The Gospel - Matthew 14:22-33
Homily by the Rev. Dr. David Smith
Robert Fulghum tells a wonderful story about a kindergarten class that decided to perform the story of Cinderella. There are lots of roles in Cinderella, but still casting was a chore. All the girls, of course, wanted to be Cinderella. Finally all the children were assigned roles except one--a small tubby kid named Norman.
The teacher asked, "Norman, what are you going to be?"
"Well," said Norman, "I think I will be the pig."
The teacher said, "Norman, there is no pig in the story of Cinderella."
And Norman said, "Well, there is now."
The teacher could tell it would be senseless to argue, so she left it to Norman to decide what role a pig played in the Cinderella story. As it turned out, the pig went everywhere that Cinderella went and did whatever Cinderella did.
Norman had nothing to say, but Norman's face reflected the action of the drama. When things were serious, he was serious. When things looked worrisome, he looked worried. When things were in doubt, he looked anxious. He began to fill the stage with his presence of response by simply sitting there.
And at the end of the performance when the princess was carried off to live happily ever after, Norman stood on his hind legs and barked.
In rehearsal this had been troublesome because the teacher said, "Look, Norman, even if there is a pig in the story, pigs do not bark." And Norman said, "Well, this one does." You can imagine what happened the night of the performance. There was a standing ovation for “Norman the barking pig.”
Jesus would have liked Norman. Norman wouldn't let other people set boundaries around his imagination. He was going to be what he was going to be--no matter how foolish he might look.
Jesus' disciple Simon Peter was somewhat like that. It's only natural that when Peter saw Jesus walking out to them on the water, he would jump overboard and try to walk out to meet Jesus. Peter was enthusiastic and impulsive. He often spoke without thinking and acted without considering the consequences.
We have all known people like that: They're more apt to think with their heart than with their brain; more apt to be out front than linger behind where it is safer. Interestingly enough, when people like that refine their enthusiasm and channel their impulsiveness they become leaders.
Despite all his impulsiveness Jesus loved Peter. It's obvious that Jesus would rather tone down a fanatic than try to resurrect a corpse. Jesus prefers people who are doers. People like Norman the talking pig and Simon Peter floundering there in the water about to drown because he impulsively jumped into the water to meet his Lord
The Good Samaritan didn't become good by playing it safe and never doing anything impulsive. He won Jesus' praise by taking the risk of stopping to help a man who had been attacked by robbers. He could have offered up all kinds of rationalizations about why it would be more prudent to pass this man by on the other side, but he saw a need and he dove right in.
Simon Peter could have stayed safely in the boat…but didn’t.
As author Kent Crockett has said, "God places many of His blessings outside of our comfort zones, then asks us to come get them. If we ever want to receive some things we've never had before, we've got to do some things we've never done before."
There is a character in the classic work Don Quixote named Sancho Panza. Sancho Panza hangs in fear from the ledge of a window all night long, too frightened to let go. When morning dawns he discovers his toes are only an inch off the ground.
It's amusing to think of Simon Peter climbing out of the boat trying to imitate his Lord by walking on the water. Then, like a cartoon character, he makes the mistake of looking around. "What in the world am I doing?" he asked himself and suddenly he begins to sink.
How often that happens in life. People are charting a successful course and then they begin to listen to their fears. "What if I fail? What if the market fails? What if…what if… and they begin slowly to sink.
It is then that Jesus reaches out to us. "Immediately," says our lesson, "Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. 'You of little faith,' he said, 'why did you doubt?'"
Doubt is our enemy. Fear our greatest adversary. Jesus loves people who dream great dreams, who still believe that all things are possible to those who believe in him, who are willing to step out in faith to do great things for him.
This church was built by believers. It was built by doers like George Dame. It was built by people who knew in their hearts that God could do great things through them. Wouldn't it be a shame if our only contribution was to hold on to the boat?
Has God planted a dream in our heart? Some great thing you can do for God and for our community? Do we have a dream for our church and what we could yet be?
Let others cry out for a safe shore. This is a time for barking pigs. This is a time for us to step out of the boat and do great things for God.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
Amen.