Good morning. If we have not met yet, my name is Cadence Granados, and I am the Lay Ministry Coordinator on staff here at Epiphany. In this role, I work with many of the lay-led ministries, including the Women’s Retreat Group and Men’s Ministry, as well as the Children, Youth, and Family Ministry. But on this particular Sunday, it is my joy to share some good news with you today.
Paul writes in the Epistle to the Romans, “… if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Seems straightforward enough. But what does confessing with our lips and believing with our hearts really look like? Perhaps the reality is a bit messier than we might think.
I was recently on vacation in Nashville, Tennessee, visiting my husband’s great-grandfather, whom we lovingly call grandaddy. On this visit, I heard him use a peculiar phrase that they say in the South. He was talking about a family friend and started laughing. Then, with a sly grin on his face, he said, “She’s a mess.” This caught my attention because in the Pacific Northwest, that is taken as an insult. A mess is something that needs to be cleaned up.
But in the South, this multifaceted phrase can be a term of endearment. Grandaddy told me, “No, no, no, it’s a good kind of mess.” Then he looked at me with his kind eyes and said, “You’re a mess.” And I replied, “well thank you, so are you!” Then his eyes got all big, but his face relaxed back into a smile; “You know, I don’t think anyone has ever called me a mess before…” he said as he chuckled.
Southerners use “You’re a mess” as a way of admiring the spark in another person. It’s not meant to be critical; it’s a kind turn of phrase. And I’m sure you’ve met someone like this, a good mess. This is the mess of a friend who is passionate, outspoken, and fearless: they don’t care what others think. They are full of personality, and maybe clever or hilarious.
This phrase works perfectly to describe children, as well. I’m sure many of you have had a moment with a child who pulls a stunt just to make the room bust out laughing. Or maybe a little kid says something so profound that your jaw drops. I have these moments all the time working with our church’s youth group. Many of you know how a teenager can stun you with brilliance one moment and then be completely ridiculous the next. A good mess.
So, we now know that mess can be both good and bad, and it exists in each person in this room. We may live bold and fearless lives, part of the time, and then we can succumb to our fears. What makes a mess “good” is not being immune to imperfection. It is about making bold strokes and continuing to take risks, even if that leads to making some mistakes.
In Matthew’s Gospel, we meet another mess. Jesus’ own disciple, Simon Peter. Peter is the disciple who drops his nets, leaves his family, and follows Jesus wherever he goes. To his credit, Peter is the first disciple to correctly identify Jesus in proclaiming: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” He then turns around and rebukes Jesus after he had told the disciples of his coming death. In a matter of verses, Peter goes from being the rock on which Jesus is building his church to a stumbling block. He is the one who denies Jesus three times, but then runs to his tomb at the news of his resurrection. I love Peter because he is a mess; brilliant one moment and tripping up the next. I think that’s what Jesus loved about him, too.
In today’s story, we find Peter in a boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee with the other disciples. Just hours before, they all witnessed Jesus’ incredible “Feeding of the Five Thousand” miracle. Now, it’s 3 am, and they are being swept by the wind and waves. AND, there’s a figure in the distance walking toward them, on the water. So they panic (wouldn’t you?).
Then they hear words of comfort echoed from a much earlier story about a man, Moses, who stands on holy ground in the presence of a God whose name is I AM. Jesus says to them, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” God has come to them, walking on the waves; do they perceive it? I think Peter does.
Peter calls out, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” These are the words of a man who has followed Jesus to unbelievable places and who trusts Jesus because he has seen him deliver on his promises. This is Peter’s friend, teacher, and Lord. So he steps out of the boat and takes a few faithful steps toward Jesus on the water. And then, he sinks, like a stone. “Lord, save me!” he cries. Jesus immediately reaches out and rescues him.
“You of little faith.” You mess. Why did you doubt?
Too often, people walk away from this story shaking their heads at Peter. They think of him more as a “Seattle mess”—hotheaded, reckless, and foolish. But what if Jesus sees him as a good mess in this moment?
After all, Jesus said that even if you have the faith of a mustard seed, just a teeny bit of faith, you can move mountains. And back to what Paul said in Romans, “… if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart…you will be saved.” In our story, Peter did confess and believe, and he was saved.
Releasing our inhibitions and taking those risks allows us to stand more firmly in who we are and what we believe. What does confessing and believing look like? Belief is not just a set of ideas you assent to —“We believe in one, holy catholic and apostolic church”, and confessing does not just begin with the words, “Most merciful God…” They are not two separate actions, but one movement together; a way of seeking, a way of life. The liturgy, with the songs, the prayers, the bowing, the incense; all the things we practice every week can be a prominent example of this seeking, but it is not bound to certain practices. It is the good mess of chasing after God and believing that God has only love and goodness for us. If you want to know more of who God is, and you seek without fear, you will have all that you need to confess and believe. You have the good mess of faith.
Peter’s moment of rescue is just a glimpse of the goodness and love God has for us. Paul continues, “The same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’”
This is the good news that the others in the boat recognize, celebrate, and praise God for. They shout out, “Truly you are the Son of God,” for our God is the one who rescues those who are sinking, prevails against storms, and provides for those who are hungry. That’s good news for us today.
But good news in the Kingdom of God is never meant to be kept to ourselves. At the end of our Romans passage, Paul asks the question: “How are they to call on one they don’t believe in? And how are they to believe in one they haven’t even heard about? ” His train of questions points to the necessity of witness. “Witness” is perhaps a word that has been given a different meaning in other faith traditions, but I define it here similarly to how I define seeking. The more a person earnestly seeks after one thing, the more that thing becomes a part of how they live, and as a result, a part of how they present themselves to others. If someone pursues a healthier lifestyle, most likely alltheir friends and family will hear about it, and at the very least, their loved ones will witness the physical transformation that person goes through.
It is the same for this place we call “The Spiritual Gym”—we believe what we do here changes us. Before we know it, these practices of prayer, communal singing, and gathering at the Table all lead us into the love and goodness of God, and that same love only spreads to those in our lives. We become witnesses for God’s love.
Something we learn from Peter today is how to be not only a witness, but a bold and fearless witness. To be a good mess. When we take risks in the name of love and try things that may scare us at first, we pave the way for others to follow. In the sacrifice of comfort, we allow those who are watching from the boat to also walk on the water and meet Jesus’ embrace.
So who is watching your witness? Who looks up to you as an example? There are many places where people pay attention to how we act and speak: at the office, in the checkout line at PCC, driving on I-5, but the one we all hold in common is Epiphany. And the most impressionable in our pews, that I see, are the little ones. I think we are all called to be bold witnesses to our children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and any other child who is a part of our lives. But since many of you have claimed Epiphany as your place, maybe even your spiritual home, we owe our witness, especially, to the children of this parish. Epiphany’s children.
It is funny that the very children who need our witness the most are also our teachers in how to be bold and fearless. They know all about how to be a good mess. If they can take good risks, so can we.
I urge you, Epiphany, for the sake of the future generations who will lead and guide this church, and other churches like it—find your good mess. What would “walking on water like Peter” look like in your life? Maybe it’s volunteering once a month to be a children’s or youth Sunday School teacher. Or it’s preparing dinner for our youth group. Perhaps it’s as simple as sharing your coffee hour with a child or family whom you don’t know. For me its spending each Sunday with our youth, asking them questions, praying with them and for them, and laughing a lot. My witness is not always perfect, and I do make mistakes, but it’s a good mess. What risk might you be called to take?
So, let us be inspired by the Peters of the world. To continually seek the God of love, to be bold and fearless witnesses to the good news of the Kingdom, and to live lives that are a good mess of faith.