ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT

Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Mt 14:22-36

When Jesus was not in the boat with the disciples, the sea was heavy and there was a headwind. But when Jesus got into the boat the wind dropped. Is this not a picture of our lives too?

Our life is like a boat that sails from one day to another. The day is heavy and tensions are strong when Jesus is not with us in our boat. But when we let Jesus into our boat, the sailing becomes smooth. The lesson? Always have Jesus in our life. There may still be big waves and the wind may still blow against our boat once in a while, but with Jesus sailing with us our boat will never turn upside-down.

The problem with Simon Peter in the Gospel today was that instead of inviting the Lord into their boat, he dared Jesus to prove that it was indeed He by ordering him to go to Him on the lake. Jesus, of course, had no problem with that. Jesus had nothing to prove. It is indeed Him! But Simon Peter unwittingly placed himself in a situation that then demanded from him a proof of his faith in Jesus. He who wanted to test Jesus was then the one tested. Simon Peter tested the identity of Jesus. But it turned out to be Simon Peter’s test of faith. And he failed. He failed miserably. His failure soaked to the skin!

We do not ask the Lord to make us go to Him. We simply go to Him because we have faith in Him. We do not question the Lord if He wants to sail with us. We beg Him to get into our boat. We do not test the Lord. We do not say, “If it is really You, Lord, make me walk on water.” If we do so we court danger because faith is not a matter of walking on water but a matter of sailing with Jesus.

“Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream…” we sing like children. But with childlike faith we have to conclude, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, come and sail with me.”