During the fourth
watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea. When the disciples
saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and
they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do
not be afraid.” Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to
come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began
to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he
became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O
you of little faith, why did you doubt?” After they got into the boat, the wind
died down.[1]
I recall the first--and only—time that
I tried my hand at night fishing on a bass boat. I had never seen the night so black. I couldn't see the stumps in the water nor
the fallen trees. I couldn't see where
to cast my lure. To top it off, you
couldn’t call me a swimmer; so, if I had hit something and fell overboard—even though
I was wearing a life vest—well, it would not have been pretty. To say the least, I was apprehensive. At that time, the water was calm. I can imagine how the disciples felt, being
tossed about by the wind and waves, having no idea where they were on the
water, the water probably entering the boat, etc. From pictures I have seen of the fishing boats
of that era, the boats were built pretty low to the water. I’m stating this because, when it comes to
this passage, most of the time whoever is preaching is referring to the fact
that “we need to get out of our comfort zone.”
Well, let me assure you: The disciples were not in their comfort zone. Yes, there are times when we need to step out
boldly, not submitting to fear. This is
shown in the fact that the disciples obeyed Jesus by getting into the boat,
knowing that it was common for storms to suddenly arise on the sea. I say this because St. Jerome tells us that
the Apostles were reluctant to leave Him: “Rightly had the Apostles departed
from the Lord as unwilling and slow to leave Him, lest they should suffer shipwreck
while He was not with them.”[2] So, what is St. Matthew trying to teach us by
relating this story?
The Twelve--albeit one would betray
Him, which we all do when we sin--were the foundation of the Church. They were the first bishops of the
Church. Our Lord was probably looking
forward to His Passion, death, resurrection, and ascension, and also the
descent of the Holy Spirit. He was
looking forward to the time when the Catholic Church would be His visible Body
to the world. It was necessary that He
increase the faith of His disciples.
Previously, the disciples had been
in a boat during a storm, but Jesus was with them, albeit asleep. They had awakened Him, and He calmed the
storm. St John Chrysostom notes: “Again,
the disciples suffer shipwreck, as they had done before; but then they had Him
in the boat, but now they are alone. Thus,
gradually He leads them to higher things, and instructs them to endure all
manfully. He suffers them to be tossed
the whole night, exciting their hearts by fear, and inspiring them with greater
desire and more lasting recollection of Him.
For this reason, He did not stand by them immediately, but as it follows:
‘In the fourth watch of the night, He came to them walking upon the sea,’ teaching
them not to seek a speedy riddance of coming evil but to bear manfully such things
as befall them.”[4] In that our Lord is increasing the Apostles’
faith and sanctifying them, He also places the difficulties we face in front of
us for the same purpose.
St. Augustine reminds us: "But while Christ prays on high, the
boat is tossed with great waves in the deep; and, inasmuch as the waves rise,
[the] boat can be tossed; but, because Christ prays, it cannot be sunk. Think of that boat as the Church, and the
stormy sea as this world." “That He
commands His disciples to enter the ship and to go across the sea,” St. Hilary
surmises, “while He sends the multitudes away and after that He goes up into
the mountain to pray, He therein bids us to be within the Church and to be in
peril until such time, as returning in His splendor, He shall give salvation to
all the people that shall be remaining of Israel, and shall forgive their sins;
and having dismissed them into His Father’s kingdom, returning thanks to His
Father, He shall sit down in His glory and majesty. Meanwhile the disciples are tossed by the wind
and the waves, struggling against all the storms of this world raised by the
opposition of the unclean spirit.” “When
any of a wicked will and of great power,” explains Augustine, “proclaims a
persecution of the Church, then it is that a mighty wave rises against the boat
of Christ.” From Blessed Rabanus, we
understand: "…It is well said here
that the ship was in the middle of the sea and He alone on the land because the
Church is sometimes oppressed with such persecution that her Lord may seem to
have forsaken her for a season."[5]
Jesus came to His disciples during
the fourth watch of the night. When the
disciples saw Jesus coming, walking on the water, they were terrified and cried
out. At this point, other questions come
to my mind. Why
is the evangelist telling us about St. Peter?
Neither Mark, Luke, nor John mention Peter's response and attempt to
walk on the water to Jesus. Is St. Matthew
trying to tell us that St. Peter had more faith than the rest of them and was
willing to get out of his "comfort zone"? Why did Jesus bid him to
"come"? What would have
happened if St. Peter had not fallen?
Would not pride have set in?
Let me attempt to answer this
question first: Is St. Matthew trying to tell us that St. Peter had more faith
than the rest of them and was willing to get out of his "comfort
zone"? When the disciples saw
Jesus, they were even more terrified; therefore, He said to them, "It is
I; be not afraid." St. Peter throws
out Gideon's fleece: "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the
water." In my opinion, the boat was
not Peter’s “comfort zone.” He knows
that, if it was Jesus, he would be more safe with Jesus than he would be in the
boat. Why did Jesus bid him to “come”? Jesus bids him to “come” to instill faith and
courage, to teach the apostles, and to allow Peter to fall--for humility sake.
Placing myself in St. Peter's shoes,
I can imagine what I would do. I am not
going to jump out of the boat and begin walking on water. No way.
I am still not positive that it really is Jesus; therefore, first, I am
going to gingerly put one foot on the water to see if the water is going to be
firm, firm enough to hold me up. If it
is firm for one foot, I’m going to place the other one on the water. However, most of my weight is still going to
be on the boat—just in case. You see, St. Peter said "if it is you;" he did
not say, "Lord, since it is you, bid me to come to you." If the water appears to firm, then I would
stand up. I think that is how the average
person would react.
Another reason why Jesus would have
bid Peter to “come:” We must remember that Jesus is not the Head of one person;
He is the Head of the Church, a body of people working out of love for God and
neighbor. He is not coming back for a
bunch of divided individuals but a unified Church, His Bride, holy and
spotless. Jesus had to get this message
across to the apostles, to the Church. This
message Jesus had to get across to the Church at Peter's expense because he was
going to be the first leader of the Church.
He must become the most humble.
"He who is to first must become a servant to all.” St. Jerome states: “[Peter] is left to
temptation for a short season that his faith may be increased and that he may
understand that he is saved not by his ability to ask but by the power of the
Lord. For faith burned at his heart, but
human frailty drew him into the deep.”[6]
Not only did Jesus want to teach
Peter and the others humility; He also desired to strengthen their faith. St. Augustine remarks: “[Jesus’] coming (walking
on the water) was with a wonder. The
waves swelled, but they were trodden upon. Thus, howsoever the powers of this
world shall swell themselves, our Head shall crush their head.”[7] Because He is the Head, the Head of the
Church, Jesus is also teaching the apostles that the Church, howsoever the
powers of this world shall swell themselves, the Church will also crush their
head. What Christ does, He also has the
Church doing. St. Augustine goes on to say:
“That Peter cries to the Lord for help that he should not be drowned, signifies
that He shall purge His Church with certain trials even after the last
persecution, as Paul also notes, saying, ‘He shall be saved, yet so as by fire’.”[8] All of this Jesus will later use—after His
ascension—to strengthen their faith.
Why is the evangelist telling us
about St. Peter, since neither Mark, Luke, nor John mention Peter's response
and attempt to walk on the water to Jesus?
St. Matthew stresses the Kingdom of God, which in this world is the
Church. Because of this, we also can
have comfort and strengthened faith in the fact that we are part of the Church.
We learn from St Augustine: "In
one Apostle, namely Peter--first and chief in the order of Apostles in whom was
figured the Church--both kinds [of people] were to be signified, i.e. the
strong in his walking upon the waters; the weak in that he doubted--for to each
of us our lusts are as a tempest. Do you
love God? You walk on the sea; the fear
of this world is under thy feet. Do you
love the world? It swallows you up. But when your heart is tossed with desire,
then--that you may overcome your lust--call upon the divine person of
Christ."[9]
St. Matthew does not relate this
story to tell his listeners that they need to get out of their "comfort
zones" or that, "in order to walk on water they need to get out of
the boat." These things, if we
think we are doing them, promotes pride, not humility, when we do them. He desires to instill faith and confidence in
Christ and His Church. He desires to
teach us that it is Christ who sends us out to face adversity, and we need to
recall that, when He does, He will be there to sustain us. If we fall, we have recourse to Him, His
Church, and the Sacraments. We work
better in the gifts that God has given us.
That is our “comfort zone.” For
example, a dentist should not get out of his comfort zone and do heart
surgery. That is not his gift. However, if one refers to “comfort zone” as
not facing fears, then, yes, we need to get out of our comfort zone. If being slothful is our “comfort zone,”
then, yes, we need to get out of our comfort zone. Let the Church be our comfort zone, and let
us engage in the work of the Church, facing the adversities of the Church when
they arise. Sometimes these adversities
will seem to be just on a personal level; however, when one part of the human
body is diseased, the entire body is attacked.
This is the same in the Church.
Therefore, Christ will be there for us to strengthen us and save
us. If we happen to fail, He has given
us the Sacraments. He will put us back
in the boat also.
The boat portrays the Church, which
also takes us back to Noah’s ark and the Flood.
Christ will cause the Church to rise above the waves. The waves cannot overwhelm Her. What did Jesus do when Peter began to sink
and cried out? Why, He put him back in
the boat. The evangelist is not focusing
on what Peter did; he is focused on what Christ is doing. He wants our minds on Christ and His Church,
and He will protect Her and Her members.
Once again, he desires to instill faith and confidence in us. It is for this purpose that the Church
fathers keep emphasizing the Church when commenting on this passage. Let us enter Her. In Her is LIFE, Christ. We will survive.
[1] New American Bible, Revised Edition.,
(Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), Mt
14:25–32.
[2] Aquinas, Thomas. Catena Aurea - Gospel of Matthew -
Enhanced Version (Kindle Locations 10075-10077). Christian Classics Ethereal
Library. Kindle Edition.
[3] New American Bible,
Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops, 2011), Mt 14:22.
[4] Aquinas, Thomas. Catena Aurea - Gospel of Matthew -
Enhanced Version (Kindle Locations 10077-10079, 10081-10083, 10085-10086).
Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Kindle Edition.
[5] Ibid., (Kindle Locations 10143-10153). Christian
Classics Ethereal Library. Kindle Edition.
[6]
Ibid., (Kindle Locations 10119-10121). Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
Kindle Edition
[7]
Ibid., (Kindle Locations 10159-10160). Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
Kindle Edition
[8]
Ibid., (Kindle Locations 10166-10167). Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
Kindle Edition
[9]
Ibid., (Kindle Locations 10178-10182). Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
Kindle Edition
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