Proper 14: Gospel, Matthew 14:22-33

Matthew 14:22-23

I’m always intrigued at opinions about the miraculous. We all, as people who believe the Scriptures, have to grapple with the occurrences of things we cannot explain. The fact we cannot does not mean they are miraculous, but clearly some are. And then there are those who continually clamor for the miraculous today. In other words, if God is truly among us, then we should see and perhaps even do the miracles of Jesus and the apostles. Bad logic. In a recent devotion I explained that miracles are not given or performed randomly in the Bible. They always have a bearing on people coming to believe the God behind them. This week’s gospel reading is no different.

Last week Jesus fed those following Him a supernatural lunch. Jesus makes demands upon his close associates that they cannot fulfill: “You give them something to eat.” But as He steps in, they are a part of something that still boggles our brains, believing people that we are. Today’s gospel sees Jesus making another impossible command of dear St. Peter. At the crossing of the Galilee in the midst of the storm, Jesus appears walking on the water. It is as if Matthew is pointing to the disciples filled with fear, having doubt of Jesus being with them from the start. He may well have been on shore. But He was with them nonetheless.

When He appears to them, walking on water, He gives a single command to Peter: “Come.” That’s it. No drama. No lights. No crescendo of the pit orchestra. Just the simple command. And Peter is obliged to follow the lead of His Master. Three critical events in short order include the command already given, the rescue of a disciple with failing faith and the restoration of calm regarding the storm which brought the revelation of the nearness of the Savior. Boom, boom, boom! And then there was nothing to do … but worship. And they did.

Lots of ink has been spilled through the centuries about the water-walker, the short prayer offered followed by rescue and the calming of the tempest. But perhaps the greatest miracle, yes miracle, is the gift of spiritual sight given to men in a fishing boat who bowed low (that’s the literal meaning of the word translated “worshiped” in verse 33), and came to the realization that God was a passenger with them in the craft that would take them home. And isn’t that true of us today? God is with us in the “craft” of our life, whatever the course He sets. And He will be with us all the way to the shores of glory.