It Is I

“But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.’ ”

Matthew 14:27

When Jesus walks on the water, the disciples are afraid. Human bodies are not supposed to stand on water unaided. Their eyes behold a blasphemy of what they assume to be the natural order of things. Jesus, though, is not bound by such a limited imagination.

“It is I,” he says.

We know the rest of the story: Peter and the tentative steps, the getting out of the boat. But I want to linger on the moment before.

None of us, really, wants to walk on water. We’re not supposed to. It’s against the rules. The kind of rules that mean our lives end if we don’t follow them. But Jesus walks on water and invites his followers, “Come out here with me.”

Jesus doesn’t say, “Let me carry you.” Jesus doesn’t say, “I’ll hold your hand.”

Jesus stands a little far away and says, “Now, you.”

Elsewhere, the Lord says he is the Good Shepherd and we, his sheep, know his voice. I think about Peter getting out of the boat. The only way we will ever get out is when we hear the voice of the Good Shepherd.

I wonder how often I hear the voice and pretend not to have heard. I say, “No, it’s not the Good Shepherd. It’s the wind.”

It is I.

“It’s just something bad I ate.”

It is I.

“God isn’t asking me to do this.”

It is I.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Do you listen closely to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd? Where is he telling you to walk?

PRAYER: Good Shepherd, who comes to us on the waters to teach us how to walk upon them, grant that we would hear your voice clearly, that we would know your voice dearly, and that we would obey your voice whenever it calls for us to come to you. Amen.