During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw Him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

Football season will be upon us soon and right along with it will be the “Monday Morning Quarterbacks” with all their advice and their how ‘I would have done it.’ Monday Morning Quarterbacking isn’t just limited to football. It refers to anyone who tells you; “Well I would have done this way” or “if I’d been there I wouldn’t have done that…” In our household especially between my kids and me we’ve raised “Monday morning quarterbacking” to an art form. Armed with 20/20 hindsight we really love to tease each other with saying, “Well, if I’d been there I would have done this and that…” Whether good-natured or not who is the “Monday Morning Quarterback” in your family or in your life?

Today’s lesson lends itself to “Monday Morning Quarterbacking.” … “If I’d been Peter, I would have done this or I surely wouldn’t have done that.” But would we really? Let us look at the text.

Immediately after the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 with five loaves and two fishes Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side of the lake, while He dismissed the crowd. For their benefit He stayed behind, dismissed the crowd, and when off alone to pray.

We don’t know what He prayed: Maybe it was to overcome the temptation to be proclaimed an earthly king and skip the agony of the cross. Maybe it was for strength for He knew that the 5,000 he’d just fed, the ones who wanted to make Him an earthly king, would just as quickly turn their backs on Him when His teachings offended them. We don’t know what He prayed but we know He prayed.

I pondered all that and I wondered how many times might our prayers be an after thought or something a Monday Morning Quarterback tells other people they should be doing? How often might it be better for all of us to imitate Him asking our Father to strengthen us, asking that He focus our hearts and minds on Him and direct our hands in willing service to others?

During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them walking on the water. When the disciples saw Him they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.” The walking on the water He did for the benefit of believers that they would know He wasn’t just a holy man, another prophet or inspired teacher but one who could suspend the laws of nature, the One in whom all nature has it being and is held together. (Col 1.17) If there is One who can walk on water in the middle of a lake during a furious storm then maybe we ought to listen to Him.

So they would know He wasn’t a ghost or mass hallucination Jesus said to Peter, Come to me. Yes, step down out of the boat and come to me. It isn’t recorded but human nature being what it is, I can almost hear the other disciples, “We believe, but Peter stay in the boat!” “Andrew, tell that impulsive brother of yours to at least put on a life jacket.”

How often do we believe from the safety of the boat, the safety of this church? How often do we look at others telling them, “it is okay to believe” but what we really mean is, “don’t believe so completely that you are willing to get out of the boat”? How often do we say, “We trust in God for our salvation” but just in case we busy ourselves by stitching up a life preserver stuffed with a record of all our good works? … How many of us are so afraid of getting wet that we never get out of the boat and trust God?

Jesus said to an uncertain Peter, Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid. It will be okay. As my son says, “Focus.” Put your reason aside come to Me. You’ve seen Me heal with just a touch, you’ve seen me calm storms with just a word, You’ve seen Me even raise the dead, now trust Me. Put your reason aside, get out of the boat and come to me - let go of what you know and trust Me.

How often in this place do we courageously say, “Oh, I’d trust Him,” but out there on Monday we are anything but courageous. How often do we trust Him with the far away stuff like death and heaven but we fail to really trust with Him with the day-to-day stuff of our lives?

Then Peter got down out of the boat and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. I can almost see Peter timidly lowering himself down to the water, clinging to the gunnel, testing the firmness of the water - trying to reach Jesus without letting go of the boat. There is a saying in baseball, “you can’t steal second with your foot on first.” There comes that moment when he has to let go or go back.

How many of us have had a moment like that, too? We’ve heard the stories of Jesus but we falter. Peter’s wasn’t a blind faith and neither is ours. We, too, have heard the stories of Jesus: of His birth, His miracles, the way He died and the fact that he rose again. By the working of the Holy Spirit we’ve been brought to believe, and trust in our Jesus. Now we need to let go, to trust in this Jesus and His promises:

Trust God’s promises made to you in your baptism: He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit which He poured out generously upon us. (Titus 3.5-6) Trust in Jesus’ promise earned for you at the cross: By His wounds we are healed; (Is 53.5) by His death and because of His rising again to life we are forgiven.

Trust that it is God who creates real and saving faith by and through the hearing of His Word: Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. (Rms 10.17) Let go and let God. If He says He has joined Himself to bread and wine of communion in a unique way, a meal eaten for the forgiveness of sins, then He does just that.

Allow the faith He creates in you to release your death grip on the gunnels of human reasoning. Lord to whom shall we go, - to Buddha, Mohammed, the god’s of our own reason? NO! You have the words of eternal life. (John 6.68) Allow His Word to be The Word that frames and enlightens your life: My Word is a light unto your path. (Psalm 119.109)

Despite what Monday Morning quarterbacks say, there are still times when the storms of life and our sinful reason cause us to doubt God? Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when saw the wind he took his eyes off Jesus. When he saw the wind and the waves, he lost his focus, he became afraid and began to sink. Peter cried out, Lord, save me. Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and saved him.

Now you Monday Morning Quarterbacks are saying, “I’d never have taken my eyes off Jesus, storm or no storm,” but the truth is in our sinfulness we do it all the time. And just like Peter we are in real danger of perishing, but Jesus is there to save us, as well. In His mercy He reaches down even today by His Word and rescues us. We are saved when we confess we are sinners, yes sin is real and so perishing. We are saved when we believe in Jesus alone as our Lord and Savior, One who lived, died and rose again to life for us that we would not perish but have life. This gift is for the very youngest to the very oldest, for you and for me.

All around are people who are in dire straits. Some are oblivious of the storm, but it is there. Some are confused by Satan and others are afraid to get out of the boat and trust Jesus. Some have gotten out of the boat but the storm has distracted them; they’ve taken their eyes off Jesus and are floundering. All are in peril and we would be too if not for the working of the Holy Spirit who brings us to cry out, “Jesus, save me.”

They don’t need Monday Morning Quarterbacking. They need to hear of a Jesus who is there to save them, but how will they hear above the roar of the storm? We need to go out to them even though it means we have to go out into the storm to find them and tell them. We need to be out there among them casting the life rings of His Saving Word. Amen.