Then he made the disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. 24 Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. 25 During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. 27 At once [Jesus] spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” 28 Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw how [strong] the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 After they got into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”
Jesus’ solitary prayer to God is a model for all Christians. Christians need communal prayer but there should be times of silent, personal prayer to God. Storms occur frequently on the Lake of Gennesaret and cause large waves. The wind against the boat could be a metaphor for the hostile forces against Jesus and his disciples. In the Exodus, Moses parted the sea for the Israelites to walk through (Ex. 14:15-16). Here, Jesus uses his divine power to walk on the water itself (v. 25). Peter, the impulsive disciple, got out of the boat on Jesus’ command and began to walk on the water through an act of faith. He began to sink because his faith was weakened by doubt but Peter, in his time of need, cried out to the Lord to save him. No matter what turmoil we are experiencing God wants us to have unwavering faith that he will see us through. Let us turn to Jesus in all circumstances, good or bad, and he will immediately extend his hand to us, but will we take it?
Almighty God, we believe in our Lord Jesus
Christ, yet we doubt that he will always be there to save us. In him we can do all things; on our own we
can achieve very little. Grant us the
grace of unwavering faith so that we may dispel the worries and fears that are
born out of our weakness. May our Lord
Jesus Christ always extend his hand to lead us safely home. This we pray through Christ out Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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