What happens when your faith and your confidence doubt?

Good morning, happy Monday, and many blessing.

Only in Matthew’s account (Matthew 14:22-36) of this story do we have Peter’s reaction. “Lord, if it really is you, tell me to come to you across the water.” “Come!” Jesus says. Peter gets out of the boat and goes towards Jesus. It is an act of love and faith/trust. But not quite enough. The power of the wind and waves gets stronger than his desire to be with Jesus. He begins to sink. “Lord, save me!” Jesus lifts him up, “How little faith/trust you have!” Now I ask you: Has there been a contrary wind in your life? What have you done to overcome it?

Here is a dramatic revelation of how God cares for us in difficult situations. Jesus spends time praying alone, and surely, he includes you by name. He knows where you are, what is happening to you, and when you need help. So, Jesus comes close and speaks to you: ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid’. Can you hear him in the roaring of the wind or are you fixated by the waves breaking over your little boat?

The disciples in their later trials would have remembered what happened next on the lake; how Jesus reached out and caught the drowning Peter; how he got into their boat and how somehow his presence made the wind die down. Jesus does the same for you, but less dramatically.

Very interesting in all this is that the crossing to the other side of the lake also symbolizes the difficult crossing of the community at the end of the first century. They should get out of the closed world of the ancient observance of the law toward the new manner of observing the Law of love, taught by Jesus; they should abandon the knowledge of belonging to the Chosen People, privileged by God among all other peoples, for the certainty that in Christ all peoples would be united into One People before God; they should get out from isolation and intolerance toward the open world of acceptance and of gratitude. Today also, we are going through a difficult crossing toward a new time and a new way of being Church. A difficult crossing, but which is necessary. There are moments in life in which we are attacked by fear. Good will is not lacking, but this is not sufficient. We are like a boat faced with the contrary wind.

When it comes to Peter walking on the water, I have often heard preachers condemn him for his lack of faith. True, Jesus does call Peter a man of little faith, but what about the other 11? None of them got out of the boat. If Peter had little faith, then they had none. It's really easy to criticize others like a ‪Monday-morning‬ quarterback. It's something else to stand in the pocket and take the hits.

When it comes to trusting Jesus, what keeps us from getting out of the boat? What keeps you from daring to trust Jesus? This morning I want to look at the reasons we are afraid to leave the boat, and the way Peter overcame them. This morning I want us to dare to trust Jesus completely.

Blessings

Fr. Luis+