‘Have Courage. I am.’ Jesus on the water.

By mmayer

Matthew 14:22-33

²²Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. ²³After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, ²⁴and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

²⁵Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear.

²⁷But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’

²⁸‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’

²⁹‘Come,’ he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came towards Jesus. ³⁰But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’

³¹Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’

³²And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ³³Then those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’

Video

‘If it’s really you, Lord, tell me to step out to you on the water.’ Peter, in the storm and in the dark, utterly exhausted. (Matthew 14:28).

This isn’t about showing off. It’s a group of distressed and utterly exhausted men, knowing they are about to drown, seeing a phantasm walking up to them on the water, in the dark. Except the phantasm looks and sounds like Jesus. ‘Have courage. I am. Don’t keep on being afraid.’ So Peter puts that phantasm to the test , gets permission and then steps out.

I don’t think we are meant to walk on water or do other impossible things. Maybe once or twice in a lifetime we will do something utterly miraculous. For 99.99% of the rest of the time, the normal rules of life apply, and won’t bend for us.

This is about compassion, the compassion of Christ for each one of us. This is about the times when we are going down, and we call out for help. Jesus is there with us, whether we feel him or not. ‘O you of little faith.’ Yes, there are times when our faith is gone. It’s all too hard. But Jesus has faith, and the people around us have faith when we can’t.

We have a faithful God (‘I am’) who knows what it is like to be in the dark, and be going down. That is what happened to him on the cross. He is the one who can reach out to each one of us, saying, ‘I have life for you. I have love for you. I have forgiveness for you. Now, let’s work out what new life looks like, in this difficult situation you are in.’ There are not always instant answers, but there is always ever present love.

That is the promise to each one of us.