Matthew 14 is both a comforting and a challenging text to explore.

It's comforting because anyone who's ever been a drift and felt lost, afraid, perhaps even despaired of ever finding safe harbor knows how hopeful and healing this story can be.

It's challenging because as a nature miracle story it's real purpose or function is easy to overlook, and the actual intention of the phrasing and the placement of this story within the larger gospel narrative reveals a much different message than we see at face value.

All four canonical gospels tell a story about Jesus calming the sea. Matthew and Mark each tell two such stories. This means that there are six stories very similar to each other in our four gospels.

Mark, our earliest layer of the tradition, makes no mention of Peter whatsoever in the accounts found in Mk 4:35-51 and Mk 6:47-52. The first account in Mark ends with the disciples asking the question, "Who is this. . . ?" The second account ends with the disciples feeling dumbfounded and being called obstinate because they weren't getting it. Mark seems to understand these as illustrations of the disciples ignorance and ineptitude. Yet even so, they are the ones who with Jesus help will make it safe to the other shore.

Matthew also has two calming of the sea stories, the one we heard this morning and another account in Matthew 8:18, 23-27 which has no mention of Peter in it and is very similar to Luke's account in Luke 8:22-25.

Finally, John's account never has Jesus even entering the boat. This story ends with the disciples immediately reaching land when they see Jesus. And there is no mention of Peter.

So, of all six accounts, this one is the only one that mentions Peter. Why?

To answer this we would need to know when this story took place, i.e. before or after Jesus' execution, and who the original audience was.

Does this shed a positive light on Peter or a less than positive light?

Another unique aspect to Matthew 14:22-33 is the Christological proclamation at the end of the story.

Then those in the boat paid homage to him saying, "You really are God's son."

It's even more odd and ironic when you compare this with the account in John 6:16-21. John, never one to shy away from triumphant Christological proclamations, is the only one who says that the reason Jesus's disciples get into the boat was to escape the crowds who were about to pay homage to Jesus and crown him king!

Common themes that place this account after Jesus' death and resurrection:

1) Early morning setting.

2) Reaction of disciples: thinking he was a ghost, being terrified, Jesus' response.

3) Close association with loaves and fishes story (Eucharist).

Crossan's summary of these accounts and their meaning.

4) Peter's request (found only in Matthew 14). It has always struck me as odd that Peter, upon seeing Jesus and hearing him reassure them, would respond by saying, "Master, if it's really you, order me to come across the water to you." Peter has a reputation for being impetuous, not retiring or shy. He isn't one to stand around and wait for an invitation. Why would he require a personal invitation before coming over to Jesus now? It doesn't make sense to me, unless it is expressing the way Peter felt after he had betrayed Jesus. Then he may have felt an invitation or a call was necessary as a sign of Jesus' forgiveness and as reassurance of his redemption.

Let's muddy the waters a little bit by bringing in another story to compare and contrast. Can anyone here think of a story from the Bible in which sailers at sea were caught in a storm that suddenly grew calm after a certain action was taken?

The story of Jonah.

The prophet Jonah is called to preach repentance to the Ninevites. He didn't want to do this, since the Ninevites were not only wicked people-they were gentile pagans, so he headed in the opposite direction. He got on board a boat and sailed away. Soon a storm began tossing the boat about and it looked like the entire crew and its passenger were going to drown. Jonah tells them that they must throw him overboard if they want to survive. They eventually, reluctantly comply. The storm abates. Jonah is swallowed by a huge fish and for three days meditates and prays in its belly until he is vomited up on dry land and then finally says "yes" to God's call. The book ends with Jonah being so successful in his preaching that the entire town repents and is saved which leaves Jonah feeling vexed and angry with God for being so generous and compassionate to "those people."

This story is a fish tale about a prophet's eventual acceptance of a call that had first been refused. It is also a story about God's extravagant compassion for those who were excluded from the community of faith and despised as heathen outsiders. It has some interesting commonalities with our text, especially if our text is given a post-resurrection context, and it offers us additional possibilities for interpretation.

Putting them side by side reminds me that questions regarding authority and power are connected to issues of authorization and empowerment. To disconnect the call and one giving it from the reception and the one following is to see only a part of the picture. The early followers of Jesus were not just following a man, nor were they simply following a semi-mythical divine figure. They were following the God Jesus preached about: a God whose Kindom of love and justice, peace and compassion they had experienced and tasted through the life and teachings of Jesus. And they must have felt their own calling to live, teach and heal as he had. One can not survive the storms of life by following another's calling, you must find your own. Inspired by their friend, teacher and mentor, they surely felt their own unique connection to the God whose universal compassion included everyone, even those they had previously thought beyond redemption.

In a nutshell:

God calls. We respond. Yes or No. This is never the end of the story.

When we say "No," God doesn't give up on us. There is more in us to offer to the world than we usually imagine.

When we say "Yes," we still have to face a stormy sea. Yet God never leaves us. It is this presence that will ultimately and always get us to safe harbor. We are never as adrift as we may sometimes feel. Thanks be to God.

And right away [Jesus] made the disciples get in a boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he dispersed the crowds. After he had dispersed the crowds, he went up to the mountain privately to pray. He remained there alone well into the evening.

By this time the boat was already some distance from land and was being pounded by waves because the wind was against them. About three o'clock in the morning he came toward them walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.

Right away Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart, it's me! Don't be afraid." In response Peter said, "Master, if it's really you, order me to come across the water to you." He said, "Come on."

And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But with the strong wind in his face, he became afraid. And when he started to sink, he cried out, "Master, save me." Right away Jesus extended his hand and took hold of him and says to him, "You don't have enough trust! Why did you hesitate?" and by the time they had climbed into the boat, the wind had died down.

Then those in the boat paid homage to him saying, "You really are God's son."