Trust and Believe – Matthew 14:22-33

I am sure that right after the feeding of the five thousand, the disciples of Jesus were filled with questions.  After all, it was certainly possible to see how Jesus could heal one person of a disease or even as many as 10.  It was certainly possible to believe that he could even heal someone without even touching them, but to feed so many people with such a small amount of food??!!

The company of Jesus’ disciples are on the move again. They have been instructed by Jesus to cross the lake to the other side while he dismisses the crowd and seeks a place to pray. During the night, a storm arises and the boat carrying the disciples is battered by the waves.  They are far from any shore, and the wind is working to keep them from reaching their destination. Now there are a number of interesting things about this account in Matthew. One of them is that Matthew does not say that the storm abates as we hear in another episode when Jesus is with them in the boat.  But the storm itself is not what has them terrified here. It is the presence of Jesus walking on the water.  It is physically impossible for a person to walk on water – let alone walk on water in the midst of a storm. The disciples believe that the trauma of the storm has caused them to imagine that Jesus is actually walking on the water towards them.  And remember, this is not a calm body of water! There could be swells high enough to drown a person and yet Jesus not only continues to walk towards them, but he very calmly speaks words designed to calm and reassure them: “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

In spite of Jesus’ words, the disciples are still unsure as to whether the apparition of Jesus is real or a ghost.  Peter decides to determine for himself whether Jesus is really there. He asks Jesus to command him to come to him on the water.  For Peter, to obey the command of the Lord is crucial. If he asked permission to walk on the water, that would be following his own ego to prove something to himself or even to be seen as an equal to his Lord. And so, Peter does not ask permission, he looks to be commanded.  And because Jesus commands him, he will get out of the boat and walk on the water.  He knows in his mind that it is impossible and implausible, but his heart and his spirit believe in Jesus enough to get out and try.

And Peter actually does walk on the water and moves toward Jesus. But then he gets distracted by the strength of the wind.  His fear of drowning overcomes his faith in Jesus’ command and he begins to sink.  “Lord, save me,” he cries. Jesus immediately reaches out his hand and catches Peter. Jesus’ words to Peter at this moment sound like a judgment on him or at least we often take it as such.  But is it really a judgment or merely a recognition that Peter still is struggling to understand who Jesus is.

Peter’s faith is little, but the real question is why did he doubt? He had already accomplished the most difficult thing which was to actually leave the boat and walk on the water, but he took his eyes off Jesus and let his mind convince him that he could not trust Jesus to still preserve him in this situation. Only when they got into the boat did the wind cease and they were able to complete their journey to their next destination – Gennesaret.

It is then that they worship Jesus and declare him to be the Son of God. Teacher, healer, companion, Master. All these things they knew Jesus to be. He was the one who commanded respect, who commanded their attention, who brought hope, peace and justice to the lives of so many people, but he was also the one who was in control of the very creation itself.  Who else could he be but the Son of God.  Only one born of God himself could have such authority and control.  As they reflected on all they had seen and heard, they were drawn to the only conclusion that made sense – this was the Son of God.

In the turbulent times of our lives, in the moments when we feel most vulnerable and even to the point of feeling overwhelmed, do we hear the voice of Jesus calling us to come to him? Do we have the faith to step out in the midst of such turbulence fixing our eyes on Jesus and trusting his words? Remember the words Jesus spoke: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”  The invitation of Jesus is to come to him no matter what the circumstances of our lives. The invitation is to walk to him and to keep our eyes on him.  The invitation is to take his hand and let him lift us up. The invitation is to trust and believe that this is the Son of God and that his promises are true.

AMEN