Good morning everybody. It is a real pleasure.
How am I doing with this? Can you hear me? It
is a real pleasure and an honor really to be
invited to come and speak. I do go to a lot of
churches and I always feel sort of humbled and
very thankful to get the chance to come and worship
with new people to just sort of gather in God's
house. and to remember together the promises
of the gospel. So it is really, it is my privilege
and I always like to start by saying thank you
for the invitation and also just to let you know
Pastor Gregg and I are really very, very
good friends. We've gotten to be very, very close
over the years and I am a little embarrassed
that this is the first time I've been in this
space on a Sunday morning and I'm grateful for
the chance to fix that. But I am thankful and
I was invited to speak about the topic of, well
actually he invited me to, he gave me like a
whole list of dates and topics and I chose the
topic faith and doubt. I chose that. I'm not
sure exactly why I chose that and I don't know
if it was a good idea but that is the one that
I chose to talk about, faith and doubt. And the
topic is, or the sermon. the sermon text is the
story from the Gospel of Matthew in which Jesus
walks on water and in this version of the story
we have the Apostle Simon Peter also sort of
walking on water and so I'm going to just continue
from the text that from the couple of verses
that we just heard and read a couple of more
verses so this is from Matthew chapter 14 and
it starts in verse 22 What we just heard, immediately
Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and
go on ahead of him to the other side while he
dismissed the crowd. And after he had dismissed
them, he went up on a mountainside by himself
to pray. Later that night, he was there alone.
and the boat was already a considerable distance
from the land, buffeted by the waves because
the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn,
Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.
And when the disciples saw him walking on the
lake, they were terrified. It's a ghost, they
said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately
said to them take courage it is I don't be afraid
Lord if it's you Peter replied Tell me to come
to you on the water Come Jesus said then Peter
got down out of the boat Walked on the water
and came toward Jesus, but when he saw the wind
He was afraid, and beginning to sink, he, let's
see, beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save
me. Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and
caught him. You of little faith, he said, why
did you doubt? And when they climbed into the
boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the
boat worshiped him, saying truly, you are the
son of God. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks
be to God. And so a question to start off our
time together, a question for all of you is how
do those words from Jesus that he said to Peter,
how do those words affect you? The words that
Jesus said to Peter when they were out of the
boat, when Peter cried out for help, how do those
words sound in your head? Either when you read
them off your phone or in a paper Bible or when
you hear them spoken aloud. I don't know if it's
the way that these words are translated into
like a contemporary English Bible or if it's
something about my personal psychology, right?
But I hear judgment in these words, right? I
hear disappointment. And it's like really bad,
depending on, I don't know, it might really just
be depending on how I'm feeling when I read these
words, but I actually hear something just a little
bit shy of contempt in Jesus' voice when he says,
you of little faith, why did you doubt? It's
like he's saying, are you kidding me? Are you
kidding me? Why did you doubt? What is your problem?
I imagine myself in that situation feeling terrible,
right? Feeling like a failure, feeling like a
waste of space, right? And maybe that's how Jesus
said it. Maybe that's how he felt when he said
it. He was completely disappointed and he was
letting loose, telling Peter what a worthless
disciple he really was, right? Maybe that's how
Jesus said it. But it might not have been right
might not have been because the words on the
page It's really an observation and it's a question
Okay, so Jesus just said he says to Peter he
says you have little faith you doubt It's an
observation right and then the question is Why?
And that is a good question to ask, I think.
Why? Why do you doubt? You know? It's not a question
that most of us ask, I think, a lot. Especially
when we observe doubt in somebody else, right?
Or if somebody else doubts us, right? If somebody
doubts you, how do you usually take it, right?
If somebody doesn't think that you are telling
the truth, hmm. If somebody doesn't believe that
you are going to do what you say you are going
to do. If somebody doesn't believe that you can
do something that you know you can do. If somebody
doesn't think that you know what you are talking
about. How do you react to that? Whatever your
line of work, I don't know. if you're in medicine
or you work on cars or you're a plumber or you
teach children to read, right? You've got education,
you've got experience, you've got some expertise
in some things, and you may have had an encounter
at some time with somebody who just doesn't think
that you actually know things that you actually
know, right? They've been watching some TikToks
and they think that they know. Better than you,
right? You probably have never had an experience
like that. Some of us have, right? How do you
react though in a moment like that? Right? How
do you react to the doubt that you observe in
other people? Do you get angry? Do you get defensive?
Right? Do you judge them for their doubts? Right?
So maybe I'm projecting a little bit onto Jesus.
When I read Jesus's words, why do you doubt and
I assume that he's mad right? Maybe that's just
the way that I would be right But the wisest
people that I know the wisest people I have known
in my life are Well, they don't react like that
The wisest people I have known in my life are
curious. They take note of what they see in the
people around them, and they inquire. They want
to know more. They ask, why? These people do
not transcend the messiness of human interactions.
No, of course, no. people mistrust them and disbelieve
them and assume the worst about them. Sometimes
it happens. It's life, right? But they have some
kind of skill to use these moments as like an
open window or a cracked door or an opportunity
to look deeper and learn more about a person
who is acting this way or that way or that way.
There is a guidance counselor at Sudlow Intermediate
School in Davenport, Iowa, who I have known for
many years and she is a person like this. Wise
and compassionate people know that some of us
have been deeply betrayed and so it is difficult
for us to trust. Wise and compassionate people
know that some of us have been lied to so much
in our lives that we have a hard time believing
anything that we hear from most people. Wise
and compassionate people know that some of us
have been wounded, broken by things that happened
to us or things that happened to our loved one
who was hurt and we couldn't stop it. And so
now we walk around with armor and clenched fists
ready to fight. Because anybody who might be
thinking about hurting us or hurting the one
that we love had better think again. Wise and
compassionate people know that there are many
reasons people doubt. There are many reasons
that people disbelieve or mistrust. There are
many reasons that a person can be cynical. And
wise and compassionate people want to know, what's
your reason? Not because you're bad, but because
they want to know you better. Jesus says to Peter,
why do you doubt? That's the question. Why? I
guess there's also the question, what is the
doubt? That's that's another question embedded
here because when religious people Think about
belief and faith and doubt we tell ourselves
that we're supposed to believe Certain things
and not supposed to doubt and the things that
we are supposed to believe and not doubt are
often claims about the nature and reality of
God and Jesus. We don't want to doubt Jesus where
they might be things about the Bible or things
about the theology that we were taught when we
were younger. And there is some set of things
that we are told that we are supposed to hold
true. And if we doubt any of those things, we
jeopardize everything. That's what we think faith
is and our whole lives are at stake in it. This
can be scary, right? That is why doubt is scary
for some people, right? But in this story that
takes place on the water of the Sea of Galilee,
you know, excuse me. In this story, Peter is
not dealing with any of that. Right? Peter is
not doubting whether the Bible is inerrant in
this story. Right? Peter is not questioning the
legitimacy of penal substitutionary atonement.
Peter is doubting. Right? But what is Peter actually
doubting? He's doubting himself. Right? Yeah.
He's doubting... himself. He doesn't disbelieve
anything about Jesus, right? He's looking at
Jesus walking on the water right now. He believes
in Jesus, okay? And, you know, he begins to fear
the storm, right? He starts to sink. What does
he do, right? In that moment, he actually has
faith like a church praise and worship song,
right? Like that song, Oceans, I think that might
be written about in this, I'm not really sure,
but like he starts to sink down beneath the waves,
and I will call upon your name, right? Like this
song that we just sang a few minutes ago about
you'll be my wind and my sails, and you'll be
my anchor of my vessel, something like this,
right? And then, you know, if I'm starting to
sink beneath the waters, I will cry out to you.
I will call out your name. And that is exactly
what Peter does in this story because he believes
in Jesus, okay? He trusts Jesus, right? And he
has actually trusted Jesus so much that he has
begun to think about himself differently. the
process. He had started to believe that he could
do things that Jesus could do. This is because
of the way that Jesus led even as he attracted
people to himself and there were more and more
people all of the time who wanted to see Jesus
and and talk to Jesus and get help from Jesus
but even as Jesus's own personal notoriety had
been growing and growing and growing Jesus was
pushing the people around him people like Peter
to take up the work that he was doing and do
it for themselves He had begun sending out his
disciples, for example, to other towns on their
own to teach and to heal the sick. And in fact,
if you've still got your Bibles open to Matthew
chapter 14, you'll see that just before we get
on in the boat and go out to sea, we have a story
that is sort of known. The shorthand is the feeding
of the 5 ,000. There's a great crowd of people
gathered on the seashore and they are fed. by
a miracle of sharing bread and fish, what seemed
like it would only be enough for a small group
of people, ends up feeding a great crowd of 5
,000 people, right? And that is what immediately
precedes this story of them walking on the water.
But when Jesus oversees, let's say, the miracle
of the feeding of the 5 ,000, and he makes sure
everybody has enough bread and fish to eat so
much that there's leftovers, Jesus doesn't actually
feed the people. Jesus gives the food to the
disciples and has the disciples feed everyone
who is hungry, right? And in that miraculous
moment, Peter is being encouraged to believe
that he can do the things that Jesus does, right?
This isn't just Jesus's work. This is our work.
together. And so as he followed Jesus, Peter
was constantly encouraged to believe that even
though Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus is the anointed
one, right, we are all supposed to be following
Jesus' example, right, to speak the truth. to
heal the sick, to feed the hungry. Jesus is the
Messiah, but the Messiah's work is the people's
work. God's work is the people's work. Peter
has been seeing this and he has been starting
to really believe it, right? Such that when he
sees Jesus walking on the water, he actually
thinks to himself, I can do what Jesus can do
right and he has a moment of supreme confidence
when he steps out of the boat and he begins to
walk on the water himself this is not like a
like a monty python moment where he steps out
on the out of boat and immediately sinks to the
bottom of the sea no he actually takes a few
steps it is actually happening right but then
his confidence, his belief in himself falters.
And the scripture says that he sees the wind,
the crashing waves, the movement of the water,
and he doubts himself. Actually, I can't do this.
Why did I think that I could do this? Am I insane?
believed he could and now all of a sudden it's
like wait what what why no yes no no i cannot
actually do this i can't do the things that jesus
can do that's the doubt right i can't actually
that's the doubt okay belief is sometimes about
giving intellectual assent to a set of unprovable
supernatural claims. I believe that a thing called
heaven exists. Sometimes belief is like that.
But more often, belief is like the thing that
I testified to when I used to coach Little League.
When I told a nine -year -old boy who was about
to walk up to the plate with a baseball bat,
I believe in you, I wasn't saying that based
on objective and subjective criteria, I attest
to the fact of your existence, right? I was not
saying I believe you are a real boy, I believe
you have real feet and your real socks. Like,
no, of course that's not what I was saying. When
I said I believe in you, I was saying from some
deep place where true things are known inside
of me, I see and I know that you are able to
meet this moment, to face your fears, and to
do what needs to be done. I believe in you. Peter
believed in God. He believed in Jesus. And Peter
believed in himself. But on that last one, Peter
also doubted, right? Faith and doubt is not an
either or. People contain contradictions. I want
to hate. I want to love. All within the same
person, right? Peter believed. Peter doubted.
And Jesus asked, why? He didn't say, shame on
you for doubting. You no good doubter. Of course
Jesus didn't say that. But he did ask, why? And
why is a good question? You can learn a lot about
other people. You can learn a lot about yourself
just from asking why. Why do you react with anger
over here and laughter over here and weeping
over here? Why do you remember your strength
when this happens and forget it when this happens?
Why do you follow your fear at this moment and
follow your courage at this moment? Right? In
the text, of course, Peter doesn't answer the
question. He doesn't like have a quip at the
ready, right? There is no answer given to why
he doubted, other than the fear of the wind,
the wind that was also present a moment before
when he had all of the courage and faith that
he needed to step out of the boat, right? So
when Jesus asks him why, you know, why do you
doubt, we don't have his actual literal answer.
We can imagine different reasons why he doubted,
why he would doubt, why... he would doubt even
though he possessed belief within him, right?
We have many stories about Peter. We get to know
him as a man in the gospel. We can make educated
guesses about where his doubts may have come
from, injuries, insecurities, trauma, grief,
shame that he carries around, a gnawing sense
of comparison between what he is and what he
thinks he's supposed to be, right? There's different
things that could be the reason that he doubted
in that moment. whatever it is, we know it's
something, right? And because as readers and
students of the gospel, we are not given the
actual reason, the actual answer for the why
of Peter's doubt, because we are simply left
with Jesus's question, right? Then we know that
the question is for us as well. Why do we doubt?
He knows we do. He knows that we doubt. We don't
have to be afraid to admit it, but why? Because
if we can hold the question, interrogate our
own hearts, we might name something that we desperately
need to know. The answer to the why question
is exactly where Jesus is going to meet us. The
answer to the why question is what Jesus is there
to help us prevail against. Why do we doubt if
it's the legacy of lies and deceit that dismantled
our foundation and shattered all of our trust,
then that is where Jesus is going to help us
heal. Why do we doubt if we were betrayed? or
abandoned by somebody that we believed was our
friend, then this is where God is going to show
us a way toward beloved community and new bonds
of fidelity and friendship. Why do we doubt if
it's guilt that we feel from something terrible
that we did that we can't undo and we can't make
right even though we said we're sorry? If we
live with the weight of that sin and we doubt
that we can overcome it, if that's the why, right,
then that's the burden that Christ is going to
help us bear and show us how people who have
done wrong can yet do good before our time is
done. Why do we doubt? Maybe we still hear the
voice of one who taught us when we were little
that we were no good. all these years later we
still have doubt because we were taught to hate
ourselves. If that's the thing, then that's where
God will find us with the words that Jesus heard
in the Jordan River, you are my beloved and with
you I am well pleased. If it's the lingering
threat or the lingering effects or the lingering
presence of violence, in our real lives or a
lost sense of safety or a fear of loss in the
future. If that is the why of our doubt, then
that is the spot amidst the waves where Jesus
will meet us and will say, take courage. It is
I do not be afraid. I am here with you, you and
me. We will not be defeated by this moment. we
have much to do. So why do you doubt? It's good
to ask and it's good to picture Jesus there beside
us as the answers materialize. He will help us
to set down what it is right to set down. He
will help us to let go of what it is right to
let go. and He will help us to hold and to carry
what it is right for us to carry. But on the
other side, right? On the other side of this
stormy sea that we're in, in this moment of doubt,
when we pull the boat ashore, Jesus will continue
to lead us because there are more people for
us to meet. more people for us to love, more
people for us to serve. Grace is still growing
and Jesus has more light for us to share. So
you of little faith, you who doubt, take heart,
take courage. Anyway, thanks be to God. Amen.
Would you pray with me? Loving and gracious God,
we give thanks for this beautiful day. I give
thanks for these ancient words, this ancient
story that made such a difference in the lives
of those who were there and in the lives of those
who told it that more people kept telling it.
and kept telling it, and it came down through
generations, came down through centuries for
us to hear it today. We give thanks for the courage
that Peter had to get out of the boat. When he
doubted, we see our own doubts in him. We thank
you for being the one he can cry out to. We thank
you for being the one that we can cry out to
when we begin to sink. And we thank you for the
story that you kept writing in Peter's life as
he got to the other side of the sea because he
had much yet to do. And we ask you to guide us,
to strengthen us, encourage us, bless us, keep
us, and to keep leading us. to the things that
we are called and supposed and meant to do today
and tomorrow and all the days that you will lay
before us. We give thanks in Jesus name. Amen.