Get Out of the Boat!

 This week’s lectionary is the story of Jesus walking on water as he came to the disciples, whom he had sent off on a boat. You will recall that when the disciples first saw Jesus walking on the water, they assumed it was some sort of specter and were afraid. But then Jesus told them, “Fear not! It is I!” Peter responded, “If it is you, then, let me come to you.” Jesus beckoned for Peter to come. Peter jumped out of the boat and began to walk on the water! It was only when he took his eyes off Jesus and realized there was a storm around him that he began to flounder and sink. Jesus reaches for him and asks why he had so little faith and they return to the boat.

As I reflected on this scripture this week, I am seeing so much more than I did before (I love how God does that!). The first thing that nudged me, which I hadn’t caught before, was that Peter actually did walk on water at first! It was only when he took his eyes off Jesus that the divine power that flowed through him because he was connected to Jesus was broken, overcome by his fear. How often do I, do we, start to do great things but get overwhelmed because we stop keeping the main thing (God) the main thing? When we are one with God, we are empowered to do things beyond our wildest imaginations. What is Christ beckoning you to do, that defies all reason? How has your fear prevented you from moving forward?

The second thing that I learned has to do with a part of the church: the nave. That is what the part of the church where the congregation sits. Nave originates from the Latin word “navis” which means…(wait for it!) “ship”.

It got me thinking: Jesus told the disciples to get into the boat, but he also says, “Come out!” Faith is not meant to be lived just in the boat. In fact, it would be hard to do all the things God asks of us if we stayed in the boat! Likewise, we can’t be the hands of Christ in the world if we just stay in the nave.  Christ asks us to leave the safety of the nave for a world that is most unpredictable, sometimes violent and even frightening, yet in need of the hands and heart of Christ which we are called to bring into the world.

Right now, we’ve been pushed out of the boat.

COVID-19 has forced us to leave the safety of the boat (in fact, if we don’t follow very careful instructions, the church building itself is no longer safe even). Yet, isn’t this what is expected of disciples of Jesus? We are not called to live out our faith from the safety of the sanctuary. Comfort and ease is not promised to us when we agree to take up our cross and follow Jesus. There is much to fear. But when we keep ourselves focused on God, we can do great things. And right now, the world needs great and necessary things from us.

How is Christ calling you and your church to leave the boat? What is being asked of you? Remember, we can do the unimaginable when we remain faithful in our discipleship.

Step out and do the outrageous. There is a hurting world in need of what you can bring to it.