August 9, 2026 "Testing, Testing"

11th Sunday after Pentecost

1 Kings 19:9-18

Psalm 85:8-13

Romans 10:5-15

Matthew 14:22-33

Dear fellow ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ,

 grace and peace to you

 from the one who comes to us in the midst of storms. Amen

Faith is simple,

Paul seems to say

in our reading from Romans this morning,

 “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord

 and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,

 you will be saved.”

 that’s it

and it is a universal option since

“everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

 it doesn’t matter if you understand the mechanics of Jesus’ resurrection,

 or if you are a Jew or a Greek,

if you grew up in faith or came to it later,

 it’s doesn’t come from the God given ability to do miraculous things

 as Peter seems to think in our gospel,

 nor is it taken away by fear,

 rather faith comes when fear begins to take over

and we cry out “Lord, save me!”

 and Jesus reaches out through the storm,

catches us and brings us back into the boat. 

Simple right?

Even Paul realizes that it’s not that simple,

that something has to come before the confession: teaching,

 because “how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent?” 

The fundamentals that support faith

 must be taught first

before the confession can be made

and before those with faith go and teach others.

This is what Jesus has been doing with the disciples,

he called them to follow him,

 showed them a little of what he was about

 and then he sat them down on the side of a mountain

and taught them- that’s the sermon on the mount.

 He’s given them practical demonstrations

- healings and exorcisms,

he’s even given them some of their own power and responsibility

and sent them out to give it a try,

 he’s turned complaints from the pharisees into teaching moments,

 told many parables,

 and just now has fed a crowd of 5,000 plus

 on five loaves of bread and two fish.

The foundations for faith have been amply laid

but there still has not been a confession of faith from the disciples

 and so it’s time for Jesus to turn to that time honored teaching tool, a test.

 It’s time to see what the disciples have learned

through the application of real life.

So Jesus sends the disciples off in a boat by themselves

 while he stays to dismiss the crowds and pray,

 and the disciples must have some sense

 that this trip will not just be about transportation across the lake

 because they are reluctant to get into the boat.

Our translation of the story softens it by saying

 “Jesus made the disciples get into a boat”

 while the word in the original Greek

has more of the meaning of “to compel, to constrain, to force.” (https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-19/commentary-on-matthew-1422-33-7) 

And as the boat moves farther from shore

 the wind whips up and batters the boat,

 but not just in a bad weather kind of way

again the translation softens the story,

 as the word Matthew uses to describe the wind

 is more literally translated as tormented,

 the boat was tormented by the waves,

 a descriptor used elsewhere for demonic torment.

And much thanks to commentator Zina Jacque for the scholarship on all of this,

because it makes a difference in how we hear the story.

Jesus forces the disciples into the boat,

 and the boat is tormented by waves,

waves that they as sailors must content with

 to keep the boat afloat and going,

 and they fight the wind all night until they are exhausted,

and then,

in the early morning hours,

Jesus comes to them,

walking on the water.

Of course they are terrified

 and think he is a ghost

and to their terror he responds

“Take heart, I am, do not be afraid”

 In this moment Jesus reveals who he really is

to these beleaguered disciples

 using the name God gave Moses at the burning bush.

I Am.

I Am, the creator of the universe,

 I Am who freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt,

 I Am who brought the people to the promised land.

In other words

 ‘do not be afraid, I am God and I am with you.’

Now we might expect that this pronouncement

to be the perfect time for the disciples to put it all together

and confess their faith.

 But first, Peter,

impetuous Peter

needs to test it out for himself,

 ‘if it really is you command me to come to you on the water’ he tells Jesus,

 who does as he asks,

and Peter gets out of the boat and he’s doing it,

 he’s walking on water!

 Until he looks around at the wind and the waves

and the reality of where he is sinks in

and fear takes over and he starts to sink,

 and as he sinks he cries out

 “Lord, save me! Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him”

and brought him into the boat and the wind stopped

 “and those in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘truly you are the Son of God.’”

and there it is,

 the confession of faith,

 all that they’ve been taught and witnessed coming together

 in the midst of the storm to reveal the truth.

 Jesus is the Son of God,

 all who call on him will be saved.

Jesus who comes to us in the moments and places we least expect him,

the storms of life, the cross,

this is what it means for him to be I Am,

what the disciples finally realize, confess, and worship.

It is often in the middle of storms

 that the truth becomes clear,

truth which will stay with us through subsequent storms.

 Jesus knew what was coming in Jerusalem and on the cross,

he knew the disciples would need a previous experience of the truth

to get them through,

 and so he forced them into that boat

 and sent them out into the waves.

And while it’s hard to argue with his results,

 I still squirm a bit at the idea of Jesus putting the disciples in danger to test them,

not because I disbelieve the biblical witness

but because I know how easy it is

 to then to attempt to explain all trial and suffering, as tests from God,

 especially suffering inflicted by the hands of other humans.

Yes faith can be formed in the midst of these circumstances,

 and we believe that God will work to bring the most amount of good possible

from a messy situation,

 but that doesn’t mean that God caused it.

We don’t always know what causes our suffering

 But what we do know

 is that God will be there in the midst of it,

 with us.

God comes to us in the midst of storms. 

 And when the wind ceases

 there is something for us to do,

 first worship,

and then to go proclaim what God has done for us,

 to share the news of our God

who meets us in storms

to teach about Jesus so that others may hear about God,

 so that when God comes to them in the midst of their own storms

they may believe and call on the name of the Lord,

 that they may have faith,

just like us.  Amen