Sermon: You of Little Faith

Delivered at Northside United Methodist Church in Greenville, South Carolina on June 23, 2024

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You of Little Faith

Audio Version

And when [Jesus] got into the boat, his disciples followed him.  A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.  And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us!  We are perishing!”  And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?”  Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm.  They were amazed, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?”

Matthew 8:23-27 (NRSV)

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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 worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Matthew 14:22-33 (NRSV)

Well, sometimes my life just don't make sense at all
When the mountains look so big
And my faith just seems so small

So hold me, Jesus, 'cause I'm shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my glory
Won't you be my Prince of Peace?

From “Hold Me, Jesus” by Rich Mullins

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, was afraid of sailing on the sea, in the same way that a person might be afraid of flying in an airplane in our day.  In 1735, Wesley was recruited to relocate to the Georgia colony to serve as a chaplain to the colonists and as a missionary to the native peoples.  In October of that year, he confronted his fear and boarded a ship heading across the Atlantic Ocean.  Over the course of the next three months, the ship on which Wesley sailed was caught in a number of storms.  In January of the following year, the ship was caught in such a violent storm that Wesley was sure he was a goner.  That day, he noticed a group of Moravians who responded to the storm not with terror but with faith.  While he and most of the other passengers panicked, the Moravians peacefully sang a psalm.  Deeply moved by the sight, Wesley longed for the kind of faith they had, a kind of faith he had yet to attain at that point in his life.¹

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In the Gospel of Matthew, we read that, as Jesus starts to draw crowds in Capernaum, He decides that it is time to move onward.²  He and the Disciples board a boat and set sail across the Sea of Galilee.³  The Sea of Galilee, which is also known as Lake Tiberias, is a freshwater lake that covers only sixty-four square miles.⁴  Despite the normally pleasant climate, the topography of the area can make it a very scary place at times.  The lake sits well below sea level in the Jordan valley, which acts as a funnel that concentrates wind, making the lake prone to sudden, violent storms.⁵  As Jesus and the Disciples sail across the Sea of Galilee that day, they suddenly find themselves caught up in such a storm.  As the wind and the waves batter the boat, the Disciples start to fear for their lives.⁶

Jesus, on the other hand, is in the hull of the boat, sleeping right through the storm.  The panicking Disciples wake Him up, crying, “Lord, save us!  We are perishing!”  Jesus, who is perhaps a bit groggy at the moment, asks them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?”  He then stands up and rebukes the storm, and the storm dies down as suddenly as it started.  The Disciples are awestruck.⁷

In Jesus' day, the Sea of Galilee is a scary place for more than one reason.  The sea, in general, is thought to be a place of darkness, evil, and chaos.  In people's minds, it is associated with the dark “formless void” from which God brought forth the Earth, achieving victory over chaos.^{8 9}  When Jesus calms the raging sea, He is demonstrating not only His mastery over the forces of nature but also His dominion over the forces of evil.  It is worth noting that the Greek word the Gospel writers use to describe Jesus' silencing the sea, which is translated into English as “rebuke,” is the same word they use elsewhere to describe Jesus' subduing demons.¹⁰

Personally, when I read the story of Jesus' calming the sea, I find myself wishing that I had the kind of faith that would allow me to rest easy amid the storms of life.  Truth be told, when I see storm clouds in the distance, I find that I have more in common with the panicking Disciples and less in common with the peacefully resting Jesus.  I've been through enough storms in my life to know that everything will work out in the end or that everything will get better in time, but still I am filled with dread when I see storm clouds approaching.

This morning, I would like to suggest that the story of Jesus' calming the sea has something to teach us about faith.  Specifically, I would like to suggest that this story hints at the possibility that a person can have a mature kind of faith that brings with it a deep, abiding peace.  After all, if Jesus chides the Disciples for having “little faith,” then He must also be suggesting that they have the potential to have great faith, the kind of faith that would allow them to sleep peacefully through a storm, as He was doing.  We might be tempted to think that it is easy for Jesus to sleep through storms since He is the Son of God, but, if such peace-bringing faith is not available to anyone who seeks it, then Jesus is completely out of line for chastising the Disciples for not having it.

One person who attained this kind of faith is St. Paul.  In the Acts of the Apostles, we read that, while Paul is heading to Rome as a prisoner, the ship on which he is sailing is caught up in a storm that lasts for several weeks.  He does not calm the storm, as Jesus did, but he does calm the hearts of the other people on the ship.  Though he is a prisoner, he takes on the role of a chaplain.  He encourages the crew members to not be afraid, assures them that they will reach their destination, and urges them to eat when they have not eaten in days.¹¹  While Paul is imprisoned in Rome, unsure if he will be acquitted or sentenced to death, he looks back on everything he has endured in his life, and he writes in one of his letters, “I can endure all these things through the power of the one who gives me strength.”¹²

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Later in the Gospel of Matthew, we read that one day, after Jesus and the Disciples minister to a large crowd in a remote place,¹³ Jesus tells the Disciples to go ahead of Him across the Sea of Galilee, so that He can dismiss the crowd and spend some time alone in prayer.  Night falls, and once again the Disciples suddenly find themselves aboard a boat in the midst of a violent storm.  As they struggle against the wind and the waves, they see what appears to be the form of a person walking on top of the water.  The sea is a scary place in their day, as I noted earlier, so they cry out in fear, assuming that what they are seeing is a ghost.  A familiar voice calls out to frightened Disciples, saying, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”¹⁴  Not only can Jesus command a storm to subside, He can also walk on top of a raging sea.

While Jesus is still standing on top of the water, the disciple known as Peter calls out to Him, saying, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”¹⁵  When a rabbi, like Jesus, calls disciples, like the Twelve, to follow him, he is essentially calling them to do what he does.¹⁶  Naturally, Peter wants to follow in his Rabbi's footsteps, even if those footsteps happen to be on liquid water.  Jesus invites Peter to join Him on the water, so Peter climbs out of the boat and starts walking on the water toward Jesus.  Peter walks on the water like a natural, for a moment, but, when he feels the wind blowing against him, he becomes afraid and starts to sink.  He cries out, “Lord, save me!”  Jesus catches him, saying, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”  The two walk back to the boat, and the storm dies down.¹⁷

Peter manages to walk atop the Sea of Galilee with Jesus for a moment, but, as soon as he starts to doubt, he starts to sink.  Typically, we assume that Peter is doubting Jesus, but, if Jesus is not sinking, then Peter has no reason to doubt Him.  Perhaps Peter doubts his own ability to follow in his Rabbi's footsteps and to do what his Rabbi has called him to do.  Jesus would never have called Peter to be His disciple if He did not believe that Peter was up to the task.¹⁸  If Jesus chides Peter for doubting, then He evidently believes that Peter is even capable of walking on liquid water with Him.

Like the story of Jesus' calming the sea, the story of Jesus' walking on water and inviting Peter to do the same teaches us something about faith.  In the Church, we are taught that Jesus is both fully divine and fully human.  In Jesus, we see both what God is like and what humanity is capable of becoming.  I once heard a friend of mine suggest that, though we have no hope of ever becoming divine like Jesus, we can always aspire to become the kind of human Jesus was.  I don't believe that any of us will ever be able to take command of the weather or walk on top of liquid water, no matter how much faith we have.  I do believe that we are capable of attaining the kind of faith that will allow us to rest easy amid the storms of life or even to stand tall in defiance of them.

So often, we, like the fearful, doubting Disciples, face the storms of life with “little faith.”  Sometimes, we struggle to believe that God will bring us through the storms or bring something good out of them.  Sometimes we doubt our own capability to withstand the storms.

As someone who is prone to anxiety, I wish I knew how to cultivate the kind of faith that would give me peace and boldness amid the storms of life.  When I see storm clouds in the distance, I typically do one of two things.  I might try to avoid the storm altogether by feebly attempting to exert control do not really have, or I might just take an Imodium and anxiously brace myself for the storm.  These strategies have not served me well.  Many people, myself included, use worry as a means of preparing themselves for the storms of life, but, truth be told, I've found that worrying about storms only serves to ruin perfectly sunny days.  I suspect that great faith is hard fraught.  Perhaps, if God brings me through enough storms in my life, then maybe, at some point, my first impulse when I see storm clouds approaching will be to trust and not to worry.

Again, I believe that each of us is capable of attaining the kind of faith that will allow us to rest easy amid the storms of life or even to stand tall in defiance of them.  I have not attained this kind of faith myself, but, like John Wesley sailing across the Atlantic, I know that other people have attained it, and I envy them.

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So what do we do amid the storms of life, if we, like the panicking, doubting Disciples, have “little faith”?

Notice that Jesus never suggests that the Disciples have no faith; He simply says that they have “little faith.”  There is a big difference between having a little faith and having no faith at all.  The Disciples do not have enough faith to keep their cool when they suddenly find themselves in a violent storm, but they do have enough faith to wake Jesus up and ask Him for help.  Peter does not have enough faith to walk on water with Jesus for very long, but, when he starts to sink, he does have enough faith to call out to Him for help.  So often we like to criticize the Disciples for not getting the picture, but at least they have the faith to cry out to Jesus in times of trouble.

If we, like the Disciples, don't have enough faith to face trying times with peace and boldness, then we, like the Disciples, can still cry out to Jesus.  When we are afraid, we can pray, like the late singer Rich Mullins, “Hold me, Jesus, 'cause I'm shaking like a leaf.”¹⁹

At the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew, we read that the birth of Jesus is the fulfillment of the following prophecy from the Book of Isaiah: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel.”  The writer makes it a point to note that the name Emmanuel means, “God is with us.”²⁰  At the very end of the same Gospel, we read that, when Jesus commissions the Disciples to “make disciples of all nations,” He assures them, “I am with you always, to the end of  the age.”²¹  The Gospel of Matthew is effectively bookended with promises of Christ's presence.  We can cry out to Jesus in the storms of life, because Jesus goes through the storms with us.  He did not leave the frightened Disciples to face the storm by themselves; He did not leave Peter thrashing in the water when he started to sink; and He will not abandon us in the storms we face.

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In the Gospels, we read that the Disciples face two storms on the Sea of Galilee.  When they are caught in the first storm, they fear for their lives, so they wake a sleeping Jesus and ask Him for help.  Jesus rebukes the storm, and it miraculously subsides.  Full of wonder, the Disciples ask each other, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?”²²  When the Disciples are caught in the second storm, they see Jesus walking on the water toward them.  When He climbs into the boat with them, the storm miraculously subsides once again.  At this point, the Disciples have their answer.  “Truly you are the Son of God,” they say to Jesus, as their wonder turns to worship.²³

There is a kind of faith that allows us to rest easy amid the storms of life and even to stand tall in defiance of them.  If we have not yet attained this kind of faith, we can still cry out to Jesus, who is with us in the storms.  Whatever storms you are facing in life right now, may you remember that you are not alone, for Christ is with you.  May you trust that everything will work out in the end, for “God works all things together for good.”²⁴  May you believe in yourself, for the One who has called you to follow Him believes in you.

Thanks be to God.


Notes:

1. Adam Hamilton.  Revival: Faith as Wesley Lived It.  2014, Abingdon Press.  pp. 62-64
2. Matthew 8:5, 18
3. Matthew 8:23
4. Wikipedia: “Sea of Galilee”
5. William Barclay.  The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Matthew, Volume One. 2001, Saint Andrew Press.  p. 365
6. Matthew 8:24-25
7. Matthew 8:25-27 (NRSV)
8. N.T. Wright.  Matthew for Everyone, Part 1.  2004, Westminster John Knox Press.  p. 89
9. Genesis 1:2 (NRSV)
10. Blue Letter Bible: “epitimaō”
11. Acts 27
12. Philippians 4:12-13 (CEB)
13. Matthew 14:13-21
14. Matthew 14:22-27 (NRSV)
15. Matthew 14:28 (NRSV)
16. Rob Bell.  Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith.  2005, Zondervan.  pp. 133-134
17. Matthew 14:29-32 (NRSV)
18. Bell, pp. 133-134
19. From the song “Hold Me, Jesus” by Rich Mullins
20. Matthew 1:20-23 (NRSV)
21. Matthew 28:16-20 (NRSV)
22. Matthew 8:23-27 (NRSV)
23. Matthew 14:22-33 (NRSV)
24. Romans 8:28 (CEB)

The Storm on the Sea of Galilee was painted by Rembrandt in the 1600s.  Christ Walking on the Sea was painted by Amédée Varint in the 1800s.