Boats, Wind and Water

"Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." (Matthew 4:28, NRSV)

This was Peter's prayer in the dark hours of a sleepless night as he and his friends struggled to make headway against a stiff wind. Jesus had sent him and others along in the boat while he stayed behind to pray. Somewhere between 3 and 6 AM that morning, Jesus comes walking towards them on the water and reassures the men in their fright with, "Take courage! It is I."

While volumes have been written on this one gospel story, the point for me today is Peter's prayer and I love him for praying it: "If it's you, Lord, command me to come to you." For whatever reason, whether seeking relief from seasickness or his continued need to be the first to speak and act, Peter gets out. We all know what happens next: Peter sees the strong wind and begins to sink.

I've been thinking about that strong wind; it often seems that when we pray for Jesus to call us our of our bobbing structure to join him, we notice the wind; and there is no doubt that it's blowing against us. For some who respond to the invitation to leap from their security structures to Jesus (think anyone who has ever in history made any kind of dent in our corporate understanding of righteousness, justice and truth), an outright storm arises.

Jesus knows about that wind-it blew in his face every day of his life.