Little-Faith
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| "Saint Peter Walks on the Sea" by James Tissot |
Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Have you ever had a
nickname? Did you like it? Hate it? Still answer to it? I suppose it depends
upon the nickname. Sweetie or Dolly or Mama Bear are good. Stinky or Lumpy or
Terry the Toad, not so much.
Did you know that Jesus
had nicknames for His disciples? James and John were Boanerges, “The Sons
of Thunder.” Thomas was Didumos, “Twin.” In this week’s Gospel, Jesus has
a less-than-flattering nickname for Peter (already a nickname for Simon,
meaning “Rock”). Jesus calls him Holigopiste, “Little-Faith.” This Greek word
occurs only in Matthew (6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8). Where it does occur, it always
applied by Jesus to His disciples in rebuke. However, the result never is that
Jesus rejects them. No matter how weak or small their faith may be, they remain
His followers. “Little-Faiths” are not the same as unbelievers.
Faith can be little or great,
and your faith may fluctuate. Faith is fed by the Lord, present in His Word and
Sacraments. The more you receive Him and His grace, the stronger your faith is
likely to be. The less you make use of His means of grace, the weaker your faith
will be. However, it’s important to note that your faith is like your pulse: as
long as you have one, you’re alive. A strong pulse is better than a weak pulse,
of course, and a strong faith is better than a weak faith. One with a strong
pulse can get more done and is less susceptible to death. One with a strong
faith will accomplish more good works and is less susceptible to doubt and temptation.
But a little faith is still a saving faith because it holds onto Jesus.
Sometimes, nicknames
just happen, but often there is an incident or trait behind the nickname. I
suspect the moniker, Stinky, would be connected to someone who has frequent gastric
issues. Blondie is probably noted for her golden locks. Jesus’ nickname for
Peter also has a context. Let’s explore that a bit.
Our Gospel reading
follows immediately after Jesus feeds the 5,000. Having provided compassionately
for the people, Jesus sends away the disciples in a boat while He dismisses the
crowds. Then He goes up on a mountain to pray, finally finding some time alone
with His Father, a necessary recharge after the news of the Baptist’s death and
all the busyness of healing and feeding the hungry horde.
Somewhere between 3 and
6 o’clock a.m., Jesus heads out to His disciples, walking on the sea. The
response of the disciples when they see Jesus walking on the sea is threefold.
(1) The disciples are terrified. (2) They speak a sort of anti-confession, “It
is a ghost!” (3) And they cry out in fear.
They are afraid of such
power and mystery. They do not understand who this is. Only one possibility
enters their minds: It must be a phantom. This is like their reaction when
Jesus appears in the upper room on Easter evening. They can hardly be blamed.
Unlike Easter evening, Jesus has not promised He would walk to them on the
water. He simply shows up unannounced, which may be why He does not chastise
them, but encourages them.
Notice how Jesus’ response
matches the disciples’ responses perfectly. Because they are troubled, Jesus invites
them to “take heart.” Because they don’t know who He is, Jesus responds simply
and absolutely, with echoes of Yahweh’s “I Am” at the burning bush, “It is I!” Because
they have cried out from fear, Jesus speaks assuring words, “Do not be afraid.”
The message is clear
and straightforward. This amazing being who has mastery over the sea and who
comes to them in a fearful epiphany is none other than Jesus, their Master.
Because it is He, they can know that this awe-full figure is for them. They do
not have to be afraid. In this, His reassuring word, He has given them
everything, and it is enough.
It should be. But it is
not enough, apparently, because Peter does not quite believe it is Jesus. So,
Peter opens his big mouth. He poses a bizarre question (a challenge?) to Jesus.
“Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” It’s a pattern
that is repeated throughout the Gospel. Peter speaks from a lack of
understanding at best, and perhaps from a far worse motive (see 15:15; 16:22; 17:4;
17:24-25; 18:21; 19:27; 26:33, 35, 69-74.) You think our current presidential
candidates are gaffe-prone; when Peter speaks, bad things always come out of
his mouth. The one exception to the pattern occurs in Matthew 16:16, where
Peter speaks a wonderful truth: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
He only does so, however, because the Father gives Him the words to speak.
Doubting Jesus’ words of assurance, Peter wants
evidence. Surprisingly, Jesus obliges. “Come,” He invites. Unsurprisingly
(given Peter’s impulsivity), Peter accepts the invitation and steps out of the
boat. Doubts quickly rise again, however, and Peter begins to sink. He cries
out to Jesus a second time, not to challenge Him, but to find salvation. “Lord,
save me!”
Earlier, when Jesus spoke
to all the disciples who were in the boat, He offered them only words of
invitation and encouragement. Speaking now to Peter, however, His words are a gentle
rebuke. He doesn’t say, “I’m so proud of you for being bold enough to try
stepping out on the water.” He’s doesn’t say, “You did well for a while; you only
need to learn to trust Me more.” Jesus reaches out His hand, takes hold of the
sinking man, and says, “Little-Faith,” why did you doubt?”
Peter’s lack of faith
in Jesus manifests itself in fear. The same happens for you and me. Jesus
promises He rules over all creation. He promises He will deliver us from all
adversity and provide for all our needs. But we don’t always see it, which
leads to doubts and fear. Fear leads us into all kinds of foolishness.
What is causing you to
fear? Which promises of Jesus are you struggling to believe? Financial
instability? Questionable governmental leadership? The pandemic? School re-opening?
What has Jesus told you that you have a hard time believing? ? To what
foolishness is your fear leading?
At the heart of all fear
is idolatry, foolishly following false gods that seek to lead you away from
Jesus, in this case, not because they promise pleasure or help, but because
they terrify you into thinking that Jesus is no match for them. The example of
the Gospel is the wind. Peter believed Jesus at first. Then he saw the wind and
believed it was more powerful—that it had more power to kill him than Jesus had
to save him. You, too, will be tempted by false gods who rule by fear.
It may be the god of
pain or heartbreak. In this case, it may be a sinful relationship that you’re
afraid of losing, because you’re afraid that the broken heart would be too
great for Jesus to mend and cleanse. Therefore, you stay in it out of fear of
the hurt. It may be that you’re afraid of staying in a God-given relationship
because there will be some pain on the way to healing it; therefore, you get
out of it in fear of that pain. It may be that you are afraid of leaving old
sins behind, afraid what life will be without them. In that case, that sin has
become a god that terrifies you that you will be worse off as a new creation.
Your peers may become a
false god. Whether it’s in the office, the locker room, or the classroom, you’ll
be tempted at times to deny your faith and confess another because you’re
afraid of losing their respect or their friendship. You may be afraid of suffering persecution for your
faith. In that case, those people have now become your gods that you fear more
than you trust in Jesus.
Disease is a big one.
When healing is slow or the disease is chronic, when the scary stories of the pandemic
are in front of you every day, you’ll be tempted to believe that the illness is
too powerful for your faith and your Savior. You may withdraw, hoping that isolation
will protect you, even as it saps your soul, mental health, and physical
strength. In that case, disease has become a powerful false god which boasts it
has more power than Jesus.
The greatest of all, of
course, is death. Many have feared death enough that they were willing to deny
Christ to avoid execution. Confronted by death, many are terrified because they
can’t see beyond it. They recognize the power of the grave and doubt that there’s
any way Jesus will raise them up again. The fear of death may cripple people,
prevent them from doing those things that God would have them do in worship of
Him and in service to their neighbor: once again, death has become a false god
that must be obeyed out of fear.
In this world, the
false gods that rule by fear look so big and intimidating, while Jesus looks so
small and weak. These enemy idols are formidable and powerful, and the devil
mocks you for putting your trust in a Savior who was so weak that man put Him
on a cross and killed Him. That’s what the devil does, turning everything
upside down. And living in this world and looking at everything upside down,
those with little faith will be intimidated by those false gods that rule by
fear. At times, you will be intimidated, for at times you will be Little-Faith.
But you rejoice because
little faith is still faith. It still clings to Christ. It’s not intimidated by
what you see—faith trusts in what you do not see, despite what you do. So, when
you are afraid of these false gods, by faith you do what Peter did: you call
out, “Lord, save me!” You call upon the One who has conquered your enemies,
including sin and death and devil. By faith, you call on the One who has borne
your sins and sicknesses and destroyed the power of the grave. And by faith,
you hear Him draw near to you in His Word. To you, the risen Christ declares, “Take
heart; It is I. Do not be afraid.” He forgives for all your sins—including all
your fears.
Through the means of
grace, Jesus comes to you as He came to the disciples on the boat; unasked for,
sometimes unrecognizable, but always with authority. His stroll on the sea gave
them a glimpse. His resurrection from the dead sealed the deal. His promise to
return will provide the final assurance for you.
Jesus can save, and He
will save all who have only a little faith in Him—even if at times we, too, doubt.
The promises He has made He will keep, even now in the present time, as this tired
old age still fights against the new age of salvation. He is the Lord of
creation, who entered it to set things right. His power over creation was masked
in weakness. He took upon Himself humanity’s sin and the divine curse of death,
only to burst forth new as the Lord of life, the Lord over death and everything
that would destroy us. This is Jesus; it is He, and no other. For His sake, you are forgiven for all your
sins.
In the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture
quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001
by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.
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