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SERMONS

The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
August 11, 2002

By David Christian

I watched some of the National Gymnastics Championships on television last night. I am always amazed at gymnasts. These young people with extraordinarily trained bodies throw themselves up into the air and twist and flip in unbelievable ways. And then they land on their feet. Whereas I have trouble walking across the room without tripping on my own feet. All of the gymnasts are well trained.

All of the gymnasts are exceptional athletes. One of the main things that distinguishes the winners from the rest is their ability to focus.

Gymnasts perform in the middle of a cauldron of noise and activity. All of the events are occurring at the same time under the eyes of tens of thousands of spectators. There is music and movement and flashbulbs and applause and cheers and gasps.

At the center of all of this, one young woman stands on a four-inch wide piece of wood and throws herself into the air backward. One young man spins around a bar suspended ten feet above the ground, lets go, somersaults through the air, and grabs it again. The least lapse in concentration, the slightest loss of focus, and they would come crashing down like the rest of us.

The events in today's gospel occur immediately following the feeding of the multitudes in the wilderness. Jesus dismisses the crowds. Desiring some time alone, he sends the disciples ahead of him in a boat while he goes up the mountain to pray.

The disciples have a difficult time of it. The wind is against them. The waves are battering the boat. Early in the morning they see Jesus come walking toward them on the sea. Not surprisingly, it seems to me, they are taken aback. Matthew says they are terrified and cry out in fear.

Jesus speaks to them. "Take heart," he says. "It is I; do not be afraid."

Peter, whose mouth frequently seems to get ahead of his brain, says, "If it is really you, command me to come to you on the water."

Jesus says, "Come."

Peter gets out of the boat and moves toward Jesus, walking on the water. Suddenly he is distracted by the strong wind, realizes what he is doing, becomes frightened, and begins to sink. Jesus, there with him, reaches out his hand, catches him, and helps him into the boat.

As long as Peter remains focused on Jesus, he is all right. When he loses that focus--when he becomes distracted by the storm about him-that's when he gets into trouble.

One of the important sayings of the civil rights movement of the 1960's was: Keep your eyes on the prize.

Writing to the Philippians Paul says, "This one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind, and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus."

Just as in athletics, a necessary skill of the Christian life is focus. There is much distraction in this world. Perhaps today more than ever, there is much that works to divert our attention. There is much that causes fear, confusion, worry.

It is important that we do not lose focus, important that we keep our eyes on the prize. And when we do falter, when we do lose focus, when we become frightened by the wind and the waves and begin to sink, it is important that we remember that Christ is there-Christ is here-with us. Ready to reach out his hand. Ready to lift us up. Ready to help us back to our feet.

Keep your eyes on the prize, the heavenly call that is ours in our Lord Jesus Christ.

David Christian
The Chapel of the Cross
Madison, Mississippi

Jonah 2.1-9
Romans 9.1-5
Matthew 14.22-33