With each new day, the world appears to be confronted with more disasters, increasing chaos and despair. It is hard to hear God’s voice above the turmoil, let alone keep the faith and remain hopeful. We forget that our Heavenly Father is still talking to us. When the terrors of this world are too powerful, and we lose our ability to discern what the Lord is saying, we can turn to the Bible, the Word of God. Consider the first reading for today, Jeremiah 30: 18-20: “Thus says the Lord: See! I will restore the tents of Jacob,…You shall be my people, and I will be your God.” No matter what horrors and pain we must endure on earth, one truth will never change and that is the Lord’s promise to always be our God who will never abandon His people.
This promise was not meant to guarantee that life will be easy or simple; in fact, just the opposite is implied. The gospel for the day shows how hard life was for the disciples of the Lord. Matthew 14:22-36 tells the story of the apostles in the midst of a frightening storm while fishing. Just as they had lost all hope of survival, they suddenly see someone drawing close to their boat. How is this possible? Who can walk on water? Peter chooses to focus on Jesus and have faith in Him. Peter leaves the boat and walks on the water toward His Lord; it is only when he becomes distracted and overcome by fear of the storm that he sinks into the waves. Even though Peter lost sight of Jesus, Jesus never lost sight of him.
Jesus would not let Peter drown, nor will He let any of us perish. We are all in the boat with the disciples now–fear surrounds us with no sign of conditions changing for the better. Now is the time to let go of all our fears and seek the Lord, instead of seeking worldly solutions. Jesus is with us and He asks us to get out of the boat and come to Him. We cannot allow our doubt to keep us from Him. Once we get out of the boat and place complete faith in our Lord, we can experience miracles like walking on water.
Frassati Reflections 