Nineteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time- How To Walk On Water.

How to walk on water.

I saw a cartoon that showed a lady walking on some cases of bottled water and the caption read, “Walking on water”! Another person said, “I walk on water every time it rains. Thin water, but water just the same. [And] just so you know, I drive on water too.”

To walk on water like Peter means to miraculously suspend the force of gravity so the surface tension of the water does not break as you walk across it. Spiritually, however, to walk on water means to perform a task where the challenge greatly exceeds one’s level of skills without becoming anxious and stressed.

The first prerequisite needed to walk on water is a clear conscience which enables one to bear exceedingly much and is joyful amid adversities. 1 Timothy 1:19 says a guilty conscience makes shipwreck of one’s faith.

Part of having a good conscience means you are not trying to be spectacular or famous or praised for your ability to walk on water. Do you know what the last words of a redneck are? "Hey, guys, watch this."

Or, to illustrate:

A holy man heard that his apprentice was able to walk on water. “How did you do this?,” he asked the apprentice.

“At every step I simply repeated your saintly name and that is what held me up,” replied the apprentice.

So the holy man ran down to the river bank and stepped onto the water. “Me, me, me,” he said, and he sank to the bottom.

Consider that Satan tempted Jesus to vainglory, “If you are the Son of God, jump off this temple roof because the Scriptures say, ‘God will command his angels to help you, and their hands will catch you.” (Matthew 4:6)

Regarding Peter walking on water, Saint John Chrysostom preached that Peter’s motivation was good; he did not ask Jesus to be able to walk on water to show off, rather he asked Jesus, “command me to come to YOU,” which shows that no one loved Jesus so much.1

2. The second prerequisite needed to walk on water is that although the task greatly exceeds your level of skills, nevertheless the challenge must be within your calling and vocation.

Peter was a professional fisherman who was evidently used to jumping into the water (without hurting his leg on the edge of the boat as he jumped) John 21:7.

Psalm 131:1 tells us to avoid a proud heart that gets involved with things too high for our capacity.

Thus, “It would be narcissistic to declare that God has called you to be the world’s greatest pianist, and then expect him to download the necessary talent into you after years of mediocre piano playing and lukewarm practicing.”2 You will sink due to a lack of discernment and prudence.

Peter also walked on the water. Jesus walked on the water (see also Job 9:8.) To walk means that one leg is always in contact with the ground. Greek and Roman mythology features numerous examples of supernatural running or flying over the sea, but in fact it contains no unambiguous reference to walking on the sea as Jesus does.3

When Peter walks on water, an inceptive aorist is used, “he began to walk-- with Jesus apparently envisioned standing in place as Peter approaches his position (Matt 14:28-31).”4

Plus, for “Peter’s brief walk, the evangelist uses the prepositional phrase ‘upon the waters’ Matt 14:29), not ‘the sea:’ probably because Peter only intends to cover the distance separating him from Jesus. He wants to walk a particular tract of water, not “the sea as such”’5

The disciples are afraid when Jesus is walking on the water toward them because they could not quite tell what or who is walking toward them. If our goals or plans are too general or too far out in the future, we can’t see Jesus and walk toward him.

Our daily bread is really symbolic of any need we have today. In Medjugorje, a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina, many pray Matthew 6: 24-34 every Thursday, to remind us not to be anxious of our lives because our heavenly Father knows what we need.

Peter’s goal was to walk on the water. The average human would have to run at about 67 miles per hour to keep from sinking below the surface of the water.6 Galatians 5:16 says, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Beware of achieving something great and then stumble over something less, Moses killed an Egyptian, and David with Bathsheba.

Once a toddler learns how to stand, she must develop the muscles needed to learn how to walk. Then, she can “run the race” of faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). Walking speaks of consistency. In Galatians 5:7, Paul chastises believers who once ran well but no longer follow the truth.