Walking on Water
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In Matthew chapter 14, after the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he would send the crowds away. And then he went up into the hills to pray…When evening came, he was there alone, while the boat, by now far out on the lake, was battling with a heavy sea, for there was a head-wind. In the fourth watch of the night, he went towards them, walking on the lake, and when the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. 'It is a ghost' they said and cried out in fear. But at once Jesus called out to them, saying, 'Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.' lt was Peter who answered. 'Lord,' he said 'if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.' 'Come' said Jesus. Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus across the water, but as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink. 'Lord! Save me!' he cried. Jesus put out his hand at once and held him. 'Man of little faith,' he said 'why did you doubt?'
Why did Peter sink? We might say it was because he didn’t have faith. Afterall, Jesus called him a man of little faith. But what does this lack of faith really mean? What made Peter sink? And if Jesus asked you to come out onto the water, what would make you sink?
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Peter sinks not because he has no faith, but because he puts his faith in himself.
Peter knows that it is impossible for him to walk on water. But as Jesus said, “For men this is impossible, for God everything is impossible.”
It was the sinful self-reliance that caused Peter to sink. But when he cries out for Christ and stops sinking it is because he puts his faith in Jesus instead.
At every moment, all of my strengths are dependent upon God. My very existence is continually dependent upon Him! And sinful self-reliance is essentially forgetfulness of God.
Peter sank because he forgot about Jesus and only thought about himself and his own abilities. Why was he a man of little faith? Because when you only put your faith into something very very little...like yourself...then of course there is very little faith. But when you put your faith in God, the infinite, then you have truly great faith!
Almost all people live with faith in themselves and not in God. We develop talents, strengths, relationships, health, wealth, professions, etcetera… And we put our faith, our trust, our reliance in these. But with faith in ourselves, we can barely even do what’s humanly possible. With faith in God, we can do whatever He wills!
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Since sinful self-reliance is forgetfulness of God.
We can overcome this by the prayer of petition and praise.
In the prayer of petition, we turn to God and ask Him for all we need. We express awareness that He is God, that we are not God and that we depend upon Him for everything.
A great way to begin the prayer of petition is to identify all the ways that we are inadequate, that to do what God wants of us, we can only do it with Him. Then beg Him for the gifts that only He is capable of granting.
I get to practice this every day when I cry out to Him and say: “Father, I think you want me to write this Rosary meditation, but I have no idea what to write and I am incapable of writing it on my own. Please do it for me.”
The Our Father is the perfect form of the prayer of petition, and as we pray it together, really focus on the petition we’re making.
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The second way to overcome the sinful self-reliance that causes us to forget God is the practice of Praise.
When we fail, we have a tendency to blame God. Then, when we win, we’re often tempted to keep all the glory for ourselves. But praise is when we direct all the glory to God instead. It helps us to remember that all our gifts come from God.
Mary, the Mother of God was the only perfect human and she did the greatest thing possible – she brought God to the world to save us. She also gives the greatest example of praise in the Magnificat.
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children forever.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
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We overcome sinful self-reliance through petition and praise.
Petition begins by asking God for forgiveness. Then it seeks the Kingdom of God, which is Jesus above all things. After that, petition seeks the will of God beyond our will. Father, what is your will? And finally, we turn to God and ask him for all that we need.
Praise is the form of prayer which recognizes that God is God and we are not God.
When you are tempted to seek praise, remember all your gifts come from God. And when someone praises you. Respond simply, “Praise God for all his wondrous gifts.”