Walking on Water

    Why don’t the disciples’ get it?  Why are their hearts hardened?

    Today’s Gospel lesson takes place immediately after Jesus fed the multitude on the hillside beside the lake of Galilee.  The disciples, who had nothing: no food, watched Jesus take a little boy’s lunch of five biscuits and two little fish and produce enough bread and fish to satisfy 20,000 people.  After this tremendous miracle, we are told that Jesus immediately commanded the disciples to leave and head across the lake.  There is a reason for this command.  The disciples didn’t necessarily want to go, but Jesus didn’t want them to come under the influence of the crowd.  In the Gospel of John, we are told that the crowd wanted Jesus to become King and rule over them.  Jesus knew the disciples would probably join in on that chorus.  This is something they want.  They want Jesus to be the promised Messiah who will issue in God’s Kingdom in a military way.  They want power and prestige and status.  Jesus knows this, and He doesn’t want His disciples to be taken in with it.  So, He commands the disciples to leave–sternly.  The disciples depart, and Jesus dismisses the crowd Himself.

    Then, Jesus goes up on the mountain to pray.  Mark records Jesus going out to pray three times.  Every time Jesus goes out to pray, it is in the midst of a crisis.  The first time was after Jesus miracles in Capernaum where they wanted to make Him king.  The last time is in the Garden of Gethsemane where He faced the cross.  This time, Jesus goes out to pray because once again, they are seeking to make Him something He was not destined to be.  He must go spend time with the Father to become focused on His task–the redemption of the world.

    The text now gets a little ambiguous, at least when it comes to the time frame.  It says that Jesus looked out across the lake and saw the disciples straining at the oars because they were facing an adverse wind.  It then says that late in the night Jesus came to them.  This seems to indicate that the disciples had been struggling against this wind all night long.  They had been rowing and rowing and rowing, but making no headway.  They are completely and totally exhausted.  Perhaps they are worried and scared, although we don’t get that from the text.  It very well may be that they are frustrated, but not scared.  We don’t know.

            What we do know is that the Gospel writer Mark reports to us that Jesus came to them
walking on the water.

    Did you catch that?  Walking on the water.

    Let me say that one more time.  Jesus came to them walking on the water.

    I am taking a moment to emphasize this because we generally take this statement in one of two ways.  Either we chalk this story up to complete and utter mythology because people cannot walk on water and break the laws of nature.  Or we have heard it so many times that we are not shocked by it at all.  Either way, it has lost its ability to make us marvel and wonder, and frankly, I think it should fill us with awe and wonder. 

    But let me take a moment to deal with those of you who might be chalking this story up to complete mythology.  You might say rather straightforwardly that science has shown that there are laws of nature that cannot be broken.  A man walking on water is a scientific impossibility.  Therefore, this event did not happen.  Rather than deal with the physics of weight distribution on water and buoyancy, let me challenge your premise–that the universe has shown that there are laws which govern our universe that cannot be broken.  You see, as far as we know at this point, science has shown us that there are two ways of looking at things that work very, very well.  There are a set of laws which work great at the level of the tiniest of particles–atoms and quarks and neutrons and electrons, etc.   Then, you have another set of laws which work very well at the level of large things–like people and planets and galaxies.  This is called the theory of relativity.  However, when you try to take the laws that work well for small things and apply it to big things, the laws break down.  Similarly, when you try to take the laws that work for big things and apply them to little things, the laws break down.  All this is to say that, at this time–and for the foreseeable future, we don’t really know all the laws which are governing our universe.  It very well may be possible for a person to walk on water, but we just haven’t figured it out yet.  And, if–as this story purports to show–Jesus is not only a human but is divine.  Well, then you have the One who created those laws showing just how the universe is supposed to work.  And if that is the case, then indeed, we should be filled with awe and wonder.

    Let’s return to the text, shall we?  Mark says Jesus intended to pass them by.  This seems rather callous.  This seems like Jesus is indifferent to the disciples’ plight.  But we need to read this in the context of Mark showing us throughout his book who Jesus is.  This phrase is a reference to several passages in the Old Testament where God revealed Himself to humanity. 

    Exodus 33:19-23: 19And God said, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, “The Lord”; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20But’, he said, ‘you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.’ 21And the Lord continued, ‘See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; 22and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; 23then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.’

    Exodus 34:6: 6The Lord passed by him, and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord,
a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

    1 Kings 19:11: He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’

    Mark is showing us something very significant is taking place.  The Lord is intending to pass by.  This is solidified very shortly as Jesus responds to the disciples reaction to seeing Him.  The disciples react in utter in fear.  They scream at the top of their lungs thinking a water spirit has appeared to send them to their deaths.

    But Jesus says, “Take heart, έγώ είμί (ego eimi), do not be afraid.”  Yes, you heard something rather funny there.  You heard the original Greek, and I put that in there purposely.  The English translation here is “It is I,” but that Greek phrase is a loaded phrase.  You see, in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, whenever God reveals Himself to humankind, He uses the words έγώ είμί or I AM.  So, let’s revisit this statement by Jesus using the Old Testament as our guide.  Jesus says, “Take heart, I AM, do not be afraid.”

    The Gospel writer Mark is unequivocally telling us, this is God incarnate walking on the water, and when God incarnate gets into the boat, the winds cease.  The disciples are amazed.  Their amazement is similar to their amazement the first time Jesus calmed a storm on the sea of Galilee.  It’s an amazement of “who is this?”  And Mark tells us, they did not understand about the loaves because their hearts were hardened.

    Why were the disciples’ hearts hardened?  Why couldn’t they get it?  Let’s recap a few things: Jesus calmed the storm on the sea of Galilee; He cast out a tremendously evil spirit that no one else could control; He healed a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years that no doctor could cure; He brought a dead girl back to life; He was constantly healing people from their diseases; He just fed 20,000 people, and the disciples still didn’t get it?  I mean what in the world is it going to take for these guys to understand who Jesus is and what He is here for?

    Just thought I might add: how long is it going to take us to understand who Jesus is and what He came for?  Oh, yeah, it’s easy to look at those disciples and wonder why they just don’t get it.  It’s easy for us to say, “Geez, guys, you are there all throughout Jesus’ ministry and mission, and you still don’t get it.  What is your problem?”

    It’s an easy question to ask of someone else, but it is much harder to ask of ourselves.  Yet, I think we need to ask it of ourselves because I don’t think we much like to contemplate what it means if Jesus really is God who came to earth.  I don’t think we much like to wrestle with the idea that there is a God who was willing to come down and visit us and reveal Himself to us–and then call us to follow Him.  Why would I say such a thing?  Because if Jesus is who He says He is; if Jesus is who the Gospel writers say He is, then either I reject Him as absolutely crazy, or I fall down on my knees and worship Him. 

    But I don’t want to think Him crazy because He teaches some fabulous things.  The whole love your enemies thing is a pure stroke of genius that had not been embraced by anyone in the world until Jesus brought it forth.  Jesus taught some very good moral ideals–so I can’t reject those.

    But I don’t necessarily want to see Him as Lord and God.  Because if I see Him as Lord and God, then I truly have to change the way I operate in the world.  I have to actually love my enemies.  I have to carve out time to worship.  I have to dig into my pocketbook and give up some of what I earn.  I have to spend time witnessing to Jesus, and I have to stop pursuing all those things that I believe will give me meaning and purpose and satisfaction.  I would rather do all of those things than really and truly see Jesus as my Lord and Savior.

    Why did the disciples have hardened hearts?  For the same reasons our hearts are hardened.  They didn’t want to see Jesus as God incarnate.  They wanted a political ruler and person of power.  They wanted Jesus to fulfill all their wants and desires.  They didn’t want Jesus.  They wanted the things that Jesus could give them.  Similarly, oftentimes we use Jesus to get the things we want instead of wanting Jesus.  Our hearts are so hard because we want to pursue the things of the world instead of the things of God.  And each and every one of us are guilty of this.  All of us.

    But what if Jesus wouldn’t give up on the disciples?  What if Jesus wouldn’t give up on you?   What if He longed to have you follow Him?  What if He longed to have you trust Him?  What if He longed to bring you unto Himself because He wanted you to live forever the way you were intended to live–the way you were intended to love–the way you were intended to be.  What if He believed it was His mission to break your hardened heart and bring you unto Himself?  Do you think He would accomplish it by repeatedly telling you what to do?  Do you think He would accomplish it by doing all sorts of miracles to sway your opinion?  Those miracles would certainly be awesome, but they didn’t sway the disciples.  They wouldn’t sway us either.

    But Jesus didn’t choose those ways to break our hearts of stone.  He didn’t use those ways to force us to believe or trust in Him.  Instead of using coercion or fear, Jesus used love.  He stretched out His arms and died for you when you least deserved it.

    For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world may be saved through Him.

    The disciples were not changed until they realized the magnitude of God’s love for them.  May you realize that Jesus seeks to pass by you today, to reveal Himself to you, and to melt your heart by showing you His nail pierced hands, His wounded feet, and His pierced side.  May you see the great love He had for you–the God who died in your place that you might have eternal life. And may we all worship Him as Lord right here and now.  Amen.

Stretching the Mind

Those of you who read my blog know I like to delve into the deep questions of life:

• Why are we here?
• What is our purpose?
• What is Truth?
• What is the nature of reality?

And so on and so forth.  I read and write about biology, cosmology, quantum physics, biblical studies, cultural issues, difficult texts in the Scriptures, and other heady topics.

Honestly, I get a lot of energy and inspiration from dealing with difficult subjects.  I get a lot of energy and inspiration from trying to wrap my head around questions which have been around for a very, very long time.  I like crawling up into the realms of abstract thought and logic.

But then I come crashing down to earth rather quickly, and it is not preaching for my congregation which does it.  It is teaching Sunday School--especially this year.

For this year, in our Sunday School program, I am teaching the pre-K and Kindergarten students.  I am teaching kids who have just learned to potty train and can't tie their shoes.  I'm teaching kids who have no clue about the nature of atoms, quarks, and other subatomic particles.  They have no clue about evolution or science.  They can't even come close to comprehending the idea of the Trinity or historical-critical biblical methodologies.

And I am teaching them about God.

Talk about keeping you grounded and stretching your mind.

Jesus famously said, "Unless you accept the kingdom of God as a child, you cannot enter it."  Too often, I think we adults lose sight of this.  Maybe we should all try to teach a group of 3-5 year olds about God from time to time.  Might keep us a bit more humble.

Another "Ask the Pastor" Response

A few months back, I addressed an "Ask the Pastor" question from the ELCA Living Lutheran Website where I believed the responses given were a bit inadequate.  Today, I sense the urge to do so once again.

Today's question is a very important one raised by Bob Lawrence from Chicago:

It’s evident that violations of the laws of nature do not occur in our universe. Christianity depends on the existence of events that violate those laws. How can an intelligent human being be a Christian?

The responses given by fellow clergy are predictable and do little to actually further the discussion.  Essentially, they say, "We live by faith not by science or the laws of nature." or "We don't understand or know all the laws of nature."  Admittedly, these statements are true; however, they will not convince Bob or anyone else who comes with Bob's premise to give faith a shot. 

A congregation member of mine, Rick Shilling, is very prominent in the world of heat exchange engineering.  He is a tremendous person of faith as well as a very, very good scientist.  He and I have written the following response.  Rick's additions are distinguished by being in red print :

An excellent question, Bob, but I would like to challenge the premise a bit.  Which laws of nature are you referring to?  The laws of Quantum Mechanics or the Laws of General Relativity?  I hope you are aware that these two theories dominate the discussion of the way the world works.  Quantum Mechanics deals with the subatomic world and General Relativity deals with large objects.  They both work very, very well; yet, we also know they are incompatible.  You cannot extend General Relativity's laws into the Quantum world, because they do not work well there and vice versa.  This has troubled scientists, and, at least for a time and quite possibly still, the Holy Grail of science was a Grand Unified Theory (GUT) which brought these two areas into accord.  It still hasn't been found, and, in fact, it is quite possible that it will never be.  Why?

One must take up the study of mathematics for a little while, particularly the proof of a German mathematician by the name of Kurt Goedel.  He wrote a rather short paper On Formally Undecidable Propositions in Principia Mathematica and Related Systems I where he proved the limitations of all but the simplest of systems of thought and logic.  Goedel wrote the paper in such a way that its implications spilled over into the realms of not only mathematics but science and philosophy as well.  Long and short of it, each and every system of thought is limited.  It cannot cover all of the bases.  Exceptions will always arise.  Let that sink in a moment.   (I direct your attention to Stephen Hawking’s book The Grand Design, where if you can overlook his poor attempts to play philosopher in the name of atheism, you can find a good intro explanation of a new concept in physics called “m-theory” where specific sets of scientific “laws” are used only within defined length scales since their inaccuracies are too great outside of these length scales.)

It is because of Goedel that the term scientific law has basically been abolished.  (Ever wonder why Einstein’s theory of relativity is still called a theory after more than 100 years of successful testing, more than most any other accepted scientific theory had undergone in the past before being called a scientific law ?)The term is kept around out of respect for Newton and others who first formulated the concept; however, science does not talk in terms of certainty any longer because we have discovered that no law is always true at all times and in all circumstances.  Again, take a moment to let that sink in.

When it comes to dealing with interactions in the world, scientists now talk in terms of probability.  There is high probability and low probability.  There are even cases of extremely minute probability--for instance the probability of a person being resurrected from the dead.  It is highly improbable, but it is not impossible--at least according to science.   In engineering, where scientific laws are applied to development of real world technologies, the use of probabilities and/or safety factors in design are always included to protect the public.

This means, Bob, unfortunately, your premise is flawed.  However, the confusion is understandable and common.

First of all, the secondary education system performs a disservice to its students by teaching the "laws of physics" as if they were immutable truths instead of very accurate approximations best suited for use within certain limits. This "new" understanding became widespread in the practicing scientific community in the early decades of the 20th century but, unfortunately did not filter down to the masses. In addition, universities avoided teaching the full implications of Godel since they did not wish to sow uncertainty among their students who were struggling under heavy course loads. Nowadays, many university professors have never learned that much of Godel and proceed merrily along as if all things were determinant.

Secondly, there are some Christians who adopt a simplistic understanding of what they read in the Bible that cannot easily be defended. This is because as human beings we always "fill in the blanks" of everything we read in our attempts to understand. For most children, the Bible is understood as God performing a series of magic tricks without realizing that the magic tricks are their additions of what they have read to try to understand it. If a reader has not learned how to separate his "filling in of the blanks" from the actual written text, this reader can incorrectly misinterpret new learning as in conflict with what he believes is written in the Bible. Unfortunately, the public protests of some of these Christians get disproportionately high exposure, sometimes drowning out the majority of Christians who do not see any conflicts and are quite comfortable with both science and Christianity.

Thirdly, there are some in the atheistic community who cannot accept the fact that atheism is also a choice. This has to be troubling, if one believes in the infallibility of man or science and then discovers some of the limitations of science or of human thought. Often, some write a protest in defense of atheism by trying to use science and a childlike understanding of Christianity to prove their point. This has always failed and probably always will because neither science nor mankind is completely infallible. There are always choices that must be made.

The Christian faith does not rest upon the necessity of natural laws to be broken.  In fact, it is quite compatible with what we have come to understand as the way the world works.

And as those of us who believe in God begin to understand more and more about how the world works, we marvel at God's handiwork.  Far from a "God of the gaps" approach, we see intricacy and wonder.  We are stupefied by the physical constants and how they are just right to support intelligent life.  We marvel at how evolution brought about thinking, intelligent beings out of primordial, unthinking sludge.  Far from dismissing what science has shown us about the natural world, we embrace what science has shown us about the majesty of God.  It's not that difficult to be an intelligent person and believe in God--even the Christian God.  Just ask Francis Collins who headed up the Human Genome Project.