"Keep Your Eyes On Jesus "

Scripture: Matthew 14:13-36
Preacher: George Eastman
Date: January 1, 2006

Thank you!

You have been an inspiration to me, you are compassionate, considerate, and faithful and you love the Lord.  

I expected to continue to be involved with you and this congregation for all the time I am a student at Fuller.   However, you inspired me to begin looking at the needs of seniors, the responsibilities of a faith community for and with their seniors; to look for ways to minister to and to be a minister for seniors.   I even expressed that interest several times in various roles you asked me to fill.

As a consequence I was faced with a very difficult and challenging decision this fall - should I continue here, a church where I feel loved, where I feel I have been treated as a Pastor, where I truly feel this is my home church?   Or, should I respond to the Lord leading me to another challenging opportunity with a specific responsibility for continuing a ministry for seniors in another church.  

After prayerful consideration my decision was to answer the Lord's call and take on the position of Pastoral Assistant for a Senior Ministry at another Presbyterian Church.   I will not forget you.

Let us pray

A year ago we talked about a member returning to this church after a five year absence because the family wanted to attend the National Championship game where two California teams were pitted against one another.   Well, that did not happen last year and it is not happening this year, but there is hope for the future.  

God challenged you to become a more prayerful church, asking you to pray for the leaders of this congregation as they seek to determine the future of this congregation for years to come.   At the same time God challenged to leadership of the church to pray for God's direction, to pray for each other and to pray for this congregation.   My sense, and Ross confirmed it, is that you are a praying church, you rose to the challenge and the results are beginning to be evident.   It is very clear that God loves this congregation, each of the members, friends and visitors of this congregation and that God has a mighty purpose for you in this community.

Now I want to take us back to the days when Jesus was visibly walking and talking to the people of this world while he was in this world as one of us.   Why was Jesus here?   God sent Jesus to the world to show us Love, to demonstrate love and to guide us in our own lives - in our faith walk with him.

1 John 4:9-11

9 God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.

How did Jesus demonstrate this love?

Walk with me to the shores of Galilee, think about what it would feel like to be there and see Jesus guide and direct our faith walk.

This story begins just after the disciples of John the Baptist seek out Jesus to tell him that John, the one who baptized Jesus, has been beheaded by the King after a foolish promise to a young girl.   Jesus is heart broken; Jesus is grieved; Jesus shows his emotions both as God and as a human by retreating to a quiet place where he can pray with his father.

You have heard that this Jesus is in the neighborhood, you have heard that he can heal the sick, you have heard that when he speaks, he speaks with an authority that is beyond any teaching of the rabbis - you have heard that when he speaks - he speaks with love and compassion - that he speaks directly to each person that listens.

So you follow to crowds and you find yourself sitting on a hill side not unlike some of the hill sides around here, some of the natural amphitheaters where you have listened to speakers and music.

As you watch you are enthralled by what you see.

People are gathering by the thousands.

People are trying to touch Jesus

They are trying to touch his cloak

You put yourself in his position and wonder how he can be so peaceful with so many people around him all trying to get his personal attention, yet he is patient and quietly attentive to each one.

You continue to watch - Jesus is speaking to everyone including the women and children - that is very unusual for the women and children are often excluded from all public gatherings.

The day wears on - yet Jesus continues to look directly into the eyes of each one he speaks to and you wonder if you would have the same patience - would you care enough?

The sick are healed

The children are welcomed

The women are welcomed

The outcast are welcomed

Never have you experienced such compassion

You are drawn to watch every move Jesus makes - if only you could have the same ability to take time for each person

Then you see his disciples gather in a small group and you wonder what is happening.   One of the disciples approaches Jesus and speaks to him - you know the day has been long, but there are still more who want the opportunity to talk to and touch Jesus - the discussion between Jesus and his disciple is animated - you see the disciple struggling to understand

The disciples move through the crowd and return to Jesus with some loaves of bread and a couple of fish - you are really trying to understand what is happening.

Jesus quietly turns to the crowd - a crowd of about 5,000 men, plus all the women and children - maybe 12 to 15,000 all together - and asks everyone to sit in small groups

What is happening?

You see Jesus lift the bread and the fish, raise his eyes to the heavens and pray - you hear him ask his father to bless the bread and the fish, to be with the people and feed them - this is remarkable and unbelievable - Jesus is asking God to feed the people with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish - impossible!

You watch as the disciples take the bread and the fish and begin to move through the crowd - everyone is getting bread and fish to eat - you cannot understand what is happening

After everyone has eaten their fill you see the disciples moving through the crowd and collecting the left over food - twelve baskets of left over food is collected - what has happened?   How is this possible?

This is beyond anything you have ever seen - thousands fed by a few loaves of bread and a few fish - how is this possible?

You find your way to the disciples and are about to ask them some questions when Jesus tells the disciples to leave, get into a boat and cross to the other side, he will join them later.   One of the disciples recognizes you and invites you to join them - you can't resist and move to the shore to get into the boat.

You look back - Jesus is dismissing the crowd, sending them home

Where did Jesus go?   You look carefully and you see him slowly climbing the hill side, he is all by himself - then as you watch he stops, kneels down and you see him praying - why?   If he is the Son of God why does he need to pray - as you think about it you realize that Jesus needs to talk with his father just as any son or daughter needs to talk with their father - WOW - you can see him speaking, but you also notice that Jesus is often listening

The boat is beginning to move from the shore - but the going is very slow because the boat is headed into the wind, a wind that has come up as the sun has gone down - not an unusual experience on the lake.

You join the others on the oars - trying to make headway against the wind and the waves - as the night progresses you realize that you will be rowing the whole night

As the night lengthens into the fourth watch you and the others are getting weary when suddenly you see a bright light on the water.   The light gets closer and you become terrified - what are you seeing?   A ghost?   You remember hearing about a night years before when shepherds were terrified by a bright light, a host of angels - is this going to be the same?   Angeles?   No, the shape of a man appears - the others speak out in fear - and you hear "Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid" and we all realize we are looking at Jesus.

There is a calm in the boat as the fear subsides - then Peter speaks up and asks if this is really Jesus - almost testing Jesus - if it is you, ask me to join you - Jesus simply says "come."

Peter steps out of the boat and begins to walk toward Jesus, but Peter takes his eyes off of Jesus, sees the waves, feels the wind and begins to sink into the water.   As Peter sinks into the water you hear him shout "Jesus save me."

You watch as Jesus reaches out and takes Peter's hand, and lifts him into the boat.

You are trying to contemplate what has happened - you last saw Jesus on the hill side praying, then you see a bright light, you hear Jesus speak, you see Peter start out on the water and then sink and you watched as Jesus reached out and lifted Peter out of the water.

You realize that both Peter and Jesus are in the boat - as you try and understand you feel a new sensation and realize that the waves have calmed down and the wind has died down - everything is calm - how can that be?

Your senses are overwhelmed - you don't think you will be able to understand - then you hear one of the disciples say "Truly you are the Son of God."

You feel the boat crunch on the shore and realize that you have crossed the sea.

The first light of day is appearing - you find yourself reflecting on the last 20 hours, trying to understand, trying to find direction, trying to see how you can apply what you saw Jesus doing as he lovingly lived these same 20 hours in your presence.

Now some would say that the two most important things to learn from these passages are the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on the water - I want to suggest that there are other lessons to be learned.

As you sort out all that happened you remember Jesus

Grieving - (for John the Baptist)

Showing compassion for everyone

Healing all who sought him

Teaching them

Welcoming everyone - equally

Not sending the people away - (to fend for themselves)

Feeding them - with abundance

Praying

Telling Peter to come - inviting all of us to come

Reaching out to save Peter - as he does for all of us

Calming the wind and the waves

Then you realized that Jesus set an example to follow - everything he did was surrounded by prayer, prayer in grief, prayer in compassion, prayer in healing, prayer in teaching, prayer in feeding, prayer for himself to renew his spirit, prayer as he reaches out to us and prayer as he calmed the wind and the waves.

We can do the same when we keep our eyes on Jesus.

Let us pray.