Roger's Postings

Saturday, August 27, 2011


Matthew 16:21-28.    Winning and losing, or losing and winning!!    28/8/11

 (21)  From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. {22} Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" {23} Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." {24} Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. {25} For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. {26} What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? {27} For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. {28} I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

 Our reading here today has a lot to say about winning and losing; saving life or losing life. How appropriate this message then is for us today. For today we live in a society where everyone wants to be a winner: everyone wants to have life in all of its fullness: everyone wants to ‘get on’ in our world and not be a loser.

 But it is right here that Jesus steps in and puts a real and important dampener on this thinking that we have in this regard. He says quite clearly that we need to pull ourselves up short, right here, so that we do not lead ourselves up the garden path. He wants us to get it clearly in our heads that our efforts to win and gain life by the standards of the world around us could very well lead us to lose out completely.

 This can be seen quite clearly by Peter’s understanding and response to Jesus’ talk of his own suffering and death. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"  Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

 The attitude of Peter is no different than what we hear and see all around us today, even in the church and our own lives. We all would like to think and believe that the Christian life is all good and rosy: it is all positive, health, wealth and happiness stuff. We want to see and hear power and glory, miracles and wonders; that which will make us happy and feel good.

 On top of that we hear again and again that we must not focus on sin and the negative stuff of life. We don’t want to have a focus on the confession of sins or Jesus’ suffering and death. We don’t want to see good in sickness and suffering, drought and hardship. We don’t want a theology of the cross.

 This is particularly the case when it comes down to our own lives. We want the easy road through life; the glory road. We want what we want and we want it now. We want life on our terms of what we think is good and right. Anything that is negative, hurtful and hard is bad and should not be a part of our lives. Suffering and death should not be there for us.

 Yes, in life we are out to win: to be a success; and in many cases we will do almost anything to get there. Some will do it for the praises of others; others will do so simply so that they can have the easy life; others in the hope of gaining some sort of recognition from others and even God himself. But we are all out to win and to gain some sort of life for ourselves. We, I, me and myself will do whatever we can to have that which we want and believe is good for us, even if it means going against God and his Word.

To which Jesus replies, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

Yes, any thought or action which takes Jesus down off of the cross and that wants to take the focus off of Jesus’ suffering and death for the inadequacies, disobedience and rebellion of ourselves; these thoughts and actions are all from Satan. Any thought of ours which wants to look merely at the good things and power and glory for self, is a problem.

Here don’t be fooled into thinking we have to do anything in order to bring about our own salvation; even our cooperating or somehow finalizing and bringing to completion our acceptance by God is false. Neither should we be fooled into thinking that now that we are a Christian, we can somehow take our focus off of Jesus and the cross and that we won’t lose our way. 

 The whole thing about Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is that it was completely and fully necessary for our salvation and Christian life. His death had to be. There was and is no other way for us to gain eternal life. His death alone won for us freedom from sin and eternal life with our great God. His death on the cross, alone, has done everything necessary for each and every one of us to be forgiven and accepted as God’s children. It is all there for us, guaranteed.

So don’t be deceived by much that is peddled in the name of Christianity which says otherwise and which seeks to shift our focus away from Christ and his death on the cross. At the same time do not walk away from and turn your back on this Good News, thinking that if this is the case that Jesus has done everything, that we can now get on with our lives doing as we please. These are deceptions of Satan: the lies that he wants you to believe. No, Jesus says to us; "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

 Here again we need to listen to Jesus. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.  What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

 So if we don’t want to lose; and nobody wants to be a loser; If we want to keep that life that Jesus has already won for us; then let us give heed to this advice from Jesus. If we want to be a true Christian: if we want to have eternal life with God here and in eternity; then we must forget ourselves: we must deny this constant obsession we have with ourselves and what we want. That of course is not easy, because our natural sinful tendency is to look always to number one and put ourselves and what we think, do and feel on a pedestal.

 But no, we must now deny ourself and take up our cross and follow Jesus. Our thoughts and focus is to now be on Jesus. We must discipline ourselves in such a way that we see our own life as of little consequence; knowing all the while that our Lord has already taken care of it. By now denying our natural urges and tendencies which are not good because they only promote ourselves, and in turn focussing on him and the cross, we can then allow him do his work through us. By forgetting ourselves we can take up our cross: we can allow our lives to be used and abused for the benefit of our Lord and his kingdom. We also will be prepared to suffer in order to not only make sure that we do not lose the Christian life that we have been given, but also to help others around us see the greatness of what our Lord Jesus has done for us through his death on the cross.

 Now that also means that we will follow Jesus throughout our lives. Our life will be led and directed by Jesus and all that he said and did. As Jesus throughout his life always had his focus on the cross so also will we. We will do so because we now know that there Jesus has done that which was all important for us and for our salvation. Everything we do will follow that lead and that focus. Jesus Christ and his word will be central in all that we think, say and do.

 As we lose our life in this way we are assured that the life that has been won for us can not be taken away from us. Yes, our life and the way we live it, will not conform to this world’s thinking. We will not be winning according to this world’s point of view. But we now know what Jesus has said if we seek to gain the whole world so to speak, we will forfeit our soul. We also now know that there is nothing that we can think, say or do that we will be able to give in exchange for our soul. Yes, by following Christ we will be considered losers by many, but we know that we have already won. We are assured of life; real life; a joyous; and an ongoing life with our Lord for all eternity.

 So then let us deny ourselves and take up our crosses and follow Jesus: Always remembering that he suffered and died so that we can be sure that we are truly winners; our life has been gained for us. So to him again, be glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

 Pastor Roger Atze
Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish


Friday, August 19, 2011


Isaiah 51:1-6               As solid as the Rock                           21/8/11

 (1)  "Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; {2} look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many. {3} The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing. {4} "Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: The law will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations. {5} My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm. {6} Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.

 We’ve all heard, I am sure, the old line; ‘He is a chip off the old block.’ The idea being that you can somehow see that that person is his father’s son. Well here in this reading God uses this image in a much deeper and more profound way. Here he is saying to a fragile and hurting people to remember that they are a ‘chip off the old block:’ He says; Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn. He is saying to them, ‘remember, you are as solid as the rock from which you came, even though at the moment life is tough.’ ‘Remember where you came from, and who made you, then you can be strong in the midst of the adversities of life.’

 This then is an important message for us today as well. We too, need to remember the rock from which we were cut and look to the quarry from which we were hewn; so that we can stand firm in the midst of the uncertainties of life: Because we too, along life’s way have faced our difficulties and questions as to who and what we and the church are all about. We a living at a time when the values of our society are disintegrating at a rapid rate; and then for many of us there are our own personal issues that we are grappling with.

 As a result, we at times feel as though we are more like a clod of clay than a rock. We feel as though our lives are being eroded away and we are fast disintegrating. Is there really a good and right way for us, our church and our society to live by? Is there a positive future for us? Can we survive? Is God really there for us and for the good of our world? And much more.

 Well, Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn. There we will find that we are as solid as the Rock from which we originated. As we look to where we have come from, that Rock will give us the assurance we need in order to face the future with confidence. There we will find that we come from and are a part of something far stronger and more solid than what we can see, feel and encouraged to think about, from around us.

 As God encouraged the Israelites to look back to their Jewish roots to see how God has made them a nation and sustained them over the years; so too are we here encouraged to look back to our roots. There of course, we see not just the values and life-style that made us a great nation, but much more so we see the very core of our life and being: the very death of Jesus Christ on the cross. There we see that which gives and sustains life for us, no matter what we are facing in life. There we see God come into our world to get us out of the mess we have made for ourselves. Jesus took the punishment we deserved on himself, so that we might be forgiven and accepted back into God’s family. There he accomplished all that was necessary for us to be a part of God’s kingdom, now and forever. There is our certain hope and salvation. There also we find the morals and values that are essential for any society to survive and thrive.

 But then to make it even more solid and sure for us, Jesus gave us baptism, whereby we are connected in a very real way to Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. So now we can be very sure that we are a part of him who is that Rock from which we were cut. There in baptism we are given that wonderful assurance that Jesus gave to Peter in our Gospel reading; ‘on this rock [ that is the confession “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”] I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.’ We are now as solid as the Rock.

 That is also why we have been given Holy Communion, so that weekly God can continually remind us that through Jesus body and blood which he shed on the cross, we can be certain that we have forgiveness of sins and God’s presence with us each day of our lives.

 That is also why we have God’s Word, the Bible; so that we can be continually reminded of all that is important for us as we go about our lives. As we listen to him, through this Word, we will be given every assurance that we are on the right track; that we are hewn from the quarry where the rock is genuine. These Scriptures are truly the inspired and inerrant Word of God and do not change to suit the whims of a particular society or philosophy. Countless generations have found that God’s Word gives us those values and directions for living that are good for us and for our relationships to the people around us, as well as to God.

So this advice from God to, Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn, also can be a very good guide to us here at this moment when we are presented with all kinds of new and varied options for us as church. As we are confronted with a breaking down of many of the good things that have been passed down to us and with a focus that has shifted from God and what he is doing for us, to us and what we should be doing, we need to look to the rock from which we were cut. For there we know that God has been at work for the last 2,000 years. It is not man and society that sets the direction of the church, but God and his Word. Yes it is greatly upsetting and of serious concern when others around play fast and loose with that which has been passed down to us. We must be very careful in these present days, when anything and everything is allowed to happen within the church. But here again we need to keep looking to the quarry from which you were hewn.

 The same goes for our daily values for life and living. As the morals decline in our society around us; and as we are being encouraged to be more tolerant and accepting of all kinds of issues that have formerly been taboo; as money, material possessions and pleasure has become the be all and end all of our existence, again we need to remember the rock from which were cut and the quarry from which we were hewn.

 Even as we face our own personal issues and difficulties: whether they be physical, mental or spiritual we need to look beyond ourselves; our positive thinking, as well as our negativity, and all those things that tug and push us this way and that. To look first and foremost to the Rock who forgives, loves and sustains us, no matter what our situation might be.

 So again and again we are encouraged to Lift up our eyes to the heavens. To remember that the things that are really important in life come from our great and gracious God. He alone is our rock and our salvation. Let us not look to ourselves and what looks good to our society’s eyes. Instead let us remember that the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. What we have around us is not the be all and end all. What the world looks to for its life is not the answer.

 No let us remember what God says here in his final statement; my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail. No matter how difficult life may be for us, we have God’s word that as we look to Jesus and his death on the cross as the Rock, trusting that there everything has been done for us, our salvation and eternal life is secure. Jesus has made everything right for us, and nothing can change that.

 "Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn. Then may you go forward with confidence and hope no matter what you face, as solid as the Rock. For to him alone belongs all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

 Pastor Roger Atze
Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish


Friday, August 12, 2011


Matthew 15:21-28.                 Faith has no bounds!               14/8/11

 {21}  Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. {22} A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession." {23} Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us." {24} He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." {25} The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said. {26} He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." {27} "Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." {28} Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

 "You are a person of great faith!" These words were not spoken to a Jew, or a good Lutheran, but to a woman from a heathen nation: A foreigner, and a person who was considered beyond hope and beyond help. [Perhaps a modern equivalent would be an Arab from a muslin nation]. It surely does put us to shame to hear this story; and do you know, that is exactly what it was meant to do. This event is intended to make us stop and think; and in fact the whole three reading make the same point. It is intended to make us who call ourselves Christians - people of God – to make us stop and listen and think.

 In these readings we are reminded that the Good News of Jesus Christ is going out, and is intended to go out, to people on the outside: people who do not deserve to hear the message are and need to; and their response of faith is to help us understand what faith really is and to grow in our reliance on Jesus Christ and all that he has done for us.

 So God is using this opportunity to challenge us to look to him for mercy and help, and to look to him to strengthen our relationship with him rather than trusting in ourselves and our knowledge, or goodness, or any of those other things that we so often place our trust in. Here he is trying to encourage, coerce and even to shame us: trying to do whatever he can to bring his own people back into a faithful and committed relationship with himself: trying to get us again to trust in him instead of all that our society and the devil is foisting on us: instead of on what our sinful human nature focuses on; which is me and myself. And to do so knowing that he is the supreme God – the only God – the only one who has the power to really be of help to us.

 Now a modern parable to bring home the point may well go like this:

A city boy – a young man and his family went out to the country and bought a farm, and arrived knowing very little about farming and the hard work involved. Now the locals laughed amongst themselves - looking down on this young upstart from the city: it would only be a matter of time and he would go broke, after all, times are really tough, even for the locals. Over recent years they'd started following all the new methods that were touted as being as being the way ahead: they were doing what they could to make life easier for themselves, trying to cut down on their costs – both financial and physical, and were out to make every post a winning post. They had become big and prosperous farmers: well that was the impression they were trying to give and live up to, even if looks belied what lay underneath. Anyway now this young city upstart appears on the scene thinking he is going to make a go of farming, when they themselves were struggling.

 Well, very quickly he got to know one of the old farmers who had been around for many, many years. This old guy was not one of the big farmers - not part of the in crowd, but he was quietly successful and contented. So this young man persistently sought out advice from him; listening intently to what he had to say, and in order to carry through on what he had learnt from old man he knew he would have to work hard. But he was committed to doing the best he possibly could, because knew his and his families survival depended on it.

 As the years went by the locals started to notice that his crops were better than theirs, and his cattle were bigger, fatter and better than theirs. This young bloke and his family were contented and happy: they were making a good fist of what had become a burdensome          task for them. Now as a result many of the locals became even more hardened in their attitude toward this young man and did what ever they could to pull him down. But the smart locals however were shamed by what they saw and so took stock of their own lives and practices, and did something about it.

 Now in many ways, such is the message of our text. So let us here heed this call of God on our own lives; allowing his mercy and help - his assurance of forgiveness and salvation, to draw us back into a totally committed relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ: Seeking to have the kind of faith that the Canaanite woman had in this reading.

You see, she knew she was a person who had no rights – she was a Gentile and a pagan. She had no right to call on Jesus and expect his help - but she did, and she did so because she believed that he alone could help her: that he alone could give her what she needed. She trusted in God's mercy despite her unworthiness, and knew that he would not let her down. And even when the going got really tough, she hung in there; she wouldn't let anyone or anything fob her off from the only source of help and hope that she had. She didn't hang back, silent and inactive. Even the attitude of Jesus’ disciples, who merely wanted to get rid of her to stop her persistent nagging, did not hold her back. Nor was she hindered by the denominational and theological objections that were put to her. Even the apparent insults didn't stand in her way.

 She continued to cry out for help. She knew she had a great need, which could not be taken care of in any other way; and her need was not for herself but for her daughter's life which was at stake. And the only one who could do anything about it was God Almighty himself. So she persisted and persisted – nagged and nagged. At the same time, she never argued; never made excuses; there was no claim that she was a good woman, a faithful wife or a loving mother, that she somehow deserved to have this help, or that it was her right to have it. She simply comes to Jesus without one plea and throws herself and her need before him, seeking what only he can give. And it is this persistent faith – this simple trust - this cry for help; that Jesus does not ignore and which she is commended for. ‘You are a person of great faith

We need to remember it is the same for us. We come here regularly, not because we are worthy or deserve to be here: not because have a right to God's forgiveness and help: We come not in order to have our wants and selfish ego's pandered to: nor in order to have some sort of standing in our society or whatever. But we come because we too have a great need which only God can fill. We come because God is who he is. We come to receive the help that only he can give, so we come to be washed clean, forgiven, and assured that there is hope and life. We come to listen and be guided by him: we come because he wants us to come.

We cannot get through life on our own. We cannot work our way into God’s presence, as we are sinful and unclean and fall a long way short of what is needed and required: no matter who we are. We all are turned in on ourselves and too often do not even consider God and his will for us. Throughout life because of the sinfulness of humanity we bring calamity and hardship on ourselves, and there is no human way out of this mess. Without God’s help we would surely end up in Hell. Nothing is surer.

 Into this situation there is only one source of help and hope, and that is in the Almighty God himself, through Jesus Christ. So we are encouraged to look to trust that he alone is our only source of help, strength, hope and forgiveness: To know that he is the only one who has those things that we really need for this life and the next. Here we are challenged to look to him in this way; to trust that he is our only source of real help, and to call on him for that help; knowing now that because of Jesus Christ and his life, death and resurrection, that he will heed our call and help us in whatever our situation may be: even if it is but a few leftover crumbs.

 So today, may our gracious God stir this faith up in our hearts, and give us this same trust that is mentioned here; and may that faith be with us throughout our days so that Jesus may also commend us: "you are a person of great faith". God grant this blessing to us all.   AMEN.

 Pastor Roger Atze
Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish




Saturday, August 06, 2011

Matthew 14:22-33.                 Save me Lord !!                                              7/8/11

 22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid. 28 "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
29 "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

 This reading that we have before us this morning is a most interesting one indeed. I believe that it accurately portrays the Christian life for most of us. As we are confronted with all the pressures and difficulties of life which threaten to swamp us, we often feel as though we are getting nowhere and even in deep trouble. But then on top of that we are urged to lift our game and be better Christians: to give more to church; to be better witnesses and to step out and do more than we have in the past. But we end up like Peter here in our reading: up to our armpits in trouble and perhaps even worse than that. We come to the point where we cry out; 'Save me Lord'; ‘Get me out this mess.’ Of course we are not willing to admit that we have failed; that we have gotten our priorities wrong; our attitudes and our motives are all up the creek.
                                  
But here in this whole story we are reminded of the most amazing thing. Jesus comes to the disciples in the midst of the hassles they are having - walking on water – and he even calls Peter to come and walk out to him; and he does. That is until he looks away from Jesus and focuses on himself. But, even then, Jesus doesn't let Peter drown, nor does he say something like, 'you stupid fool, you just haven't got enough faith.' However, he leaves the disciples and us in no doubt that he alone has the answers of life: That he has the power to do and enable us do what is beyond the wildest expectations of what we think is possible. He also reminds us that he still cares about us and is still willing to help us even when we fail. So he truly assures us that he is the Son of God, here to help us, despite ourselves.

 Now let us look a little closer at our text to see how this takes shape for us. At the beginning of this reading we see that Jesus sends his disciples out on the boat to go to the other side of the lake. For us here, we also have as God's people been sent out on the waters of life, so to speak. By the mere fact that we are Christians, we have to get on with life as his people; but always remembering who we are and what our task in life is. We are called to live and be people who are ever aware of the need to live according to God's will; and by the way we live, act and speak to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others around us. We are the people God is using to share that message with others and to help and encourage one another to be Christians, every day. The aim of the disciples was to get across to the other side of the lake; and for us it is to get through our life here on earth and to attain eternal life in heaven. Like Christ though, we also are to see to it that as many as possible get there.

 But there is a problem - isn't there? For the disciples; it gets dark and the wind was blowing hard against them. In fact, they were rowing all night and seemingly getting nowhere. They were tossed about and finding the going extremely difficult. Now I am sure that we could all identify with that. So often, on our path through life the going seems dark and difficult and we feel as if it is uphill going all the way. We are getting pounded by all sorts of problems and hardships: paddling our canoe against the tide and getting nowhere. Will we make it through life to the other side; or will the storms of life toss us and break us? The temptation is to give in or turn back. But we know we can't. So we sweat and toil, get frustrated and feel all alone, but we keep going; however the progress, if there is any, seems non-existent.

Here though, this reading reminds us of what happens in the midst of all of this. Yes, Jesus comes out there walking on water to them and to us - no hassles. While they, and we, are sweating it out and getting nowhere; with the waves crashing around our lives, here comes Jesus. Now of course the disciples were right - this has to be a ghost. Their minds were surely deceiving them - they must be seeing things. And for us, so often, those similar thoughts our cross minds. In the midst of our difficulties and hassles in life, we are tempted to think that Christ and Christianity is not for real. There are times when it all seems unbelievable and we wonder if we are deceiving ourselves. So are tempted to yell out along with the crowds: ‘it’s all a load of garbage: a lot of spiritual hocus-pocus.

 But Jesus comes, never-the-less, and speaks his assuring, comforting word, over and over again. “Take courage. It is I. Don't be afraid.” You know, that is the great thing in all of this for us. Despite the mess and difficulties of life; our uncertainty and fears, Jesus comes to us. He walks into our world and rides the waves of bitterness, temptation, rejections and death; all the things that make life difficult for us. He comes to us in our troubles, helps us out and speaks his message of comfort, forgiveness and encouragement to us.

 We need to remember that Jesus walked on water as a human being - as one of us. He had put aside his godly attributes; and it was his trust and reliance on his Father that enabled him to do all the things that he did. We can see that Peter too was able to walk on the water, while he trusted that God could do what he had called him to do. That is why prayer was such a big part of Jesus’ life. He kept in touch with his Father; the source of power; and by doing this, he identifies himself with us in every way.

 So Jesus is not some Godly Spirit that comes to us floating over life. It was important for us that Jesus came be with us and do what he did as a human being; because now there is hope for us; now there is one who has overcome what would drag us down. This same Jesus comes to us again and again throughout our life to speak his word of encouragement to us. In worship, bible reading and through a fellow Christian he constantly reassures us that he is God and that he is for real. Because this Jesus is God come to us, we can take heart and not be afraid.

Yes, we can even be like Peter and step out to do the impossible, if that is what God is calling us to do. We can trust Jesus when he calls us do what goes beyond what we think is reasonable. We too can ‘walk on water,’ in that we can love our enemies, give generously, put aside selfishness and greed; and more. We can do the impossible when we like Peter trust what Jesus tells us; and as we focus on Christ our Lord: For it is he alone who enables us to do so.

 But like Peter, we will sink – time and time again. When we take our eyes off of Jesus, as we all so often do, we run into trouble. When we look at the difficulty and ourselves our faith so often gives out. On our own we find that we just can't do it; and all we can do in the end is to cry out: ‘Save me Lord.’ Our little attempts to live by faith: to do what Jesus did; end in failure. Then we either despair or cry out for our Lord to save us.

 However there again we see the greatness of Jesus Christ. In the midst of our failures to even live by a small amount faith, Jesus still reaches out and lifts us up. He pulls us back up from drowning in our failures: takes hold of us and helps us up and onward. And yes he even stills the storms of life. Anyone else would leave us on own: caste us aside as worthless. If our faith is so weak and our failures so great, others give up on us: But not Jesus.

 So we see again his love for us: His constant coming to us to help us out. He is always listening out for our cry for help – ‘Save us Lord,’ and he has and continues to come again and again as well. So in Jesus we have one I want to cling to and have with me throughout life. We can take courage. We don’t need to be afraid. Our Lord Jesus is with us now and always. AMEN.

 Pastor Roger Atze
Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish