Getting Out of The Boat...

As I prepared myself for worship yesterday I went over in my head the service and the prayers and words and all of my responsibilities in the service. As we got to the sermon, I found myself so distracted by all that had gone on, on Saturday and all that was going on in the world that it took me out of being able to truly worship, until Rev. Cliff Wright began to preach on the text from Matthew 14 where Jesus walks on the water, and about Peter getting out of the boat. In every way, he was/is encouraging the congregation to get out of the boat, get out of their comfort zone, get out of their complacency. And as he talked about what that might mean, my mind went to what does it mean to get out of the boat in light of current events in the world? So often when I hear that text it seems blatantly obvious. “Get out of the boat, Jesus is there.” But as I listened I heard the biggest issue with getting out the boat: Fear. Not only is there a fear of the water below and drowning, but there is fear in what others will say, fear in getting too far from the boat, fear in the conflicts that will arise, fear in facing our own issues, and ultimately a fear that getting out of the boat will change everything. So what if it does?

That took me back to all that has happened over the past week. The thing that bothers me most is that this is not the first time this has happened. This is not the first show of hate and it is likely not the last. With that being said, it is happening more frequently, or maybe its always happened, its just that we are so acutely aware of this evil and its being talked about more and more. But what if getting out of the boat in this instance in time isn’t too far from the ways that MLK, Mandela, and so many others who have fought this fight before, got out of the boat?

Martin Luther King once said:

“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral,
begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy.
Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.
Through violence you may murder the liar,
but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth.
Through violence you may murder the hater,
but you do not murder hate.
In fact, violence merely increases hate.
So it goes.
Returning violence for violence multiplies violence,
adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness:
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

There has always been darkness and at different moments in history we have seen more darkness than at other moments. Right now, the world seems eerily dark. There is violence and words of hate. There is a possibility of nuclear weapons being used. There is brother fighting brother, and families disowning families. There is disunity not just in the country and world, but also in the church. There is such darkness. But we have the opportunity in this moment to step out of the boat, to step out of our comfort zone and reach out to one another. Instead of responding with hateful words or name calling and blaming, to offer words of love and hope. Instead of responding in violence, respond in love. Is it easy, not at all. In fact, I would venture to say it is one of the most difficult things we have ever been asked to do. But I do believe that “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [and will not] overcome it.[1]”

You may read this and think she isn't actually thinking about the issue, she is skirting it so that she doesn't have to say its wrong, it is wrong. It is wrong, hurtful, and so painful and it teaches others that it is ok to speak of another person harmfully. Or maybe your thinking, she is just being optimistic, this is an impossible task. Trust me, I agree with you, it completely seems impossible and it might get worse before it gets better. But I believe in the words of Paul as he prays for his readers in Ephesus, “now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine…[2]” God can and does move in and through us, if only we are willing to get out of the boat. I don’t know what getting out of the boat looks like for you, but I am beginning to see what it means for me. Yesterday, I witnessed a people who seemed ready to get out of the boat. I agree with Rev. Wright's question: Will you join me in getting out of the boat? Knowing that it will be hard, but that God is there to be the light in the dark and lift us up when we begin to sink. May we be a people of light not willing to let the light be hidden, but shining it bright for all to see.

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[1] John 1:5, NRSV

[2] Ephesians 3:20, NRSV