We are nearing the end of our worship series “Inspired” based on the book Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans. Those who wish may purchase the book, and it’s also available in the LJUMC library.
Some of the loudest critiques from our non-theist friends about sacred Christian texts have to do with the more extraordinary and and even super-natural stories. Did Moses really save diverse wildlife in an enormous ark during a 40-day storm? Did Jonah really live in the belly of a giant fish for three days? Did Jesus really heal the blind and raise the dead and feed literally thousands of people?
Many preachers would encourage us to take every one of those stories as absolutely real and true. Perhaps fewer preachers would say that each of those stories is written in allegory or maybe a bit of exaggeration—not unlike the fishing stories from that one family member that everyone has. As Wesleyans, we understand the value of reason in our spiritual life—but this doesn’t mean we cannot have substantial faith in God’s incredible power.
Matthew 14:22-33 (CEB)
22 Right then, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead to the other side of the lake while he dismissed the crowds. 23 When he sent them away, he went up onto a mountain by himself to pray. Evening came and he was alone.24 Meanwhile, the boat, fighting a strong headwind, was being battered by the waves and was already far away from land. 25 Very early in the morning he came to his disciples, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified and said, “It’s a ghost!” They were so frightened they screamed.
27 Just then Jesus spoke to them, “Be encouraged! It’s me. Don’t be afraid.”
28 Peter replied, “Lord, if it’s you, order me to come to you on the water.”
29 And Jesus said, “Come.”
Then Peter got out of the boat and was walking on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when Peter saw the strong wind, he became frightened. As he began to sink, he shouted, “Lord, rescue me!”
31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him, saying, “You man of weak faith! Why did you begin to have doubts?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind settled down.
33 Then those in the boat worshipped Jesus and said, “You must be God’s Son!”
Consider these questions:
- Do you have trouble believing some of the Bible’s miracle stories? Which ones?
- In her book (see the first paragraph above), Evans writes, “I found myself dissatisfied with both sweeping literalism on the one hand and disembodied abstractions on the other.” Can you relate? How have the Bible’s miracle stories been explained to you through the years? Which explanations did you find most compelling? Most unbelievable?
- Evans also writes, “It’s been said that if you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat. Sometimes getting out of the boat looks like showing up for another recovery meeting. Sometimes it looks like filling out hospital paperwork for an elderly neighbor. Sometimes it looks like making a casserole for the family down with the flu or offering free babysitting for the friend with a job interview. Sometimes it looks like jump- ing when it matters.” What does “getting out of the boat” look like for you? What does it mean to “jump when it matters?”