I’m sure there are many things you would like to accomplish but are struggling to do it. I for one, would love to be able to do “sweep picking” on the guitar (feel free to google it). Despite watching numerous tutorials on the internet, I am only too aware of my limitations and there just seems to be no way I can manage it. I can watch others do it and am in awe of their skill and dexterity, but it remains something just beyond me. When we are called out of our comfort zones, we can become all too aware of our limitations and long to retreat back to doing what we are comfortable and familiar with. Church is no different. We know Jesus is calling us out of our comfortable lives to go and be Him to those around us, but it’s easy for Him, He’s the Son of God. We don’t have enough time, or money, or skill to do what He asks.
In our reading today, the disciples have been sent ahead of Jesus in a boat while He prays on a mountain. A storm has blown the disciples out to sea and they are unable to control where they are heading. During this, the see Jesus walking over the water towards them. While they are convinced this is a ghost, Jesus tells them that it is Him and they are not to fear. Peter asks Jesus to call him out of the boat which Jesus does and, famously, Peter takes a few steps before becoming all too aware of the wind and waves and begins to sink. Crying out for help, Jesus rescues Him and deposits Peter back in the boat wondering why Peter had this weakness in his otherwise strong faith.
Certainly Jesus, as the Son of God, does some amazing things. But He also asks us to go and do likewise. At times though, what He asks of us can seem as impossible as walking on water. We see Jesus and we are inspired by Him to do the same. We begin with grand notions and ideas but all too soon we become distracted by the size of the task before us and our limited resources. We hear the voice of those asking why we are bothering? What difference can we make? That’s when we take our focus off Jesus and we begin to sink. While Jesus is always there to rescue us, He will wonder what happened to our faith? If Jesus can move heaven and earth to be with us as we engage on His mission, the least we can do is step out of our comfort zones and keep our focus on Him. Jesus is always there for us; we need to be always there for Him.