The wonderfully inspiring Gospel lesson of Jesus and Peter walking on the water. If you didn't get to worship yesterday, this was the Gospel lesson. I have loved this story since I was a little girl. My son is fascinated with the lesson too ... even getting excited and whispering to me in worship yesterday, "Mom, I know how this story ends!!" Also, just this last May, at the last church where I served, my students chose to use this Scripture on youth Sunday. Our youth group president preached a great sermon about having to step out of the boat, sometimes, because that is where the blessings in our lives might just be.
Yesterday, Father Paul encouraged the attendees at the contemporary service to remember that this is a particular reason that Jesus puts us in the boat.
Safety.
Fr. Paul also encouraged us to remember the context of the fact that Peter was able to walk on the water (even if it was ever so briefly). Jesus was "testing" Peter and “calling” him for a particular job.
Starting the church.
This is a great point and these are two facts are phenomenally important for us to remember! And I think these are two important facts for youth today to remember, too! Sometimes we do need the “safety” of the “boat” in our lives. And thank God, Jesus puts us IN THE BOAT. It is good to have a comfort zone; after all, everyone does, right?
And, part of being a youth is:
*discovering our comfort zones (as a pre-teen)
*living into our own comfort zones and not necessarily our those of our parent’s (as
a teen)
*pushing the limits and expanding our zones (as a young adult/college)
Those whom I have gotten to share in ministry in the past know that I’ve always been a huge encourager of stepping out of one’s comfort zone. I know my youth in the past have gotten tired of hearing me say it!! :) And, I purposely try to plan many activities in youth group, Sunday school, on youth group trips, etc. to give teens the chance to do so! For example, there’s nothing like a great mission trip week full of “Out of Your Comfort Zone Dinners.” On that particular trip, at each dinner on our trip, the students were given a challenge! These challenges included things like (get ready SJ EYC, I’m sure you’ll be doing these soon):
*Here’s $50 and a van/driver … go figure out how to feed your whole group.
*Everybody tie this connected string to your arm (thus the whole group gets
connected)... okay now go eat at this fabulous cookout on the beach!
*No fork, knife, or spoon night … go to the kitchen an find something else you can
use to eat your spaghetti!
*You can’t serve or feed yourself tonight! Enjoy the tacos …
A really silly / fun to watch activity? Yes. Pointless? Absolutely not. On that trip, the youth were “forced” to work together to get through the meals. They interacted and got to know and trust one another on a deeper level; and, the group really bonded that week causing an easy flow together over the next year. These things might not have happened otherwise.
Stepping out of our comfort zones doesn’t have to be as outlandish as those activities! For teenagers today, it might include things like stopping or standing up for someone who is being bullied at school, asking someone who is sitting alone at lunch at school to come over and sit with a group, walking away from a group who is gossiping or talking bad about someone, or making church and youth group a priority in our life despite the many competitions of our social, athletic opportunities. Those are really hard things to do! I know because they were really hard things for me to do when I was a teenager. And, it is not really likely that any of us would do them without having Jesus in our sights and as the encourager to “Come!” walk on the water (out of our comfort zone).
I am convinced that when we step out of our comfort zones, growth happens, our faith matures, and really great things can happen. Is it challenging? Do we sink sometimes? Would it be easier to stay in the comfort of the boat? Absolutely. But, thankfully, Jesus is there to walk every step with us; we just have to be intentional to look for Him and be aware of what He is “testing” us for and “calling” us to do! Obviously Jesus isn’t “calling” us to be Peter and start the church. But, I assure you He is calling us each to something. Being intentional about hearing and understanding this call means doing things like praying, reading Scripture, having quiet time, talking to friends or mentors about what you are feeling, participating in service opportunities or mission trips, coming to worship and Sunday school and whatever else helps you to recognize Jesus in your every day!
I’m so excited to be in the boat with you SJ EYC-ers and I can’t wait to find a comfy seat so I can watch you walking on the water!
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