Rev. Dustin ParkerImmediately - For I AM
Immediately… for I AM !
Matthew 14:22-33
† IN THE NAME OF THE PRINCE OF PEACE! †
As you begin to take in the extravagant depths of Christ’s love for you , as you begin to experience its breadth, as you begin to measure its immeasurable length, as you contemplate its height and depth, remember to bring a friend to see what they could not comprehend.
The Child’s Cry in the night…
Thunder storms
The thunder resounds, it awesome noise rumbling through the darkness, a moment before shatter by a billion candle-power light, crashing through every window, even penetrating the blankets under which the young child hides.
Another flash, another roar of thunder seems to shake the old house.
A cry seems to escape the young child, and before it is done, his parents are there, to bring comfort, to assure the child that all is going to be okay. Carried back to their room, he joins them and his brother and sister in the big King bed.
All is alright, peace is now known, the storm, still loud and ferocious, no longer poses the threat it did, it now almost even seems like a great adventure, the light and sound a show of the incredible power of nature, and the God who created them all.
Such is the nature of God’s compassion, His love, His immediate action in our lives…such compassion that He would pour out, not just on us, but on our families, our friends, our neighbors, even our enemies and adversaries.
Such He has always been, for even in the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy, the Lord tells his people,
6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread (of them), for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6 (ESV)
And Isaiah would record these words,
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
Isaiah 43:1-2 (ESV)
Such is the compassion, such is the love, such is the presence that our Gospel describes today, such is poured out, as the scripture tells us, IMMEDIATELY. Three times he will act immediately, saving His people, their deliverance from danger assured, because of His compassion, His love.
In looking at these “immediately’s” may we too realize His immediacy for us, His immediacy for those He loves, to whom He answers through us, His people.
The Cry from Fear of Phantasm
Immediate action
Ego eimi – He assures them He is God
On a night as dark and stormy at the one of my youth, but a few years before, the disciples are out in the boat, 10 hours after the sunsets, they have but gained a few miles, their weary muscles are burning as they struggle at the oars. It is now past three in the morning, and as they begin to see Christ walking across the sea, they thing it is but their exhaustion getting to them. As they see Him coming closer, their weariness is met by the adrenalin surge of fear, for this phantom seems to real, a sight both undeniably real, yet so beyond belief.
Men don’t walk across the sea, phantoms do, angels of death, adding to their concern as the storm is threatening their very existence. All thoughts of Jesus power are diminished, and they cry out with a panic, panic that shows that fear has driven them out of their right minds. Perhaps you have brushed death that close, or with trauma that leaves you bereft of your senses, so that the only thing that seems right is to scream, to let loose with almost a primitive scream that seeks to expel everything that is not right.
With great compassion, Jesus steps aside from His journey, immediately, the scriptures tell us to bring to them a message lost in most translations. Most translate the Greek as “it is I”, yet the answer to their cries is far more powerful, far more telling, far more compassionate, for it brings peace and trust that shatters their fear.
Not, “It is I”, but rather…
I AM
The sacred name of God shatters the night, shatters their fears. It is no mere man that has revealed himself to them, it is no mere words that Jesus, fully God-fully man offers to answer their fear.It is the full revelation of who it is, that is coming to deliver them. More than the king they thought they wanted, this is God, incarnate, immediate, fully, responding to them.
You see, in saying I AM, a phrase the Jewish people would never use, for in Hebrew it is the sacred name which God. Jesus, at their moment when they needed Him, was there, to reveal His presence, His love His compassion.
Like the parents who respond to their young child’s cry in the night, the love is so incredible!
The Cry for Deliverance
Immediate reaction
He grasps us in His hand
This would explain Peter’s joyous request – Lord God – call me to join you – command me to come. I almost imagine his feet over the side of the boat, even as the Jesus invitation to Peter carries across the waves. As Peter approaches Jesus, the storms, so like the storms of life release one last fury upon the bold fisherman.
Distracted from Jesus, Peter perceives the threat – the threat of the storm, the waves about to pound him to bit, the forces of gravity grasping at his feet that had been dancing across the waters a moment ago. As the thoughts crowd in Peter’s mind, another primal cry of survival is heard,
“Lord, Rescue ME!”
The Lord’s hand immediately is gripping his, delivering him, sustaining him.
The response of Jesus seems a rebuke, but in Greek comes across as more of a playful tease, “How little you trust, why did you hesitate? Peter, you are in the presence of I AM! DIdn’t you realize I could overcome that which threatens you? Remember what God told the Israelites,
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;”
When Jesus teases Peter, it is not because Peter was unable to overcome the waves by faith, for the word doubt is also translated hesitation. Peter like you and I, will have times where the world seems ready to crush as us. We are not, nor will we ever be that strong, that we can take them on by ourself. Not in our paygrade. But we don’t have to - we are in the presence of the I AM. The call to Jesus, the need to realize His presence, was to realize that Christ would rescue Him no matter what – to trust in Jesus present mere feet from him. Peter needed to trust in Jesus’ ability to deliver Peter from whatever threatened, to know that even in walking through the valley of the shadow of death, there is no need to fear….
For I AM is there… and I AM is here!
The Cry of a People to their God
He is there….
He is here….
So let us worship Him!
As a child in the midst of a horrid thunderstorm cries, and his parents compassionately respond, even more so, the God who created everything will respond to our cries – He does respond. He will bring peace, and comfort, and drive away the anxiety and the fear.
Throughout scripture, He has always been there for His people, so He will be with us, and with those we invite along for the journey. He has always been here for His people, always acting immediately, always there.
So too is He here, so too is He ready to bring comfort, to destroy fear and anxiety, to demolish the powers and principalities that stand against us, trying to distract or destroy our faith in His faithfulness. .
As I say the words of institution, as we prepare to feast in His presence, the ancient blessing will be said, “the peace of the Lord is with you!”. Maybe the economy is your storm, or maybe it is your family, or maybe it is a friend who needs such peace. As I say these words, You will recognize this peace is yours in Christ, as you voice your loud AMEN, will respond by coming to the altar, as His presence washes over you, and like the disciples with whom He was present, will worship the Lord in your midst!
For in Him, we have peace, we have rest, for His compassion He reveals Himself to us, the great I AM, and in Him we have peace, and rest, and hope….
In Christ alone….
