Readings: 1 Kings 19:9, 11-13; Psalm 85; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:22-33
Grace and peace to you dear friends in the Lord.
In the Gospel of today, we have so many themes calling for our attention.
Let me state some of the possible themes we could ponder on.
I. The prayer life of Jesus
II. The storms of our lives: causes and purpose.
This connects so well with both the First Reading and the Second Reading. Elijah’s life was hunted, that was his storm. He experienced his storm in the service of God. Paul has his fair share of storms. He was distressed because his people would not accept the message of salvation.
III. Jesus sees what we are going through and He comes at the right time.
IV. Courage: “It is I, do not be afraid.”
V. Focus on Jesus.
VI. “Why did you doubt?”
However, today, I feel more inspired to preach on the faith of Peter.
If we saw Jesus in the middle of the sea and He called us to walk on the water and come to Him, how many of us would step into the water to go and meet Him?
Well, I am not too sure I would. I would probably just wait for Him to walk to the shore and then we could go anywhere together.
Of all the disciples, only Peter was bold enough to talk to Jesus. Only Peter was courageous enough to step out of their only hope of safety. I can picture the other disciples trying to hold him back and shouting, “Peter, don’t be silly.”
Peter stepped into the water because Jesus said, “Come.” He got out of the boat and walked on the water but he waited for the instruction from Jesus before stepping. Some of us are quick to take the leap without receiving instruction from the Lord. When we drift and drown, we then blame it on the Lord. We shall look at this another day.
Today, we will not even bother about the fact that at some point, Peter became afraid; let’s just look at what he did. This shall never be forgotten -any generation that reads the Bible must hear the story that a disciple named Peter walked on water because Jesus said, “Come.”
Maybe God has been telling someone here to take a step of faith but fear has kept us in the boat. Today’s message is for us – Jesus doesn’t give us responsibility without giving us the ability.
The Holy Spirit is saying to someone today, “Stop saying I can’t.” We can do whatever God asks, needs or wants us to do. If the Lord is asking us to do it, He will supply the grace that we need but we need the faith to step out.
Someone might be saying, “I can’t get over it, I will never be what I could have been, I can never forgive him,” or “It is impossible for me to fulfill my purpose in life, I can never do this, I can never do that, I cannot succeed, I CAN’T.” Maybe a voice has been manipulating someone’s mind and telling us, “Stay where you are because you can’t.”
The Lord is saying to us today, “You can, you are stronger than you think.”
Faith makes all things possible. The Bible says: “I can do all things, through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). In other words, I am ready, I am capable, I have the divine capacity to do that which God wants me to do. All I need is faith in the One who wants me to do it.
There are some heights we cannot attain, some truth we can never discover, some success we cannot record, some gifts we can never acquire, some breakthrough we can never experience, some testimonies we can never give, unless we step out of the boat and walk on the sea towards the one who says, “Do it.”
Let us not be defeated by negative thoughts and fears. God told the people of Israel that He would give them the land of Canaan. Moses sent spies to check out the land and in Numbers 13:25, the spies came back. After confirming how good the land was, they added a “but,” – we can’t, we should be afraid of the people, we are unable to. So they concluded in chapter 14:4, that they would go back to Egypt.
The “but” is the problem. It is the limitation in the lives of many. Peter could have said, “Lord, I would love to come “but” this head-wind is forceful and terrifying.”
Caleb had a different testimony. He saw the ” but”, the obstacles, the giants, the powerful inhabitants, and yet he saw beyond it – “If God has said we should, then we could.”
This is the attitude that the Lord wants us to have. This is the kind of faith that Peter had. Perhaps this was part of what Jesus saw in him and why He made him His vicar. This is what the Tessera prayers of the Legion of Mary describes as “a courageous faith which will inspire us to undertake and carry out without hesitation, great things for God and the salvation of souls…”
Lord Jesus, give me the faith I need to overcome my fears and doubts and to step out to do great and wonderful things, relying on your Word, power and grace.
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on August 13, 2023.