Matthew 14:22-33

Pentecost +13 – Year A

Matthew 14:22-33

Unlike last week, Jesus can get away to pray. Dismissing an outer crowd hungry for healing miracles and an inner crowd hungry for modeling, Jesus is alone and in this aloneness chooses, according to the party line, to pray.

Whatever else Jesus' prayer was, it wasn't keeping the disciples free from chaos and danger. Have you had a fantasy of Jesus at prayer and all being right with the world? Isn't that a major part of an ascended Jesus? Well, that may not be a very deeply grounded perspective.

Either when Jesus' prayer was ended or was brought to completion, he faced into the same wind the disciples were wrestling with. Imagine the social and individual story weather patterns available. This is an opportunity to turn this scene into a variation on a Rorschach Test to see the demons in our life.

With dawn still faint behind them in the east and a ghost becoming less faint from that same east; with John murdered and Jesus away, their teeniest fears became vivid.

On a dark and stormy night we don't need assistance arriving at a slow and steady pace. Note, then, the two references to "immediately". Jesus was quick to speak out a word of clarification and hope and to reach out a hand of help.

In the midst of our own stormy times a good way to model discipleship is that of a quick word and quick hand.

How is your quickness in the presence of evil –
- homophobia
- immigration xenophobia
- educational rigidity
- health care politics
- violence and abuse
- war
- STDs
- and your addition to this short list?

Our worship is practicing being Jesus prayerful and Jesus quick. According to John Wesley's sermon on Zeal (#92) if you have to make a choice, choose quick.