Is life a comedy or a tragedy? Are we the hero or the victim? Or maybe the villain? Is the world descending into chaos and dystopia or are we on a path of ever-increasing prosperity and progress? The stories we tell orient us to our place in the world and our role in the story.
The Bible tells the story of a loving God and a messy people. There is a beginning and an end. Major themes of creation, redemption, and sanctification trace the arc of this grand narrative. And Jesus Christ is the center of it all – the great hero of the story who comes incognito to rescue and redeem his broken creation.
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Invitation
Lord Jesus, you once came to humanity in a rustic barn and a messy manger. Do not be distant from the rough places of our lives. We often find ourselves far from you. In mercy, come near to us, our Lord, Emmanuel; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Confession
Forgive my sins, O Lord – forgive me the sins of my present and the sins of my past, the sins of my soul and the sins of my body; the sins which I have done to please myself, and the sins which I have done to please others. Forgive me my wasted and idle sins, forgive me my serious and deliberate sins, forgive me those sins which I know and those sins which I know not, the sins which I have labored so to hide from others that I have hid them from my own memory. Forgive them, O Lord, forgive them all.
Word: Matthew 14:25-26
“During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear.”
Meditation: Trusting the Unknown by Susan Becher Schultz
When I was very young I had a tendency to wander. One night, while my family and I were on a camping trip, I wandered off in search of a spot my family had taken me earlier in the day. I had the clearest image of where I was headed. There was a wooden picnic table right next to the lake, with two large trees that shaded the table. I wanted to go there alone to daydream without my family there to distract me.
I didn’t tell my Mom where I was headed when I slipped out of our camper. I didn’t say a word to my Dad as he turned his back on me to grab another log to throw on the fire. I had a destination in mind and no one was going to stop me. But quickly, the sun began to fade. Dusk gave way to darkness. Night took over and nothing looked the same as it did in the daylight. I took a wrong turn somewhere, then another, and when I turned to head back home I didn’t recognize anything. I was completely lost.
I sank down by a tree and started crying. I put my head on my knees and shivered, though I wasn’t actually cold. Time was passing, the night was growing even darker, and I was all alone. Eventually, a man walked up to me. He was holding the hand of another little girl. He introduced himself and his daughter to me, then held out his spare hand. Though I was terrified, I took it. The man ended up walking me to each section of the campground until we found my family. For a long time as a kid, I remember thinking he must have been one of the angels from that television show ‘Touched by an Angel.’
When I was older, my parents told me that this man lit into both of them. It makes him a little less angelic, but I get it. My story could have ended quite terribly had this man not found me and someone else did. It makes me think about this night a lot. If I were older, I doubt I would have trusted this random stranger who held out his hand. As I think about the disciples, terrified upon seeing Jesus walking on the water, I understand their inclination to be scared.
We’re taught to protect ourselves against strangers and the unknown. And for good reasons. We put up protective barriers, security cameras, and extra locks on our doors. We start trusting in our own sense of protection and finding our own way in the world. So when someone does reach out a hand, we react as if we’ve seen a ghost.
These verses call me to allow myself to get lost again and replace some of that terror I feel with trust. Trust that help will arrive in a form that may be unfamiliar, but that doesn’t mean it has to be scary. It may be just the thing I need to arrive safely back home.
Dear Lord, help me to look for you in the midst of fear. Guide me as I set off into the unfamiliar, knowing I can trust you to guide me in the right direction. Amen.
Benediction
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7)