“It’s a ghost!” they said and cried out in fear … Jesus said, “Take courage, it is I.  Don’t be afraid” … Peter said, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water” … “Come,” Jesus said … Peter got out of the boat … (Matthew 14:26-29).

VUCA is apparently a new acronym for our times: life is Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous.

Volatile: changing rapidly, constantly and in unpredictable ways.

Uncertain: familiar patterns, standards, landmarks and expectations overturned or erased.

Complex: a lot going on—maybe “too much” going on—lots of layers, perspectives, points of view.

Ambiguous: we like black/white but now there’s a lot more “gray.”

We’re moving this week from our Shelter sermon series into a new series, Into the Unknown.  As the pandemic is upending so much about our lives, we want to consider how we can, individually and together, make wise decisions in the face of uncertainty.  How can we live well as Jesus followers in VUCAville?

We begin the series with Peter.  Getting out of a boat.  In the middle of the large lake, the Sea of Galilee.  In the face of a strong, contrary wind, which means the waters are very choppy.

Did I mention it’s at night?

A figure approaches, walking on the water—a ghost?  So everyone is freaked and freaking out.  Then Peter—listening to what this seemingly spectral figure is saying—gets it: “Lord, If it’s you …”

Peter isn’t addressing the waves, the water, or the night.  In the midst of those very real conditions, he responds to the one who has already addressed him: “Take courage.  It is I.  Fear not!”

“Lord.”  Peter begins his journey out of the boat by recalibrating to Jesus.  “If it’s you, Jesus, then the most important, central, vital, necessary thing for me to pay attention to is not my circumstances, it’s You.”  Jesus fills my field of vision and the circumstances are pushed into proper perspective:  “If it’s You, then I can be OK.  I can do whatever you tell me to do.”

“Tell me to come to you.”  Peter could have said, “Jesus, would you please come to where we are?”  Or, “If it’s you, Lord, could you please calm the wind and flatten the waves,” that is, make our rowing easier?

But if it’s really Jesus, calm and comfortable on the water, then he can call Peter to move towards him, on the water!  How about us?  Can we attend to Jesus and, responding to him, step into a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment? And find something strangely and unexpectedly stabilizing beneath our feet--something we never knew was there?  Something we can’t know is there—

--until we get out of the boat.

The VUCAville marina is open for business!

C’mon, you know it: Jesus has been inviting you to step out of your “boat” in some small but real way.  What would moving towards Jesus look like for you?  Be specific, practical, and willing to start real small!