Matthew 14:22-33

Matthew 14:22-33

Then Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people away. After sending the people away, he went up a hill by himself to pray. When evening came, Jesus was there alone; and by this time the boat was far out in the lake, tossed about by the waves, because the wind was blowing against it.

Between three and six o'clock in the morning Jesus came to the disciples, walking on the water. When they saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. “It's a ghost!” they said, and screamed with fear. Jesus spoke to them at once. “Courage!” he said. “It is I. Don't be afraid!”

Then Peter spoke up. “Lord, if it is really you, order me to come out on the water to you.” 

“Come!” answered Jesus. So Peter got out of the boat and started walking on the water to Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he was afraid and started to sink down in the water. “Save me, Lord!” he cried. At once Jesus reached out and grabbed hold of him and said, “What little faith you have! Why did you doubt?” They both got into the boat, and the wind died down. Then the disciples in the boat worshiped Jesus. “Truly you are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

Food for Thought

Visitors to the Holy Land like to take a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee, the sea on which Jesus walked. A certain tourist wanted such a ride and the boatman told him the fare was fifty dollars. “Fifty dollars!” exclaimed the tourist, “No wonder Jesus walked!” The gospel story of Jesus walking on the sea has a lot to teach us about who Jesus is, about each and all of us. 

About Jesus: The miracle story of Jesus walking on the sea shows that Jesus is Lord and has authority over all forces natural and supernatural. The Jews, like many of us, believed that the sea was the domain of supernatural demonic forces. A rough and stormy sea was regarded as the work of these hostile spirits. By walking on the raging waves and calming the stormy sea Jesus is showing himself to be one who has power and total control over these hostile spiritual forces. 

Do you know of Christians, active in their faith, but who still practice sorcery, witchcraft, potions and curses? Today's gospel brings us the good news that these powers of darkness stand no chance at all when Jesus is present and active in our lives and affairs.

About each and all of us: The disciples of Jesus were being tossed about by the waves, just as we do from time to time. In the midst of our crises Jesus comes to restore peace and harmony in us. But he comes in a form and manner in which he is easily mistaken for the enemy. He comes in a way that makes many well-meaning Christians cry out in fear “It is a ghost! It is an evil spirit! It is my dead relative tormenting me! (Matthew 14:26). But if we listen carefully we shall hear through the storm his soft, gentle voice whispering in the wind, “Courage!” he said. “It is I. Don't be afraid!” This is what today's First Reading is all about.

1 Kings 19:9,11-13

When Elijah reached Horeb, the mountain of the Lord, he went into the cave and spent the night in it. Then he was told, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ Then the Lord himself went by. There came a mighty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there came the sound of a gentle breeze. And when Elijah heard this, he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

Let not panic. Especially if and when we are doing the Lord's job. If we are busy going about the duty he has assigned us, just as the disciples were busy rowing their boat to the other side of the shore as Jesus had instructed them, then Jesus himself will make himself present to us.  

The story of Jesus walking on the water, especially the involvement of Peter in the story, is a lesson for me and you, who are sometimes tempted to take our eyes off Jesus and to fix them on the threatening circumstances around us. Peter walked on water, as long as he had his eyes fixed on Jesus. “But when he noticed the strong wind, he was afraid and started to sink down in the water.” While Peter kept his eye fixed on Jesus, and his mind focussed on Jesus’ word, he walked upon the water all right; but when he took notice of the danger he was in, and focussed instead on the waves, then he became afraid and began to sink. “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

All of us are in one of three places: we're either coming from a storm; we're in the middle of one storm; are heading into a storm. Be it as it may, all storms are good and have some good in them. The storms of life have the potential to reveal the Savior to us in a way we may have never considered before. In today's gospel, the disciples came to know Jesus as “Truly you are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

Howard Rutledge came to appreciate his time as a POW (prisoner of war) in Vietnam. He wrote: During those long periods of enforced reflection, it became so much easier to separate the important from the trivial, the worth-while from the waste . . . My hunger for spiritual food soon outdid my hunger for a steak . . . I wanted to know about the part of me that will never die . . . I wanted to talk about God and Christ and the church . . . It took prison to show me how empty life is without God.