St. Peter Waking on the Water, Allori 1590s, Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy.

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During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea.  Matthew 14:25.

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Did you know that in 2021, fishing was the most dangerous profession in the world? It had the highest average workplace fatality rate globally at 15.96 per 100,000 workers; in Canada it has an even higher rate of 27.32 per 100,000. Mining and quarrying are the second most dangerous. I say this as a background to today’s gospel, and with a nod to the opening verses of the Bible in Genesis: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters (NIV). I myself am very fearful of the sea at night, considering it dangerous and very scary. The sea, therefore, has presented a challenge to humanity from the very beginning, carrying the very image of chaos and threat. It took God to tame it to the extent that we humans could, to some extent, survive with it, though throughout the centuries it has apparently been common for most sailors not to learn how to swim. It was considered unlucky, and with ancient boats difficult to control it was unlikely you would be rescued if you fell overboard. Quicker to drown than stay afloat for hours or days only to die in a horrible variety of ways. Today’s gospel describes Jesus walking on the waters while his disciples were in a boat, already a few miles offshore, being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. It was also the “fourth watch of the night”. Very scary. So in its way this, like last week’s gospel, is a kind of theophany: who but God can walk on a night-enshrouded, tossing, stormy sea? Jesus has the power of God! This is one of the “nature miracles” not beloved of theologians. To admit that Jesus had such power would be to admit has was both God and human, which is central to our belief, but many theologians prefer to be able come up with natural explanations of his miracles, not to admit his divine power outright. They cannot explain walking on the water, and much wriggling ensues; take a look at this, for example. But for believers there is not much of a problem. Being God, Jesus could defy any natural law, even to the extent of walking on water. So, in its way, this is just like last week’s gospel with the Transfiguration of Jesus. Who but God could do either of these things? So, you might ask, what makes this gospel different from last week’s Transfiguration?

The Transfiguration was a overwhelming declaration of the presence of God among us. “Listen to him” came the mighty voice from the all-encircling cloud as Jesus conversed with the two supreme personages from Scripture, Moses and Elijah. If you want a theophany, there it was. Now today’s gospel is also a theophany. But in its way, this is more acceptable, as it were, than last week’s revelation of Jesus as Son of God. Today we have a small group of men who knew all about boats but even they were having difficulty managing their craft. But here came Jesus, walking towards them with no difficulty, amid the swirl, spray and waves of a turbulent sea. This added to their woes rather than calming them because, understandably, they thought they were seeing a ghost! But no, Jesus tried to calm them down, and then Peter did the extraordinary. It seems as though he was testing the Lord: “If it is you, command me to come to you on the water”,,,,,,. If it is you…. As I mentioned above, it was very unusual for anyone concerned with the sea back then to know how to swim. So Peter’s request was either suicidal (if Jesus was a ghost) or it showed absolute faith in the Lord, able to do anything. Jesus agreed, Peter jumped overboard, walked, felt the strong wind, lost faith, and then sank. His faith in God won, then failed. Jesus rescued him of course, teasing him for his lack of faith. One can almost see the gentle smile of the Lord as he said that. What is he going to do with these fellows to make them believe? Hence we come from the sublime (last week’s Transfiguration) to the downright ordinary (out in their boats which they have known all their lives), they still are not sure. Yes they know Jesus is the One who is to come, and yet…. 

Looking at today’s first reading from the First Book of Kings, Elijah was told by God to wait at the entrance of his shelter for God to walk by. Heavy wind, crashing rocks, an earthquake and fire all manifested themselves, and Elijah did not recognize God in any of these. Then came a “still small voice”, a “quiet gentle sound”, a “soft gentle voice”, a “quiet whispering voice” (all these are translations from the same Hebrew text) and Elijah “hid his face in his cloak”, for there was God. I think that can be compared to the voice that Abram/Abraham heard in Genesis 12, when God called him for the first time, telling him to change his whole life, and him an old man. And he agreed. And I wonder how softly Jesus spoke to Peter when he simply said “Come”, inviting Peter to cross to him over the water. Peter heard it and responded. So God has manifested to us in a variety of ways, from the stillest whisper to the crash of thunder.

So, haven’t we all heard that still small voice somewhere, anywhere, everywhere? It is the voice of our conscience, that speck of God-bearing gold embedded in our soul, confirming, warning, strengthening us to be like Peter, to cross whatever intervenes between us and the Lord and be unafraid if we are responding to the Lord’s call. True, we may fall into those turbulent waves as did he, but we must have the faith to know that there is a hand reaching out to us no matter what. It is our choice whether to respond to the hand of life, grace and power – or not.

Jesus Saving Us, Jaelynn Dyverson

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