Fr. Michael Williams

The story of Jesus ‘walking on the lake’ seems to have a comic side to it. He seems to have wanted to surprise His disciples. And they were certainly surprised when He walked up to their storm tossed boat. ’“It is a ghost” they said, and cried out in fear’. I wonder whether Jesus had a wry smile on His face at this point. I must admit, I am always amused, when I walk into a room and the person does not hear me coming, and all of a sudden they see me, and nearly jump out of their skin. It is very amusing. Although my mother doesn’t always seem to think so!

I’m sure the episode of Jesus ‘walking on the lake’ raised a smile in His face. But of course there is a more serious side to the event of Jesus walking on the water. Ultimately, Jesus wanted His disciples to know more about Him and so to deepen their faith in Him, who is ‘the Son of God’.

Jesus wanted them to be unshakeable in their faith in Him. Their faith would need testing on a regular basis, so that it is strengthened. Footballers have been doing their pre-season training over the last month to improve their condition in time for the new season. (By the way Andy Carroll looked sharp yesterday!) In the spiritual life our faith needs training and testing to strengthen it as well. If our faith in Jesus was never tested we would soon lose faith.

The gospels contain many episodes of the disciples and their lack of faith, and today’s gospel is a perfect example of this. Peter, initially shows courage and faith by saying to Christ, ‘if it is you , tell me to come to you across the water’. This shows that there is some faith there. But when Peter feels the force of the wind, ‘he took fright’ and began to sink beneath the waves. St Augustine says that the stormy sea is symbolic of the turbulent world we live in. And the storms of life can make us feel that we are sinking beneath life’s uncertainties. Yet Peter did the right thing when he called out, ‘Lord! Save me!’ This is the key point for us. Like Peter there are times when we need to call out, ‘Lord! Save me!’ Not to do this may mean we are engulfed and overcome by the storms. ‘The storms can [actually] be good for deepening our faith’ (O’ Flynn), as they can make us rely more on the Lord. In times of trial and difficulty we can draw closer to the Lord through the Mass, through prayer.

There would be other times Peter would fail in his faith. Peter denied Jesus three times after Our Lord had been arrested. When we fail in our faith, we must also do what Peter did, which was to repent and re-commit ourselves to the Lord. By the end of his life Peter put his faith in the Lord, and when he was crucified on the Vatican Hill, Peter called out to the Lord, who never abandons us and has to the power to deliver us.

Peter went from being a ‘man of little faith’ to being a man of great faith. Let’s pray that our life will be a time of growing in our faith and trust in the Lord. The storms of life will prompt us to rely more and more on Christ, who wants to lead us to the shore, that is the peace of His Kingdom.