IN THAT BOAT, which the church has always identified as herself, is where we want to be because it can provide the sure way for us to get to the other shore, to heaven; and, in this life, take us to new horizons. But along the way we are caught in a storm and face danger.
1.We need to pray always--In 1940 journalist Edward R. Murrow stood in a church in England while the country endured German bombers night after night. Inside the church was a crudely written sign which read, “If your knees knock, kneel on them.”
Jesus has absolute dominance over the sea and the troubles of life. “Lord, save me!,” Peter cried out. From what do I need Jesus to save me? What burdens make me feel like I might sink?
And for over a thousand years, the Church has greeted Mary, the Mother of God, as “Star of the Sea.” (Spe Salvi 49)- she is a star guiding us through the Rosary by her intercession.
2. Peter gets out of the boat, starts walking on the water, and comes toward Jesus.
In Greek and Roman mythology, it was common for men, women, gods, and beasts to run or fly over water, but water walking is not represented by any extant mythological tradition.
(BL 135 no. 4 (2016)777 Walk, Don’t Run: Jesus’s Water Walking Is Unparalleled in Greco-Roman Mythology BRIAN D. MCPHEE, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.)
"We walk not according to the flesh," St. Paul writes, "but according to the Spirit" (Rom. 8:4); "Not by sight, but by faith" (2 Cor. 5:7).
I saw a cartoon of two penguins walking on ice and one is reading a bible as he walks and says,
“What am I missing here? We walk on water all the time!”
Have YOU ever walked on water? I think I have, and I think many others have, too, if walking on water means stepping out in faith; walking in obedience, and surrender. If walking on water truly means the storms and disturbances of life do not define our self-understanding.
There is an element of test in Peter’s condition, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Peter asking Jesus “to command” him suggests the alignment of Peter’s will with the will of the Lord.
Our hearts have a powerful connection to our feet: “Our hearts have not turned back, nor have our steps strayed from your path” (Psalm 44:19).
When have I tested the Lord’s love for me? What do I need to find the courage to do?
3. Even though our emotional life and spiritual life are distinct, they are both part of us and so they inform and influence each other. Obedience to God is what keeps our spiritual life from becoming subject to the windswept waves of emotions.
E.g. Psalm 42:8, “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your torrents, and all your waves and breakers sweep over me.”
When we have difficult emotions, there are two simple tools we can use called “listen-in,” and “listen-out.”
E.g. In our First Reading from 1 Kings 19, God was heard and experienced in a “tiny whispering sound,” as in contemplative prayer, which is listening-in after we pause when reading an interesting Scripture verse that captures our attention.
Or, perhaps, in the utter stillness that FOLLOWED THE STORM, Elijah heard a voice and YHWH’s speaking to him, as Elijah “listened out.”
Even more, notice that he heard God after the storm. I call that “Through-ing”--the only way out is through.
We get through strong emotions by realizing that emotions get interwoven into stories. But the story is just information. Don’t get lost in the story, and instead just try locating the associated feeling in your body that the story produces. It is not just an emotional storm raging in us, but also story and belief. However, when we just identify the feeling in our body, like a tight jaw or tension in the forehead, we will notice that the feeling will change in intensity, or the feeling may move to another place in our body, and the grip of the story in our minds may lessen.
Your insight and understanding of the situation might change, or you might see a bigger picture.
Peter is distracted for a moment as he walks on water. He shifts his focus away from Christ. He notices the strong wind. He becomes frightened. He starts to sink.
The feeling of fear is sometimes the tax that conscience pays to guilt.
e.g. In Genesis 3:9, Adam said, after he fell from grace, “I was afraid.”
Jesus does not censure feelings. In our Gospel today, he did not say, “Do not be afraid, it is I, take courage.” He said, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Befriending our fear means tame them by inviting God in, and not banish them. Hug the monster. Don’t push away the feeling. The message is not to let our experiences of life overwhelm our experiences of faith.
Anxiety can be transformed with reference to Christian hope. The grace of God is with us in each particular moment of time, and with the courage to affirm the present, because God affirmed it.
Amen.
