In our CLC group recently we prayed with the story of Jesus walking on water. At a time when I’m thinking of taking a punt on a way of life that’s closer to my heart, it reminded me to trust that what God knows I can do is a much more accurate guide to life than what I think I can do.
The scene is set in confusion. It sounds a lot like life. Jesus has asked the disciples to take the boat on ahead, but now he needs to get in it, and it’s drifted off. Imagine Jesus standing on the shore, shaking his head; he wouldn’t have started from here, given the choice. He’s got to get to that boat –they need him – but what are the options? Well, he’ll have to walk on the water. Off he goes.
His initiative is met with panic, rather than gratitude, in the direction-less boat. What on earth? Never mind that the disciples know Jesus, have seen his work, and have every reason to trust him from prior experience. “It’s me,” Jesus insists. How many of the scary changes that crop up in life are actually presenting an opening for Jesus? This is where Ignatian discernment proves so helpful for me.
Peter steps up and enters right into the spirit of things. “If it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” I love this part. Jesus would never wish to humiliate Peter, so he must actually believe that Peter can do it. He knows Peter is just an ordinary man – but instead of saying, “don’t be daft, stay dry,” he encourages him to get out and give it a go. And it works. Peter really does walk on water, until he realises he’s doing it, and that it should be impossible. That’s when he begins to sink. It’s like watching a child riding a bike for the first time, turning round and realising his Dad is no longer pushing, then falling off simply because he thinks he doesn’t know how to ride.
Jesus rescues Peter at once and they get back in the boat. The focus is often put on the rebuke about Peter’s lack of faith, but to me it sounds like the bike-teaching father dealing with the endearing idiocy of his offspring. The message for me is this: get out of that boat, get back on that bike. Trust in a God who thinks we are up to even the unlikeliest task.