Peter and the Storm

One of my favorite discussions in my theology of healing class was about Matthew 14 when Jesus walks on water:

"And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, 'It is a ghost!' And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to them saying, 'Take heart, it is I; have no fear.' And Peter answered him, 'Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.' He said, 'Come.' So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, 'Lord, save me.' Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?' And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God.'" Matthew 14: 25-33

This passage is packed with sooo many things. Yes, Jesus walks on water. Which is pretty friggin cool. But there's so much more to it than that. It can totally relate to the way that Jesus brings about healing in our lives, with the example of Peter.

Let's start at the beginning. Jesus came to them at the fourth watch of the night, which to the average fisherman of the time is known as the darkest time of night. He also came during a storm. Do I need the explain the metaphor of that one? There was a lot of unrest, a lot of fear.

Then the men in the boat see Jesus walking towards them on the water. You think they would have cried out in joy and relief. But nope, they get scared and think he's a ghost. This translates into our own failure to recognize Jesus during the worst of our storms in life. We are so consumed by the darkness, suffering, and fear that we don't see Jesus in all the ways He may be trying to help us. And if we do finally recognize Him, we may be even more fearful, because sometimes the suffering and sinfulness is less scary than the fear of the unknown. We don't know where Jesus will lead us when He comes to us.

Jesus is trying to tell us through this passage that He is there for us even during the fourth watch of our storms. He is not some distant God watching everything from heaven- He came to earth so that He could get messy, to go down with us into the bottom of our pits and meet us there. He wants to go down to the source of your pain, your sinfulness, and your wounds. He wants to be with you there in order to bring about healing. But we must recognize Him there first and allow Him in. This is sometimes the most challenging part.

This is the process that Peter goes through. He wants to go meet the Lord and embrace Him, and begins to walk out on the water. Everything is going fine until the storm gets worse, and Peter begins to be afraid. At this point he starts to sink and calls out to the Lord for help. How many times do we go through this in our own lives, when we think we're trusting in God until our storms get worse instead of better. Then we begin to sink, to be afriad, and to doubt in God's power. We question if He is hearing our prayers. But Peter needed this to happen to him. He needed to become completely helpless in order to fully surrender to the Lord and trust in Him. Once he calls out for help, Jesus immediately reaches out to him. Their bond is stronger now. Peter just went through the first steps of the ultimate healing, which is the re-establishment of our souls in union with God. Peter recognized his littleness and God's greatness, and accepted Jesus as Christ the Savior.

Then Jesus and Peter get into the boat together. The winds cease and there is worship, peace, and joy within the boat. Who knows if the storm actually calmed, or if the people in the boat just didn't notice it as much anymore. They weren't as affected by it anymore. When we finally let Jesus into every part of our heart, we allow Him into our boat. We let Him see our wounds and touch them at the bottom of our pits. We may still suffer, we may still go through storms, but we're now in it together with Jesus. We're not trying to do it alone. The storms blowing around us won't disturb us as much, because we have Jesus in our boat.

So don't begrudge Jesus for the storms. Maybe they needed to happen in order to ultimately bring about greater healing in your life. To help you grow in trust, love, and surrender. Always look for Jesus in the storms, because it is there that He is most present. Pray to St. Peter for his intercession, that he will help you bring Jesus into your boat.