We’re in the midst of a rolling sea, in a boat that seems fragile, and there are howling winds and enormous waves that threaten to capsize us.
At some point in time this may describe anyone’s life — one’s parish or school or one’s business or neighborhood or family; one’s personal life as our employer tells us our job has been outsourced or downsized; or our doctor explains our test results; or we get that call in the middle of the night, “Is this the mother of …?”
This has been the life of the community of the church many times since Jesus walked on water and it is what today’s Gospel story is about.Jesus is there to help us negotiate the trials. As long as we keep our eyes on Him, we can walk on water; that is, we can do the impossible. When we focus on the power of the winds and the depth of the waves and how wet and cold we are, then we panic and grasp and clutch and … sink. When we give up our life to the care of Jesus, we save our life. When we grasp and clutch, we lose it. This is the counter intuitive lesson Jesus taught over and over again.
When we look back on harsh events in our lives, so harsh we thought we might not even survive, sometimes we see that these events were the making of us. The trick — and the measure of the disciple — is to remember the resurrection when we are on the cross; to remember that it is Jesus whose hand is stretched out to us in the midst of the storm.
Fortunately, as we’re negotiating a storm and forgetting to keep our eyes on Jesus, He does not forget to keep His eyes on us. He understands. He knows what it is to pray for “this cup to pass by.” And He knows what it is to trust — “Father, if it be your will.” As Elijah discovered God’s presence in the “tiny whispering sound,” so with our eyes on Jesus we find the still place amid the chaos.