Yesterday
I was at the Social Justice Expo that was organised by the UCA. It was an amazing
day.
There
was a choice of sessions looking at a number of different issues. Issues such
as modern-day slavery, climate change, and the recognition of indigenous people
in the Australian Constitution. Along with issues we looked at different ways of
being active in working for social justice for all people; some people are
involved in direct action, such as people who are up in the Leard Forest in
northern New South Wales, trying to protect the land, plants, animals and
indigenous history from another large coalmine. Other people work through
community organising, peacemaking activities, prayer and contemplation.
While
each person there is committed to living out the gospel call to follow Jesus, which
means to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, and to welcome the stranger; we
each do this in a different way.
As
I drove home last night thinking about this gospel passage from Matthew that we
would be hearing this morning, it occurred to me that only one person stepped
out of the boat. With the other stories we have of Peter it may not be much of
a surprise that it is Peter, rather than one of the other disciples. Yet
Matthew records all of them in the boat believed.
And
it isn't like Peter was all that successful at walking on water.
In
the beautiful story of the three trees that we heard, each tree had a dream, a
vision, of what their life would be like. And each of them was disheartened
when their dream did not come to fruition as they were being shaped into
something different to their expectation.
We
have a vision of what church will be like, a vision of what our family will be
like, our society, our country, how our life will pan out. Sometimes our
visions are flawed, they are not the visions that God gives us. But sometimes
the vision that God gives us is lived out very differently to our expectation.
Yet
just as the trees eventually did live out their dream, their God given vocation
if you like, in a different way to their expectation; at times we to find that
we wonder about our call. It is easy to begin to doubt because just as the
waves became too much for Peter, just as Peter became aware of what was happening
and focused on himself; at times we to find ourselves overwhelmed, focusing on
ourselves and doubting our ability, our giftedness, to follow where God is
calling us as individuals and as a community.
In
the midst of the storm, with what they thought was a ghost walking towards
them, and then Peter stepping out of the boat, Jesus was with the disciples.
Peter
did not drown.
The
wind and the waves were still.
And
the disciples believed.
