2026 08 09 Pentecost 11 Proper 14A
Genesis
37.1-4. 12-28 Psalm 105.1-6,
16-22 Romans 10.4-15 Matt 14.22-36
These last few weeks we’ve been following the story of
the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Last week was the momentous story where Jacob is blessed and his name is
changed to Israel. Our Holy Bible, the
sacred word of God, comes to us through the stories of these very human and
fallible people. The Bible is made up of letters and teachings, poetry, songs, and
prophecy. It’s the stories of people who
encountered and struggled with God, and those encounters happened within the
history and mess of real life.
What we have been reading about is the beginning of the
Israelite nation, and however as monumental it is to have God’s blessing at the
beginning of a nation, the equally monumental part of the story is that this nation
– this heritage- is to be a blessing to all the people of the earth. Through this lineage would come the Messiah….
The saviour, Jesus Christ, who would redeem all mankind. The heritage of blessing doesn’t end
there. We are the children of God and
the body of Christ, and we are to be a blessing also. Today is about our own story that starts with
God’s blessing. It doesn’t end with that
blessing, there is more. We are called
to be a blessing and everyday we chose again and we step into the journey to
answer God’s call.
Jacob, whose name was
changed to Israel, was the father of 12 sons, and one of those was Joseph…. The
favourite. Joseph’s brothers, were so
jealous of him that they mostly wanted to kill him. Yep, those are the blessed ones, the called
ones, the people of God – Which means that there is hope for us all! We don’t have to look to far to see the
brokenness of our world. It was broken
from the garden of Eden and it is broken today.
There was a reason
that Joseph was the favourite and it was nothing to do with what kind of person
he was. We are told that it is because
he was a son born to Jacob in his old age, but the favour had a lot more to do
with who his mother was. AND the fact
that Jacob was of a lineage of Barren women and miracle births. Isaac, Jacob’s father, was born to the barren
Sarah at the age of about 90, and Rebecca gave birth to twins, Esau and Jacob after
being barren also – then Isaac prayed and God answered his prayers. Joseph’s mother was Rachel, the one that
Jacob loved and worked, pretty much 14 years to earn the right to marry. Rachel was also barren for many years, but then
eventually gave birth to Joseph. This
son, born to a barren woman was a sign of God’s promise.
Our story picks up
where Jacob sends Joseph out to find his brothers. The brothers were not where they were
expected to be. Along the way he meets
some people who ask Joseph what he is looking for. In the original language Joseph is asked,
“What do you seek?”
This is the significant
part that we often miss; If this question was not asked, Joseph may have
returned home and his destiny remain unfulfilled. It is pondered whether this stranger was
actually an Angel or a pre-existant form of Jesus, because Jesus, many
centuries later, in the New Testament, asks the same exact same question of the
disciples who begin to follow him after John the Baptist pointed him out. It is a question that makes a turning point
in the life of Joseph, and for the disciples of Jesus. Their destiny was defined in it. If that stranger were not there, Joseph would
have returned to his father, and his destiny would have been different – and
safe. But then his prophetic dream would
have told a different story. The same
for the disciples – safe, or following the truth… what will we choose?
Jesus is the stranger who steps into all
our lives and asks us to make a decision.
When Joseph’s
brothers see him, the conversation centres around Joseph’s dreams. Joseph had dreamt that the sun and moon and
eleven stars were bowing down to him.
The obvious interpretation being that the brothers, their mother and
father would all bow down to Joseph.
Obviously, the brothers were not impressed, so they figured that if they
killed Joseph they would never have to bow down to him.
Now a spoiler alert
to those who don’t know the story of Joseph; his parents and brothers
eventually do bow down to him as this being sold into slavery, after many
horrible years and even imprisonment due to false allegations, put Joseph in a
position of leadership over Egypt. He
was placed in charge of the storing of food and was able to provide for his
family through the great seven-year drought.
The point of the
story, is to show us that Joseph was walking into his destiny, answering God’s
call on his life. That call was like
Peter stepping out onto the waters… a seemingly odd thing to do, but in it, is
a huge lesson for us all.
This figure walking
on the water frightens the disciples, including Peter, but on hearing Jesus’
voice Peter believes Jesus, so much so that he gets out of the boat and walks
towards him, but then he notices the wind and begins to sink. Peter cries out to be saved, and Jesus
reaches out his hand and saves him and then tells him that he is of “little
faith”. At least Peter got out of the
boat!! Where are we in this picture?
There is a song I
heard many years ago, with the words, “with your little faith and your big
believing, weak things shame the strong”.
The song was called “Child of Destiny”.
It struck me at the time –what did it mean big believing but little
faith? Well, this is where Peter was at,
and probably most of us here. And please
note that it wasn’t so much that Jesus was upset with Peter, so much as
encouraging him to grow in faith. We
absolutely believe in Jesus and give allegiance to him as the Lord of our life.
However, faith is about actually
stepping out into the destiny into which he calls us. Remember, as far as little faith is concerned,
if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can move mountains. … or in
this case, walk on water!
We are all called to
accept Jesus. To believe in Jesus. To believe that He died to redeem us. Back in the garden of Eden when sin came into
the world, mankind unwittingly gave their allegiance to Satan by following his
advice and wanting to be independent of God.
Spiritually, mankind became separated from God the father and we needed
to be redeemed…. Which is basically means being purchased back to the original
owner. Jesus paid the price, but that
doesn’t mean we are automatically saved – it means we can be.
Romans tells us that
if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that
God raised him from the dead, we will be saved.
“10:10For one
believes with the heart, leading to righteousness, and so is justified, and one
confesses with the mouth, leading to salvation and so is saved.” There is a free will choice that must be
declared.
At our baptism, if as
an infant, that choice was made on our behalf, we must as an adult confirm that
choice. God gave us free will and it is vital that we
freely chose to belong to God.
The reason that we
regularly come together and celebrate communion is that we continue to affirm
our faith…. Our belief … and we continue to freely give our allegiance to God. This is where our faith begins, and for some
it may be as huge as stepping out onto the waters of the great unknown.
We can stay in the
boat where it is safe, with our big believing, but we are called to grow in our
faith… to step out. In fact, there is a
destiny that God has called us to, and we will not achieve it if we stay in the
boat… or at Shechem where Joseph was looking for his brothers. Shechem means shoulder or back. It was the place known in the ancient times
as the valley of decision and the place for making covenants. Will we turn back, or will we say, “Here I
am, Lord, I will follow you – no matter where that leads.”?
It is important to
note that Joseph’s destiny involved some really hard things. He was sold as slave, but was also favoured
in that role. Then a false accusation
saw him thrown into jail – but it was through this that he came to the
attention of Pharoah and was ultimately made leader over Egypt. Sometimes the path we are called to is
incredibly tough, but God only calls us through tough times because it is
important and abundant life is at the end of it…. On planet earth, there are tough times anyway. We all live in a broken and fallen world and
experience that brokenness in many ways and at many times. And that brokenness can simply break us. The difference of the tough times that happen
when we are experiencing them because we are following God is that the tough
times don’t break us.. they make us… even
though they might feel like they are breaking us…. God promises that all things
work for the good of those who love him.
Here is where we need
to understand faith. Faith is stepping
out on the water. The wind blows, the
waves crash, we feel the cold… we feel the discomfort. Keep our eyes on Jesus… keep knowing that he
enables all things to work together for good.
But, if we feel ourselves falling – which, honestly, will absolutely
happen, understand that all we need to do is call out, “Lord, save me,” and Jesus
reaches out and saves us.
When those tough
times come, we need each other, the body of Christ. The church is the body of Christ…. You and
me. We need each other to hold each
other above the waves. We’ve been going
through tough times, as a church, but many of us have also been personally going
through absolutely crazy storms. Jesus
doesn’t ever leave us to drown. We are
encouraged to come out to him on that water and in that storm. Remember that with Peter’s ‘little faith’ he
still walked on that water. We are
called today to say, ‘YES, Lord.’ and to step into the destiny to which God
planned for us before the creation of the world.
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