Today, the Gospel presents us with the theme of faith. And it does so in a very graphic way with an example that we can all understand. Believing is somehow like getting out of the safety of the boat and jumping into the water in the middle of the storm. That is what Jesus asks Peter to do. In a way he challenges him to trust him. But Peter hesitates because he feels insecure. It is possible that we often feel like Peter, insecure. And we seek reassurances that, like Peter, we will not find.
Sometimes we wish that faith were the result of a scientific demonstration. Or that it had been a miracle or something extraordinary that had provoked our faith. In the end, faith is supposed to put us in relationship with God. And God is considered in these cases as a distant, powerful and ultimately dangerous being for people’s lives. Since we do not feel safe in front of him, we want convincing proof.
The reality is that faith is the basic attitude on which any relationship is established. A very clear example of this can be found in the love relationship of a couple. Neither partner can ever say that he or she is absolutely sure of the other’s love. He or she only has signs: smiles, words, caresses, phone calls… but nothing more. These indications confirm love but are never conclusive proof. In the end, the person, each one, has to step forward and trust. And trust each other.
It is exactly the same with God. We have no choice but to trust him. Because we do not have and never will have conclusive proof of his existence. We only have witnesses. One major witness: Jesus, who spent his life doing good, healing the sick and loving everyone he met along the way precisely in the name of God. He told us that his love was the fruit of God’s love, that he loved us with the same love of God and that we have to trust him. And we have many other witnesses.
The many men and women who have followed him, who have trusted him and who have lived loving and doing good. But we have no proof of that love. We must trust. In today’s Gospel, Jesus invites us to throw ourselves into the water, to live without fear, trusting in God’s love. He invites us to believe in him and trust that with him we can overcome the dangers of life. Because his love is always with us.
Father Josekutty Mathew CMF
Claretian Publications
bibleclaret.org
