Have you ever gone for a boat ride on a summer day? The sun is shining; there is a soft, warm breeze and you can hear gentle waves lapping like music on the sides of your boat. It is a lovely experience.
But sometimes a boat ride can be scary. At night it is very dark. When a storm arises, the wind wails, the thunder booms and big waves rock the boat, until you think it is going to upset and you are going to drown in the cold, black water.
Jesus' Apostles had a very frightening boat ride one night on the Sea of Galilee.
That day, Jesus had been teaching and healing people. In the evening, he performed a miracle by feeding five thousand men plus more women and children with only five loaves of bread and two fish. In the evening he was tired. Jesus told his friends to take the boat and go ahead to the other side of the lake.
When the Apostles were far from shore, a fierce storm arose. Strong winds howled, lighting flashed, and the boat rocked wildly, like an out-of-control roller coaster. Just when the Apostles thought things couldn't get any worse, they saw a glowing, white figure walking toward them on the water. "Oh no!" they thought. "Now a ghost is chasing us!" But it wasn't a ghost; it was Jesus.
He didn't want them to be frightened. Right away he spoke: " Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid." Mt. 14:27
Peter, always the boldest, called out, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." Mt. 14:28. Jesus told him to come ahead.
Peter stepped out of the boat and took a few steps towards Jesus. He was doing very well when suddenly he stopped. He took his eyes off Jesus and looked around. He realized where he was and what he was doing. He became panicky and right away he began to sink into the dark, stormy sea. He called out to Jesus, "Lord, save me!" Mt. 14:30
Right away, Jesus caught Peter's hand, pulled him up, and they both got into the boat. Immediately the storm went away, and the lake became quiet and peaceful once more.
Then Jesus told Peter that he needed to have more faith. It he had trusted Jesus and kept his eyes steadily on the Lord, he would have been just fine.
Often we are like Peter. When stormy times come in our lives, we forget to trust Jesus. We get panicky about the bad things that seem to be happening to us, or around us, and we take our eyes off the Lord. Even then, when we call to Jesus for help, he is ready and anxious to save us.
We need to always remember that when we are Jesus' friends, when he is on our side, or as we might say, "in our boat", there is nothing to be afraid of. Jesus is God, Lord of heaven and earth, and he loves each one of us very much. He proved this by dying on the cross to save us.
Like Peter and the Apostles, we need to have faith and trust in him and not be afraid, no matter how scary things around us might appear to be. . We need only call on Jesus and he will always stretch out his hand to save us.
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