Grace For Our "If's" -- Matthew 14: 22-33

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

If you’re like me, your mind takes snapshots, pictures, of the stories we read in the Bible. So, for example, in this morning’s Gospel reading of Jesus and Peter, my snapshot has Peter frozen, about half-in, half-out of the water, and Jesus grabbing his arm (which also makes me wonder, was Peter on the way down or on the way up and out of the water). Maybe your picture has Peter and Jesus standing side-by-side before Peter sees the wind, or it’s after Jesus gets into the boat with the disciples in reverence, even as water drips off Peter’s clothes and hair.

Whatever your picture, the Holy Spirit is wanting us to build on what we heard last week with the feeding of the 5000. Jesus isn’t merely a great teacher; He’s not only able to multiply bread and fish; He is God in flesh, the Lord of creation, demonstrating again that “even the wind and the waves obey Him,” (Matthew 8:27).

Now, I want to give you another perspective into the text this morning and what it says about God’s great love for us in Christ, and what it says for us as children of God who come to Him in prayer.

I began by asking what your mental snapshot is of this Gospel reading. Let’s change that image for a second. Imagine you’re in a swimming pool with clean, clear water, and you’ve under water with your eyes open. Now, look up at the people standing outside the pool, up on solid ground. You can see them, but not clearly because the water is literally bending the light, refracting it so the image of the person is there, but it isn’t clear. (If you’ve never been in a swimming pool, you know a similar image looking out a rain-drenched window.) That image of looking through water is the image that artist Yongsung Kim paints in his picture, “His Mighty Hand.” It’s painting the scene from Peter’s perspective, sinking fast, head under water. Above the water stands Jesus, but partially obscured because of the water. You can only vaguely make out Jesus’ face, but what you clearly see are the bottom of His feet on the water, and His hand reaching down into the water, reaching for Peter. (You can Google the artist and painting to see this yourself. It is quite remarkable.)

In his painting, Kim changes our perspective, placing us with Peter, drowning and yet graciously being saved. Matthew does something similar. If you listen to the dialog between Jesus and Peter, you can hear what it is like to be drowning in your prayers, and yet graciously being saved.

As Jesus approaches the boat in the storm, He announces who He is. “It is I.” This self-identification is surrounded with assurance. “Take heart,” He says. And then, “Do not be afraid.” Three powerful declarations from Jesus. They ground us in who Jesus is and in His powerful presence. Not only does He walk on water, revealing His power over the storm, He is re-setting creation from its chaos. Not only is he re-setting creation, He surrounds the disciples with His assurance. He has not come to torment or to test. He has come to rescue, to encourage, and to defend His disciples in the midst of a storm.

In the presence of such a powerful self-revelation, however, Peter falls into prayerful confusion. Peter responds to the words of Jesus by saying, “If it is You, Lord, command me to come to You on the water.”

“If it is You...” Consider those words for a minute. It set two things up in opposition: if this, then that. If dinner is done, then we can eat. If you eat dinner, then you can have ice cream. If you’re done, then do your homework. It can mean different things – it can be simple linear, cause/effect; it can express curiosity; it can even be full-on doubt. The key rests in the “if” and how it is being used. In this case, it means this: Peter says, “If it is You, Lord (and for the sake of argument, let’s assume that it is You) then...” This is not a confident confession in Jesus, like: “Since it is You Lord, command me to come to You on the water.” But, at the same time, it is also not a complete dismissal of Jesus: “Yeah. Right. You’re “Jesus.” If it’s You (and I don’t really think it is) then command me to come to You on the water.” This is somewhere in between. “If it is You, and for the sake of argument, let’s say that it is, then...” Peter is wavering here, like water. He wants it to be Jesus, but he is not completely sure.

How many times have we spoken to Jesus like that? How often have we wavered in the water? Have you ever prayed an “If You are...” prayer?

If You really are out there, Jesus, then help me.

If You really love me, Jesus, then fix my marriage.

If You really listen to prayers, Jesus, then help me find a new job.

If You really care, Jesus, then heal my dad’s dementia.

If you really understand, Jesus, then make my stomach stop hurting before school.

Peter is wavering here, like water. He wants it to be Jesus, but he is not completely sure.

In so many situations in life, we can find ourselves praying like Peter, “If You are the Son of God, then...” And, when we do this, we are confused in our prayers, wavering like the waves of the water, and soon to be drowning like Peter. As James writes, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind” (1:5-6). Peter’s prayer is being driven and tossed by the wind that Peter sees, causing him to sink away from the very one to whom He is praying.

But that is what is so amazing about this account. When Jesus hears these words from Peter, what does He do? He invites Peter to come to Him. And when Peter fails, He does not let Peter drown. He reaches out and rescues him. No, “If-then” conditions --- if you had faith, then you wouldn’t be sinking; if you loved me, you wouldn’t be in trouble; if you trusted me, you would still be strolling on the waves. Jesus has come to be the Savior of people who cry out to Him, even in prayerful confusion.

Earlier in Matthew’s Gospel, when Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, He heard the same kind of language. Satan tempted Jesus with his, “If You are...,” demands. “If You are the Son of God, then command these stones to become bread” (Matthew 4:3). “If You are the Son of God, then throw Yourself down” (Matthew 4:6). “All this will be yours if you bow down and worship me” (Matthew 4:9). Those “if-thens” weren’t offered in weakness; those were offered in arrogance, tempting Jesus to prove Who He is: “I don’t really believe this is true, Jesus, so gimme a little proof.”  When Satan spoke like that to Jesus, Jesus resisted. He repelled him.

Yet again, that is what is so amazing about this narrative. When Jesus hears these words on the mouth of Peter, He does not repel him. He answers him. He invites him. Why? Because Jesus came to defeat Satan, but He did not come to defeat His people. He came to save them. Even when we cry out in wavering prayers, Jesus reaches out to save us with His unwavering grace.

Our translation says that Jesus calls Peter, “O you of little faith.” In the Greek New Testament, its as if Jesus simply calls Peter, “Little-faith,” like it was his name. Don’t see Peter as a model, here; a man of great faith who should be emulated. Rather, his smallness of faith shows Jesus’ identiy, power and grace all the more fully and richly. Peter may have had little faith, but it was faith in Jesus. Remember Isaiah’s words: A bruised reed, He will not break. A smoldering wick, He will not snuff out. The size of faith is inconsequential as long as it rests in the faithfulness of Jesus as the Son of God. At the heart of it all lies a simple cry, “Lord, save me,” and a simple response, Jesus, reaching out to rescue His people from dying.

God has immersed you in the waters of baptism. There, He has joined you to the death of His Son. No matter how far down you fall into the wavering waters of “If you are...” prayers, Jesus is there. Yet, our Old Adams and our Old Eves, at times, cry out with less than confidence, praying, “If you are…” We look through that Baptismal water, both trusting and wondering at the same time. We see Him, yet we do not yet see Him as clearly as we desire. He is there, yet we desire the assurance that He does, indeed, have us.

And that begs the question, doesn’t it, as we look through those Baptismal waters towards Jesus, and it leaves us with one, final if-then to wrestle with: If Jesus is the powerful Lord over the sea, then will He save us when we call upon Him? What if we fail to trust Him? What of those times when we feel more as Peter of Little Faith rather than Peter the Rock?  Will He save me, or will He – in all of His divine power over creation, in all of His frightening majesty – will He let me sink and give me what I deserve?

Remember – you are looking through Baptismal water. Jesus can save, He does save, He will save, even you, Little-Faith, in those times and moments of doubt. The promises He made, sealed in His blood at the cross, he will keep, now – in the present time – even as this age fights against the new age of salvation. He, who calmed the seas, is the Lord of creation and He entered into it to redeem it, also, and set all things right. His power over creation was cloaked in weakness. He took upon Himself humanity’s sin and the curse of death and everything else in between that seeks to destroy us. This is Jesus – there is no other. He promises to bless the poor in spirit, and He promises to redeem on the last day. (Gibbs, MATTHEW, vol 2, p764)

Today, He has come to say, “I am here. Therefore, take heart and do not be afraid. I have borne the punishment for sin. I have defeated death itself. I have risen from the grave and rule over all creation. Nothing can separate you from My protection and nothing can separate you from My love.” Though we may waver in prayerful confusion, Jesus is risen and ruling in His unwavering love.