Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water

 

 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 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.  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 you 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 worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God."

When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret.  And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.

 

- Matthew 14:22–36 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus heard that King Herod feared Him, He departed from by boat to a deserted place by Himself.  But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities.  And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.  When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late.  Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food."  But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away.  You give them something to eat."  And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish."  He said, "Bring them here to Me."  Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass.  And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.  So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.  Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

 

  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.  We recall that Jesus' plan was to seek to withdraw from the scrutiny of Herod Antipas, for as Herod began to hear of Jesus, he feared that Jesus was John the Baptist returned from the dead, and that this was the explanation for Christ's miraculous works.  Here, after feeding the multitude, He once again withdraws for solitude to pray.

Now when 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.  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."  My study Bible comments that only God has dominion over nature; therefore, this miracle is a confirmation of the divinity of Christ.  It is now the second time that Jesus has permitted His disciples to be caught in a storm (see also Matthew 8:23-27).  The first time, He was with them.  But here he had left them alone.  In this way, my study Bible explains, Christ strengthens their faith that He will always be with them in the midst of the storms of life.   It is I is literally translated "I Am," which is the divine Name of God (see Exodus 3:14; John 8:58).  My study Bible adds that Christ reminds the fearful disciples of His absolute and divine authority over their lives.  

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!"   My study Bible says that Peter's faith allows him to walk on the water.  It asks us to note that Peter does not ask to walk on water per se, but rather to come to Jesus.  Peter's desire is not to perform miracles but to be with Christ.  Peter is able to participate in this divine miracle as long as he keeps his focus on Christ.  When he becomes distracted, he begins to sink.

 

 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"  My study Bible explains that the Greek term for doubt used here means "wavering" or "hesitation."  Peter's sinking was due not to the storm but rather his doubt; so Christ does not rebuke the wind -- but rebukes Peter.

And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.  Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, "Truly You are the Son of God."  This response bears some resemblance to the words of the centurion who stood at the Cross and witnessed Christ's Passion (Matthew 27:54; Mark 15:39).  My study Bible comments that this is the first time the disciples confess that Jesus is the Son of God.  As they know that only God can be worshiped, they confess His divinity by worshiping Him.  Here, the boat is symbolic of the Church.  

When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret.  And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.  Again, the miracles of healing are prominent in Christ's ministry.  My study Bible comments that Christ permits miracles through touch to show that His very body is life, and that contact with His flesh is life-creating (see Matthew 9:20-22).  

Stories of the miraculous give us a particular feel in Scripture, a sense of something extraordinarily present that grips our imagination and asks it to go beyond our everyday boundaries and expectations.  There are many who read Scripture and automatically discount the miracles they encounter there.  But Scripture is a kind of literature that asks us to read what it contains with a perspective that everything in it is necessary for us to grasp something, to receive what there is to give.  I also cannot immediately dismiss all possibility of the miraculous, if only because what might be considered miraculous seems to happen and surprise people all the time.  This is particularly true of things that seem to be coincidental, or dreams that give us a hint of things that are happening elsewhere, a sense that pervades prayer, an intuition that supplies an answer we'd been grasping for but couldn't find in some normal "rational" sense.  But let us consider for a moment the miracles of Christ, for they are all, importantly and essentially for us, connected to faith.  My study Bible points out that St. Peter is able to walk on the water toward Christ so long as he keeps his focus on Christ, a key to understanding the miraculous sense here.  The people who bring their sick to be healed have the sort of faith that resembles that of the woman with the twelve year blood flow: we're told that they begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.  This connection of faith is clearly the thread -- or perhaps we should say rope -- by which we make contact with potentials that are far beyond the daily grasp of the worldly.  It's also quite essential that we know Peter requested Jesus to command him to walk toward Him, so Peter knows he's responding to a command from Christ.  Moreover, it's the fourth watch of the night, which begins at three o'clock in the morning, and so there is only whatever light might be found on the sea from the stars and moon.  Just as Peter begins to sink once he takes his eyes of the Jesus, so when we lose that thread (or rather, that sturdy rope to hang onto) we also risk sinking into the daily grind of limited expectations and colorless perspective.  Faith, on the other hand, can inspire from depths we didn't know we had.  Indeed, faith can open up depths within us to explore -- to be healed of painful trauma we conceal from ourselves, and to open to creative energies we hadn't understood were there.  Faith gives us confidence just as it gave St. Peter, but we have to remember that it is that we look to Christ that is the key.  It's one thing to place one's faith in something inanimate, or something worldly and material, and another to place one's faith in Christ, the One came to the world in order to bring us life, and to bring life more abundantly (John 10:10).  That becomes a faith -- a key to union -- with something that offers us much more than we can give it.  That faith opens up to the work of the apostles, with whom Christ was able to share His power and authority.  That kind of faith opens up the fruit of the Spirit we read about in Galatians 5:22-23, allowing us to participate in those virtues we otherwise do not have the resources to muster.  These examples are just the bare minimum of gifts and inspiration that we can attribute to faith.  Faith confers the capacity to keep going when otherwise things simply look hopeless when we take God out of the picture.  Faith confers the ability to keep trying when recovery from illness seems impossible.  Faith teaches us that where there is life there is hope, and so on -- we could continue this list far beyond the limits of a blog post.  But what is of true importance, once again, is Whom it is that we put our faith into, for Christ has a gospel message, a Kingdom characterized by certain realities He teaches, and the power of love and life.  His is not the gospel of rage or vengeance or material power.  He offers us that special thing we see on display in today's reading, and if we can look around, we'll find it all around us in the world of the faithful of today, yesterday, and those to come.  In that light, I'd like to share an inspirational blog post regarding a young man called "Superman," written by his Dad (found at this Substack link, which can be read free of charge).  Through faith, a boy with serious struggles became Superman, and continues to inspire.  Let us consider the power of our faith today, in such a world of devastating spectacle, but so much potential that is hidden without that faith.  Let us consider the miraculous, and how it may appear to us when we are least expecting it, without the eyes of faith to see it.