Pentecost 13
Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! [2 John 1:3]
Text: Matthew 14:22 – 33
26But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In Martin Luther’s Small Catechism, the explanation to the First Commandment sounds like this: “We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.” The rest of the Ten Commandments all have their explanations starting in a similar way: “We should fear and love God so that…” Over and over again, we hear this word “fear” thrown at us. So let me ask you today: “Do you fear God?”
Were you to start knocking on doors here in West Bloomfield, or in Commerce, or Waterford, or wherever you live, and started asking that very question, “Do you fear God?” I’m sure you’d get lots of strange looks, and (from those who didn’t slam the door in your face) some very different answers.
ŒThere are those who say you should indeed fear God. He is, after all, the almighty creator of heaven and earth, whose power made all that is, and made it all from nothing. He is the one whose power sustains our world and continues to give us all that we need to support this body and life, to borrow another phrase from Luther’s Small Catechism. He’s got the whole world in His hands, if you will. He is all powerful, all-seeing, all-knowing, and is present everywhere. All things came into being as He uttered a word, and with a simple shrug of His shoulders, all things could be snuffed out like they never existed. Sounds like we should fear Him? Oh, I think so.
Just look at what happened when Job dared to question Him, as recorded in our Old Testament lesson today. Even the simple fact that God responded to Job’s questioning is astounding in itself. But God certainly sets Job straight: “Where were you,” He asks, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” “Who do you think you are?” Or better yet, “Who do you think I am?”
That’s a great question for our society today, as we are so quick to put ourselves in the place of God. But in all reality, we must remember: God is the one who put the law into its place, the just and righteous one who set the boundaries not only for the heavens and the waters, but for us as well. We are the ones who have transgressed that law and tried time and again to put ourselves into His place, to make our way through this world with only ourselves to answer to. God says, “Be holy, be righteous…” and we simply can’t. We simply won’t. We fear our God because He is all-powerful, and we are weak and self-centered.
These are all true statements, and because of God’s great power and majesty, and because of His holiness and righteousness, we fear Him. But as we fear Him, we remember. We recall what we learned from our parents, from our friends, our teachers, and maybe even our pastors: That God Himself came down from heaven, was born of a woman, and lived the perfect life that we could not. He died on a cross to bring us back into relationship with our Holy God, and has washed us clean with His own life’s blood. He rose from the dead on the third day, and because He has done so, we shall rise again as well. He’s claimed us to be His own, and invites us to call upon Him to pray, praise, and give thanks.
Too much fear of God leads us to have an unapproachable God who is angry with His sinful people, and makes us search out ways to appease Him, lest we perish forever. Like Luther in his early years, and like so many others in ages past, we see Christ only on the judgment seat, fearsome and scary. Remember instead the picture of Him hanging on the cross, praying for His Heavenly Father to forgive those who put Him there. “Today you will be with Me in paradise,” He says to the thief hanging next to Him, and to you.
Paul brings it out so beautifully in today’s Epistle lesson: “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” And later, “everyone who calls upon the Name of the Lord will be saved.”
So is it that we don’t need to fear God? After all, because of what Christ has done for us, we need no longer fear the wrath of God, and can call upon our Heavenly Father as a child calls upon his earthly father. God’s Word is full of all sorts of beautiful language about our God being “slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” “God is love,” 1 John tells us, so why would we need to fear Him? Why should we need to be afraid of the One who tolerated Abraham’s endless questioning on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah? Why should we need to fear a God who answered Gideon’s fleece prayers in Judges? Why should we need to fear a God who has such rich patience and grace, who tolerates a sinful people?
Our world, and especially the world of today, equates God with love, and interchanges the two. Wherever God is, there is love, we’re told, and we could agree with that. However, they’re also quick to turn it around: Wherever love is, there is God. Hold on a second, we’d say. That’s taking things altogether too far. While we don’t need to see God as merely the fearsome, angry judge that pervaded the Middle Ages, our society has lost the wholesome fear and respect of our Almighty God, and has marginalized Him. All too often we are only told to see God as the “kind old man” that will hopefully give you what you ask for if you ask in the right way and have enough trust in Him. Gone is the fear of transgressing His law. Homosexual marriage? “No problem… as long as they love one another.” Marital infidelity? “No problem… If there’s no love in my marriage, He would want me to seek it elsewhere.” Divorce, abortion, lying, cheating, stealing… God is made to have nothing to do with any of them, and is given only to be the patron spirit of lost causes, the final thing we try when all else has failed.
In this concentration our world has on making God into the kind old man, or into my “buddy Jesus,” my brothers and sisters in Christ, do not lose sight of the coming judgment day. There will be a reckoning, perhaps soon, when our Almighty God will reveal Himself to the whole world, will raise all the dead, and will come again in all His glory, seated on the judgment throne. Despite all the talk of our Heavenly Father, and how much God is love, there will be much fear on that day.
ŽSo which is it, pastor? Do we fear God, or do we not fear God? There seems to be evidence on both sides of the question, and Scripture certainly speaks both ways. So what are good Lutheran Christians supposed to do? Where do we sit on this question, after reading the Scriptures and our Lutheran Confessions?
In the end, we sit where we usually do: right in the middle. Do we keep the traditions of the past or make changes to better communicate the Gospel? Yes. Is there bread and wine in Holy Communion, or is it the Body and Blood of Christ? Yes. Do we fear God, or see Him as our loving Father and Brother? YES.
As Lutheran Christians, we are bold enough (and hopefully wise enough) to realize the need for both positions, and can see that God’s Word speaks both ways. The middle road, which is often very lonely, is where we walk as Lutherans.
Yes, we fear God. We acknowledge Him as Lord, as the Almighty Creator, and as the One who has set His law in the heavens, and carved it not only into the stones He handed Moses, but into our hearts as well. This law, which tells us of our Lord’s will for His people, has not disappeared. It still cuts us right to the heart, convicting us of our sin and keeping us on that narrow, lonely middle path.
But while God’s Law has not disappeared, it has been fulfilled. Christ Jesus has come to the earth, has lived, died, and risen again, and now is ruling and reigning. He has fulfilled the Law’s demands, and so we can stand before that judgment seat of God when our time comes, and we do not have to fear His wrath. Even though you and I are sinful human beings, Christ has washed us clean with His very blood. Because of Him, you are an heir of heaven.
The Gospel lesson today shows this in all its wonder. Jesus comes to His disciples in the wee hours of the morning. They’ve been struggling against the storm all night long, trying with all their might to keep the boat upright and heading in the right direction. Jesus walks on the water, apparently not even affected by the waves or the winds, just walking like you and I did across the level carpet this morning. Now that’s a display of Almighty Power. The disciples see this and are terrified; they cry out in fear! But in His love and concern for them, Jesus calls out immediately: “It’s Me. Don’t be afraid.” In His love, He calls to Peter, “Come,” and allows Peter to walk to Him on the water. And when Peter begins doubting and needs rescuing, Jesus uses His Almighty Power and saves Peter, not with a word, but actually reaches out His hand and takes hold of Him, placing Peter safely back into the boat. What a revelation of who our God is, and how He operates: reaching in with His own hands to save His people. This is our God, the fearsome, almighty God who has the power to deliver us.
In the end, neither of the previous views by itself is enough to get a clear picture of who our God has revealed Himself to be. In His Word, He shows Himself to be the powerful, almighty creator, just and righteous, demanding adherence to His law. He is also the loving, caring God who loves His creation enough to send His only Son to die for you and me, rising again to give us eternal life with Him. Do we fear God? You bet we do. We fear Him like any loving and grateful child would fear His loving father. We fear, but we don’t only fear. We fear, we love, and we trust, because He loves us very much.
In the Name of Jesus, Amen.