Categories: uncategorized
Date: 22 January 2011 12:20:22
...don't ask the question. Well that's what I got from yesterdays new testament reading which most of this post will talk about.
As of yesterday we were up to Gen 42:38 and Matt 15:9, Psalm wise we had gotten up to 12:8.
So what are we finding? Well......
Turns out Joseph was 30 when he went into service for Pharoah, same age as Jesus was when he started his ministry. Just one of those interesting co-incidences you pick up which mean nothing probably but just make me go "well I'd never worked that one out before". I think the most interesting bit of Gen 41:41 - 42:38 related to Jacob and his view of Benjamin. This passage outlined the way that the loss of a child impacts the parents and other siblings, particularly younger ones, through their life.
Anyway onto Matt 14:22 - 15:9
Jesus (the leader) needed to take time to pray and so went off for some "him time". After he'd come back he found he'd missed his lift but obviously thought "sod this, what's the point of having this power if you don't use it to your own advantage sometimes". So it is he took the short cut home by walking out on the water to the boat.
We already know he was shattered and emotional and so it's quite likely he hadn't actually thought of how it would look to the people in the boat. So there are his friends thinking, "arrgggh, WTF" whilst he is oblivious. It's then Peter asks the question in that straight forward way of his that doesn't think about what he's saying.
Verse 28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” (NIV via Biblegateway).
Peter is then faced with Jesus giving the only response he can....telling Peter to get out and come to him then. This is fine until Peter realises what he is doing is not normal or rational. The way I like to think of it is he goes into Piglet mode and panics. Strangely enough Peters reply to Jesus' question of "why did you doubt" isn't recorded. I wonder what the expletives of the day were which would have been included by Peter.
I think in prayer (or maybe it's just me) we can be like Peter. We can phrase things in a way which means God gets to smile and get us to go on crazy adventures. We then follow the "call" answer to our questions and then go into WTF panic mode when we realise what we're doing. This is something I find problematic in some ways. If we phrased things differently would God have us doing less crazy things? Um, I'm not so sure. I think that whilst God uses the sensible people to do stuff he also has a category of people he calls who engage mouth before brain who he often calls to do the stuff any sane person would never do.
I think I might fall into that category and there scares me silly. However, this is where the stuff in Psalms comes in useful. Mavericks and "nutters" come into the category of people society seeks to put down but as Psalm 12:1-8 shows God protects those who society seeks to marginalise. I find that bit comforting.