Being a Hope-carrier

DAILY BYTE

This story teaches one other vital factor of water-walking to us – that it is to be a hope-carrier!

To be a water-walker is to carry a vision of God-possibilities with us wherever we go. Sure, we all get moments like Peter, where the size of our obstacles, the sheer Tsunami scale of evil gets the better of us and our spiritual imaginations ... and then we begin to sink under the weight of it all.

But here we need to remember again how Jesus immediately grabbed Peter’s hand, and then also rebuked him (although gently) for his little faith. Is this not a powerful reminder that to walk on water is to keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus (our hope)? Is this not a gracious reminder that Jesus is willing to work even with our little faith?

Of course it would be silly not to be aware of the waves surrounding us, waves of crime and fear and poverty and disease all mixed in with our own personal hurts and failings, but walking on water means that we are EVEN MORE AWARE of the goodness of the God who is near and the amazing possibilities that lie within that!

For it was only when Peter took his eyes off hope, and concentrated more on the bad news of the waves that he began to diminish ... shrink ... sink.

To walk on water is to live in hope. It’s not wishful thinking, but living and acting in anticipating God’s desire to eventually still the storm. To walk on water is hope not as resignation to an unjust world, but rather a refusal to accept that this is what God wants for humanity.

So then, may you hope and then hope some more. May you hope in the God who finds us lost or stuck within our own storms, who loves us and heals us, but then calls us to enter the bigger social storms of life more fully ... to trust more, to love more, to be more.

May you hope in the God who calls us to do crazy things like walk on water. To walk over the systems of evil and hatred present in this world, to break all ‘natural’ human-invented laws of vengeance, violence and selfishness.

May you hope in the God who has promised to never let us sink beneath the waves of our life storms, the God who takes us by the hand and lifts us up.

And may you be lifted up into all these things, and more. Amen.

PRAY AS YOU GO

God of Life, help me to live in hope always and to keep my eyes fixed firmly upon you. I don’t want to be nieve and unaware, I just want to live in a way that is even more aware of your presence in this world. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

FOCUS READING

Matthew 14: 22-33 NRSV

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid." Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. "He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."