Jesus Walks on the Water

The Sunday Gospel [August 7, 2011]

Matthew 14:22-33

22 Then he made the disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone.

24 Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. 25 During the fourth watch of the night,   he came toward them, walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. "It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear. 27 At once (Jesus) spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." 28 Peter said to him in reply, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come." Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw how (strong) the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 After they got into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, "Truly, you are the Son of God."

Reflection

“O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” ~ Jesus in v. 31

What, precisely, does faith consist of? How can we define it? Well, is it not true that faith is related both to God and to our own self? The words of Jesus seem to indicate that this is so. He says to Peter, “How little faith you have!” Then he adds, “Why did you doubt?” The answer to Jesus’ question would be, of course, that Peter did not have faith in Jesus. This is obvious. But can it not also be said that Peter did not have enough faith in himself?

Faith, of course, means that we believe in God. But when we believe in God, do we not also, at least to a certain extent, also believe in our own self? If our faith in God is strong, it means that at the same time our faith to our self is strong: we believe in and accept our self; we have the ability to say, “I am a good person. I have certain talents and gifts that God has given to me; I am precious in the sight of God.” We can say this, precisely because of our faith in God. We might say that this is the first step. But as our faith develops, our faith in God becomes intermingled with our faith in our self. In other words, we might say that our self-confidence and our belief in our self are based on our faith in God. Thus God is always first and foremost in our heart, although in the practical working out of our daily lives, the two – faith in God and faith in one’s self – become intermingled.

As a final reflection, let us ask ourselves a few questions. How often do we put ourselves in Peter’s position? We start of strongly, but then, forgetting the presence of God in our heart, we weaken, become fearful, and draw back from a full commitment to some task. How often do we limit ourselves because we are too self-conscious, or too self-critical, or to afraid? Such attitudes, as we are aware, restrict and limit us from developing our full potential.

Let us thank God for creating us as we are and for the gifts He has given to each of us. And let us ask Him to help us to be bold in our life, to overcome all our fears because we realize that He is always with us.

Credits: Fr. John Seland, SVD; New Reflections on the Sunday Gospels, excerpts

Source: The Reflection is from Bro. Abel Navarro (you can visit his blog at http://myblogabelnavarro-abel.blogspot.com/).