Walking on Water

One of the most spiritually stirring stories is the miracle of Jesus walking on water. Jesus, a symbol of divine sovereignty appears as a beacon of hope as he walks on water in the middle of a raging storm. The story appears in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John. Only in the gospel of Matthew does Peter (a fan favorite for his adorable impulsiveness) also give it a try, only to falter due to the wind and waves. Jesus, of course, immediately saves him. As the story goes in all three gospels, the rough waters only become quiet again after Jesus gets into the boat with the rest of the disciples. He wasn’t just walking on water. He was walking on rough, unsettled seas.

Anyone who has been on a body of water knows that the sea is rarely flat. Even gentle waves rise and fall, giving us very little idea how anyone could walk on such uncertainty. On rough seas, with waves large enough to rock a boat holding twelve people, it is almost impossible to imagine how the miraculous feat could have been done. How did Jesus walk on a stormy sea? Where did his feet make contact with the angry waves? How could he be supported by such an unsteady surface?

And yet, we all do something similar, all the time. Life is rarely so serene that we see nothing unsettling on the horizon of our lives. Our relationships, jobs, health, and circumstances are always shifting, like waves on the ocean. Our fragile inner worlds are subject to change all the time, always a moment away from a sudden storm of emotional turmoil. Our outer worlds, too, are reasons for unsteadiness. Political and social unrest are never far away, and appear like approaching storm clouds on the horizon, sweeping in at an alarming rate. Nothing in the tumultuous history of humankind should give us reason to think that the path forward for any of us is a simple or easy one. Our lives are made up of uncertain steps in an uncertain world. Even the discoveries of quantum physics show us that the particles that make up the ground we walk on are always vibrating, moving, and uncertain. As humans, we are, in every way, walking on unsteady ground. We are all walking on water.

And yet, faith keeps us afloat. Whether it be faith in our own ability to survive, faith in the moments of peace that we cling to like lifesavers, or faith in a higher power, faith is what keeps us moving forward. Every morning, we step out of the boat of unconsciousness onto the uncertain surface of life and walk towards our goals. Every day, storms rise up and knock us down. Every day, we are given the opportunity to walk on water with greater faith than ever before. If we already are walking on water every day, why not walk with greater faith?

In Matthew’s story, Peter had the faith to think that he could do as Jesus did and called out to his teacher, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus answered with one word: “Come.” There was no fanfare, no ‘you-can-do-it’s, no pep talks, no teachings, no parables. He simply said, “Come.” And Peter came. We know the rest of the story. He wasn’t all that successful walking on those uncertain waves. But he was saved, and Jesus’s question to him is the same question he has for us all, “Why did you doubt?” The faith to step out on the water was already there. The faith to keep going was all that was needed.

Every day, God calls us to “come,” to walk on the waters of life. And every day, we are compelled, like Peter, to answer that call and step out onto the rising and falling waves of uncertainty. We walk towards the divine hope that we can overcome the world and its storms. Every day, when doubt creeps into our minds and threatens to knock us down, faith is waiting to save us. And no matter how many times we’ve sunk into the metaphorical seas of life, every day we get the chance to try again. Every day we walk, with all the faith we can muster, on those uncertain, unsteady waters of life. Every day, whether we realize it or not, with every step we take, we are making a miracle happen.