In every crisis Jesus is present

IN EVERY CRISIS JESUS IS PRESENT

Mt. 14:22-33

After feeding the multitude Jesus made His disciples take the boat ahead of Him and head for the other side of the lake.  Why did Jesus make them cross to the other side?  If we read John’s account of the incident, we will most likely find the explanation.  John tells us that after feeding the multitude, the crowd wanted to make Him a King by force (John 6:15).  This surge of popular acclamation would have been disastrous for His cause and the people.  It would be the equivalent to a religious uprising which the Romans would quash immediately.  In doing so people could lose their lives.  Besides His Apostles also still thought of Him in terms of earthly power and Jesus wanted to wean them from this idea.  So, Jesus escaped the crowd to be alone.  He climbed a mountain and prayed.

While the Apostles were crossing the lake one of the sudden storms, for which the lake was notorious, had risen, and they were struggling against the winds and the waves, and were making little progress.  It was now three o’clock in the morning.  Jesus knew the plight they were in and came to help them walking on the water.  The Apostles were terrified.  They thought they were seeing a ghost.  Jesus told them not to be afraid.  It really was Him.  I’m sure they were all clutching the side of the boat to steady themselves.  Fear seems to have left Peter.  If it is the Lord, he wanted to meet Him on the water.  At that moment he must have had tremendous trust in Jesus.  Jesus made him come.  Immediately, he climbed overboard and started walking towards Jesus.  As soon as he felt the force of wind and waves he panicked, saw the danger he was in and lost trust in Jesus.  Then, typical of human nature, in times of trouble we turn to God, and Peter cried out, “Lord!  Save me!”  Jesus lifted him from the water and saved him from sinking.  In the hour of the disciples' need Jesus came to help them. 

This incident tells us that when life is a desperate struggle, we need never battle alone, for Jesus will come to us across the storms of life, with hands outstretched to save us, and with His calm clear voice bidding us to be of good courage and not be afraid.

This passage reveals Peter's character.  He was prone to act on impulse, and without thinking what he was doing.  It was Peter's mistake that again and again he acted without fully judging the situation and without counting the cost.  He was to do exactly the same when he affirmed his undying and unshakeable loyalty to Jesus at the Last Supper.  He maintained that even though the rest would let Jesus down, he never would.  He then denied his Master three times.  Peter's whole trouble was that he was ruled by his heart; but no matter how many times he failed, Jesus knew his heart was always in the right place.  He knew Peter always acted with love.

Because Peter acted on impulse he often failed and came to grief.  It was always Jesus' insistence that a man should look at a situation in all its bleak grimness before he acted.  Jesus always wanted His followers to see how difficult it was to follow Him before they accepted His challenge.  A great many of our failures are due to acting upon an emotional moment without counting the cost.

The wonderful thing about Peter was that when he did fall, he always turned to Jesus and lifted himself up again.  As a result, his failures brought him closer to Jesus.  It is said that a saint is not a man who never falls; a saint is a man who falls often, but always gets up and goes on trying after every fall.  Peter's failures only made him love Jesus more.

The incident of the storm ends with another great and permanent truth.  When Jesus got into the boat the wind subsided.  Wherever Jesus is, even in the wildest storm, there follows a calm.  I love that story told about St. Francis of Sales.  He observed a custom of the country district where he lived.  He noticed a farm servant going across a farmyard to draw water at the well.  Before she lifted the brimming pail, the girl always put a piece of wood into it.  One day he asked the girl, "Why do you do that?"  She looked surprised and answered, as if it were a matter of course, "Why? to keep the water from spilling, to keep it steady!”  Writing to a friend later on St. Francis de Sales told this story and then added, "So when your heart is distressed and agitated, put the Cross into the centre of your heart, to keep it steady!” 

Lord Jesus, we must believe that in every storm we shall find You and in Your presence we shall experience Your peace and serenity.  

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