Our Post is Inspired by The Holy Spirit.
When Bill Winters, who heads up A Catholic Moment, asked me if I would like to write the Wednesday post, I accepted instantly. I did have a few questions, though; the most important question was, “What are the constraints?”
Bill answered, “None.”
I will take Bill at his word and do something different this week.
Let me explain.
I only do Wednesday’s readings, and there are other great readings I, we, will never get a chance to talk about because they are on a different day.
The Gospel reading of Jesus walking on water a few weeks ago exemplifies this.
The Holy Spirit had me wait, so I would not be in conflict or competition with the person who wrote the blog for that day.
We intend to share information I had never considered with the hope that it could enrich your life.
Jesus made the disciples get into a boat
and precede him to the other side of the sea,
while he dismissed the crowds.
After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
When it was evening he was there alone.
Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them, walking on the sea.
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.
“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.
At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter said to him in reply,
“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.”
Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,
and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
After they got into the boat, the wind died down.
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
“Truly, you are the Son of God.” Emphasis Mine Matthew 14:22-33
How many sermons have you heard with the Priest asking, “Why did Peter give up? The homilist then points out Peter’s lack of faith, as Jesus did.
Peter got scared and quit!
I prayed I would never be like Peter and quit.
But, we have missed one fascinating aspect of this story. For me, every story in the bible has many interpretations.
Remember,
Twelve Apostles were in the boat.
Peter was the only one to ask if he could come to Jesus and to do this, Peter had to walk on water.
Jesus said, “Come.”
Peter climbed out of the boat and walked on the water!
Peter is the ONLY human, besides Jesus, to have walked on water, if only for a few steps.
Peter WALKED on the water!
I read a fascinating book entitled, If you want to walk on the water, you have got to get out of the boat by John Ortberg.
The author pointed out the twelve Apostles were in the boat; Peter was the only one who asked to get out, and the others were clinging to the boat for their safety.
Peter may have come up short, but the others never even tried.
But what does this mean for you and me?
Simple.
When God presents a new challenge to you, don’t stay in the comfort of the boat; GET OUT and walk on the water.
My, our, life has been a great example.
God encouraged me to be a Cantor. I can’t read music. I tried anyway, and with help from the Choir director, I overcame my shortcomings and was a Cantor for many years.
God told me to do a Prison Ministry. I couldn’t stand being associated with these men. I said I would do one meeting, and that would be it. That was twenty-five years ago.
God led me to write this blog. I said I have no English skills, can’t type, and have no idea what I would write about for fifty-two weeks. I ran into a friend this weekend who said he couldn’t write a blog weekly, “do you realize, Fred, that’s fifty-two blogs a year?”
I replied,” It’s just this week.”
When I read the book If you want to walk on the water, you have got to get out of the boat, I realized that every time God asked me to do something, I said “No.” and then tried it and kicked myself for saying no in the first place.
Life is easy.
I used this Gospel to compliment our priest when we told him that by becoming a Priest, he had to get out of the Boat and live a different life as a Priest.
God leads, we follow, and we have faith that God will take care of us because God has taken care of us.
Find the Joy of being a son or daughter of the Father by getting out of the boat and walking on the water.
“The nine” We pray you will grow in the Love, Joy, and Peace of the Holy Spirit by growing in Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.
Sidebar:
This week is exciting. By the end of this week, all our grandchildren will be in college.
Which is great!
But,
Life just changed for the whole family, and it’s a sea change.
Gail and I won’t be traveling to school and high school activities.
Our sons and their wives will be empty nesters.
All of our grandchildren will be on their own, making their own decisions, making new friends, and taking on new challenges, getting out of the boat.
Houses that were filled with conversation will be quieter.
We may not be able to all get together as a family, for Thanksgiving and other holidays because of other commitments.
Fifty-five years ago, Gail and I said, “I Do”, What has followed has been greater than I could have imagined.
Every year has been better than the last, but along the way, Gail and I have experienced changes, as I am sure you have; that’s life, but this year’s transition seems to have hit me harder.
I pray that when life hits you hard because of a change, you will thank God for the love that generated that hard feeling and trust in our Loving God to take care of you.
I also know some of you have experienced the ultimate change, that being the death of a loved one. Death is harsh, but you can take consolation in knowing your love for that person and their love for you was God-given, and you will be reunited with them again.
If you watched the piece about Job, you saw at the end that Job only had the same number of children he had before all of his calamities happened. God had doubled everything: sheep, camels, and donkeys, but not Job’s children because they and Job will be reunited in Heaven.
Being reunited with loved ones in Heaven, then, is a reason for Hope and Joy; death is not death but a transition, and those you know who have died and loved will be reunited with you in time.
Picture;
The picture is of the Big Hollow North trail at Mammoth Cave in Mammoth, Ky. Gail and I pulled up at five p.m. and rode this trail. Big Hollow Trail is part of the Mammoth Cave National Park, and it is beautiful. The Big Hollow Trail is NOT a Rails to Trail type trail.
We will run Rails to Trail pictures for the next few weeks because we are coming up upon a beautiful time of year, Fall, with all its vibrant colors and crisp fresh air: what a great time to go out and enjoy God’s creation.
