Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking 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 for fear. But immediately he spoke to them, saying, “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.” And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “O man of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
- St. Matthew 14:22-33
The beautiful hymn, “Sweet Sacrament divine” was written by Fr. Francis Stanfield (1835-1914). Beloved by Catholics throughout the English-speaking world, the first verse says this:
Sweet Sacrament divine,It is in the third verse that Fr. Stanfield takes us to the Gospel account of the fearful disciples in the boat, being buffeted by the storm, and reminds us of the experience of St. Peter, and of the safety which our Lord gives:
hid in thine earthly home,
lo, round thy lowly shrine,
with suppliant hearts we come;
Jesus, to thee our voice we raise
in songs of love and heartfelt praise:
sweet Sacrament divine,
sweet Sacrament divine.
Sweet Sacrament of rest,In the Gospel account of this storm we see Peter sinking into the waves, and he cries out, “Lord, save me.” That is what shows us the way forward. When we live in the confidence that the Lord can banish fear and that He is present with us to help us – it is then that we can accomplish things we never could have done by ourselves. We should not pay so much attention to the threats of wind and wave, that we stop paying attention to the Lord Jesus Christ.
ark from the ocean's roar,
within thy shelter blest
soon may we reach the shore;
save us, for still the tempest raves,
save, lest we sink beneath the waves:
sweet Sacrament of rest,
sweet Sacrament of rest.
God is constantly asking us to go beyond ourselves. He invites us to rise above whatever rough seas we have in our lives. But He is not asking us to do it by ourselves. As He did with St. Peter, so He bids us, “Come.” Christ holds out His hand to us to support us – and if we should happen to forget, and we start to sink, then all we need to do is cry out, “Lord, save me.”
In this Gospel is a picture of faith – a faith which gets strengthened by the constant summons from our Lord to surpass our human limitations. We can overcome tragedies. We can overcome sorrows. We can overcome evil – if we walk with Christ.
Jesus comes to us in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and in the Sacred Host He holds out His hand to each one of us. And He asks us to “come.” In the confessional, He holds out His hand, and asks us to “come.” There is nothing – no power, no trial, no suffering – that can separate us from Christ’s love, if we keep our confidence in His mercy, and our faith in His power. And it is in this knowledge that we can join our voices with the apostles, and with countless saints throughout the ages, in saying to Him, “Truly, you are the Son of God!”
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Painting: "Jesus and Peter on the Water" (Jesus et Pierre sur les eaux), 1863
by Gustave Brion (1824–1877)