Get Out of the Boat

Yesterday’s gospel reading recounted a time when Jesus’ disciples were out in a boat during a storm and saw Jesus walking on the water toward them. Peter issued a challenge to this seeming apparition: “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water,” and Jesus replied, “Come” (Mt 14: 22-33). In her reflection on this gospel, one of Sr. Esther Fangman’s takeaways was, “At some point, you have to get out of the boat.”

What boat do we need to get out of to be a disciple of Jesus? What do we cling to because we believe it will keep us safe? Perhaps we need to get out of the boat of the culture we grew up in, which feels comfortable and familiar but limits our understanding of the inclusiveness of the Body of Christ. Maybe we need to stop clinging to our nest egg and the thought that we can stuff money into any holes in our boat to keep it from leaking.

Stepping out of our boat is similar to being the grain of wheat that falls to the ground and dies. Once we leave our boat, we are no longer capable of steering it to where we want to go. Once we die to our old self—our desires, our pride, our self-preoccupation—we have no control over what new life awaits us.

What we do have is the words of Jesus: “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.” We may not know where we will end up when we leave the comfort of our boats to follow Jesus, but we must keep our eyes on the prize: to be Christ’s traveling companion and know fullness of life in Christ’s presence.