One of the most thrilling if not frightening things at an amusement park is roller coaster ride.  I have a slight fear of heights, so I naturally abhor going high off the ground.  I cannot stand going up into the air and coming back down at frightening speeds.  At Six Flags amusement park in Arlington, Texas, one can see many roller coasters with peculiar and strange names.  ‘Mr. Freeze,’ ‘Flashback,’ ‘Texas Giant,’ ‘Runaway Mountain,’ ‘Shockwave,’ ‘Judge Roy Scream,’ are few of the scary names that adorn some of the rides.  Among those, the biggest monster of them all is a new ride called ‘Titan.’  The highest point of the ride stands about 225 feet in the air and the ride hits a top speed of 85 mph.  It would be nearly impossible for people with fear of heights, like myself, to get on that ride, for they would probably have a heart attack; yet, countless number of people seem to enjoy the ‘Titan.’   To get on this ride, which lasts all of 3.5 minutes, people stand in line for excess of 1 hour.

 If you were to get on the ‘Titan’ at this moment, what would you do?  You will probably seek the Lord, consciously or reflexively.  You will probably pray for the ride to be over.  Today’s scripture talks about the disciples who had been placed in a similar situation or dire straits.  Preceding today’s scripture, the Bible mentions that Jesus, through His miracle, feeds the multitude numbering five thousand.  After feeding this multitude of people and sending them on their way, Jesus goes to a mountain to seek and enjoy some rest and a moment of prayer.  Before departing, Jesus has His disciples cross the Sea of Galilee to wait for Him on the other side.  Jesus probably wanted a moment of solitude, a moment of privacy from even His own disciples.

 When dusk fell, Jesus had been praying.  A crisis visits the disciples, who had been crossing the sea without Jesus.  According to verse 24, “the boat was now in the middle of the sea,” which meant the boat was probably some 3 to 4 miles from the shore.  Regardless of distance, the boat was in the middle of the Galilee Sea, about to face a great storm that loomed ahead.

 In front of these disciples, who were met with a great crisis and peril, Jesus appears.  Verse 25 of today’s scripture mentions “the fourth watch of the night,” which meant some time between 3 and 6 o’clock in the morning in Hebrew time.  Jesus appears before His disciples in the early morning hours, as they were struggling to survive the waves and winds of the storm.  Today’s scripture specifically focuses on the reaction of Disciple Peter after he sees Jesus.  Through today’s scripture, we will learn four spiritual lessons today.

  First, the ship, or the boat that represents our life can run into a storm.  When reading today’s scripture, we need to think about two things.  First, we need to think about ‘boat’; second, we need to ponder about ‘life.’  All the activities and endeavors that we undertake during the course of our lives can be symbolized and metaphorically compared to a boat.  A boat can allegorically represent our families, our church, our work, our society, our nation, and our world.

 And this boat can cruise well, its sails full of wind; yet, we cannot predict when the boat will run into a storm.  A storm called divorce can ambush our homes; tribulations can visit our church; a great wind of layoffs and corporate restructuring can blow across our workplace; a frightening act of terror can happen in our society; war can engulf our nation; and a great global crisis, such as nuclear holocaust, can loom in the horizon of our world.  No boat is safe from a storm.  We witnessed an unheard-of act of terror, which we expected to happen only in places like the Middle East, unfold in middle of New York City, the financial and cultural capital of the world.  If the Pentagon, the center of gravity of the United States military, can be attacked, then there is no safe place in this world.

 Just as the disciples ran into a great storm in the middle of the Galilee Sea, we can run into unexpected storms throughout the course of our lives.  Such is our fate.  But whenever we run into storms, Jesus will always show up in front of us to help us.  According to today’s scripture, Jesus appeared before His suffering disciples about 3 o’clock in the morning, after having walked across the sea.  The problem lies in the fact that the disciples did not recognize their mentor, Jesus.  According to verse 26, “when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!””   They were afraid of Jesus because they thought He was a ghost.

​ Second, we may not recognize Jesus when He visits and calls on us.  Whenever our boat the boat that we ride on during the course of our lives is in great peril, Jesus always comes to our aid.  Sometimes, however, our vision is impaired and we do not recognize our Lord.  We misunderstand Him due our dearth of faith.  We ignore our Lord and seek aid elsewhere.  We seek fortunetellers, look for those with power and influence that may help us, and search for a shelter from the storm in all the secular places of this world.  Yet, as we will undoubtedly find out, no real solution lies within the secular things and methods of this world.  We may find temporary sanctuary, solace and refuge from the storm, but they are fleeting and ephemeral; we cannot find fundamental solutions to our problems.  Only when we look straight at Jesus and depend on Him for help will we find lasting peace and sanctuary from the storm.

 A member of a congregation asked a favor from his pastor.  He asked his pastor to pick up his wife at the airport, for he had an important business engagement to tend to that day.  The pastor happily obliged to help this man.  But the pastor had never seen this man’s wife, so there would be no way for the pastor to recognize her.  Therefore, the pastor asked the man to describe his wife.  The man described his wife as such.  “That’s easy.  When the whole dismal place lights up, as if the sun suddenly came from behind the clouds, just find the source of that radiance.  That’ll be my wife.”

 When the storm descends upon your boat, the boat that is your life, Jesus will come calling.  Do not miss the opportunity to welcome that radiant face.  Recognize Him and greet and receive Him!  He alone has the ability to stop the storm that is about to engulf you boat.

 When Jesus calls on His disciples in their boat, Jesus tells them “Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid,” as recorded in verse 27.  He is telling them to relax and take heart, for He is with them and He will protect them from all the dangers of the storm.

Yet, upon hearing Jesus, Peter responds with doubt in his heart.  According to verse 28, he states, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”  Notice he did not say, “Lord, I believe in You.  Board my boat and calm and chastise the storm!”  Rather, he is testing the Lord, saying in so many words, “If You are the real Lord, Jesus, make me walk on water like You.  Then I’ll believe in You.” 

 Like Peter, we sometimes test our Lord based on our incredulity.  “Lord, if You are indeed the omnipotent and omniscient God, then do this.  Then I’ll believe You to be the true Lord.”  Lacking absolute faith and obedience, we look to test our Lord on many occasions. 

To Peter, who is looking to test Him, Jesus commands, “Come.”  Peter gets off the boat to walk on water to go near Jesus as he was told, but he falls into the sea.  Why?  Because he did not look at Jesus--rather, he looked at the sea.  Instead of having faith in his heart, he was more concerned with the dangers of the sea; therefore, he fell into the water.

 Third, we can survive the storm only by looking at our Lord, not at the storm.  We need to have absolute faith and trust in our Lord when He comes by our side to help us.  It is natural for us to be overcome by fear when the great gush of stormy wind shakes and rattles our boat.  Regardless, we need to believe that only Jesus is the real source of our strength and look to Him.  The Bible tells us through Hebrews 12: 2, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”  When we look to Jesus our sole source of strength, shelter, shield and salvation we can overcome our fears.  We can defeat the storm and be victorious!

 The following is an account of a true event that happened during the French Revolution.  A bishop was incarcerated and later executed.  The cave-like underground prison cell, in which the bishop had been imprisoned, had a small window that served as a source of light.  The window was in shape of a cross.  After the bishop had perished at the guillotine, the prison guards who were clearing out his cell noticed the word ‘height’ inscribed on the wall above the window and the word ‘depth’ on the wall beneath the window.  On either side of the window, words ‘length’ and ‘breadth’ were inscribed on the wall.  These four letters had been written by the martyred bishop.  Few hours before his death the few hours that he had remaining on this earth the bishop looked at the window, which served as a de-facto cross, and deeply reflected about the cross.  He arrived at the conclusion that within the Cross of Jesus Christ, one can experience the high and deep, long and wide love of God.  Upon arriving at his conclusion, he wrote those four words on the wall moments before his death.

 It is true.  The bishop saw Jesus in the most dire and hopeless situation, where one naturally doesn’t expect to see our Lord.  Like this bishop, when a great storm threaten to engulf us, we need to be able to see Jesus, who is standing behind that storm.  When we do, Jesus will calm the storm and embrace to hold us.

 Peter, who failed to see Jesus while looking at the stormy sea, calls out desperately for help.  Take a look at the latter part of verse 30.  “Lord, save me!”  Do you know the shortest prayer listed in the Bible?  It is this prayer that Peter shouted out.  “Lord, save me!”  As he was drowning, Peter looked to Jesus and asked for His salvation.  Even though Peter lacked faith, upon hearing his plea, Jesus does not abandon him.  He extends His hand, as listed in verse 31, and grabs him to hold him.  And Jesus gently chastises him.  Saying “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” He gently criticizes Peter’s lack of faith.  Then Jesus climbs onto the same boat that Peter had been boarding on.  Then what happens?

  Fourth, when we welcome and receive Jesus onto our boats, the storm will immediately subside.  The violent storm, which had threatened to engulf everything in its path, subsides as soon as Jesus steps onto the boat.  It is true.  Jesus is the one who will calm every storm that threatens our boat.  The stormy wind that assails the boat called our family will disappear as soon as Jesus becomes the Master of the boat.  None of the storms that threaten our workplace, society, nation, and the world can withstand the power of Jesus.  Just as the disciples on the boat shouted in verse 33 of today’s scripture, Jesus is the true ‘Son of God!’

 Make Jesus your Lord, the Master of your boat.  Make Him the Captain of your ship.  Then all storms that threaten your boat will subside and disappear.  And a truly miraculous peace and tranquillity will visit your ship.

 When Edward Bennet Williams, a legendary trial lawyer in the US, was dying, a person was recounting the power and influence that Williams wields in Washington DC.  To this person, Williams replied with the following.  “Power?  I am about to meet real power.”  Williams was right.  All pride and powers of this world are like the fleeting and floating cloud.  A man cannot save himself.  True power is Jesus, our Lord who can save us from sin and death.

 Vaclav Havel once stated that modern people live in a world where “everything is possible and nothing is certain.”  It is true.  We live in a world where advancement in science and technology enables us to achieve almost anything.  Yet nothing is certain in this chaotic world that we live in.  No one can predict what lies ahead of our ship, or what fate awaits us in the future.  In the midst of this uncertainty and chaos, invite and receive Jesus as the Master of your boats of life.  For every boat that receives Jesus as its Master, all storms will subside and peace and happiness will arrive. 

 Amen.