Thought for the week: The idea of 'walking on water' - Christian faith does not come naturally
In our churches tomorrow, some of us will hear of Jesus walking on the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 14: 22-33).
This defies explanation, but Saints Matthew, Mark and John all tell of it. He has just fed 5,000 people, from five loaves and two fish, before sending His disciples ahead of Him in their boat. After some hours of solitary prayer, He comes to them as they struggle against a headwind. Taken together, the two stories show Jesus as Sovereign over creation. Jesus, in whom God is embodied in a human life, exercises the authority that is God’s alone.
When He climbs into their boat, the disciples worship Him in words that foreshadow those of the soldiers who will watch Him die: “Truly, you are the Son of God!”
Only Matthew, however, tells of Peter’s briefly doing the same thing. “Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Peter has heard Jesus reassuring His disciples who think they are seeing a ghost. Can he do the same? So, when Jesus says, “Come”, Peter gets out of the boat and starts walking towards Jesus. Only when he notices the wind does his nerve fail. As he begins to sink, he cries out: “Lord, save me!” Jesus grabs him saying, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Peter’s actions are those of a Christian disciple. He seeks Jesus’ will. Hearing Jesus’ word, he obeys – until his nerve fails. Christian faith does not come naturally. It is a gift of God, sustained by God’s Holy Spirit. In today’s society, preoccupied with material things, Christian faith is counter cultural. Faith is not, and has not been for some generations, the basis on which most of us live our lives.
There are times when we may, indeed, be “walking on water”. Our faith feels assured. All is well. But testing comes, in sickness, hardship, failure, loss, if not, indeed, persecution.
Like Peter, we cry out, “Lord, save me!” We are creatures of “little faith”. This is human nature. Then we need the support, the prayers and the love of people around us. Was Peter’s mistake that he tried to go it alone? Few of us can “walk on water” in the bad times as well as the good.
We cannot know how we shall react when hardship comes. We can’t prepare for it. But it helps to belong to a community of faith. It helps, too, to have in place the habits of faith, of regular prayer, reading the Bible, and, for some, that regular reception of the Holy Communion which is both the remembrance of Jesus’ death and the celebration of His saving presence.