Those of you who have children, do you recall when you first tried to encourage them to take their first step? At the beginning, your child may have been content to drag him/herself along the floor reaching out for things, but it was time for him or her to take a stand and walk. All kinds of attempts were made to entice them to come into your arms and then it happened!
All this came to mind when I read the gospel story that described how Jesus came walking across the water to Peter and the other disciples who had been fishing and their boat was being tossed by a storm. They thought they saw a ghost, but it was Jesus coming toward them and He spoke, "Have courage, it is I." Matthew14:27. Jesus invited Peter to come towards Him on the water, but Peter became frightened and began to sink and cried out, “Lord, save me”. Matthew 14:30.
Many of us know quite a bit about Peter’s character, his denial of Jesus three times, his subsequent leadership among the early Christians and his designation by Christ as the rock upon which Jesus would build His church. He was a man of passion and weakness, something that many of us have in common with Peter. Like Peter, our faith can also be described as fragile and impoverished, anxious and victorious.
When Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he was strong. We too can learn from Peter and his exchange with Jesus today. Like Peter in today’s gospel, we are strong when we keep our eyes on Jesus. The opposite is also true. When we look away, get distracted, or think too much, we need to hear Jesus words, “Come, have faith. Do not be afraid.”
In a reflection he wrote, Dr. Terrance Callan said that Pope Francis sees the boat as an excellent image of our Catholic Church. We are all in this boat together, a boat which offers us security despite stormy times, our limitations, or weaknesses. Like Peter, we are people with enthusiasm for the faith and Jesus yet, have our moments when our faith appears to be weak, and we know ourselves to be capable of sin.
But God sees our hearts. He saw Peter’s heart, the heart of a leader, a believer, a person who cared and had compassion for others and gave his life for others.
If at times we still find ourselves taking baby steps in our pursuit of Jesus and His kingdom, have courage! Jesus will be there with outstretched arms ready to embrace us and pick us up should we fall.
