19th Sunday of Ordinary Time
In his book, Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, Dr. Paul Brand describes an experience similar to one I had while living in Paraguay as a child: the adventure of crossing a river on a bridge. He writes, “A certain bridge in South America consists of interlocking vines supporting a precariously swinging platform hundreds of feet above a river. I know the bridge has supported hundreds of people over many years, and as I stand at the edge of the chasm I can see people confidently crossing the bridge. The engineer in me wants to weigh all the factors; measure the stress tolerances of the vines, test the wood for termites, survey all the bridges in the area for one that might be stronger. I could spend a lifetime determining whether the bridge is fully trustworthy. But eventually, if I really want to cross, I must take a step. When I put my weight on that bridge and walk across, even though my heart is pounding and my knees shaking, I am making a statement…”
In this country we rarely bat an eye about crossing bridges to the other side, but overseas, crossing some bridges can be unnerving. The secret I discovered was not to look down but to keep my sight on where I was heading and as I took each step, to maintain faith that the bridge would support me.
Faith provides no guarantee that one will reach the other side. As Peter discovered after he had taken a few steps on the water, we can lose our faith just as easily as one can misplace a smart phone or a set of keys.
But faith can be the enabler that allows us to continue our life journey whenever the going gets tough or seems impossible. We have seen Peter act impulsively in other gospel scenes, but if you ask me, this one takes the top prize. At Jesus’ invitation, he climbs out of the boat and walks toward him,
doing something he never thought he would ever do.
Once Peter realized just how strong the wind really was, he began to flounder. He was doing fine so long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, but once he diverted his attention and panic set in, Peter had two choices. He could either sink or swim. But even the best of swimmers can sink when the waters are stormy enough, so fortunately, he thought of another option. Instead of trying to swim ashore and cursing himself for being so foolish, Peter resumed his focus on Jesus and cried out, “Lord, save me!”
You and I are much like Peter in this story. Jesus has called us to be his followers in this time and place, but trying to follow Jesus today is almost like trying to walk on water. It can be next to impossible to venture far without losing our focus, being distracted instead by worldly temptations and issues. But Jesus believes we can do the impossible and so, like Peter, we are constantly urged to keep our eyes on the Lord.
Like Peter, we encounter strong head winds of resistance in our daily lives. Perhaps they are personal, such as little self-confidence or anger control. Maybe they are caused by a lack of direction as to what to do with the onset of an illness or the loss of a significant relationship. Or they could be the strong winds of religious bigotry or politics that undermine our faith.
In the brief moment when he took his eyes off Jesus because of the strong winds, Peter became alarmed. Instead of focusing on the presence of the Lord in front of him, he began to focus on the impossibility of what he was endeavoring to do and that was his nearly fatal mistake.
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