12th Sunday after Pentecost Proper 14

22* ¶ Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.
23* And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
24* but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them.
25* And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.
26* But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear.
27* But immediately he spoke to them, saying, "Take heart, it is I; have no fear."
28* And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water."
29* He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus;
30* but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me."
31* Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "O man of little faith, why did you doubt?"
32* And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.RSV
33* And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

There is a story that is found in the book The Transforming Friendship by Leslie Weatherhead that I would like to use as a part of my thoughts on this text.

It is a story about one man's relationship to Jesus that I find inspiring.

"There was an old Scotsman who was very, very ill. When his pastor come to see him, the suffering man told him about the empty chair by the side of his bed. The chair had held a key place in his life for many years. It began when he had trouble kneeling for prayer and a friend told him not to worry about kneeling. The friend suggested that he sit to pray and put a chair opposite him. In that chair, he was to imagine that Jesus was sitting and he was and talking to him as a friend.
He did it and continued to do it through the years. So the chair was still there by his bedside for his 'friend'.

Some days later, the pastor returned to call on the sick man, only to be met at the door by, his daughter who explained that her father had died during the might.

She explained that he had seemed to be resting well, and she had taken a brief nap. When she awoke to go check on her father, he was dead. He had not moved since she had left him except for one thing. He had reached out and placed his hand on the empty chair next to his bed.

The pastor smiled and thought, Jesus is indeed the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end and a part of each day's journey in between."

I really like that idea that we have Jesus as a comfortable friend to talk to. I see in my relationship with Jesus a comfortable friend that I can talk to whether I am angry about life, or happy about an event, or confessing a wrong deed. I think each of us needs to be comfortable with Jesus as he extends His grace in our lives.

Are you comfortable with Jesus?

Tim

A sermon on this text can be found at the link below.

Link