Peter

Daily Word Of God Tuesday, 3rd August 2010 18th Week in Ordinary Time Matthew 14:22-23a, 25-31

Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he sent the crowds away. After sending the crowds away he went up into the hills by himself to pray. In the fourth watch of the night he came towards them, walking on the sea, and when the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear. But at once Jesus called out to them, saying, ‘Courage! It's me! Don't be afraid.’ It was Peter who answered. ‘Lord,’ he said, ‘if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.’ Jesus said, ‘Come.’ Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus across the water, but then noticing the wind, he took fright and began to sink. ‘Lord,’ he cried, ‘save me!’ Jesus put out his hand at once and held him. ‘You have so little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’

Peter - the man who was lowly educated, earning a low income from fishing, a simple and ordinary fisherman. He was probably not a very refined, cultured and learned man like those who belonged to the upper class. Nothing big a deal about him but Jesus chose him over all to be the rock upon which He builds His church. 

Peter - the man who walked and lived with Jesus for 3 years, pledged his loyalty and faithfulness to Him and who also betrayed Jesus by denying Him 3 times out of fear of the Jews. Yet, he realised his mistake, turned back to Christ and Christ healed him. After the death of Jesus, Peter and the other disciples were afraid and they went into hiding. But they held secret meetings. They held on to the Truth - i.e. Jesus is the messiah. This Jesus was crucified and they were without a leader. Then when they learned that Jesus had risen from the dead, they became hopeful again; they were suddenly alive with the hope that their Lord is with them once again. And when they were lost, while they still held on to their faith in God, God sent the Holy Spirit to empower them. Peter, once timid and so lacking in courage and faith, by the power of God through the Holy Spirit, transformed into a man of great faith and courage that today, we have the Catholic church still standing from the very first foundations of Peter. 

Like Peter, we are weak. We are born weak and rightly so since we are imperfect and finite creatures. But God chooses the weak for it is when we are weak that He can be strong. When we, like Peter, humble ourselves to acknowledge our weaknesses and turn to God and ask for forgiveness, guidance and strength, God will send His Holy Spirit to fill us, to empower us, to give us the graces we need to overcome our weaknesses. There is a spiritual giant in all of us that can be awakened to do great things by the power of God. When we say "yes" to the Father's will and give Him the authority over our lives, when we fully let go of ourselves, then God can enter into our hearts to mould and shape us to be more Christ-like in our actions, words and thoughts. At times, we may not understand what God is doing or what He wants us to do. But we can choose to be patient with Him and trust in the goodness of our Lord. When we doubt or falter, Jesus will stand before us with open arms and say to us what He said to Peter, "Come." He opens His arms to us in an invitation for us to trust in Him and with this trust and concrete faith in Him, walk towards Him, step by step and slowly but surely, right into His arms. 

The journey of conversion from people of great sin to people of faith and goodness is a very long journey and especially so for us living in a very secular world that promotes against true goodness. Disappointment, discouragement, moments of disillusions, etc are what we may feel when we strive to be pleasing to God but yet falter. This is a heavy cross we must bear if we are determined to walk in the direction of Christ. This cross weighs heavy upon our hearts and souls and only God can lift it for us. God will be there to share in our crosses and implant in us the seed of faith; He will lift us up to comfort and encourage us to get back on our feet and continue this journey of conversion. So few are the people who set their hearts and minds firmly upon their decision to walk the path of Christ. Are we one of them? Do we set our intentions to be one of them? Do we just pay Him a lip service? The more God reveals Himself and His Truth to us, the heavier our responsibility in our response to Him. We can no longer give the excuse that we did not know about this and that. Since wisdom and knowledge have been graced upon us, we cannot act in ignorance as if God has no idea what is really in our hearts and minds. How are we going to respond to His call to walk His path with our daily crosses on our backs? 

04 August 2010

9.43pm