WEBVTT 00:00:03.600 --> 00:00:07.099 Good morning everybody. It is a real pleasure. 00:00:07.139 --> 00:00:09.759 How am I doing with this? Can you hear me? It 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:13.679 is a real pleasure and an honor really to be 00:00:13.679 --> 00:00:17.100 invited to come and speak. I do go to a lot of 00:00:17.100 --> 00:00:19.920 churches and I always feel sort of humbled and 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:23.899 very thankful to get the chance to come and worship 00:00:23.899 --> 00:00:27.039 with new people to just sort of gather in God's 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:30.210 house. and to remember together the promises 00:00:30.210 --> 00:00:32.990 of the gospel. So it is really, it is my privilege 00:00:32.990 --> 00:00:35.509 and I always like to start by saying thank you 00:00:35.509 --> 00:00:38.649 for the invitation and also just to let you know 00:00:38.649 --> 00:00:42.130 Pastor Gregg and I are really very, very 00:00:42.130 --> 00:00:44.590 good friends. We've gotten to be very, very close 00:00:44.590 --> 00:00:47.030 over the years and I am a little embarrassed 00:00:47.030 --> 00:00:50.350 that this is the first time I've been in this 00:00:50.350 --> 00:00:53.270 space on a Sunday morning and I'm grateful for 00:00:53.270 --> 00:00:59.619 the chance to fix that. But I am thankful and 00:00:59.619 --> 00:01:03.899 I was invited to speak about the topic of, well 00:01:03.899 --> 00:01:06.200 actually he invited me to, he gave me like a 00:01:06.200 --> 00:01:08.840 whole list of dates and topics and I chose the 00:01:08.840 --> 00:01:12.819 topic faith and doubt. I chose that. I'm not 00:01:12.819 --> 00:01:15.200 sure exactly why I chose that and I don't know 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:18.000 if it was a good idea but that is the one that 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:21.760 I chose to talk about, faith and doubt. And the 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:28.219 topic is, or the sermon. the sermon text is the 00:01:28.219 --> 00:01:30.659 story from the Gospel of Matthew in which Jesus 00:01:30.659 --> 00:01:33.200 walks on water and in this version of the story 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:37.280 we have the Apostle Simon Peter also sort of 00:01:37.280 --> 00:01:40.140 walking on water and so I'm going to just continue 00:01:40.140 --> 00:01:42.519 from the text that from the couple of verses 00:01:42.519 --> 00:01:45.920 that we just heard and read a couple of more 00:01:45.920 --> 00:01:51.079 verses so this is from Matthew chapter 14 and 00:01:51.079 --> 00:01:55.379 it starts in verse 22 What we just heard, immediately 00:01:55.379 --> 00:01:58.239 Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and 00:01:58.239 --> 00:02:01.239 go on ahead of him to the other side while he 00:02:01.239 --> 00:02:04.319 dismissed the crowd. And after he had dismissed 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:08.099 them, he went up on a mountainside by himself 00:02:08.099 --> 00:02:11.639 to pray. Later that night, he was there alone. 00:02:11.949 --> 00:02:14.530 and the boat was already a considerable distance 00:02:14.530 --> 00:02:17.370 from the land, buffeted by the waves because 00:02:17.370 --> 00:02:21.370 the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn, 00:02:21.810 --> 00:02:26.590 Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 00:02:27.210 --> 00:02:29.770 And when the disciples saw him walking on the 00:02:29.770 --> 00:02:34.250 lake, they were terrified. It's a ghost, they 00:02:34.250 --> 00:02:38.539 said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately 00:02:38.539 --> 00:02:43.879 said to them take courage it is I don't be afraid 00:02:43.879 --> 00:02:50.860 Lord if it's you Peter replied Tell me to come 00:02:50.860 --> 00:02:57.439 to you on the water Come Jesus said then Peter 00:02:57.439 --> 00:03:01.360 got down out of the boat Walked on the water 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:06.460 and came toward Jesus, but when he saw the wind 00:03:06.729 --> 00:03:12.830 He was afraid, and beginning to sink, he, let's 00:03:12.830 --> 00:03:16.449 see, beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save 00:03:16.449 --> 00:03:19.710 me. Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and 00:03:19.710 --> 00:03:23.969 caught him. You of little faith, he said, why 00:03:23.969 --> 00:03:26.870 did you doubt? And when they climbed into the 00:03:26.870 --> 00:03:29.969 boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the 00:03:29.969 --> 00:03:35.310 boat worshiped him, saying truly, you are the 00:03:35.310 --> 00:03:38.509 son of God. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks 00:03:38.509 --> 00:03:41.530 be to God. And so a question to start off our 00:03:41.530 --> 00:03:44.669 time together, a question for all of you is how 00:03:44.669 --> 00:03:47.669 do those words from Jesus that he said to Peter, 00:03:48.009 --> 00:03:51.870 how do those words affect you? The words that 00:03:51.870 --> 00:03:54.689 Jesus said to Peter when they were out of the 00:03:54.689 --> 00:03:58.530 boat, when Peter cried out for help, how do those 00:03:58.530 --> 00:04:02.409 words sound in your head? Either when you read 00:04:02.409 --> 00:04:05.909 them off your phone or in a paper Bible or when 00:04:05.909 --> 00:04:11.689 you hear them spoken aloud. I don't know if it's 00:04:11.689 --> 00:04:14.469 the way that these words are translated into 00:04:14.469 --> 00:04:17.649 like a contemporary English Bible or if it's 00:04:17.649 --> 00:04:20.430 something about my personal psychology, right? 00:04:20.550 --> 00:04:26.329 But I hear judgment in these words, right? I 00:04:26.329 --> 00:04:31.579 hear disappointment. And it's like really bad, 00:04:31.579 --> 00:04:34.519 depending on, I don't know, it might really just 00:04:34.519 --> 00:04:37.459 be depending on how I'm feeling when I read these 00:04:37.459 --> 00:04:40.420 words, but I actually hear something just a little 00:04:40.420 --> 00:04:44.420 bit shy of contempt in Jesus' voice when he says, 00:04:44.899 --> 00:04:50.939 you of little faith, why did you doubt? It's 00:04:50.939 --> 00:04:54.759 like he's saying, are you kidding me? Are you 00:04:54.759 --> 00:04:57.560 kidding me? Why did you doubt? What is your problem? 00:04:59.240 --> 00:05:02.899 I imagine myself in that situation feeling terrible, 00:05:03.420 --> 00:05:06.379 right? Feeling like a failure, feeling like a 00:05:06.379 --> 00:05:10.120 waste of space, right? And maybe that's how Jesus 00:05:10.120 --> 00:05:15.339 said it. Maybe that's how he felt when he said 00:05:15.339 --> 00:05:18.160 it. He was completely disappointed and he was 00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:21.540 letting loose, telling Peter what a worthless 00:05:21.540 --> 00:05:26.579 disciple he really was, right? Maybe that's how 00:05:26.579 --> 00:05:32.180 Jesus said it. But it might not have been right 00:05:32.180 --> 00:05:35.660 might not have been because the words on the 00:05:35.660 --> 00:05:42.379 page It's really an observation and it's a question 00:05:42.379 --> 00:05:46.160 Okay, so Jesus just said he says to Peter he 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:53.040 says you have little faith you doubt It's an 00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:57.699 observation right and then the question is Why? 00:05:59.370 --> 00:06:01.970 And that is a good question to ask, I think. 00:06:03.029 --> 00:06:08.689 Why? Why do you doubt? You know? It's not a question 00:06:08.689 --> 00:06:12.269 that most of us ask, I think, a lot. Especially 00:06:12.269 --> 00:06:16.990 when we observe doubt in somebody else, right? 00:06:17.230 --> 00:06:21.449 Or if somebody else doubts us, right? If somebody 00:06:21.449 --> 00:06:24.870 doubts you, how do you usually take it, right? 00:06:24.949 --> 00:06:26.889 If somebody doesn't think that you are telling 00:06:26.889 --> 00:06:32.509 the truth, hmm. If somebody doesn't believe that 00:06:32.509 --> 00:06:36.250 you are going to do what you say you are going 00:06:36.250 --> 00:06:40.550 to do. If somebody doesn't believe that you can 00:06:40.550 --> 00:06:45.769 do something that you know you can do. If somebody 00:06:45.769 --> 00:06:49.509 doesn't think that you know what you are talking 00:06:49.509 --> 00:06:54.069 about. How do you react to that? Whatever your 00:06:54.069 --> 00:06:56.620 line of work, I don't know. if you're in medicine 00:06:56.620 --> 00:06:59.579 or you work on cars or you're a plumber or you 00:06:59.579 --> 00:07:02.500 teach children to read, right? You've got education, 00:07:02.600 --> 00:07:05.180 you've got experience, you've got some expertise 00:07:05.180 --> 00:07:08.959 in some things, and you may have had an encounter 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:12.579 at some time with somebody who just doesn't think 00:07:12.579 --> 00:07:15.839 that you actually know things that you actually 00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:20.500 know, right? They've been watching some TikToks 00:07:20.500 --> 00:07:25.250 and they think that they know. Better than you, 00:07:25.350 --> 00:07:27.730 right? You probably have never had an experience 00:07:27.730 --> 00:07:30.470 like that. Some of us have, right? How do you 00:07:30.470 --> 00:07:33.990 react though in a moment like that? Right? How 00:07:33.990 --> 00:07:37.430 do you react to the doubt that you observe in 00:07:37.430 --> 00:07:41.990 other people? Do you get angry? Do you get defensive? 00:07:43.170 --> 00:07:47.310 Right? Do you judge them for their doubts? Right? 00:07:47.870 --> 00:07:51.889 So maybe I'm projecting a little bit onto Jesus. 00:07:52.350 --> 00:07:56.490 When I read Jesus's words, why do you doubt and 00:07:56.490 --> 00:08:00.689 I assume that he's mad right? Maybe that's just 00:08:00.689 --> 00:08:07.490 the way that I would be right But the wisest 00:08:07.490 --> 00:08:12.490 people that I know the wisest people I have known 00:08:12.490 --> 00:08:17.889 in my life are Well, they don't react like that 00:08:19.310 --> 00:08:23.949 The wisest people I have known in my life are 00:08:23.949 --> 00:08:30.350 curious. They take note of what they see in the 00:08:30.350 --> 00:08:36.309 people around them, and they inquire. They want 00:08:36.309 --> 00:08:43.850 to know more. They ask, why? These people do 00:08:43.850 --> 00:08:47.509 not transcend the messiness of human interactions. 00:08:47.610 --> 00:08:52.460 No, of course, no. people mistrust them and disbelieve 00:08:52.460 --> 00:08:54.899 them and assume the worst about them. Sometimes 00:08:54.899 --> 00:08:58.320 it happens. It's life, right? But they have some 00:08:58.320 --> 00:09:03.519 kind of skill to use these moments as like an 00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:07.080 open window or a cracked door or an opportunity 00:09:07.080 --> 00:09:09.940 to look deeper and learn more about a person 00:09:09.940 --> 00:09:15.460 who is acting this way or that way or that way. 00:09:15.779 --> 00:09:21.179 There is a guidance counselor at Sudlow Intermediate 00:09:21.179 --> 00:09:23.620 School in Davenport, Iowa, who I have known for 00:09:23.620 --> 00:09:28.899 many years and she is a person like this. Wise 00:09:28.899 --> 00:09:32.980 and compassionate people know that some of us 00:09:32.980 --> 00:09:36.539 have been deeply betrayed and so it is difficult 00:09:36.539 --> 00:09:41.100 for us to trust. Wise and compassionate people 00:09:41.100 --> 00:09:46.200 know that some of us have been lied to so much 00:09:46.200 --> 00:09:49.620 in our lives that we have a hard time believing 00:09:49.620 --> 00:09:53.799 anything that we hear from most people. Wise 00:09:53.799 --> 00:09:56.759 and compassionate people know that some of us 00:09:56.759 --> 00:10:00.059 have been wounded, broken by things that happened 00:10:00.059 --> 00:10:03.139 to us or things that happened to our loved one 00:10:03.139 --> 00:10:06.559 who was hurt and we couldn't stop it. And so 00:10:06.559 --> 00:10:09.940 now we walk around with armor and clenched fists 00:10:09.940 --> 00:10:14.120 ready to fight. Because anybody who might be 00:10:14.120 --> 00:10:16.279 thinking about hurting us or hurting the one 00:10:16.279 --> 00:10:21.419 that we love had better think again. Wise and 00:10:21.419 --> 00:10:25.519 compassionate people know that there are many 00:10:25.519 --> 00:10:30.519 reasons people doubt. There are many reasons 00:10:30.519 --> 00:10:35.179 that people disbelieve or mistrust. There are 00:10:35.179 --> 00:10:41.720 many reasons that a person can be cynical. And 00:10:41.720 --> 00:10:45.279 wise and compassionate people want to know, what's 00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:52.019 your reason? Not because you're bad, but because 00:10:52.019 --> 00:10:57.700 they want to know you better. Jesus says to Peter, 00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:05.440 why do you doubt? That's the question. Why? I 00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:08.600 guess there's also the question, what is the 00:11:08.600 --> 00:11:11.269 doubt? That's that's another question embedded 00:11:11.269 --> 00:11:15.529 here because when religious people Think about 00:11:15.529 --> 00:11:18.190 belief and faith and doubt we tell ourselves 00:11:18.190 --> 00:11:21.190 that we're supposed to believe Certain things 00:11:21.190 --> 00:11:24.070 and not supposed to doubt and the things that 00:11:24.070 --> 00:11:27.659 we are supposed to believe and not doubt are 00:11:27.659 --> 00:11:30.700 often claims about the nature and reality of 00:11:30.700 --> 00:11:33.940 God and Jesus. We don't want to doubt Jesus where 00:11:33.940 --> 00:11:36.779 they might be things about the Bible or things 00:11:36.779 --> 00:11:39.139 about the theology that we were taught when we 00:11:39.139 --> 00:11:41.539 were younger. And there is some set of things 00:11:41.539 --> 00:11:44.620 that we are told that we are supposed to hold 00:11:44.620 --> 00:11:48.340 true. And if we doubt any of those things, we 00:11:48.340 --> 00:11:52.759 jeopardize everything. That's what we think faith 00:11:52.759 --> 00:11:56.470 is and our whole lives are at stake in it. This 00:11:56.470 --> 00:12:01.149 can be scary, right? That is why doubt is scary 00:12:01.149 --> 00:12:07.350 for some people, right? But in this story that 00:12:07.350 --> 00:12:10.750 takes place on the water of the Sea of Galilee, 00:12:11.429 --> 00:12:21.409 you know, excuse me. In this story, Peter is 00:12:21.409 --> 00:12:24.879 not dealing with any of that. Right? Peter is 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:28.379 not doubting whether the Bible is inerrant in 00:12:28.379 --> 00:12:31.440 this story. Right? Peter is not questioning the 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:34.340 legitimacy of penal substitutionary atonement. 00:12:35.659 --> 00:12:40.899 Peter is doubting. Right? But what is Peter actually 00:12:40.899 --> 00:12:51.779 doubting? He's doubting himself. Right? Yeah. 00:12:52.200 --> 00:12:58.090 He's doubting... himself. He doesn't disbelieve 00:12:58.090 --> 00:13:00.850 anything about Jesus, right? He's looking at 00:13:00.850 --> 00:13:05.230 Jesus walking on the water right now. He believes 00:13:05.230 --> 00:13:10.590 in Jesus, okay? And, you know, he begins to fear 00:13:10.590 --> 00:13:16.490 the storm, right? He starts to sink. What does 00:13:16.490 --> 00:13:20.429 he do, right? In that moment, he actually has 00:13:20.429 --> 00:13:23.870 faith like a church praise and worship song, 00:13:24.090 --> 00:13:27.090 right? Like that song, Oceans, I think that might 00:13:27.090 --> 00:13:28.750 be written about in this, I'm not really sure, 00:13:28.870 --> 00:13:31.950 but like he starts to sink down beneath the waves, 00:13:32.210 --> 00:13:35.870 and I will call upon your name, right? Like this 00:13:35.870 --> 00:13:39.929 song that we just sang a few minutes ago about 00:13:39.929 --> 00:13:43.049 you'll be my wind and my sails, and you'll be 00:13:43.049 --> 00:13:46.490 my anchor of my vessel, something like this, 00:13:46.850 --> 00:13:49.389 right? And then, you know, if I'm starting to 00:13:49.389 --> 00:13:51.990 sink beneath the waters, I will cry out to you. 00:13:51.990 --> 00:13:55.450 I will call out your name. And that is exactly 00:13:55.450 --> 00:13:59.470 what Peter does in this story because he believes 00:13:59.470 --> 00:14:05.549 in Jesus, okay? He trusts Jesus, right? And he 00:14:05.549 --> 00:14:11.090 has actually trusted Jesus so much that he has 00:14:11.090 --> 00:14:16.190 begun to think about himself differently. the 00:14:16.190 --> 00:14:19.450 process. He had started to believe that he could 00:14:19.450 --> 00:14:23.350 do things that Jesus could do. This is because 00:14:23.350 --> 00:14:26.110 of the way that Jesus led even as he attracted 00:14:26.110 --> 00:14:29.090 people to himself and there were more and more 00:14:29.090 --> 00:14:32.210 people all of the time who wanted to see Jesus 00:14:32.210 --> 00:14:35.049 and and talk to Jesus and get help from Jesus 00:14:35.049 --> 00:14:38.649 but even as Jesus's own personal notoriety had 00:14:38.649 --> 00:14:41.149 been growing and growing and growing Jesus was 00:14:41.149 --> 00:14:44.250 pushing the people around him people like Peter 00:14:44.250 --> 00:14:48.110 to take up the work that he was doing and do 00:14:48.110 --> 00:14:51.620 it for themselves He had begun sending out his 00:14:51.620 --> 00:14:55.139 disciples, for example, to other towns on their 00:14:55.139 --> 00:14:57.840 own to teach and to heal the sick. And in fact, 00:14:57.860 --> 00:15:00.039 if you've still got your Bibles open to Matthew 00:15:00.039 --> 00:15:03.879 chapter 14, you'll see that just before we get 00:15:03.879 --> 00:15:07.299 on in the boat and go out to sea, we have a story 00:15:07.299 --> 00:15:09.840 that is sort of known. The shorthand is the feeding 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:12.840 of the 5 ,000. There's a great crowd of people 00:15:12.840 --> 00:15:16.639 gathered on the seashore and they are fed. by 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:19.879 a miracle of sharing bread and fish, what seemed 00:15:19.879 --> 00:15:21.379 like it would only be enough for a small group 00:15:21.379 --> 00:15:23.639 of people, ends up feeding a great crowd of 5 00:15:23.639 --> 00:15:26.139 ,000 people, right? And that is what immediately 00:15:26.139 --> 00:15:29.559 precedes this story of them walking on the water. 00:15:29.779 --> 00:15:33.500 But when Jesus oversees, let's say, the miracle 00:15:33.500 --> 00:15:35.840 of the feeding of the 5 ,000, and he makes sure 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:38.139 everybody has enough bread and fish to eat so 00:15:38.139 --> 00:15:40.980 much that there's leftovers, Jesus doesn't actually 00:15:40.980 --> 00:15:44.860 feed the people. Jesus gives the food to the 00:15:44.860 --> 00:15:48.519 disciples and has the disciples feed everyone 00:15:48.519 --> 00:15:54.159 who is hungry, right? And in that miraculous 00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:59.899 moment, Peter is being encouraged to believe 00:15:59.899 --> 00:16:07.220 that he can do the things that Jesus does, right? 00:16:08.080 --> 00:16:11.799 This isn't just Jesus's work. This is our work. 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:16.840 together. And so as he followed Jesus, Peter 00:16:16.840 --> 00:16:21.059 was constantly encouraged to believe that even 00:16:21.059 --> 00:16:23.799 though Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus is the anointed 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:29.039 one, right, we are all supposed to be following 00:16:29.039 --> 00:16:34.019 Jesus' example, right, to speak the truth. to 00:16:34.019 --> 00:16:37.320 heal the sick, to feed the hungry. Jesus is the 00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:40.500 Messiah, but the Messiah's work is the people's 00:16:40.500 --> 00:16:44.120 work. God's work is the people's work. Peter 00:16:44.120 --> 00:16:47.519 has been seeing this and he has been starting 00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:53.299 to really believe it, right? Such that when he 00:16:53.299 --> 00:16:57.799 sees Jesus walking on the water, he actually 00:16:57.799 --> 00:17:03.779 thinks to himself, I can do what Jesus can do 00:17:03.779 --> 00:17:08.819 right and he has a moment of supreme confidence 00:17:08.819 --> 00:17:14.079 when he steps out of the boat and he begins to 00:17:14.079 --> 00:17:17.940 walk on the water himself this is not like a 00:17:17.940 --> 00:17:20.539 like a monty python moment where he steps out 00:17:20.539 --> 00:17:22.799 on the out of boat and immediately sinks to the 00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:26.220 bottom of the sea no he actually takes a few 00:17:26.220 --> 00:17:31.319 steps it is actually happening right but then 00:17:32.380 --> 00:17:37.700 his confidence, his belief in himself falters. 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:41.400 And the scripture says that he sees the wind, 00:17:42.079 --> 00:17:44.279 the crashing waves, the movement of the water, 00:17:44.299 --> 00:17:47.740 and he doubts himself. Actually, I can't do this. 00:17:48.579 --> 00:17:54.579 Why did I think that I could do this? Am I insane? 00:17:57.230 --> 00:18:00.170 believed he could and now all of a sudden it's 00:18:00.170 --> 00:18:04.069 like wait what what why no yes no no i cannot 00:18:04.069 --> 00:18:08.750 actually do this i can't do the things that jesus 00:18:08.750 --> 00:18:14.190 can do that's the doubt right i can't actually 00:18:14.190 --> 00:18:21.799 that's the doubt okay belief is sometimes about 00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:24.859 giving intellectual assent to a set of unprovable 00:18:24.859 --> 00:18:29.339 supernatural claims. I believe that a thing called 00:18:29.339 --> 00:18:34.599 heaven exists. Sometimes belief is like that. 00:18:35.299 --> 00:18:39.380 But more often, belief is like the thing that 00:18:39.380 --> 00:18:42.839 I testified to when I used to coach Little League. 00:18:43.580 --> 00:18:47.900 When I told a nine -year -old boy who was about 00:18:47.900 --> 00:18:51.160 to walk up to the plate with a baseball bat, 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:56.599 I believe in you, I wasn't saying that based 00:18:56.599 --> 00:18:59.940 on objective and subjective criteria, I attest 00:18:59.940 --> 00:19:04.180 to the fact of your existence, right? I was not 00:19:04.180 --> 00:19:07.859 saying I believe you are a real boy, I believe 00:19:07.859 --> 00:19:10.480 you have real feet and your real socks. Like, 00:19:10.500 --> 00:19:13.220 no, of course that's not what I was saying. When 00:19:13.220 --> 00:19:20.579 I said I believe in you, I was saying from some 00:19:20.579 --> 00:19:25.059 deep place where true things are known inside 00:19:25.059 --> 00:19:33.980 of me, I see and I know that you are able to 00:19:33.980 --> 00:19:39.559 meet this moment, to face your fears, and to 00:19:39.559 --> 00:19:48.779 do what needs to be done. I believe in you. Peter 00:19:48.779 --> 00:19:56.019 believed in God. He believed in Jesus. And Peter 00:19:56.019 --> 00:20:02.119 believed in himself. But on that last one, Peter 00:20:02.119 --> 00:20:07.720 also doubted, right? Faith and doubt is not an 00:20:07.720 --> 00:20:12.190 either or. People contain contradictions. I want 00:20:12.190 --> 00:20:16.630 to hate. I want to love. All within the same 00:20:16.630 --> 00:20:22.670 person, right? Peter believed. Peter doubted. 00:20:23.289 --> 00:20:29.029 And Jesus asked, why? He didn't say, shame on 00:20:29.029 --> 00:20:32.150 you for doubting. You no good doubter. Of course 00:20:32.150 --> 00:20:39.740 Jesus didn't say that. But he did ask, why? And 00:20:39.740 --> 00:20:42.960 why is a good question? You can learn a lot about 00:20:42.960 --> 00:20:45.640 other people. You can learn a lot about yourself 00:20:45.640 --> 00:20:50.220 just from asking why. Why do you react with anger 00:20:50.220 --> 00:20:54.000 over here and laughter over here and weeping 00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:57.200 over here? Why do you remember your strength 00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:01.200 when this happens and forget it when this happens? 00:21:01.480 --> 00:21:04.359 Why do you follow your fear at this moment and 00:21:04.359 --> 00:21:08.240 follow your courage at this moment? Right? In 00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:11.480 the text, of course, Peter doesn't answer the 00:21:11.480 --> 00:21:16.740 question. He doesn't like have a quip at the 00:21:16.740 --> 00:21:20.900 ready, right? There is no answer given to why 00:21:20.900 --> 00:21:24.619 he doubted, other than the fear of the wind, 00:21:25.079 --> 00:21:28.160 the wind that was also present a moment before 00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:29.980 when he had all of the courage and faith that 00:21:29.980 --> 00:21:32.980 he needed to step out of the boat, right? So 00:21:32.980 --> 00:21:35.599 when Jesus asks him why, you know, why do you 00:21:35.599 --> 00:21:40.019 doubt, we don't have his actual literal answer. 00:21:40.579 --> 00:21:43.539 We can imagine different reasons why he doubted, 00:21:43.579 --> 00:21:47.700 why he would doubt, why... he would doubt even 00:21:47.700 --> 00:21:50.660 though he possessed belief within him, right? 00:21:50.660 --> 00:21:53.359 We have many stories about Peter. We get to know 00:21:53.359 --> 00:21:56.220 him as a man in the gospel. We can make educated 00:21:56.220 --> 00:21:59.400 guesses about where his doubts may have come 00:21:59.400 --> 00:22:03.059 from, injuries, insecurities, trauma, grief, 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:05.599 shame that he carries around, a gnawing sense 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:08.740 of comparison between what he is and what he 00:22:08.740 --> 00:22:10.940 thinks he's supposed to be, right? There's different 00:22:10.940 --> 00:22:14.619 things that could be the reason that he doubted 00:22:14.619 --> 00:22:17.309 in that moment. whatever it is, we know it's 00:22:17.309 --> 00:22:22.069 something, right? And because as readers and 00:22:22.069 --> 00:22:26.410 students of the gospel, we are not given the 00:22:26.410 --> 00:22:31.029 actual reason, the actual answer for the why 00:22:31.029 --> 00:22:34.210 of Peter's doubt, because we are simply left 00:22:34.210 --> 00:22:38.009 with Jesus's question, right? Then we know that 00:22:38.009 --> 00:22:42.289 the question is for us as well. Why do we doubt? 00:22:43.250 --> 00:22:48.359 He knows we do. He knows that we doubt. We don't 00:22:48.359 --> 00:22:54.980 have to be afraid to admit it, but why? Because 00:22:54.980 --> 00:22:59.019 if we can hold the question, interrogate our 00:22:59.019 --> 00:23:03.460 own hearts, we might name something that we desperately 00:23:03.460 --> 00:23:08.220 need to know. The answer to the why question 00:23:08.220 --> 00:23:15.339 is exactly where Jesus is going to meet us. The 00:23:15.339 --> 00:23:20.700 answer to the why question is what Jesus is there 00:23:20.700 --> 00:23:25.460 to help us prevail against. Why do we doubt if 00:23:25.460 --> 00:23:29.339 it's the legacy of lies and deceit that dismantled 00:23:29.339 --> 00:23:32.299 our foundation and shattered all of our trust, 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:35.599 then that is where Jesus is going to help us 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:41.349 heal. Why do we doubt if we were betrayed? or 00:23:41.349 --> 00:23:44.210 abandoned by somebody that we believed was our 00:23:44.210 --> 00:23:48.029 friend, then this is where God is going to show 00:23:48.029 --> 00:23:51.789 us a way toward beloved community and new bonds 00:23:51.789 --> 00:23:57.890 of fidelity and friendship. Why do we doubt if 00:23:57.890 --> 00:24:01.809 it's guilt that we feel from something terrible 00:24:01.809 --> 00:24:04.970 that we did that we can't undo and we can't make 00:24:04.970 --> 00:24:07.900 right even though we said we're sorry? If we 00:24:07.900 --> 00:24:10.859 live with the weight of that sin and we doubt 00:24:10.859 --> 00:24:14.400 that we can overcome it, if that's the why, right, 00:24:14.579 --> 00:24:17.480 then that's the burden that Christ is going to 00:24:17.480 --> 00:24:20.599 help us bear and show us how people who have 00:24:20.599 --> 00:24:24.660 done wrong can yet do good before our time is 00:24:24.660 --> 00:24:29.599 done. Why do we doubt? Maybe we still hear the 00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:32.900 voice of one who taught us when we were little 00:24:32.900 --> 00:24:37.019 that we were no good. all these years later we 00:24:37.019 --> 00:24:39.539 still have doubt because we were taught to hate 00:24:39.539 --> 00:24:44.579 ourselves. If that's the thing, then that's where 00:24:44.579 --> 00:24:48.160 God will find us with the words that Jesus heard 00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:51.880 in the Jordan River, you are my beloved and with 00:24:51.880 --> 00:24:56.460 you I am well pleased. If it's the lingering 00:24:56.460 --> 00:25:00.039 threat or the lingering effects or the lingering 00:25:00.039 --> 00:25:04.130 presence of violence, in our real lives or a 00:25:04.130 --> 00:25:07.210 lost sense of safety or a fear of loss in the 00:25:07.210 --> 00:25:11.650 future. If that is the why of our doubt, then 00:25:11.650 --> 00:25:15.950 that is the spot amidst the waves where Jesus 00:25:15.950 --> 00:25:21.250 will meet us and will say, take courage. It is 00:25:21.250 --> 00:25:26.650 I do not be afraid. I am here with you, you and 00:25:26.650 --> 00:25:32.200 me. We will not be defeated by this moment. we 00:25:32.200 --> 00:25:39.039 have much to do. So why do you doubt? It's good 00:25:39.039 --> 00:25:44.000 to ask and it's good to picture Jesus there beside 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:49.619 us as the answers materialize. He will help us 00:25:49.619 --> 00:25:54.359 to set down what it is right to set down. He 00:25:54.359 --> 00:25:59.619 will help us to let go of what it is right to 00:25:59.619 --> 00:26:05.299 let go. and He will help us to hold and to carry 00:26:05.299 --> 00:26:11.319 what it is right for us to carry. But on the 00:26:11.319 --> 00:26:15.339 other side, right? On the other side of this 00:26:15.339 --> 00:26:19.019 stormy sea that we're in, in this moment of doubt, 00:26:20.839 --> 00:26:24.740 when we pull the boat ashore, Jesus will continue 00:26:24.740 --> 00:26:29.160 to lead us because there are more people for 00:26:29.160 --> 00:26:34.559 us to meet. more people for us to love, more 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:39.500 people for us to serve. Grace is still growing 00:26:39.500 --> 00:26:46.579 and Jesus has more light for us to share. So 00:26:46.579 --> 00:26:51.500 you of little faith, you who doubt, take heart, 00:26:52.559 --> 00:26:58.400 take courage. Anyway, thanks be to God. Amen. 00:27:00.490 --> 00:27:10.589 Would you pray with me? Loving and gracious God, 00:27:10.609 --> 00:27:14.049 we give thanks for this beautiful day. I give 00:27:14.049 --> 00:27:16.009 thanks for these ancient words, this ancient 00:27:16.009 --> 00:27:21.710 story that made such a difference in the lives 00:27:21.710 --> 00:27:25.849 of those who were there and in the lives of those 00:27:25.849 --> 00:27:29.690 who told it that more people kept telling it. 00:27:29.799 --> 00:27:31.940 and kept telling it, and it came down through 00:27:31.940 --> 00:27:35.220 generations, came down through centuries for 00:27:35.220 --> 00:27:41.019 us to hear it today. We give thanks for the courage 00:27:41.019 --> 00:27:47.700 that Peter had to get out of the boat. When he 00:27:47.700 --> 00:27:53.000 doubted, we see our own doubts in him. We thank 00:27:53.000 --> 00:27:57.009 you for being the one he can cry out to. We thank 00:27:57.009 --> 00:27:59.970 you for being the one that we can cry out to 00:27:59.970 --> 00:28:06.470 when we begin to sink. And we thank you for the 00:28:06.470 --> 00:28:10.109 story that you kept writing in Peter's life as 00:28:10.109 --> 00:28:13.089 he got to the other side of the sea because he 00:28:13.089 --> 00:28:17.910 had much yet to do. And we ask you to guide us, 00:28:18.430 --> 00:28:22.269 to strengthen us, encourage us, bless us, keep 00:28:22.269 --> 00:28:26.410 us, and to keep leading us. to the things that 00:28:26.410 --> 00:28:30.049 we are called and supposed and meant to do today 00:28:30.049 --> 00:28:33.730 and tomorrow and all the days that you will lay 00:28:33.730 --> 00:28:39.269 before us. We give thanks in Jesus name. Amen.