Lord, Save Me
A Reflection On Matthew 14:22-34
At that time, 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 entered the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.
Matthew 14:22-34
Today’s Gospel presents us with a rather unique lectionary situation, as the reading begins in the immediate aftermath of last week’s Gospel. Last Sunday, we heard the story of Christ feeding the five thousand. This week, we hear of the dismissal of the crowd, as well as one of my favorite narratives in all of Scripture: Christ walking upon the water and meeting His disciples in the midst of danger.
To begin making sense of this narrative, we must first examine how this reading connects to last week’s Gospel. In last week’s reading, we noted that it is the role of Christ’s followers to be sent out to share the message of salvation. This is why He sends His disciples away with the twelve baskets of fragments remaining from the abundant multiplication of food. It is their role to share the sustenance God has provided for them, and in faith, He sends them ahead of Him to do so.
We hear at the beginning of the narrative that Christ made His disciples go before Him as He dismissed the crowd. In dismissing the crowd, we see that there is still work to be done among those whom Christ has served throughout the day, and there is also much to be done elsewhere. Thus, Christ fulfills His role with the crowd and sends His followers to fulfill theirs through His command.
Another detail is then given to us:
“After He had dismissed the crowds, He went up into the hills by Himself to pray.”
There is a motif here that is important for us to recognize: Christ’s ascent into the hills to pray. This ascent prepares us for the revelation of His divine authority, seen in His walking upon the water. This act demonstrates His power over nature and deepens our faith in His sovereignty and divine power.
Ascending mountains plays a key role throughout Scripture. From Moses ascending the mountain to receive the revelation of the Law, to Christ revealing His divinity through His ascent of Mount Tabor, each ascent brings with it a revelation of God’s goodness and saving love for us all.
These mountain ascents remind us that receiving God’s revelations requires effort. Yet through that effort, we are rewarded with the experience of His divine gifts and love.
Anyone who has ever climbed a mountain knows the effort it requires. Yet through that effort, we are presented with the gift of beholding more of God’s self-revelation. When we reach the summit, the beauty of the landscape before us offers a small glimpse into the sublimity of what God offers us.
In all these narratives of ascent, we see that this experience of the sublime is precisely what is offered to humanity. The promise is that as we pursue God, He continues to reveal Himself to us.
In the prayer of Christ, we see that the revelation soon to take place is rooted in God the Father. Once again, the actions of Christ reveal the ultimate authority He shares with the Father, pointing us toward the revelation of their unity.
Returning to the disciples, we hear that the boat is far from Christ and is being tossed by the storm. This reminds us that, amid the chaos of life, Christ’s presence brings reassurance and hope. When we feel separated from Christ, we may believe that the storms surrounding us are uncontrollable. Yet this Gospel reveals that His presence is always near, offering us trust and confidence amid our struggles.
From my own limited experience, this feeling of being tossed about by the storms of life has often rung true. Life and its struggles can be overwhelming, and when Christ is absent from my focus, fear begins to take hold. I begin to feel as though I am destined to be overcome by the danger surrounding me.
Yet the Gospel addresses these fears. During the Fourth Watch of the Night—that is, sometime between three and six in the morning, just before dawn—the answer to the chaos experienced by the disciples, and by all of us, reveals Himself.
Remember that with every ascent comes a revelation of God and His loving and saving actions toward us. These saving acts of God are precisely what the disciples experience as Christ approaches them, walking upon the water despite their fear.
As I have often found in my own life, the disciples are already afraid for their lives as the boat is tossed about, and their attention is fixed upon the chaos of the storm. When they see Christ walking toward them upon the water, we hear:
“When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out for fear.”
Notice the misunderstanding and terror of their condition. Not only are they afraid for their lives because of the storm surrounding their small boat, but they now believe that a ghost is approaching them.
Many things are distracting them from their original calling to continue forward in faith. Yet knowing their condition, the first thing our Lord offers them is comfort:
“Take heart, it is I; have no fear.”
The presence of Christ actively calms our fears, reminding us that His saving presence is always near. He offers reassurance and hope amid our struggles. His presence strengthens our hearts, providing us with everything we need to follow Him, even in the most dangerous circumstances.
Now comes the part of the narrative that resonates with me most deeply.
When Peter realizes that it is Christ, he asks:
“Lord, if it is You, bid me come to You on the water.”
Peter reveals to us the complexity of faith. I have often thought of faith as an unshakable conviction held in an almost perfect manner. Peter believes that if this is truly the Lord, then he will be able to walk with Him upon the water.
Hearing his request, Christ simply says:
“Come.”
Peter then gets out of the boat and follows after Christ. For a time, he is able to walk upon the water toward Him.
Remember that Christ offers His followers everything they need to become like Him. This is why He sent the disciples ahead of Him in the first place: He had already provided them with an abundance of everything they needed to share His gifts with others.
Yet as Peter walks in the presence of the Lord, we hear:
“When he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’”
What this reveals is that human faith cannot be perfect in the sense that it never wavers. Yet this does not invalidate our faith. Rather, when our faith begins to waver, we are called to refocus our pursuit of God.
Peter demonstrates faith when he calls out to Christ and steps upon the water. Yet when fear returns and he focuses upon the chaos surrounding him, he begins to sink into the depths below.
In the same manner, whenever I take my eyes off Christ and focus solely upon the struggles of life, I have experienced something similar time and again.
Yet Christ shows us that faith in Him is not about perfection. It is about trusting Him even when we feel ourselves sinking. This inspires us to hope and persevere amid our struggles.
Faith, therefore, is more about continually pursuing God and calling upon Him when we doubt than it is about falling into a false binary in which we are either perfectly faithful Christians or doubters who have completely rejected God.
We possess free will, and in crying out to God, we exercise our cooperation by opening ourselves to the salvation our Lord offers us.
As we do so, we, like Peter, experience Christ taking us by the hand and raising us from the depths in which we find ourselves.
After rescuing Peter, Christ addresses his struggle with faith:
“O man of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Christ had already given Peter and all the disciples everything they needed to follow Him and receive His gifts. Yet seeing Peter’s struggle, He provides even more, reminding Peter of his calling.
Immediately after speaking these words and rescuing Peter from drowning, Christ reveals His authority over the wind and the storm by calming them.
This leads everyone in the boat to exclaim:
“Truly You are the Son of God.”
In this proclamation, we see that the disciples take to heart the revelation Christ has given them.
Thus, in their weakness, Christ continues to provide for their needs, reminding them—and all of us—that He is always giving us everything we need to be delivered from the storms of life.
In walking upon the water, Christ shows us that He is the same Logos, the Word of God, who called creation forth from chaos at the beginning of time, as we hear in Genesis 1:1–5:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening, and there was morning, one day.”
In the same way that God brought creation forth from the dark and chaotic void in the beginning, Christ reveals this same authority by first walking upon the water and then calming the chaotic effects of the wind and storm.
The revelation of this Gospel is that Christ is the same God who, in the beginning, formed all things from chaos and who has now been revealed as the One transforming our present chaotic condition through His presence.
This is the active work He continues to carry out in our lives. All He asks of us, so that we may participate in what He offers, is that we follow Him faithfully.
Faith cannot be made perfect apart from Him, for He is the One who gives us everything we need to perfect our faith in Him.
We will struggle, for this is a simple reality of life. Yet we do not have to make our struggles worse, as I too often have, by focusing upon them in isolation from Christ.
Rather, amid our struggles with faith, we are called, like Peter, to cry out in humility:
“Lord, save me.”
As we cry out to Him, He reveals that He is offering us everything we need to be saved, for in His presence lies all that is necessary for salvation.
Christ has come to raise us from the mire of sin. He has come to calm the storms of our lives through His peaceful presence.
In receiving His gifts, we recognize that truly to Him belong all glory, honor, and worship for the peace and salvation He offers us, now and forever and unto the ages of ages.
Amen.
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