Walking on and sinking in water: Daily Mass Homily--Tuesday, August 5th, 2014

            Peter learned an important lesson in this account from Matthew—when he focused on Jesus, everything went well—he was walking on water!  When he looked away he began to sink.

            Peter was distracted by the chaos going on around him—the wind, waves and probably recognizing exactly what he was walking on.  His attention moved from Jesus to himself, and that is when he began to sink.

            This is a great lesson for us—we can maintain inner peace when our eyes are fixed on Jesus.  When we become distracted by the chaos around us, and turn from Jesus to our own abilities or crises, we begin to sink.

            A second lesson is what happens when Peter begins sinking.  His cry—“Lord, save me!”—is immediately answered by Jesus.  So too, when we begin to sink (as inevitably will) we must cry out again to our Lord and he will immediately extend his hand to pick us up.

            May we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus today, and if we should fall, may we, like Peter, cry out once more to our Lord.