Ninth Sunday after Pentecost; The Holy Martyr and Archdeacon Lawrence.
Post-feast of the Transfiguration. Dormition Fast.
1 Corinthians 3:9-17; Matthew 14:22-34.
Read Matthew 14:22-34
What does Jesus mean, “O man of little faith?” Peter had enough faith to get out of the boat and walk on the water to Jesus. That’s substantial faith! The answer is found in considering Jesus’s follow-up question, “Why did you doubt?”
The partial answer is that Peter took his eyes off Jesus and looked down at the waves. And he did more than just glance at them: “But, when he saw the wind, he was afraid.” You cannot see wind, only its effects. That is why, in John’s gospel, Jesus used the image of wind to illustrate the mystery of the work of the Holy Spirit in us. Peter was caught up in the effect of what he was seeing, but the act of observing one’s context need not necessarily result in fear; it is not a foregone conclusion that that would be the case for everyone.
Our answer lies in reframing the question: how can a faith that got Peter out of the boat still be called little? The answer is that Jesus evidently intends for our faith to not just get us started on a little walk but to continue all the way to the completion of a journey. In his progress as a disciple, Peter would re-encounter the ongoing challenge of this combination of his temperament and character. Out of fear he would deny Jesus. He would later be rebuked by Paul for withdrawing from Gentile Christians for fear of some Jewish Christians. But then he would by faith complete his martyrdom in Rome. Jesus likewise means for our nature to be perfected by grace through faith over time.