Coincidence, I dont think so... Some times things happen and we chalk it up to coincidence. Then again, there are those who dont even believe in coincidences, rather believing all things happen according to Gods plan. Im somewhere in between. When I wear the same t-shirt as my co-worker, Im quite content calling that a coincidence... I think God has bigger fish to fry than coordinating my choice of attire with my co-worker (obviously this is an exaggeration). At the same time, I dont believe everything happens for a reason and I dont think God is a master puppeteer manipulating every last fiber of creation so all things line up all pretty like. However, I do believe the Holy Spirit works in us... in you and in me. And I believe when we allow the Spirit to work in us, coincidences begin to be all too common. Its not that God is puppeteering us, but that we, by the power of the Holy Spirit, begin to align ourselves with the will of God. I recently had one such coincidence happen. Upon finishing our study on the book of Jonah in our Thursday night Bible study, it was suggested we take a break from Bible study and spend an evening in worship. I asked one of my co-workers, Ani, if she was willing to lead our group in worship, she agreed and asked if I had a theme for the evening. The only thing I could think of at the time was the song Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) by Hillsong (https://youtube/watch?v=dy9nwe9_xzw). This had been a song we talked about a couple different times with our college students in Guatemala, thus it was fresh in my mind. Ani said she could work with that and began crafting a night of worship around this song and the scripture it is based off: Peter stepping out of the boat and walking on the water toward Jesus. Fast forward a couple days as I begin reading the lectionary texts to decide which text to write on. The gospel text for this week is none other than Matthew 14:22-33 - the story of Peter stepping out of the boat. Give it a read: 14:22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 14:23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 14:24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 14:25 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 14:26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, It is a ghost! And they cried out in fear. 14:27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid. 14:28 Peter answered him, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. 14:29 He said, Come. So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 14:30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me! 14:31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, You of little faith, why did you doubt? 14:32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 14:33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, Truly you are the Son of God. So was this all a coincidence? Was it simply that my eyes were open to the similarities? Did God know we were going to end up doing a night of worship the same week the lectionary text was Matthew 14:22-33, thus God actually manipulating our conversations in Guatemala leading me to suggest this song for our night of worship?? I have a very hard time believing God is that concerned with the theme of our worship night. However, I do believe these coincidences have become more common as I have been studying the lectionary scriptures each week. I begin to see how the stories of the Bible align with my life and how my experiences in life can accompany these stories to teach others. Each week I read them and I am reminded they are more than just stories that were relevant thousands of years ago... they still have something to communicate to me and you today. For example, I believe this classic story teaches us so much about human-divine interactions. It provides us the opportunity to examine our own lives and see when and where we are confident in ourselves... confident enough to stand up, even in fear, and call on Jesus to command us out of the boat. It also calls us to recognize the places in our lives where we cannot achieve things on our own, but need divine intervention to accomplish the task. Peter knows he cannot walk on water alone. He acknowledges there are somethings he can do on his own: stand up to fear, present himself to Jesus and ask Jesus to empower him to do something extraordinary (notice none of the other disciples did this); but there are other things that he needs Jesus to help him do... things he cannot do on his own: walk on water. What are the things in your life you are confident you can do on your own? What are the things, often things that are extraordinary, you cannot do on your own? Do you feel confident enough to ask for Gods help? What are the things you could be striving for that you know you could only achieve by God empowering you and working through you? I think all too often we dont strive for the things beyond our human capabilities because we dont trust that God will empower us. Its not that we dont trust God could do it... its that we dont trust God to use us to accomplish something extraordinary. Or, we are simply too afraid to fail. Like Peter, we may take the initial step, but then fear gets the best of us and we begin to sink. It is in these times we must fully embrace the power of God working through us. When Jesus says, You of little faith, why did you doubt? I dont think Peter is doubting Jesus... Jesus is still walking on water. Peter doubts the power of God working in him to do extraordinary things. He allows fear to get the best of him, thus he loses confidence in the power of God at work within him. This week I hope that you will keep your eyes open and make yourself available to coincidences. That you will be fully aware of the God who wants to interact with you. And, I hope that you will think about the questions listed above. That you will recognize what you are capable of, but also your limitation. And ultimately, that you will ask God to call you beyond your capabilities and fully embrace the power of God working through you over the power of fear in your life. Imagine what the church... the people of God... could accomplish if we presented ourselves, limitations and all, and asked God to do something extraordinary with us! Shift - tonight we will have a night of worship, so meet in Cox Chapel at 7:00pm. Ani Barrington will lead us. Feel free to invite friends. After worship we will head to dinner. Game Morning at the Bridge - this Saturday, meet at the church at 9:00am and well be back by 11:00. Well play chess, checkers, dominos, etc with the homeless guests at the Bridge and share great conversations as well. Always a good time! School Supply Drive - time is about to run out. We are accepting donations (supplies and financial) until August 17. Contact Stephanie Berry ([email protected]) if you have questions. Grace and peace, p.s. come worship with us tonight at 7:00pm in Cox Chapel
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 22:13:58 +0000
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