Proper 14 - Jesus: Our Lifeguard - Year A

Welcome Statement

Good Morning Church! Today we are going to look at a couple of passages about trusting God as our guardian, as the lifegiver, the one who guards our lives. Even in our doubts, God can find ways to route us back to him when we find ourselves in the pit of death, even in the midst of everything around us blinding us to him and His Plan.

Old Testament Reading - 1 Kings 19:9-18

1 Kings 19:9–18 NRSV

At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” Then the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Anger At Injustice

Elijah’s filled with anger at the unfaithfulness of the Israelites.

They destroyed the altar of God, killed his prophets, and seek to end the line of prophets.

Elijah at this point is weary, he is fleeing from Jezebel for killing the prophets of Baal, who were killed according to the Law for turning Israel against Yahweh, for the punishment of idolatry was death According to Exodus 22:20 and Deuteronomy. This seems harsh, and we see the same thing when Jesus appears to speak what is considered Blasphemy regarding God and his relationship to him as the son, this is why the Pharisees were the way they were in a way, the law demanded death to those who actively lead others into idolatry.

There is an injustice component here too, child sacrifice and temple prostitution was rampant during this era, and those injustices left unanswered would be an injustice itself. - See 1 Kings 14:24 and 2 Kings 16:3

So it is not that Elijah had it coming, it is that, Jezebel is angry that God’s wrath and justice had been

God Calls Elijah to anoint Hazael as King over Aram, and Jehu Son of Nimshi as king over israel, and then Elisha is to take Elijah’s place as prophet.

The Word of the Lord

The Scripture describes the Word of the Lord as “coming” to him almost as a physical manner, not necessarily a mental voice, but the literal word of God.

This acts the same as the Angel of the Lord, the Word of the Lord is the Lord, but also acts as a representation of the lord

This acts as a hint to the reality of the Trinity, and the Word of the Lord here is understood by many Christian Theologians as an example of Christophany or a pre-incarnational manifestation of Jesus.

Old Testament Point #3

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New Testament Reading - Matthew 14:22-33

Matthew 14:22–33 NRSV

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

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A Peek Of God versus Witnessing the Fullness of God

The stark contrast of 1 Kings 19:9-18 of Elijah only being able to get a sort of blind peek at God as a whisper rushing past him, versus Peter witnessing the Son of God on the water, is very interesting.

“Truly you are the Son of God” - There is no question, that Jesus bears this title of divinity, that he truly is the Son Of Man, Son of God, the true Adam, The lifegiver, the physician of our lives.

Trusting God WholeHeartedly Versus Conditionally

Compare Peter’s own test of trust shallowness to Shadrack, Meshack, and abendigo

Daniel 3:17–18 NRSV

If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.”

Daniel’s friends didn’t Test God, in fact they wholly trusted in God, that they would be delivered from death no matter what, even if they weren’t delivered. This is what it means to see God as a present and future hope.

Peter on the other hand, questioned if it was really Jesus in the water, and setup a “controlled test” to confirm it was Jesus.

At first he was bold, but at the first sign of trouble, he fell in the water.

Peter also left his comrades, and in the process had to go through this trial alone.

This is why it is so important to be in a community of believers, to help root you. The cloud of witnesses is not an optional part of the faith, it is called the body of christ for a reason.

Peter leaving the boat was him symbolically trying to take on this entire struggle and test on his own, his boldness was child-like, and not mature faith that has been weathered.

Jesus Picks him up, which mirrors the same reinstatement of Peter when Jesus asks Peter 3 times to feed and tend to his sheep despite denying him 3 times.s

Life Examples

Emery during 4th of July told us she wanted to jump in the water, and wanted to be kind of thrown in, but did not realize what she was signing up for

Peter like-wise, was insistent on getting on the water, and did not realize what she was expecting

Later, at wavetech she just went with waves. Laying back trusting the water to lift her up, rather than worrying about if the water pulled her under.

We can get distracted by the world, the wave, and forget all of the blessings we have, of course many have to live paycheck to paycheck, but Raphael’s talk about his time in Nigeria about people not having clean water or electricity made me realize, even if I had to go into debt, I could still feed my kids, even if my financial portfolio is not how I Want it to be.

Do we worry like the world does about the DOW going red and green every other day? Bloomberg is driving me nuts at work.

Closing Statement

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Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, adfs asdfa

Amen.

Doxology / Benediction / Closing

May you Have a Blessed Sunday, and rest of your Week! Amen!