Holy Ghost Stories, part 4

Holy Ghost Stories 4:  Seeing Ghosts                                                             

Matthew 14:22-33

Today is the fourth and final Sunday in our “Holy Ghost Stories” sermon series.  This month we have taken time to encounter the Holy Ghost as we know it today (from the Day of Pentecost, when the Spirit came to dwell with us, even though the existence of the Holy Ghost can be found in the creation story, when God said (paraphrased) let Us make humankind in Our image and Our likeness…”Us” and “Our” being the Triune God (Father, Spirit, Son)).  From this encounter we moved into wrestling with the Holy Ghost, like Jacob, and how that can permanently change us…and rightfully should!  Last week we talked about hearing voices, and the voice Samuel heard as a boy when he was called by God.  A boy without qualifications, a boy without training, a boy who met none of man’s criteria…who was called out by God who spoke to him in his sleep.  Today’s sermon will focus on seeing ghosts.

Just to catch us up and frame where this morning’s story is in Matthean Gospel text, Jesus has just fed the crowd of about 5,000 men, plus women and children, who had followed him to hear him speak.  After this miracle, Jesus needed a little time  away…to recharge, to rest, and to pray (and if you’re into the Enneagram, you know this is a solid “6” move).  So he sends (he “makes” per Matthew) the disciples on to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  This is the first time in Matthew that Jesus has sent the disciples out without him. 

The sun has set and evening has come, and there are a couple of problems.  The first one being that Jesus isn’t with them…and it’s not like he can just call an Uber Fishing Boat to carry him to the other side.  How is he going to catch back up with the disciples and rejoin them?  But, the bigger problem is the storm that had suddenly blown up.  This sounds like a pretty substantial storm, being that we are told that the boat has been battered by the wind.  Then, hours later, early in the morning, they see something out at sea. 

Let’s think about this for a minute and put ourselves in the story.  They were traveling, and all of the sudden this large crowd of people show up.  And it’s lunch time.  And there’s nothing to feed them.  They beg Jesus to send the crowd away, but Jesus doesn’t, instead taking a meager sack lunch and feeding the entire crowd, with leftovers.  Jesus spends his time with the people preaching and teaching.  By the time the disciples get in the boat, they have to be exhausted.  But instead of being able to rest on the trip across the Sea of Galilee, a brutal storm comes up and they spend the night fighting to steer against the wind, simply trying to survive.  So they’re soaking wet, they’re tired, they’re frustrated because their leader is nowhere to be found…and now they’re seeing something on the water.  So what do they do when they spot this figure?  They immediately discover that the silhouette they see is that of a man, and it’s walking toward them, on the water. 

There really isn’t any other explanation other than…it MUST be a ghost!  This is where I can’t relate to these cold, wet, and exhausted disciples any longer, because I’ve never been in a situation where “it’s a ghost” is actually the most logical explanation.  I’m a science guy…I’ve devoted my entire adult life to the tenants of testing and proof; hypothesis and theory.  “It’s a ghost” isn’t one of those things.  And in this case, that logic still applies, because it actually wasn’t a ghost, but Jesus, walking toward them.  The modern thinker (us as Western people) typically focus now on the defiance of the laws of gravity.  Water is not a solid…it cannot support a grown man on its surface.  This isn’t possible is what we focus on and tell ourselves.  But if we stop and actually examine this text (as we do as Wesleyan people) we begin to understand the cultural context necessary to understand what the words here are straining to express to us.  When we do this, we see that the words are expressing not the impossible feat of walking on water, but the fact that walking on meant conquering, and the sea in this instance actually stands for chaos, both supported by the Greek Lexicon in this passage. 

This, then, presents a paradigm shift to the modern day reader, doesn’t it?  So now, instead of the “ghost” image we have focused on, we start to see someone who brings order to the chaos…someone who calms the surrounding storm by conquering and ruling over it, removing it’s threat and it’s power.  So through this new lens of understanding, looking ahead at Peter’s experience should represent something totally different to us.

So after someone yelled “it’s a ghost”, Jesus responds to let them know that it’s him the see.  But, Peter called out and said if it really is you Lord, then let me come to you.  Jesus says come on then, and Peter steps out of the boat, out of his place of safety, and into the chaos.  We know that Peter started to fall when he noticed the storm, the chaos, that surrounded him.  He cried out and the Lord saved him, asking him why he doubted. 

So…show of hands if your life has even been consumed by chaos; now, keep them up if your life is consumed by chaos right now.  I could easily throw up both hands and a leg to that one.  I had an employee once share an assessment with me; she used to laugh because she said I ate stress and chaos for breakfast (and, she’s not exactly wrong).  Chaos is a part of life and we all experience it at one point or another.  Sometimes it’s chaos that we can control; we can to a point govern our exposure to it, and there are pretty simple ways for us to mitigate the impact.  But if your life is like mine, those are, indeed, rare times.  The type of chaos I experience is like that of the disciples in today’s text; it comes from an external force, I have absolutely no control over it, it seemingly has no rhyme or reason, and it leaves me battered and sometimes even in places I’m not so sure I can recover from.  It’s from family situations that escalate out of control, or from people (be it friends or enemies) who have decided to mount an attack and have pointed their weapons directly at me, or even chaos from the Spiritual front.  No matter the origin, it’s something we all have to weather at some point in our lives.  And it’s not any fun at all. 

We are more like Peter than we even realize; or, I am, at least.  When I find myself in the middle of this chaos, more times than not I’ll look around and suddenly be consumed by the gravity of the situation surrounding me and then it happens; I begin to fall.  I succumb to the pressure, and the negativity, and the disorientation and become convinced that this will never end, and I cannot understand why nor do I have the ability or skill to overcome it.  I begin strategizing, and overthinking, and I begin to wallow in pity over my situation.  I formulate a way to accept defeat and move on with this new normal in my new destroyed life. 

Does anyone notice a pattern emerging from the previous statements?  There’s a lot of I’s and Me’s in there.  Like Peter, I allow the periphery of my vision to become the focus.  My pain and struggling force me to focus on me, and not on the one who calls me amidst the chaos.  I direct my attention to those who have decided to expose my life to this chaos and direct its evil into my path, and stop focusing on the one who can clear the way for the journey.  And I know I’m not the only one here that falls prey to this!  I think it’s simply human nature.  I don’t think we can help it.  And when I stop, and really think about that, the deeper I begin to fall into the very thing that began pulling me down in the first place. 

But there is some good news for us this morning, and it’s this:  Jesus knew Peter would allow the chaos to consume him, and he stuck his hand out and caught him anyway.  And Jesus, knowing that you, and I, and all of us will do the very same thing…we will see him, and we will try our hardest, but try as we might to focus on him, we will allow all the other “stuff” to steal the center of our vision, and when we begin to fall he will reach his hand out and catch us every single time.  And if you’ve ever needed a working definition for grace, it would be exactly that.

Can you recall a time when God saved your life?  When God reached out and caught you and together you weathered the storm?  When God is made known to us in this way it can leaving us feeling awestruck, or even fear.  There can be continued questions of worthiness.  It’s a rattling experience, and one that we tend to overthink with great fervor. 

Our story this morning ends with Peter and the disciples proclaiming and worshiping Christ as “truly the Son of God”.  Should we not do the same?  Should we not stop, exactly where we are, and proclaim that the one who saves us is truly the Son of God?  I think we should; I think we must.

As our musicians come and we prepare to sing our hymn of invitation, I want to you to take a moment and reflect on your life right now.  Are you experiencing chaos?  Have you stopped to look through the storm clouds, to look for the hand of your Savior, simply waiting on you to take it and steady yourself?

Holy Ghost Stories, part 3

Today for our third Sunday of our Holy Ghost Stories, we are back in the Old Testament talking about one of my favorite old school prophets:  Samuel.  There’s so many interesting things about Samuel and his life that it would be impossible to detail them out in one sermon, but I do want to give this morning’s lesson some context, so I’m going to hit the highlights of Samuel’s life to frame up this morning’s story.

From the story of Jacob last week, we skip forward roughly 19 generations directly down Jacob’s lineage to a man named Elkanah (the third Elkanah in this genealogical line descending from Levi).  Elkanah lived in Israel during the rule of the High Priest Eli, who sat as judge interim after Samson (more on Eli in a minute).  Elkanah took a wife, named Hannah.  We are told in the earlier chapters of Samuel that Elkanah loved his wife Hannah more than anything…however, she was unable to conceive and bear a child.  In this day and age, that was a big problem, because marriage wasn’t based on the same principles we hold to today; in this time frame, marriage was more of a business transaction that resulted in offspring.  Not that love didn’t play a part in marriage, it just usually wasn’t the basis of it.  We know Elkanah took a second wife (not in succession but simultaneously) and her name was Peninnah.  We are told that Elkanah continued to love Hannah more, even though Peninnah bore him children, so there was an immense amount of jealousy between these two ladies, as you could imagine. 

More than anything, Hannah wanted a child.  The dreams of her childhood hinged on her becoming a mother; dreams that remained unfulfilled.  We are told that her grief drove her to the temple, where she began to pray and weep before the Lord.  She wept with such vigor that, when noticed by Eli, the High Priest, he assumed she was drunk.  After spending a little time with her, he quickly realized that this was not the case.  He heard her pray to Yahweh, promising that if she could just bear one son, that she would promise to keep in a Nazirite (which was the same as Samson…couldn’t cut his hair, couldn’t drink alcohol, and could never be ritually impure).  Previous verses tell us that Eli blessed Hannah and sent her on her way.  Shortly after, she conceived and bore a son, and his name was Samuel, which means “I have asked him of the Lord”.  Faithful to her promise, when the time came that Samuel was weaned, she took him to Eli at the temple at Shiloh to be trained as a Nazirite being that he had been consecrated at conception to the service of Yahweh (or God) (you and I may view “weaning” being around age one, but in the day and culture of Samuel, weaning typically didn’t occur until around 4-5 years, and some Rabbinical Scholars protest that it could even have been upward of 12 years). 

So now we’re up to today’s text in our timeline.  Our current description of Samuel utilizes the term “boy”, meaning he would be under the age of 13.  The people of Israel were in a famine; not of food, or water, or any other physical shortage, but they were in a famine of Word.  That’s important to remember as we approach what is about to happen.  It’s night, and both Eli and Samuel are in their places in the temple.  Samuel suddenly hears his name called.  He runs to Eli and proclaims “here I am”.  Eli, who’s eyesight is failing, awakes from his slumber, confused, and sends the boy back to bed.  This happens again; Samuel hears his name, and this time with a little frustration I’m sure he wakes Eli up again to find out why he keeps calling his name but again Eli tells him he didn’t call him…and to go back to bed.  Then, the third time; Samuel hears his name called with great haste, and he runs to Eli and again, proclaims “here I am”.  Samuel has to be a little aggravated at this point…or maybe a lot mad.  I really don’t like being woke up before I get my 8-10 hours in (I do enjoy sleep), and to get woke up 3 times, for no reason by someone who claims they didn’t wake me up?  Samuel is a better person than me because I would have made a scene; a bad scene for sure. 

The much older, and wiser Eli started to realize what was really going on here.  Eli suspected that the Lord God was calling out to Samuel.  Remember, Samuel wouldn’t have any idea what this is like; for the Word of the Lord had become scarce in this time, but Eli, being a High Priest, would be able to recognize what was happening.  He tells Samuel to go back and lay down and the next time the voice calls out to him, to respond “Speak, for your servant is listening”.  And in this space, Yahweh began to speak.  And what The Lord says to Samuel wasn’t easy to hear.  He was told that the house of Eli would fall; that Eli and his sons would meet their end because of the sins of the sons.  Samuel was told that the Lord is about to do something that will make the ears of everyone who hears it tingle.  These are some difficult things to hear, and even more difficult to express.  When approached by Eli who is eager to hear the Word that was revealed to Samuel, Samuel was hesitant to speak.  And who wouldn’t be; I wouldn’t want to be the one to tell someone that God was not happy with them and not only their way of life, but their actual life, is coming to an end. 

Today’s text, although occurring in the 11^th century BC, speaks to us in some amazingly relevant ways in the 21^st century AD. 

Does anyone here ever hear voices?  Don’t raise your hand…because hearing voices is what crazy people do.  Or, at least that’s what we’ve been told.

We all hear our own voice in our head…sometimes we’re telling ourselves not to do something, or we’re reasoning something out.  I have a running commentary going in my head at all times.  I’d venture to say most of us do.  But, stick with me here.  Have you ever heard a thought in the 2^nd person?  That voice, instead of being “I” focused, presents itself and its views in the “You” format, speaking to you and not from you?  If we’re all being honest, we could all probably answer yes to that.  So what did you do with that?  How did you respond?  Did you dismiss it, did you reason it away, or did you give it the space it needed for discovery?  Did you ever consider that, possibly, you were hearing from the Spirit of God in that moment? 

We know that God communicates with us in a variety of ways; Samuel actually heard the voice of the Spirit of God speaking directly to him, trying to demand his attention.  It was so concrete and so audibly clear that he immediately assumed, as any of us would, that it came from the only other person occupying the space adjacent to him.  It was when Samuel’s response changed from the active to one of receiving that he created that space of openness and that posture of authentic listening that the Spirit began to reveal. 

Every single one of us here have heard a Word from the Spirit.  I guarantee that at least one person will contact me after this sermon and say “pastor, I ain’t never heard from God”, and I’ll respond, “oh, but you have…you just weren’t listening”.  And that’s true for all of us at times.  I’ll be honest and say that sometimes I listen to respond, and sometimes I listen to understand.  This is, also, true for us all.  So when we’re not listening to understand, what’s the stumbling block that provokes us to respond to the Spirit, asking “what is it”, instead of “speak, for your servant is listening”? 

Sometimes it’s pride.  You know…I’m on my path, I’m doing things my way.  Even in the church, as the church, we’re “doing God’s will”, you know.  We’ve got a food pantry, and we give people a few dollars for gas when they stop by.  We have our Sunday School and weekly service.  We’re doing alright.  We’ve done it this way for years and it works out because we’re doing what we affirm we need to be doing.  But, could it be that because of that, we’ve stopped listening? 

Or, sometimes we mistake the human voices of authority around us as the voice of the Spirit of God.  And that’s an easy one to do if we are being honest with ourselves and each other.  Even here, the Word was given to Samuel, and it was Samuel in Samuel’s words that then relayed the Word to Eli and the people of Israel, and there are times (many times) that the Spirit will use others to communicate with us.  And then we allow things like trust, and blindness, and personal gain, and what we want to cloud our judgement and discernment (because, let’s face it…if someone is saying what we want to hear, then surely that is the Word of the Lord, because it’s what we want to hear and it’s totally compatible with our own personal values, our own personal convictions, and our own personal desires). 

And sometimes we’re just plain closed off to God and we don’t want to hear from the Spirit, so we take on a posture of trying to crowd God out of the space where the Spirit dwells in an effort to muffle the Word, because we aren’t in a place where we are willing to say “speak, Lord”. 

The voice of the Holy Spirit can be a frightening thing; frightening to hear, and frightening to listen.  The Word challenges us, transforms us, and it places high demands on us.  And for these challenges, transformations, and demands, we say “thanks be to God”.

This week I want you to do two things:  I want you to think about when you have heard God speak and what helped you to know it was God speaking.  I also want you to, every day, set a timer for 5 minutes, and go to a peaceful place, and allow the world whirling around you to stop.  Stop, and for that 5 minutes, listen for God.  Create a space for the Spirit to speak, and when you hear, listen.