Peter walking on water

Last Sunday’s gospel verses 28-29 of Matthew 14 describe Peter “walking on water” at the command of Jesus who, at Peter’s inquiry if it was really He, said, “Come”. What made Peter ask Jesus to command him to come towards Him? Was it the assurance by Jesus that it was He and consequently should not be afraid? What really caused Peter to walk on water?

To say, because Jesus is God. His power suspended the law of gravity for Peter, is the natural human explanation. In the area of faith, it was the faith of Peter in Jesus that made his soul “heavier” than his material body, which was no longer subject to the law of gravity.

By saying, Peter’s soul became heavy by his faith in Jesus, I am reminded by the explanation of St. Paul and St. Augustine. In his second letter to the Corinthians, 4:13-16, St. Paul says that because of his faith in the risen Lord, he is not discouraged even if his outer nature is in the process of decay because his inner nature — his soul — is being renewed day by day. Another way of explaining this is, that the radiant beauty of Jesus walking on water so fascinated and captivated Peter’s soul that he was strongly and irresistibly pulled toward Jesus. St. Augustine in one of his books prayed, “Oh God, you made us, and our souls are restless until they rest in you.” This restlessness is confirmed by many holy men and women who during the moment of intense prayer and contemplation, their body was elevated off the ground signifying the soul experiencing hunger for deeper unity and intimacy with the Lord.

While his eyes and heart were focused on the face of Jesus, Peter kept on walking on the water. But the strong wind lashed at him and fear caused him to lose focus. His attention turned to the wind and the waves, and began to sink. Trials, temptations, hardships, pains of the body, hurts, and other tribulations, can make us lose focus and divert our attention away from Jesus. Then our faith is weakened and our love is diminished. We then lose the power of the soul over the body that comes from Jesus. Our outer nature, our body with all its faculties, has taken control of our life.

Let us pray with the apostles, “Lord, increase our faith.” (Lk 17:5).