Peace | Rt. Rev. Peter Buss, Sr.

We often say that we have peace, but it is a worldly kind, which passes away. Rest from war, from aggravations, going on a holiday with no domestic or business worries to affect us - sure, these things are peaceful. But the Peace the Lord offers is so much deeper, and it is eternal.

Readings: Matthew 14:22-33, Isaiah 55:10-13, Arcana Caelestia 2780

Minister: Rt. Rev. Peter Buss, Sr.

Delivered June 7th, 2026 at the Bryn Athyn Cathedral in Bryn Athyn, PA. 

The Bryn Athyn Church is a congregation of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, located in Bryn Athyn, PA. We are committed to helping each other draw closer to the Lord God Jesus Christ through lives of love and useful service, guided by the Old and New Testaments and the Heavenly Doctrine for the New Church (contained in the theological works of Emanuel Swedenborg). Please join us for worship on Sunday mornings; services and times can be found at brynathynchurch.org.

Transcript

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Our first lesson is from the book of Matthew, chapter 14. Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Now when the evening came, he was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary, that is, it was against them. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a ghost. And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer, it is I, do not be afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. So he said, Come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him and said to him, O man of little faith, why did you doubt? And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshipped him, saying, Truly, you are the Son of God. And our next lesson is from the prophet Isaiah. For as the rain comes down in the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth and make it bring forth in bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me empty, but shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out with peace, with joy, and be let out with peace. The mountains and hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the storm shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree, and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. And finally, from the word in Secrets of Heaven, number two, Psalm 2780. The state of peace in heaven is like that at dawn on earth. Within the state of peace in heaven, all heavenly and spiritual things manifest themselves. From it comes a delightful and gladsome air spreading through all things. Similarly, at the time of dawn, all things appear before us full of delight and gladness. Here end our readings from the Word. May the Lord add his blessing to the reading of his word. Amen. In our first lesson, we read about a remarkable story. The only human being who ever walked on the water. Now the Lord went away up into a mountain to pray, and he sent the disciples to go across the Sea of Galilee. Now the Sea of Galilee was a sea or a big lake, and they often went on it. But that day the wind came whistling down from the other side of the sea, and it caused the waters to be very stormy. And they probably started at the end of the day. And they were all night just trying to cross that small sea with the wind blowing against them and the waves threatening to make the boat sink. They must have been very afraid. And it was in the fourth watch, which is nearly towards morning, that Jesus came to them. And he was walking on the water. And you can imagine they were scared. They thought it must be a ghost. And they cried out for fear. And Jesus said, Do not worry, be of good cheer. It is I, do not be afraid. And then when Peter heard that, he was suddenly very brave. He said, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. And Jesus said, Come. Now can you mean imagine that? He's been terrified of this water all this time for hours. And yet he got out of the boat and he was standing on the water. Anybody else would have gone down, you know? And so he was walking towards Jesus, and then he looked and saw the wind was so strong. And he thought to himself, this is too dangerous. The Lord might make me walk on some kinds of water, but he can't make me walk on this stormy water. And immediately he began to sink down. Well, why did he sink? Because he thought that the Lord was very strong, but he didn't think that he was all powerful, that he was stronger than anything. So he had a doubt. He thought the Lord can make me walk on calm water, but he can't make me walk on stormy water. And so he began to sink. And then Jesus reached out his hand, you remember, caught him, and said to him, O man of little faith, why did you doubt? They got into the sea, into the boat, and right away, when Jesus came in the boat, the water was calm. Now that's an interesting story because it tells that Peter was brave, but he didn't trust the Lord enough. He thought he was strong enough to do some things, but not other things. And that's something that we need to learn as well. Because sometimes we know that the Lord is God and we know he can do everything. But then when the hells attack us and make us tempted to do something wrong, we think, oh, maybe the Lord can't help me with this. And so maybe a young boy thinks he wants to tell a lie to keep out of trouble. And he knows that the Lord says, you must not tell lies. But he wants to get out of that trouble. And he is so afraid that he thinks, the Lord can't help me to fight against this. I'll have to tell this lie. You see, he thinks the Lord is almost strong enough, but not altogether strong. And the same thing if he wants to steal something. Or when he wants to say something mean to a friend, he's got a big temper inside of himself, and he feels the Lord can't help me. And he's tempted to give in. So the Lord had this story so that we would understand that Peter could walk on any water if the Lord told him to come. Not just calm water, not just a bit blowy water, but any water, because the Lord can do anything. And that's the lesson for us here that we have to learn to teach ourselves. The Lord can do anything good for us. He can help us to fight against any of the evils the hells will give us.