Oh, Ye Of Little Faith

"Lord, if it is you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "Why did you doubt?" Matthew 14:28-31

So, today's sermon was taken from this passage. I remember when I first began perusing the Bible back in college and assumed, like any normal book, one should start from the beginning. I thought Genesis was ok, and Exodus seemed to be an interesting enough tale, but off into Leviticus, Numbers and on, well, someone please pass me a No-Doz. When I picked it up this time around, a friend suggested I start by reading the gospels. After I google searched a definition for "gospels", I opened to Matthew and began. This passage hit me hard for some reason and has been my favorite scene in the Bible ever since.

I've heard Chris Rock tell a joke where he says he loves Bill Clinton as president, because along with his job entailed "presidential" problems, he is just an average joe with "average joe" problems - like: money problems, friend problems, wife problems, jail problems, etc. Chris Rock ends with "I love Bill Clinton. I get Bill Clinton. I AM Bill Clinton." I feel this way about the disciple Peter, [whom I embarassingly referred to as "Simon (called Peter)" for several months before someone explained that "Peter" was quite sufficient]. I love Peter. I get Peter. I AM Peter.

Peter had good intentions. He was always talking big, truly believing himself capable of fulfilling his promises, but then flubbing it all up at the end. Peter desperately loves Jesus and desires to be near him. In Matthew 14, as the other disciples tremble in fear during a storm, Peter leaves the relative safety of the boat and starts to walk on the water towards Jesus. But he, like many of us, is soon plagued by doubt and begins to sink. He ends up crying out to Jesus to be rescued. And Jesus' response always makes me smile: Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "Why did you doubt?"

The disciples confuse me. Jesus was continuously performing miracles right in front of them, but they all seemed so surprised every time. Like, when Jesus fed 5000 people from a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish, but then the next time they were low on food, the disciples wondered how everyone would eat. If I had seen Jesus do the things they saw Him do, I'd like to think I'd be pretty confident that he could do it again. They seemed pretty dense to me.

But when I really think about it, I often find myself in this same kind of situation. God's track record has proven to me, over and over again, that He is good, that He is listening and that He does want the best for me. I should know that everything will work out. Yet still I am often fearful and lose faith. I worry and doubt and question and get frustrated with God when my situation seems impossibly bleak. I lose heart and fall into the watery abyss of doubt when I would have been fine had I only kept my eyes forward and continued to walk.

Oh, me of little faith. Why do I doubt?