching, his miracles and the large crowds who followed him, the disciples must have believed in a version of the ‘prosperity gospel’ – that Jesus was the promised Messiah who would throw out the Romans, re-establish the Kingdom of Israel, and that his loyal followers would have pride of place in his administration.

 

No wonder Peter reacted so badly when Jesus began to predict his arrest and crucifixion. That didn’t fit in with his dreams for the future at all. 

 

And, just as God reacted with  bluntness to Jeremiah, so Jesus answers Peter  with a sharpness that we find surprising, calling him by the name of the Devil. Why? Because Peter was doing Satan’s work for him, in preaching the idea that there is a way of doing what God wants us to do which is guaranteed to bring us  peace and prosperity, whereas it is much more often the case that, in following God’s commands, people get hurt. 

 

Then, just as God did with Jeremiah, Jesus urges the disciples to get back on the right track, to face up to what is coming for him, and possibly, for them. “Follow me” will not lead to guaranteed peace of mind and prosperity. It may lead to  persecution, it may lead to death. But again, there is a reassurance at the end.

Although sometimes we may feel that God has deserted us, and at times, our faith is not strong enough to get us through the hard times without complaint, there will be justification for those who are faithful – but in God’s time, and in God’s Kingdom – not necessarily on earth.  

 

I find it very reassuring that sometimes the giants of the faith, like Jeremiah and Peter, can get discouraged and get things spectacularly wrong.  It puts the problems we experience as a follower of Christ into perspective. I am sure that many of you will have experienced times ( as I have) when doing what we believe to be the work of God has brought us frustration, hurt feelings and problems in life.  I am sure, because it is a common experience of the great spiritual writers, that many Christians experience a period, sometimes called ‘The Dark Night of the Soul’ when prayer seems dry, God seems to be absent, and our faith is severely challenged. 

 

It can be hard to be a member of a church community when you are going through this sort of experience. The dominant atmosphere in the majority of our churches ( perhaps as a reaction to the doom and gloom of previous generations) is joy and praise. If you are depressed, if you are going through a period of doubt, if your faith is not bringing you any comfort, it can be hard to admit it, especially if you have a position of responsibility in the church and are expected to be an example to others.  Our readings today should reassure us that  no-one is infallible, and no-one should expect to be happy and confident in their faith all the time.

 

But they also reassure us that God is not absent, even when he appears to be. Hardship, troubles and depression may be part of the road God asks us to tread when we answer his call to “Follow me”. But God is there with us, even if we can’t feel his presence.

 

In all circumstances, in times of joy and in times of sorrow, when things are going well and when we seem to have come to a dead end in our faith, the words  of Paul in his letter to the Romans give good advice. 

They tell us to be sensitive to the moods of our fellow-Christians, to be happy with those who are happy, but to mourn with those who are sad.  They encourage us to think the best of what is happening, to be patient in times of trouble and to persevere with prayer, even when it does not give us satisfaction.   

 

They encourage us to be humble and to work hard – and not to expect riches to fall into our laps just because we are faithful Christians.  They encourage us to love sincerely both our Christian friends and those who may be considered our enemies.

 

Above all, they teach us that we need to trust God to sort things out, even through times of persecution.  God will not reject us if we rail against him – after all,  he whose Son bore the cross for us is not going to be too offended by a few human complaints. But, as Paul reminds us, we should strive always for the best in life, so that good overcomes evil. That is what we are called to do when we respond to Jesus’ call “Follow me”.

 

 

Don’t Be Afraid!

Matthew 14, 22-33

I spent all of the early part of my childhood living near the sea. My mother was also brought up at the sea side, and we spent our holidays with my grandmother and my aunt – who both lived by the coast – so I was always at ease in the water. I can’t remember learning to swim – I just always could, and in those days I did things I’d never dream of doing now. When we lived at Dover, I used to jump off the breakwaters into the sea; when I look at them now, as we go through Dover to join a cruise ship, I wonder how I ever had the nerve.

 

I swam and played in the water with confidence only because my mother was nearby, and I was sure she would not let me get into difficulties, and would rescue me if I did. But coming from a family with seafarers in my ancestry, and spending so much time near the sea taught me a respect for the power of the water. especially when it was rough weather.  That means I would never have dreamt of doing anything as stupid as getting out of a boat into a rough sea, as Peter is shown as doing in our Gospel reading.

 

But we are not meant to take this story literally. As our Dean, Jeffrey John, pointed out in his book “The Meaning in the Miracles”, trying to find out what actually happened when these incidents took place – or even if they did – is pointless. What is important is what the Gospel writers are trying to tell us through the miracle story.

 

First of all, the miracle is telling us about Jesus. There is a strand of the Old Testament that sees the sea as the place of chaos, inhabited by sea monsters who cause storms and the deaths of seafarers. But one strand of the creation myths, echoes of which are found in the Psalms and Job, tells how Yahweh defeated the sea monsters to form the earth. So, when Jesus calms the storm, the text is telling us that God is present. There are also passages in the Psalms which talk of God walking on the surface of the sea. So when Jesus walks on the water, the story again is telling us that God is present in him. And just to confirm it, Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid, I am” ( using the name of God given to Moses in Exodus).

 

The miracle is also telling us that Jesus is at hand to help, even when he appears to be far off. Perhaps the church for whom the Gospel was written was going through a time of troubles, when they thought their very survival was in question, and as their troubles continued, they felt that God in Jesus had deserted them. Everything, represented by the waves and the contrary wind, was against them. The story tells us that on the contrary, though unseen, Jesus is keeping watch on them from far off, and will come to them when they really need him – and that when he is there, the storms will be stilled, and they will reach their  safe harbour quickly.

 

Secondly, the miracle is telling us something about the life of the Christian disciple.  It is telling us to trust in God’s care and presence, even if we cannot feel him close. It is telling us to trust that his help will be there when the storms and troubles are at their worst, when we most need it.

 

It is telling us to keep our eyes upon Jesus if we want to succeed in following him.

 

Peter, the story tells us, was able to walk on water so long as he kept looking at Jesus. It was when he looked down, and let his trust become overwhelmed that he began to sink. In the same way we need to keep Christ at the centre of our thoughts as we live out our discipleship, and to trust in the way of love and acceptance he showed us, however difficult it may seem. We follow the path of discipleship not in our own strength, but in the strength we get from Christ. That is why being part of the Body of Christ, the Christian fellowship, is so important for us. If we try to do God’s work in our own strength, through our own limited resources, we will not succeed.

 

But this story also tells us that, sometimes, God in Christ will call us to get out of the boat, and do something amazing for him. Too many of us live our lives firmly sat down in the safety of the boat, firmly enclosed in our own comfort zone. In our church life, and in our daily lives, we are not willing to take risks for God. But sometimes Jesus asks us to (metaphorically) get out of the boat, and  into dangerous waters to meet him – because Jesus is not sitting where it’s comfortable and safe – he never did!  So, the story is saying, be ready to leave your comfort zone if Jesus calls, and willing to do things you would not normally do – you will never walk on water until you do. 

 

Of course we will sometimes fail; but that should not deter us from making the attempt. What people tend to remember about Peter is that he sank – they forget he was the only one of the disciples to be courageous enough to make the attempt. Just as they remember that he denied Jesus – and not that he was the only one  of the Twelve who came out of hiding and followed Jesus to the High Priest’s house. 

 

Taking risks and failing is as important as succeeding. We cannot live our lives without risk. Our present day society tries to minimise risks, especially with children – and as a consequence we are raising a generation who don’t know how to judge when a situation is really dangerous, or how to cope when things get difficult, or how to judge who to trust. With our children, and with ourselves, we have, sometimes, to face difficult situations in faith, even if we fail.

 

The story reassures us that, when we do try, and when we sometimes fail, God in Jesus will be there to catch hold of us and keep us safe. If we keep trusting in God, he will not let us go under.

 

The final and most important message to Christian disciples from this miracle is contained in Jesus’ words, “Do not be afraid”. As Bishop Gene Robinson said in his sermon at Putney before the Lambeth Conference, we live in a world and in a church which is paralysed by fear. Much of it is unrealistic, a fear of things and situations that are not really so much of a threat as they seem. But whether it is realistic or not, the effect of being afraid is to prevent us from loving, and loving is what we are commanded to do in Christ’s name.

 

“Do not be afraid. I am” said Jesus. And the storm ceased and the wind dropped.

When I was ill with cancer two years ago, I was sent a prayer in the Celtic style, one of a collection by David Adams. I found it a great help in keeping me calm and unafraid when things were difficult. Perhaps it will help you to stay confident in the midst of the storm, and even to walk on the water, if Jesus calls you to do so:

 

Circle me O God.

Keep peace within.

Keep turmoil out.

 

Circle me O God

Keep calm within

Keep storms without

 

Circle me O God

Keep strength within

Keep weakness out.