28 Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” [Matthew 14:28-33, NRSV]
[L] Jesus calls from across the water. [M] Peter’s leap of faith. [R] Jesus’ saving hand.
In the episode of Jesus walking on water narrated by Matthew, we can trace an itinerary that aids our reflection towards Christian mission and spirituality. We can picture this itinerary in four-frames in slow-motion and meditate on how they relate to our mission as a Christian, when we too may walk on water: discernment, commitment, fall, and rescue.
The itinerary begins with discernment. Disciples in the boat were caught in a state of fear. Rightly so, for a dark figure walking on water and coming towards you at night would be a ghostly sight and generate fear. The Lord of course understood that and he calmed the disciples’ fear by telling them, “Take heart, it is I. Have no fear.”
- This first panel speaks loudly to all who struggle over difficult decisions and needing the Lord’s help. In times of darkness and uncertainties, when the way forward looks grim and we are gripped by worries and fear, there is immense power and encouragement to be drawn from the Lord’s reassuring words that say, “Be not afraid; it is I!” Sometimes, events in life unsettle us and even “terrorise” our interiority. To be conscious of the Lord’s presence is reassuring and is often all that we need to quell our interior upheaval in those times.
- What Peter has done here is essential food for spiritual discernment. Sometimes we get to a point where the way forward is unclear. Sometimes, we may be seeing “no way out” of a tight situation. Or sometimes, we may be at a crossroads where the right exit-choice is too complicated and even overwhelming. A more definitive pointer may be what we badly need right now where the path ahead is in any case unclear. When we are interiorly troubled, seeking the Lord’s guidance is the essential step to take, and submitting to the Lord’s will is key. If we but seek the Lord in this regard, we shall certainly find his help.
- However, our fear may be quelled, and yet the way forward may still be blurry. Is this the right path, or is that the correct way? Is it just me again and my ego, my delusional idea, or is this what the Lord wants me to do? Discernment seeks a degree of certainty for this task, this mission. So when Jesus identified himself and calmed their fear, Peter spoke: “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.” Tell me that this is the right thing to do, that this is what you wish me to do.
With discernment comes commitment. When Jesus replied affirmatively, “Come”, Peter jumped into the water without a second thought, and he actually walked. If we are serious in our discernment, the Lord’s disclosure naturally carries a call and a demand, and our response to him has got to be to trust him to the limit. Peter represents the best in us when threw all cautions to the wind, had absolutely no care, let alone fear, when he jumped into the water and started walking in response to the Lord’s cal. Lo and behold, he too walked on water just as the Lord himself was doing
But the Lord’s “power” was too much for Peter and the third panel captures Peter’s fall. The moment when Peter gave attention to the winds around him, he became distracted from the Lord, and the external voices of reality at once got to him. Fear kicked in again, now despite knowing the Lord’s reassuring presence. Distraction from the Lord’s affirming “Come”, the fall followed all too soon, repeating the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 when God’s Word was discarded in favour of an external voice. Then, like Adam and Eve, Peter faltered and sank like a piece of rock.
- Human frailty often tests our resolve to the limit as well. We too, once we allow contrary voices and worldly values to distract our focus in Christian mission, we flounder and sink.
What Peter did next is basic advice good for all generations. To sink in water is never the end of the story. The Lord’s help was close at hand, if only he would turn to the Lord for help. That he did. To his cry for help in the fourth panel, “Lord, save me” he received an instant rescue. Peter might be chided a little by the Lord for lacking in trust, but salvation was instantaneous the moment he turned to the Lord after his fall.
Copyright © Dr. Jeffrey & Angie Goh, October 2022. All rights reserved.
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