Trinity 12 2008

Ordination retreat. The first one: the piece of jigsaw. The second one: the man who kept talking about Peter. Loud voice. Not a still small voice at all. Loud voice, florid sentence structure, more and more about Peter. “Imagine you are a man...” Limits to my ability to imagine I am a man.
Peter again. Patronal festival, united service in tiny village church, outdoors. Looking for fish in the church, making a church out of stones, making paper boats by the stream, looking after sheep in the orchard, and of course walking on water. I’ll come back to that. By the end of the service people had done all sorts of things, and they were pleased with themselves - especially the man who walked on water - and I had lots of stories about Peter in my head instead of just a voice saying “Imagine you are a man...”.
Some things speak to us, and some things don’t, and different things speak to different people, and to the same people at different times. You don’t need me to tell you that. But I don’t always remember it when I should. When things aren’t making sense to me. When other people aren’t behaving the way I think anyone would. There’s nothing wrong with imagining, I am all for it, but there are limits to how far we can get out of ourselves (‘imagine you are a man...’) unless we listen.
If the Bible is nothing else it is an education in listening and difference. It tells us one story in thousands of different stories over and over again. These are stories, today, of speaking and listening. And of storms, and in one case also of earthquakes and fire. The one about Elijah is one of a lot of stories about Elijah and a lot of those are about listening. (With the priests of Baal. Is your God not there? Maybe he’s asleep.) The whole story of Elijah is one of a lot of stories about prophets, and those, likewise, are about speaking and listening: the prophet speaking to God, and to the people. There isn’t just one story. The Bible tells you one way, and then it has another go, and then another go. There are any number of prophets. There are four Gospels. There are lots of stories, told four different ways, about boats and storms (Jesus asleep in the boat); being alone and crowds; being secure and being afloat.; recognition (and wonder and fear); strangeness and trust.
And what is the one story? Meeting God. The story of our encounter with God. (Not ‘imagine you are God...’) Strangeness and trust. A voice of silence. ‘Come’. Peter and Elijah, called completely out of themselves.
How to walk on water.

1 Kings 19:9-18
At that place Elijah came to a cave, and spent the night there.
Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’
He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill; and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill. Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.’

Matthew 14:22-33
Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking towards them on the lake. But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’
Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’