4 August 2014 - take courage

4 August 2014 - take courage

During the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them, walking on the sea.
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.
“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.
At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Yes, Jesus, give us courage.  You can be hard to recognize in the storm.  You might seem like just another malevolent force, a ghost, or random chance.  Let us hear you.  You do not save "have courage" or "create courage."  You say, "Take courage" and we receive.  You say "do not be afraid" and our fear takes flight.  We pray that Saint John Paul the Great would also speak this beloved phrase of his to our hearts.

LORD, we are being tossed by the waves.  The wind is against us.  We are tempted to believe prophets like Hananiah who tell us exactly what we want to hear.  They tell us that the storms are stopping right now and that the waves are being stilled.  And yet to such prophets the true prophet says, "The LORD has not sent you, and you have raised false confidence in this people."

The LORD isn't necessarily telling us that society is just fine, or that it will be soon, or that our circumstances will be fixed right away.  Sometimes the wind and the waves continue.  Sometimes he inspires us to get even closer to those circumstances than we were.  Sometimes he himself is right out there in the midst of it all.

“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.”

If we are moving toward him he will protect us, even when the waves seem overwhelming, even when our faith fails.

Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,
and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

In the end he is trying to convince us that it isn't about what is going on around us.  Neither is it all about us always responding perfectly.  We just need to move toward him.  We just need to reach out to him when we feel ourselves fall.

After they got into the boat, the wind died down.
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
“Truly, you are the Son of God.”

You are the Son of God, Jesus.  Convince us that this is true even in the storms of death and life.  No storm can keep us from you!  

With this confidence we desire you to teach us your statues.  We know that they are for our good. Rather than false prophets of comfort, "in your ordinances is my hope".