We Are All in the Same Boat

https://youtu.be/i0aU6gV2N2U

Gospel

THE HOLY GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

Immediately Jesus 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 worshipped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

MATTHEW 14:22-33

Sermon: The Rev. Dr. Maryann Amor

Church buildings across the world all look different, but one thing many have in common is that their ceilings are meant to resemble the hull of a boat. Here at Christ Church you can kinda see this. The ceiling isn’t fully flat but comes to a slight peak in the centre. In other churches, like the one on the screen, it is much more pronounced...you really get the sense that the roof of the church is made of an overturned boat. This is why the area we are sitting in now is called the nave, from a Latin word meaning ship...think navy.

It is imagining our church building as a ship, even if it might not look exactly like one, that gives us a new lens through which to understand our well-known Gospel reading. As we just heard, all the disciples are together in a boat being battered by the waves and wind...suddenly they see Jesus walking towards them on the water. Peter decides that he will walk on the water too, so he gets out of the boat and starts walking towards Jesus. But Peter becomes scared and begins to sink...he cries out in fear, "Lord, save me," and Jesus reaches out and catches him. The two walk together back to the boat and the storm dies down.

In this story, Peter begins in the boat with the disciples, but then he decides to leave them and go towards Jesus. Now, there is nothing wrong with Peter wanting to go to Jesus. In fact, Jesus tells him to come. But as Peter leaves the boat, he discovers something. It is one thing to be battered by strong winds while in the boat with other people, but it is a completely different thing to be battered by those same winds while you are all by yourself, with nobody around you to share in your vulnerability.

While he was in the boat with the disciples, Peter did not experience the storm on his own. He had his friends with him; all of them were enduring the same thing. But the minute Peter stepped out on his own, he suddenly had nobody at all. He had to face the wind and waves by himself, and this was worse, more terrifying, than I think he could have imagined.

And maybe this is true for us as well. We can endure remarkable things when we face them together. It is often when we become isolated that the storm begins to feel overwhelming. A challenge that might have seemed manageable when we had others beside us can suddenly feel like too much to handle when there is nobody to talk to, nobody to encourage us, nobody to support us. Fear has a way of becoming so much worse when we experience it on our own...we begin to lose perspective, convinced that we have to carry everything ourselves. This is what Peter went through when he left the disciples and began walking on the water.

And his experience shows us one of the deeper truths in today's Gospel...that being Christian was never meant to be a solitary journey. Notice where the story ends. It doesn't end with Peter standing triumphantly on the water by himself. Instead, it ends with Jesus and Peter back in the boat with the whole community once again.

The reason churches often resemble boats is that the early Christians understood something important. They knew that the church was never meant to be simply a building where people gathered for worship once a week. It was a community that carried one another through life. So they built churches that reminded them of the disciples' boat. Every time they gathered, they were reminded that they were fellow travellers, journeying together with Christ through whatever storms lay ahead.

And we are also in a boat together right now. We, too, will experience life's storms blowing all around us...or churning deep within us. Sometimes we might be like Peter. We might think that we have to face those storms on our own, and so we step out by ourselves, leaving the others in the boat. We tell ourselves we don't want to burden anyone else, or that nobody would understand anyway. And as we do this, we might be overcome with fear and begin to sink beneath the weight of carrying everything alone.

But our Gospel reminds us that we don't have to face those storms alone. We have this boat and our fellow disciples. We have this place where we can be with those who share our joys and our sorrows...who journey with us through the storms of life, who are vulnerable with us, who support us through the winds and waves. This is one of the greatest gifts of the church.

The church is the people who offer support not only to those we have known for years, but to every person who walks through these doors. Even before someone steps inside, this building quietly proclaims something to our community. It says that if the storms of life overtake you, there is room for you here. We will support you. We will journey with you. You do not have to face those storms alone. No matter what is in your past, what mistakes you have made, or your economic, social, or cultural background, there is room for you in this boat because none of us can survive the storms of life alone.

So the next time you come into this church, look up. The ceiling above you is more than just a roof. It quietly reminds us of who we are. We are disciples in the same boat, journeying together with Christ. Sometimes one of us is frightened. Sometimes one of us feels as though we're sinking. And when that happens, someone else reaches out a hand.

And this is also the promise we make to every person who walks through these doors. Whether they have been here for sixty years or whether today is their very first Sunday, they should discover that there is room for them here. Room in the boat among God's people. Room to journey together through every storm, trusting that wherever Christ leads us, none of us has to make the journey alone. Amen.