The Jews had a saying. Fathers eat sour grapes, and the sons’ teeth are set on edge. (v. 2) The evokes the image of a father eating a sour, unripe grape but his son is the one who gets a tooth-ache or who puckers. It was a proverb the people used to make the point that children were suffering because of what their parents did. It was really an attempt to excuse oneself from responsibility.
Before us this morning is this wonderful thing we Christians call grace. Maybe somewhere along the line you were taught this as a definition of grace: grace is God’s undeserved love for sinners. Do you ever linger over that thought? God loves sinners! Broken, rebellious human beings! Broken, rebellious human beings…like ME! There is a hymn that is a favorite for many Christians that sings of grace. You know the one. Amazing Grace. Maybe you even know it by heart: “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound! That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now am found. Was blind, but now I see.”
Has the 5th Petition of the Lord’s Prayer ever made you uneasy? Here is the 5th Petition of the Lord’s Prayer, Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. The first part of that isn’t troubling. We like that! We like the thought of our Father in heaven forgiving us our huge debt of sin! It’s the second part that sort of makes us squirm. As we forgive those who sin against us. It kind of sounds like we are saying to God, “God, apply to me the standard of forgiveness I use with people who sin against me!” If that is the case, I am very, very uneasy!
There’s a difference between playing along with Jeopardy at home and taking the semester test in history class with 50% of your grade riding on how you perform. When you sit at home and watch Jeopardy you can throw out wrong answers and criticize the contestants when they incorrectly answer. It is just inconsequential diversion. But when you are taking a semester test that counts for 50% of your final grade, now you’ve got “some skin in the game.” Now your answers matter a great deal!
Our text for today has something for everyone. If you have ever felt like an outsider in God’s Kingdom, if you have ever felt unworthy of God’s love, if you have ever felt like you are not the “right stuff” for God. If you are a parent who has prayed for a sick or troubled child, if you have ever felt like God does not hear your prayers, like God is being dismissive with you, like God doesn’t hear you or doesn’t see you, this text is for you!
The story before us this morning is well-known. When I read the text a few moments ago, that very likely was not the first time you had ever heard this story. This event is recorded by three of the Gospel writers. Matthew, Mark, and John all record it. But when we read all three of these stories, we will notice something quite interesting. Matthew is the only one who includes the information about Peter getting out of the boat and walking on the water.
