This little boat trip was certainly an adventure for the
disciples and most especially for Peter. We go to Matthew (14:22-33), because
this is the only gospel that includes the added narrative of Peter walking on
the water. When we recently read John’s account, this only recorded Jesus
walking on the water (and Mark is the same as John in this way). Luke doesn’t
include this water-walking incident at all. Yet, something only being recorded
in one of the gospels does not lessen its significance or relevance. It could
be that Matthew’s largely Jewish audience/readership needed a larger dose of
the notion of challenge and adventure. I would argue that the church at this
time needs to embrace greater levels of challenge and adventure (if we are to
be effective in mission).
So in Matthew, we don’t just have the story of a
storm-tossed boat filled with disciples in fear who need to apply faith in
Jesus and take him aboard to safely reach the shore. This is of course an
important enough message in dealing with the fear that often impinges itself on
life. To properly deal with fear, and to get to the other side, requires us to
embrace Jesus and take him with us wherever we go. We need to recognise that
the creator of life can see us through life’s worst storms and bring us through
more wise and more courageous. But there is indeed more for us in this Matthew
passage, because Peter is prepared to get out of the boat and have a crack at
walking on the water like Jesus was … and not through just calm water … but
rather through very rough conditions.
Jesus had just fed the five thousand, and Peter had
witnessed how Jesus had taken in his hands and prayed over very inadequate
provisions, and subsequently there was more than enough for everybody with
twelve baskets full left over. Peter, although he didn’t know or understand
everything of what he was getting into, was willing to buy into this Jesus,
continue to follow him, and try to do everything that Jesus himself was doing.
Isn’t this what a follower does – follows his leader! We know that Peter had
his problems with all this later on, probably as any of us would have, but we
can still remark on the boldness and courage of his actions on this particular
day. Even if we were to judge Peter’s actions to be impetuous or perhaps
foolhardy (which I don’t), we could say that being impulsive or rash is much
better than the other extreme of being passive or apathetic.
I don’t think we can be critical of Peter for his moment of
doubt and potential sinking for at least two reasons. Firstly, he was prepared
to get out of the boat and try to emulate Jesus. Secondly, in so doing, he was
able to personally experience and appreciate the saving hand of Jesus. It is
only those who risk failure, that can truly know how powerful Jesus is! So I
think that this passage encourages us to be adventurous in following Jesus. And
as we are being adventurous in Jesus name’, Jesus himself has our back! Jesus
will bring us through wiser and stronger, even if we have suffered some
bruises. After all, we need only look to the experience of Jesus himself – who
had nowhere to rest or lay his head, who carried out his mission out on the
road … in the dangerous conditions of an occupied land and against a hostile
(and dodgy) religious elite. Such a mission cost Jesus his life on a cross, but
the outcome of this was a resurrection that all God’s people could be drawn
into. An adventure worth being involved in!!
Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, in their book entitled “The
Faith of Leap” write the following words about adventure: Adventure is an attitude we must apply to
the day-to-day obstacles of life – facing new challenges, seizing new
opportunities, testing our resources against the unknown, and in the process,
discovering our own unique potential as God’s people. Followers of Jesus should not
respond to difficult circumstances in the same way people without faith do.
Catastrophic world happenings and dreadful local events, that cause others to
worry and express fear, should not have the same impact on us. It would not be
right for us to buy into any societal culture of fear. Why do so many
Australians want to ‘stop the boats’? What do you think really drives the gun
ownership of so many Americans!?! Fear is the source of so much limited human
decision-making!
Whilst understandable
and human, fear causes a kind of contraction of the heart, which in turn
inhibits godly actions like love, hospitality and generosity, and thereby
depletes our own discipleship. Yet, we who know Jesus, should be agents of
hope, courage and faith. In the face of challenging times, followers of Jesus
certainly wouldn’t retreat or hide, followers of Jesus do not resort to
retaliation, but rather followers of Jesus proactively seek to honour God and
love their neighbour in even more obvious ways. After all, when Peter came to
believe that it was Jesus walking toward the disciples’ boat on the water, he
wanted to jump out of the boat and take on the big waves as well!
Like Peter, we
would not know how much potential for good we have, unless we put ourselves on
the line. In the same way as Jesus encouraged Peter to take this step of
adventure by saying to him, “Come”, Jesus invites us to be adventurous in our
life and mission – both individually and collectively. Peter could have fallen
flat on his face (metaphorically) or literally sunk to the bottom of the ocean.
Peter could have floundered right away in those waves, flapping his arms about
in what could have been a very funny scene. Other ‘disciples’ could have mocked
him or laughed at him for what he was about to attempt. Yet these possibilities
did not deter either Peter or Jesus. And because Peter was willing to
step out into a new adventure, he experienced something truly exhilarating!
Again we should
note that when Peter faulted and asked Jesus to save him, “Jesus immediately
reached out his hand and caught him” (v.31a). You might read the words that
follow (v.31b) as a rebuke, but I read them more empathically than that, as an
encouragement for Peter to learn from this experience. It was when Peter “noticed
the strong wind” (v.30a) that fear cut in, and Peter began to sink. This
suggests then, that when Peter jumped out of the boat he had his eyes so firmly
fixed on Jesus (and not on the danger), that a remarkable adventure could
begin. If Peter had just been able to keep his eyes fixed on Jesus, i.e.
maintain a high level of faith, then Peter would’ve been able to walk all the
way to the shore.
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