Walking on Water

Again today we have the gospel from Matthew where Peter walked on water. It is a perfect example of faith and God’s love for us. In our lives there are times when things are calm and peaceful and other times there are storms raging around us. There are times that things terrify us, just as the disciples were terrified because they thought that Jesus was a ghost. Sometimes during our storms we don’t even recognize that Jesus is there with us. There have been terrifying moments in my life and I never knew that Jesus was there with me. It was only through the healing of these wounds that others were able to show me that Jesus was there with me. We were united, crucified on the cross.

Peter knew that Jesus had the ability to make him walk on water. He wanted to be out there with Jesus, on the water, trusting him, not sitting safe in the boat. And Peter was able to walk on the water when his eyes were fixed on Christ. “Everything is possible to one who has faith.” (Mark 9:23) When we are faced with challenges in our lives that seem insurmountable or face things that terrify us, we can take comfort in the words that Christ spoke to the disciples, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” (Matthew 14:27)

But one of the most amazing things about God’s love for us is that he is ALWAYS there for us. Just as Peter took his eyes off of Christ and became frightened by the storms around him, we too become frightened and overwhelmed when we take our eyes off of Christ. And every time we begin sinking and cry out as Peter did, “Lord, save me!” Jesus will immediately stretch out his hand and catch us. Our love for others is limited; we get tired of putting our trust in others just to have them do the same thing again and again. There is a fine line between loving someone through difficulties such as an addiction and enabling them to continue with their addiction. And we can only do this with the help of Christ. How often do we repeat the same sin over and over? We go to confession and in our Act of Contrition we pray that “we firmly resolve with the help of your grace to sin no more and to avoid the occasions of sin.” And yet we are back there again the next time with the same sins to confess. We can overcome the sins that hold us in bondage but it takes surrender and God’s grace. And Christ will always be there, ready to save us, when we again begin to sink; we need only to cry out to him.