19th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Matthew 14:22-23)

                Summer is winding down.  We probably had a lot of plans for the summer. How have our plans unfolded?

                What are some of the things we like to do in the summer?  We might have planned to go to one of the many amusement parks around our country.  Some of us might have wanted to go to a beach somewhere.  How nice it is to be on the water in the summer. Some of us might not have had the time or the money to travel, so we may have wanted simpler things.  Perhaps we just went to the ice cream store. Other people might have collected a few books to read.

                What if we knew someone who went to an amusement park that had ten roller coasters along with a lot of water rides?  Everyone was enjoying the thrilling rides but the person we knew never got on any of the rides. What if we went to a beach with a friend?. A beautiful beach where jet skiing was available along with snorkeling, but our friend didn’t want to get in the water?  What if we went to the ice cream store with a group of friends where there were a hundred different flavors, but one of our friends just got a vanilla cone?  Maybe that is the only flavor they ever get.  And finally, what if we had a stack of books that we wanted to read during the summer, but we never picked up one book to turn one page?  How would we feel?  We would probably feel like a lot of opportunities had been lost.

                St. Peter has gotten a lot of criticism through the centuries for having had the audacity to step out of a boat to try to walk on water.  We forget that Jesus invited him to walk across the waves to be with him.

                What motivated Peter?  We can only speculate.  Was it pride?  Or had Peter observed Jesus for a long time?  Did he see Jesus living life on a higher spiritual plain?  Jesus was a person that seemed not to be intimidated by any challenges in life.  Peter had witnessed Jesus heal terrible diseases. He had just seen the Lord feed five thousand people with a few loaves and fishes.  He wanted to walk like Jesus walked through life. He took a chance. He had a sense of adventure. He got out of the boat.  How sad would it have been if all the disciples had just sat in the boat afraid to venture out where Jesus was?

                Peter wanted to grow beyond where he was.  Often it seems like we have can have a low bar in our spiritual life.  We might not think about God much.  The boat in the scriptures always represents the Church. Many of us are content to ride through life in the boat that is the Church.  We receive sacraments.  We enjoy a few communing with other Christians at times like at Christmas and Easter.

                But then a storm blows up in our life.  We have an unexpected illness in our family.  A relationship turns sour in our life. We have a financial crisis. And then we think of God.  We probably step out of our normal spiritual routine, praying more than we had before. We might seek consolation from other believers, seeking comfort from those who seem to be more spiritual than us. And then the storm passes…….. We sit down in the boat again and just keep our heads down until the next problem arises.

                What if we were seeking spiritual answers all the time?  If we would have this desire, we would be like Jesus?  We might even be able to walk on water at times.

                Peter had the desire for something more.  He got on the roller coaster. He rode a jet ski. He tried the new flavor of ice cream.  He sought new knowledge.  He learned that he might sink at times. But better to sink and have Jesus pull us out of the water then to never try to walk on the water at all. If we sink, we might learn the most profound lesson of spiritual life. Jesus came to lift us up.