Matthew 14:22-33 Jesus Walks on Water
This is one of the most famous stories in Sacred Scripture. Jesus walks on water. Actually, Jesus had quite an eventful day before the famous walk. Early in the day, Jesus learned of the death of His cousin, John the Baptist. When He received the bad news, He tried to get away to a deserted place to reflect, pray, and grieve. Sometimes we forget that Jesus not only had a divine nature, He also had a human nature. The human heart is complex, and for Jesus it was no different. His Sacred Heart was filled with the reality of John’s death, and it filled Him with sadness. He needed to step back a while…in a sense, make a little retreat—but He wasn’t to have that time; at least not yet.
Jesus was moved to pity as He saw the vast crowd. They needed to be fed; fed both spiritually and physically. He immediately fed the multitude with the divine grace of His presence as He walked through the crowd, healing their sick. Next was the miracle that touched them all. He fed 5,000 men, not counting the women and children. Only after meeting the needs of others did He seek the solace He needed. The Sea of Galilee is a harp-shaped, freshwater lake in the district of Galilee in northern Palestine. Due to the height of the hills surrounding the lake, abrupt temperature shifts can occur. The Sea of Galilee has a reputation. It can be calm and serene one moment, and because of a large gorge, the wind can rush through, and the sea can produce waves six to seven feet high. That is the situation the disciples found themselves facing. The calm Sea of Galilee had turned into a churning nightmare that threatened the lives of the fishermen. People were superstitious (even the disciples), and Jesus, walking on water, appeared to be a ghost to them. You can imagine the panic before they heard the calming words, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid.” Of course, Peter, not fully confident, challenges Jesus. If it is You, command me to come to You. Scripture doesn’t say that Jesus rolled His eyes before He said, “Come.” He just said, “Come.” Here is an important observation that we sometimes miss. Peter had to walk a distance to reach Jesus. Initially, his faith was strong. His resolve was powerful. Then, just as he reached Jesus, he doubted. We know it is right in front of Jesus because Jesus just reaches down and offers His hand to pull Peter out of the water. Isn’t that just like us? We turn to the Lord when we face life’s trials, but when we let our focus shift, when we doubt the Lord working in our lives, we panic. We are masters at shifting focus and creating terrible events in our minds. We focus on the problem and not the power of God.
Surely, we can see ourselves in this story. There are plenty of times when we find ourselves in “deep water.” But this story has another message. Many in our society are drowning every day. They drown in mounds of responsibility or stacks of paper at work. Some families are drowning in bills, in unemployment, or homelessness… some are literally drowning in hurricanes and floods; fighting for basic freedoms and yes, fighting for religious freedom. Many people find it difficult to see any hand reaching out to pull them from the choppy waters. But so often, we are like the disciples. We do not recognize Jesus when He does come. The disciples thought Jesus was a ghost. Our problem is that Jesus comes in such simple ways that sometimes we do not see Him at all.
Here is the message. We are each called to be Jesus. We are each called to reach out and be the support for someone who is suffering. We are each challenged to call out, “COME.” COME you who are suffering the loss of a loved one. COME you who are wrestling with marriage issues. COME you who are sitting at the bedside of one who is in the last stages of life. COME you who are struggling with any of life’s issues. COME, take my hand. Cry on my shoulder. Let me embrace you as God’s healing grace flows to you. Jesus comes in the support of family and friends; the loving counsel of a teacher; the sacraments and various ministries of the Church; and in the quiet assurance of His presence in prayer. These are the ways He comes to us when we need Him the most. When the storms of sorrow come, we can be the presence of Jesus with words of comfort…or no words at all. Sometimes our presence is all that is needed. When the storm of discouragement comes, we can be the voice of Jesus with words of hope. In today’s world, we call that “caring ministry.”
Here at St. Benedict Church, we have Stephen Ministry. Stephen Ministry is a Christ-centered ministry named after St. Stephen in chapter six of the Book of Acts. The apostles commissioned him and six others to care for the physical and emotional needs of the Church community. This represents the earliest example of laypeople stepping up to serve, to listen, to be the hand of Jesus in the life of someone who desperately needs to know that He has not abandoned them in their time of need. The Stephen Ministry logo consists of a cross and circle, together with a broken person and a whole person. The broken person behind the cross symbolizes the brokenness in our lives, while the whole person in front of the cross symbolizes how we are made whole again through the cross of Jesus.
What is a Stephen Minister? A Stephen Minister is called from the everyday church family who have a strong desire to share Christ’s love. They are ordinary laypeople with compassionate hearts who feel led to support others through tough life crises. Jesus is not so interested in how we walk on water. Jesus cares much more about how we live with each other on the dry ground than about big miracles like walking on water. He wants us to show love and kindness every day. He tells us to reach out and help the poor, the sick, and the weak. How we speak to those in need will show our true heart. Reaching out brings great joy to God. I encourage you to explore Stephen Ministry.
I think St. Teresa of Avila, a Carmelite nun, composed a beautiful poem that, I think, expresses how Jesus wants us to reach out on the troubled sea of life. She writes:
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours.