Waves of Grace and Happiness

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. (Matt. 13: 1-2)

 

When I read the gospel for this morning, I remained in the first sentence. Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. For those of us who live on the ocean, or have lived on a sea or a lake, we understand this with our whole selves: the smell of the air off the water, the sound of the surf, the texture of the beach, the awe filled experience of the horizon and water becoming one far beyond our ability to reach.

Jesus was drawn out of the house to sit by the water. Perhaps Jesus went out of the house to escape the household routines and the disciples going about daily actions of life. Jesus went out for some peace and quiet, to broaden his scope, to calm his nerves, to commune with nature – maybe to get out of doing the dishes. Or to separate from certain insistent disciples who enjoyed nothing more than to talk and debate, ask questions and pontificate. Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.

 

Pastoral ministry this week placed me beside the sea. On Saturday for a wedding with the Northwest Arm as the backdrop, where the sermon spoke of beauty – beauty of creation, beauty of gathered community, beauty of love. On Sunday, we have gathered around the waters of baptism. As we celebrate the sacrament of baptism we sit beside the sea. Jesus sitting by the sea is a perfect reading for Minoyia’s baptism. Minoyia’s name means happiness. Is this not our experience of sitting by the sea? Connecting, communing with water; sitting beside the water we are filled with happiness.

Jesus was due for some happiness. If you recall from last week, Jesus has been struggling with rejection from ‘this generation’ and frustrated by the lack of action and unwillingness of people to receive God’s kindom. In this text we notice a growing ‘pro’ Jesus audience who comes to sit beside the sea with Jesus.

 

It is important to note that the sea is the backdrop of today’s story. The crowd comes and stands on the beach, as Jesus gets into a boat and moves out on the water. Jesus will be living water that will come back to shore in the form of parables; stories.  For chapter 13 Matthew has gathered, depending on how you count, 7 or 8 parables. Matthew has linked parables gathered from Mark’s gospel with others gleaned from wider sources.

The parables are about God’s kindom, told with the backdrop of the sea. The environ is as important as the words because the sea affects how the words are heard. The presence of waves, subconsciously wet the imagination, lulling the spirit to float in the waves of the coming of God’s reign. There is an experiential component to living word pushing to shore in stories of God’s mercy and justice, where it ebbs back to sea, only to return and lap at listener’s feet. This cycle of kindom coming is continual, perpetual. The kindom has always been, God’s action has always been. It is in the present washing over us and is a hope of complete wholeness in the future.

 

I recently heard an interview of a couple who moved to the Wales countryside for a fresh start. Their property sat above the Welsh coastline, with a path that led to beach. The husband had retired out of military service. Suffering from PTSD he needed to simplify life and slow down. When he would wake from night terrors, usually around 3am, he would walk down to the beach. On the beach there was an approximately 200 lb rock. One night he wondered if he could move it. He pushed it and it moved a little. Night after night he pushed the rock a little bit. In the interview he described how the moving of the rock, made him feel that he was moving too, one step at a time. Healing a little bit was being visualized as the rock moved across the beach. One day as his wife noticed that the rock had shifted down the beach said, “Why don’t you sit on the rock instead?”

After that he started to sit on the rock, and that is when he started to meditate. The man went out of the house and sat beside the sea.

The man now runs a retreat and workshops for other veterans suffering with PTSD.

 

Backdrop is important. The physical movement of the rock changed the man’s perception of how he was feeling. He witnessed the rock in a new place. Sitting beside the sea, the man found himself. Connected with a power greater than himself and a mystery deeper than himself, his spirit stirred and was moved to return justice and mercy to fellow veterans. The ebb and flow of the waves had healing power.

 

Ocean – sea -  the waters of baptism convey both power and the mystery of kindom. Ocean – sea – the waters of baptism are a vast expanse with great depth, containing the visible and invisible, the known and unknown.

 

Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.

Did the feeling of rejection wash away, as a sense of belonging rushed in to take its place?

Did anger and disappointment ease, as waves of calm and peace rolled in?

Was Jesus reminded that throughout human history manifestations of God were embraced, only to slip away? Did the waves whisper – remember - the mountain tops and the valleys. The deserts and life-flowing streams. Chaos and creation. Bondage and freedom. Faith and doubt. Understanding and a lack thereof. The reciprocity of ministry. The give and take of relationship.

Did the power of the waves speak to Jesus of the swelling of God’s grace that washes across the sand, continually, lavishly, abundantly. Always flowing, always offered, always present.

 

Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. How do we change when we take the time to go and sit by the sea?

 

Dr. Douglas Hare ended his commentary on Matthew 13 this way: In Jesus’ ministry, God is present and active. The disciples have witnessed the evidence. Instead of demanding certainty as did the Pharisees and Sadducees, the disciples must remember and let the memory of God’s goodness overrule the anxieties of daily life. (Interpretation Series, pg 185)

Despite whatever is going on, in the world, in our communities, in our lives, in ourselves – God’s kindom continues to come wave after wave. And it is good.

 

As we sit by the waters of baptism –

Be filled with Minoyia – happiness.

Here in water is power and mystery, death and life, belonging and peace.

Here is grace beyond grace.

 

Come sit with Jesus by the sea.

Amen.