WALKING ON WATER #1

Ron Rolheiser, O.M.I., author and president of Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio, Texas writes: “Faith isn’t something you ever simply achieve. It’s not something that you ever nail down as a fait accompli (a thing that has already or been decided before those affected hear about it, leaving them with no option but to accept it). Faith works this way: Some days you walk on water and other days you sink like a stone. Faith invariably gives way to doubt before it again recovers its confidence, and then it loses it again. We see this graphically illustrated in the famous story in the gospels of Peter walking on water. The story goes this way: The disciples had just witnessed a major miracle, Jesus feeding more than 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fishes. Having just witnessed a miracle, their faith was strong. Soon afterwards they get into a boat to cross a lake. Jesus is not with them. A few miles out they run into a fierce storm and begin to panic. Jesus comes walking towards them on the water. Initially they’re frightened and take him for a ghost. But he calms their fear by telling them, right from the center of the storm, that he is not just Jesus but that he is God’s very presence.
Peter is immediately buoyed up in his faith and asks Jesus to let him too walk on the water. Jesus invites him to do so and Peter gets out of the boat confidently and begins to walk on the water. But then, realizing what he was doing and the incredulous nature of it, he immediately starts to sink, cries out for help, and Jesus has to reach out and rescue him from drowning.” (See tomorrow’s Journal for conclusion)
“O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Jesus