We continue our journey through the Gospel of Matthew and would stop at two other aspects of faith, starting with the episode where Peter walked on waters. It is written:
Mat 14:22,25-32, “Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side…25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." 28 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.”
We all know (or have all heard about) this story. The disciples who had never seen anyone walk on water (especially at night), panicked. Jesus tried to reassure them, but it did not seem to work and Peter suggested something quite strange: "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He could have said, “Lord, if it is you, tell me what I have eaten yesterday.” Or, “if it is you, Lord, tell me what I asked you two days ago under the fig tree.” I mean, he could have asked for a ‘normal’ clue; but instead, he asked Him to ‘command’ him to walk on the water. And we think: ‘Wow! What faith!’ Indeed, he did not ask for something simple. However, Jesus commanded him accordingly, and Peter began walking on the water until the moment when he started trembling because of the strength of the wind. This is particularly surprising as verse 24 tells us that the boat was already beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them; so, there was nothing new there.
We are not different from Peter. It has certainly happened that we were afraid to embark on a project because it seemed titanic to us. Then we asked God to confirm if it was His will and He did. So, we started with the project and everything was going well until the time when a strong and contrary wind began to blow against it, and we thought that was the end and we were finished. The wind was blowing before the disciples even noticed the Lord coming to them. The wind was blowing, yet, Jesus was calmly walking on the waters. Why did Peter, who was so convinced that the Lord's command had the power to make him walk on the water as well, suddenly started to believe that this same command, this same word, had suddenly lost its power? Jesus told him: "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" Doubt: we talked about it last week…
A little further on, we meet someone special. “And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon." But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.” (Mat 15:21-28)
This mother is a great example of tenacity, determination and perseverance, that is to say, of faith. Jesus Himself had said: “the one who endures to the end will be saved.” And also, “the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.” (Mat 10:22 & 11:12) This woman braved everything. First, she was a Canaanite and the pagan that she was should have never even approached and addressed the Lord – the animosity between Jews and Canaanites was very ancient. Then, the Lord ignored her and His disciples, irritated by her presence, wanted her to clear off (I'm sure their whole attitude was so revealing that she knew she was not welcome). Finally, when Jesus opened His mouth, it was to compare her to a dog! Would you not have been discouraged? She wasn’t. She swallowed the insult and even used it to argue her case. She was a woman of faith: she called Him, ‘Son of David;’ which was quite unusual for a pagan. So she had faith, but not any faith: her faith was great. Indeed, amazed, the Lord acknowledged it and granted her what she requested. Sometimes the Lord has no intention of denying us what we want, but pretends to resist us in order to test the feeling of our hearts. He can turn a deaf ear to our cries, or even harshly respond to us, just to see our reaction. Are we going to give up after the first attempt? Or just cry? Or insist? Or turn our backs on Him? Can we endure the apparent failure? In short, are we able to endure to the end?
This woman also displayed a lot of humility and focus. It was not easy to be snubbed in that way: to be compared to a dog! My God! But she knew what she wanted. It's as if she thought in her head: 'I do not care about the hostile stares of your disciples; and you can insult me as You want: it is not a big price to pay for what I hope to get. I am ready to endure any and everything from You for You to grant me grace.' As I said last week, that's faith.
These examples were given for our instruction. I pray that we can spend some more time meditating on these things, in order to derive the maximum benefit from them.
Have a ‘wonderblessed’ week!
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