Creekside Church Sermon of October 20, 2002 "Keep Walking" Matthew 14:22-23 Philippians 1:3-6	Rev. David Bibbee
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One blustery, snowy winter day I was visiting in a nursing facility. As I walked down the corridor and through a central lounge area, I saw a resident sitting alone at a small table. He looked lost in concentration at something spread on the table. He was working on a jigsaw puzzle… one of those 1,500 piece sets that frustrate all but the most exceptionally patient puzzle people.

When I got to the room of the woman I had come to visit, two nurses came in and asked if I could wait just a few minutes until they were done tending to her. I went back down to the lounge to sit and wait. Several residents were seated around the big screen TV watching a John Wayne western. I wasn't in a cowboy movie mood, so I looked to the man studying the puzzle. He was sitting in the same position as when I passed him minutes before. He sat motionless for several more minutes, planted his elbow on the table, and rested his face in his palm.

Finally he picked up a piece to put it in place, but it didn't fit. He let out a heavy sigh and slowly shook his head in obvious frustration, and again sat motionless like a blue heron in shallow water waiting to detect the slightest movement of a fish. More minutes passed and then one of the volunteer staff walked by, stopped and stood behind him watching over his shoulder. "May I?" she asked. "Please." He replied. She picked up a piece and matched it with it's mate. A moment later he found a match, and then another, and slowly a portion of the puzzle began to come together because two people came together.

Other people may have seen the same scene, but probably would have thought nothing of it. But to me there was something about it that felt holy. How often have we found that challenges which seemed unattainable, become manageable and finally accomplished because a friend extended a helping hand? Thank God we have not been left to bear our loads alone. Isn't this what Barbra Streisand said when she sang, "People who need people are the luckiest people in the world."? Isn't this what Bill Withers said when he sang, "We all need somebody to lean on ."? Isn't this what we say to ourselves when we sing "We are pilgrims on a journey, we are trav-'lers on the road. We are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load"? And much more, isn't this what Jesus meant when he said, "Whenever two or more are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst."?

It is an important promise to bear in mind as we enter the homestretch of our "Walk by Faith" campaign. We are two-thirds of the way toward our goal with just seven months remaining till the conclusion of the campaign. Many of us have wondered if it is attainable. As the solicitation phase began I was told by someone no longer with us that, "We are foolish if we think we can do such a thing. We will be lucky if we get forty-five thousand dollars in pledges." This person was right. We didn't receive that much. We didn't hit our target goal of $400,000. We exceeded it by thirty-six thousand dollars!

A lot of enthusiasm generated at the start of the campaign. It was a time to feel good, and feeling good was something this congregation had gone too long without. But emotional highs can't remain high for a long time. The further we get from the start, the more difficult it can be. The check that you wrote today may not be as much fun as those written at the start. Unforseen, unwelcomed circumstances have necessitated altering the initial commitments some of us have made. We couldn't forsee sickness or the death of a spouse. We didn't see 9/11 or the stock shock coming. We said we would walk by faith and not by sight together…knowing that as we do what we can today, God will care for tomorrow.

As I thought about scriptural counsel to motivate us, I went back to verses from Paul's letter to the Philippians. Paul's New Testament letters reveal his many moods. He wore his emotions on his sleeves. In Corinthians he shows his anger, but Philippians is the most affectionate and pastoral of all his letters. "I am thankful for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now," he said. The Philippian church understood the necessity of partnership in living the gospel in a hostile culture. Therefore they stayed together, cared for each other, and helped each other.

Then Paul said, "And I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." (1: 6) The words Paul uses for "began" and "completion" are actually terms which describe the beginning and ending of a Greek sacrifice. The association would not have been lost on the Greek converts. The passage packs a punch when we read it, "And I am sure that he who began a sacrifice in you will bring it to completion…"

At the start of "Walk By Faith," we emphasized sacrificial giving. Sacrifice is a word with definite associations…most of them not pleasant. At the mention of sacrifice, we imagine blood dripping off the altar and flowing down the aisles. But most sacrifices aren't that messy. Sacrifices are going on all the time. We sacrifice ourselves to pleasure and comfort and the trapping of materialism. We sacrifice our children on the altar of television and our crazy schedules. But the sacrifices we make to the cause of Christ are of a higher order.

We defined sacrifice as, "giving up something of value for something of greater value." For instance, one member held off retirement for an additional year and gave that years' salary to the campaign. We emphasized that we were not called to equal giving. That would not be possible. But we are called to offer equal sacrifice…setting aside something for ourselves to help one another toward a desired future for this congregation.

We are looking for land. We have followed leads that lead to dead ends. There are sites which hold potential that we continue to study. On the 31st we meet with our realtor to consider additional sites. We need to acquire land, build up this body of Christ, and build a ministry that does more than take care of us, but really reaches out to those who haven't heard the message. These are matters which must be addressed before the footers of a new building will be poured…not a building just for us, but for the generations to come.

You may remember a thought provoker I shared with you four years ago called; "Pillars and Caterpillars" it goes like this: There are two kinds of people in the church…Pillars and Caterpillars. The Pillars hold up the church and the Caterpillars simply go in and out.

At first glance one might perceive the Caterpillars are the bad guys and the Pillars are the good guys. But close examination alters that image. Pillars do not change. They are made of stone. Sometimes people get so intent on holding up the church they become too set in their ways. They support the church, but they can forget about God, who is the one the church is all about. Perhaps they "hold up" the church in another way and keep it from advancing.

Caterpillars, on the other hand, are alive. As long as they keep "going in and out"-"in" to receive the sacraments and worship and praise and pray, and "out" to spread the Good News in the world - they are moving and changing and becoming. And we all know what happens to Caterpillars - the big change which comes when they break out of the cocoon and they lift up their lovely wings.

So it goes both ways. The Pillars would profit by adding "cater" to their name and breaking out of their stony shells. And the Caterpillars should remember that their last name is "Pillar," and that they had better do their share of "upholding" so that there will continue to be a church to go in and out of!

We have to keep walking…by faith, not each of us for ourselves, but together, Pillars and Caterpillars, each of us doing what we can to help reach the goal. The old man couldn't see how to piece together all of those jumbled puzzle pieces. Big tasks seem insurmountable until someone comes along to work with us, and piece by piece, dollar by dollar and step by step the insurmountable becomes attainable.

Someone said, "Faith has three essential components; vision, venture, and victory." We have a vision, but not a victory…not yet. We are on that sometimes wobbly, rickety bridge called venture that connects vision to victory. This is why we need to pay attention to a classic incident involving Peter and Jesus.

Whenever the disciples got into boats, they faced one of three things; success, failure, or danger. In today's gospel lesson, Jesus puts the disciples on a boat and tells them to meet him on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Far from land, violent winds turned a calm sea into a deluge of huge waves that beat the boat like it was a bathtub toy. They saw a ghost walking on the water, but taking a closer look, saw that it was Jesus. "Don't worry," he said. "It's me." Then impulsive, impetuous Peter full of his typical bravado shouted, "Lord if it's you, tell me to put on my water-proof sandals and I'll stroll out to see you."

Peter intended it as a rhetorical statement, not thinking Jesus would ask him to do such a wild thing. But Jesus said, "Come on over!" Peter had to put up or shut up. He slipped over the gunnell and started walking until he saw he was walking on water. Jesus nicknamed Peter, "Rock". And that's how Peter went down…like a rock.

In nearly every sermon I've heard on this story, Peter is not portrayed in a kindly light. He is scolded because he paid too much attention to himself. "Hey boys, check this out!" Or because he trusted his own abilities, or because he didn't fix his eyes on Jesus, or because his faith was so flimsy. These are legitimate interpretations, but let's not forget…Peter got out of the boat! Jesus couldn't lend Peter a hand until Peter got out and took the first steps.

There are those among us who have taken big risks. They stepped out not knowing where they were going. Maybe they were brimming with faith at the start, but along the way that faith began to sputter and falter and they felt themselves sinking. But I'll wager that most would say the venture was worth the risk because along the way they were kept afloat by an invisible means of support…a hand was there to hold on to.

There is one thing worse than taking a risk. That is not taking a risk. When we do not risk we are left with that burden of regret. Nothing weighs on us as much as starting something great and not finishing it. What a burden …knowing what we could have done, but didn't.

We've taken the first steps. We are well into the venture. But we can't see the finish line and the victory just beyond it. So we keep walking.

"I'm grateful for your participation in the gospel from the first day until now." These words weren't confined to the Philippians church. Can we hear them addressed to us? From the first day until now?

What about tomorrow? What about next Sunday? What about next May when the campaign ends?

I don't know. But this I do know: If we stick together and build up the body of Christ; If we commit ourselves to be people for others; If we take the risks which venture requires, we will reach the goal. And Jesus, who began a good work in us, will bring it to completion.

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