Finding Peace (Matthew 14:22-33)

Here’s what I’m thinking:  Jesus needed a break.

Actually, he had already tried unsuccessfully to take a break.  Right after he was informed that his cousin and mentor, John the Baptist, had been killed, Jesus “withdrew to a deserted place by himself.”  He wanted to be alone.

Some scholars think that this was a time for Jesus to grieve the death of John, and also reevaluate his own ministry. Jesus saw what happened to John, and needed some time to think about his own message and ministry… and what might happen to him.

The gospels say that Jesus knew he was going to die.  But would his death have any meaning?  Would his message carry on?  Would people be able to see his message, his ministry, and his death as things that glorify God?

When Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been killed, I’m sure there was a lot for Jesus to think about, a lot for him to consider, to figure out… and to do that, he needed some time alone.

However, huge crowds of people followed him.  Thousands of people.  They followed him all the way out to the deserted wilderness.

And being filled with compassion, he ministered to them.  He taught them.  He healed them.  And then, as the sun began to set, he fed them.  From five loaves and two fish, he fed thousands.

It was a big day.

Finally, he made the disciples get into their boat and head off to the other side of the lake while he dismissed the crowds.  He sent the disciples one way, he sent the crowds another way, and he went off in a third direction, by himself.  Up an isolated mountain. 

Evening came, and he was alone.

Finally, he had some time to reflect.

It had been quite a day.  A noisy day.

The death of John.

Huge crowds of people.

A miraculous feeding.

Now that I think about it, my own life these past few weeks has reflected a little bit of this particular day in Jesus’s life.

I directed a week of Chi-Rho camp at Loch Leven, the camp owned and operated by Bixby Knolls Christian Church and the other congregations of our region.  In the week leading up to camp, four of my counselors contacted me to say that they would be unable to be a part of my staff.

I kept waiting for the others to call and say the same thing. Fortunately they didn’t, but even with four counselors down, how could I possibly run camp?  That’s just not enough counselors.  It’s just five loaves and two fish.  Not enough; not nearly enough.  Certainly not for all the campers we were expecting.

I ended up gaining three counselors just days before camp began.  And they were excellent.  I’m told it ended up being one of the best-run Chi-Rho camps at Loch Leven in recent years. 

That, my friends, is a miraculous feeding from what appeared to be an insufficient supply.

Then we had Vacation Bible School.  Our numbers were low, but the energy was high.  At times, it sure seemed like a huge crowd of people.  And somehow, through a lot of hard work, it all comes together. 

I don’t know how we do it.  Another miraculous feeding.

In the midst of it all, I received news of the death of someone very close to me.  It was his memorial service that took me away from you last weekend.  Maybe I’ll tell you more about that sometime…

And before that, for several weeks, we had some wonderful houseguests with us:  Stacey, Paige, and Zander.

With all this going on, there wasn’t much “quiet time.”

One day, our houseguests wanted to go to Venice Beach. So I took them.  It’s not a trip that I was looking forward to.  Venice Beach is a bunch of noise and chaos, and that’s not what I needed at the time.  But I went.

We got there, and started walking around; and Venice Beach was everything you’d expect it to be. 

Eventually we came to the building housing the Venice Beach Freakshow.  Paige was really excited by this.  She had seen the Freakshow on TV.  The Freakshow has two-headed animals, sword-swallowers, midgets, a guy they call the Wolfman, and a number of other oddities. 

And it was only five dollars.  I happily paid for my friends to see the show.  I myself did not go in.  Instead, I walked across the sand to the shore, then walked along the shore, with the waves gently washing over my toes. 

And finally I found a moment of peace. 

At Venice Beach, of all places.

It wasn’t as hard to find as I thought it would be.

Maybe it was the fact that I was alone; being an introvert, I need that to avoid running out of energy.

Maybe it had something to do with the abundance of negative ions that crashing waves produce.  I’ve read that these negative ions enhance our mood and stimulate our senses; they stimulate the reticuloendothelial system in our bodies, and promote alpha brain waves and increased brain wave amplitude.  I’m not really sure what all that means, but I have noticed that crashing or falling water is good for my mood. 

Maybe it just helps me meditate.

Whatever it is, it was right there.  At Venice Beach.  A lot closer to me than I expected.

Jesus went up onto a mountain by himself to pray.  Evening came, and he was alone.

What was he praying about?

Scripture doesn’t say.  But scripture does describe a previous time Jesus went into the wilderness.  And on that previous occasion, he spent a lot of time dealing with his temptations.

Jesus had weakness.  That statement may surprise you, so let me explain.

One of Jesus’s weaknesses was using his power in ways that did not glorify God.  He was tempted, the first time he went out into the wilderness, to turn stones into loaves of bread for his own gain.  Perhaps he was tempted again, in feeding the 5,000, to do the same.  Maybe this time, in the wilderness, he asked himself, “Did I do it for the right reasons?  Did I turn those loaves and fish into a great feast for God’s glory, or mine?”

Another of Jesus’s weaknesses was to call upon God’s power to make things easy for him.  After all, it is written “He will command his angels concerning you, and on their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”

I mean, if you or I had the power that Jesus had, wouldn’t we be tempted to use it to make our own lives just a little easier, a little safer, more secure?

A third weakness Jesus had was to be worshipped, to have the nations serve him.  But only God is worthy of being worshipped. 

These are the temptations Jesus wrestled with his first time in the wilderness.  He refused to let those temprations overpower him then, and now, perhaps he needed to go back to the wilderness, by himself, to reflect and to make sure he was being true to his commitment to turn away from those temptations and glorify God.

I have learned that it is important to spend time with one’s weaknesses and temptations, to be aware of them. In times of reflection I think about the things I’m good at, and the things I’m not good at.  If I’m aware of what I’m not good at, I can find a way to work around them.  If I’m aware of what it is that tempts me, I can be more successful at not giving in to those temptations.  If I try to ignore those temptations or pretend they don’t exist, then they can stage a surprise attack and sneak up on me without me even noticing.

With the death of his cousin and the successful feeding of thousands of people, I think perhaps Jesus knew that temptation was lurking.  Better to spend some time dealing with that, rather than have it catch you by surprise and overpower you.

So Jesus spent some time alone, becoming more self-aware, praying and meditating.

   When it was nearly morning, he came to the disciples, who were in their boat; they were still struggling to make it across the lake, but were finding it hard because a strong wind was against them.  The waves were large, and while the gentle waves on Venice Beach helped calm my soul, these were not those kinds of waves.

When they saw Jesus, they were frightened; so frightened, they screamed!  (Any screamers here?)

Jesus spoke to them, “Be encouraged!  It’s me.  Don’t be afraid.”

And then Peter – who, it seems, rarely took time to be by himself and just think and be – Peter says, “Lord, if it is you, order me to come to you on the water.”

And Jesus did, and Peter walked on the water, but the wind frightened him, and he started to sink, and Jesus rescued him and pulled him into the boat … and at that moment, the wind settled down.

The wind is blowing far too hard in many of our lives.  Everything is always rushing.  It might be exciting for a while, but eventually things start getting uprooted.

What we need to do is realize that peace is there. 

It’s here.

I didn’t think Venice Beach could be a place to find peace, but it was.

When there is turmoil in our lives, we have to find peace.

It’s there; we just have to find it.

We have to be intentional about finding it.

It always helps me to remember that in both Hebrew and Greek, the word for spirit is also the word for wind and the word for breath.

Ruach in Hebrew.  Pneuma in Greek.  Breath.  Wind. Spirit.

The Spirit brings peace. The Spirit is as close to us as our own breath.

Breathe.  Feel the Spirit.  Breathe.  Feel peace.

Sometimes we forget to breathe, when all is chaos, and our anxiety level is high… our breathing becomes shallower and shallower.  We lose our breath.  We lose the Spirit.

Peace is within us, just as our breath is within us.  It’s there.  God is there.  The peace of Christ is there.

When you walk along the beach, peace is in every step.

When you sit and pray in silence, peace is in every breath.

When you sing in worship, peace is in every breath… and every note.

The peace of Christ – the peace that calms the storm – is within you.

You just need to remember to breathe.