This weekend we were in Toledo with Mom and Dad. They get up for the early adult Sunday School. Dave runs the class, and I always enjoy Dave’s classes, so we went along. The text was Matthew 14:22-34:

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
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.
But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.

This has long been one of my favorite stories, but Sunday brought to light new things in this familiar tale.
The key was in verse 22:

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.

There’s something in there that I hadn’t thought of before. Jesus, being God, knew what was coming. He knew that He was sending them out on the lake, straight into a storm. Alone.
Meanwhile, He went to spend some quality time with Dad. Hours, he prayed on the mountain, while the disciples headed strait into a storm. Not until the fourth watch, which, acording to the online parallel Bible, was after 3 AM, did Jesus come to them.
We like to think of Jesus as one who rescues, saves us from harm, but here he send the disciples straight into danger. The question is why? Why would He send them into danger? Why would have them face it alone and what does it tell us about God?
It seems clear that Jesus sees opportunity in the storm. Opportunity to teach the disciples of His power. Opportunity to put things in perspective for them, to help them see the storms that seem to loom large from God’s perspective. That opportunity is great enough that not only will he refuse to shelter the disciples from it, he sends them right into it’s midst. And he’s content to wait and have them battle that storm for hours before strolling in to join them.
What this tells us about our God is at once shocking, scary and comforting.
The shocking and scary part is that God isn’t concerned with sheltering us from pain and hardship. In fact, it’s just the opposite. For the opportunity for growth presented by trials, he will lead us right into them, and let us fight with them for some time before coming to our aid.
The comforting part is that He knows exactly what He’s doing. He can see what lies on the other side of the storm, we cannot. He know that we will emerge stronger and closer to Him in the end. Once Jesus appeared, the disciples weren’t focused on the storm anymore. And once he got in the boat, they had a perspective on Him that no lesson on shore could ever deliver.
The comfort is that the fourth watch comes, and with it Jesus, in ways that we couldn’t see Him otherwise.

Last night at our midweek service, we simply had a session of good news sharing. This is a tried and true ICOC tradition that would degrade at times into “I did a good deed” sharing instead. However, while giving the congregation an opportunity to share what God’s doing can be risky in that you don’t have control over what is said, it can also be profoundly up lifting and faith building.
I’ve heard folks complain that they don’t like these sessions because they feel cheated. They don’t get anything out of it. My response to that is, are you listening? Here’s some things I heard last night:

• This was Mat’s first service back with us. It’s been a month since I updated you and in that time he was moved out of the ICU to the James Cancer Center. I’m not sure when he was released, but I suspect it was within the last week. But he was there last night and he stood up with Jess as she shared for the two of them what an encouraging journey it has been. All the support of the church, seeing Mat sharing about Jesus with anything that moved in the hospital to how his doctor’s office took up an amazing collection to help them pay for their wedding. As Jess shared, they were responsible for him being alive, yet they were still giving to them. Through it all, they were drawn closer irresistibly to God.
• Mark and Sandie (yes Jeff, that Mark and Sandie) stood up and shared that their newly adopted baby boy was officially and legally theirs now. If you knew them, you’d understand that it was an answered prayer that Sandie was standing, let alone standing and holding her own son up high.
• Cheri stood and shared about her niece. This young woman, who’s she’s shared about and asked for prayers for in the past, has spent most of her 18 years in abusive relationships. Her mother was married to an abuser who isolated her from her family. He was recently convicted of that abuse and sentenced to 18 years as a result. Escaping that into foster care, she was placed with a foster parent who behaved the same way. She’s known nothing but abusive situations and when given the opportunity to escape a few years ago, chose to stay because it was all she knew.
  Last night, thanking the church for their prayers, Cheri shared through tears that “Tomorrow I’m finally picking her up and bringing her home.” That emphasis was her’s not mine. That’s how she said it, she will finally be home. She’s spend years loving her through praying for her, researching the psychology behind her situation and reaching out to her. It’s only for a few weeks, but the joy in Cherri was obvious that all of that effort in love was finally bearing fruit.
  This made me think of the parallels to our own lives. We spend years in an abusive world, trying to meet it’s demands and follow it’s ways. It beats us up no matter how we try, but we keep trying. God is there, calling us out, but we return because it is all we know to do. He hurts each time we do, but He does not give up. When we finally decide to turn from the world and to Him, I imagine that His tears of joy are as real as Cheri’s as he says “I’m finally picking them up and bringing them home.” No wonder the angels rejoice.
• Erica stood and shared about her reaching out to a coworker and a work social function. The conversation turned to his social life and she mentioned that he should stop some reckless behavior. He said something about how he needed something in his life. Erica immediately though “God, I guess that’s my cue.” and shared with him about Jesus and our church.
  What an amazing heart. How many times do I miss my cue? Am in tune with God’s spirit the way she was, always on alert, waiting for my cue? God made the hand off, ans she ran with the ball. Too often, I fumble because I’m not ready or paying attention.

That’s what I heard last night. There was more. I didn’t share about the news from the Amazing Race statewide teen event that we hosted last weekend, the Big City Christain hip-hop concert last Saturday that moved teens into their Bibles and encouraged his heart as well or about our new summer campus interns that are already bearing fruit after only being here a week.
You could argue that our minister got a pass last night, not having to prepare a lesson. I would say no, he just stepped aside for a minute to make sure that God was getting center stage.