In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle Paul is saying this morning that we are God’s building, and that everything we are doing in our lives has to built in, and of Christ, and only in, and of Christ. He says to us in effect that this is the only thing that really matters. In, and of Christ. He says that anything else that we are going to build, however we are going to build, is going to be tried “on that Day”. “That Day” always means the Day of Judgement. It’s going to be tried with fire. It’s going to be tested. It’s going to be weighed. It’s going to be weighed in the context not of what sort of experts we are, and how accomplished we are technologically, or intellectually. It’s going to be measured by our love for Him, our faithfulness to Him.

That’s why it’s important for us to remember the events of the Gospel today. We see the Saviour first having been alone in the hills by Himself because He had just been feeding thousands of people, and looking after them. He had to retreat, take a rest, be at peace with the Lord, and then carry on. In the meantime, the rest of the Apostles were out on the Sea of Galilee in their boat which was already being beaten by the waves. This happens all the time on the Sea of Galilee. It’s a very common experience there because the winds come up very suddenly. The boat was being beaten by the waves, and the Apostles were afraid. They feared they were going to sink (as they feared more than once on that sea, as we have heard). The Saviour came walking to them on the water in the middle of the night. The fourth watch of the night is already the darkest part of the night. They were afraid, and they thought He was a ghost, but He was not. When Peter saw that it was the Lord, he said: “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water”. And so it happened. However, in coming to the Lord, and walking on the water, he noticed what was going on around him with the waves, and the wind.

This is how we are, ourselves, all the time in our lives. Our lives are dedicated to Him. We want to have our focus on the Saviour, but the problem is that we let our mind take over. The mind starts to run, instead of the heart being in charge. The mind starts to say: Oh! There are waves, there’s wind – what’s going to happen to me? I’m standing on water: how can I be standing on water? These are the sorts of things that went through the Apostle’s mind. That’s what would go through my mind. The Apostle Peter, as we have seen, is very much like us with his weaknesses, and fears. Still, the Lord makes up for those weaknesses, and fears, over and over again. That’s important for you, and me to remember, too. All these thoughts were racing through his mind, and his focus went off the Lord, and on to the turmoil around him. He began to go down, and he sank. He was quick enough to know what’s what. He immediately said: “Lord, save me”. Immediately the Lord took his hand, and up he went, standing up again.

It’s important for us to remember this as well because most often, in the course of our lives, when we are having difficulty, and we are facing obstacles, our tendency is to engineer it ourselves. We are formed in our fallen world (and especially in the west) to do it this way. We say: There’s something the matter, and I am going to fix it. We say: I only go to Him, and bother Him when I am absolutely desperate. We have the Lord definitely on the back burner. Why do we do this? Because of our pride. We think we can do it ourselves: that’s the first thing.

The other thing is that in the western formation in the middle of which we live, there’s a tendency to think that if we believe that God created the universe (because there’s a lot of us who don’t), we think of Him as having done it, and “put it on a shelf” (so to speak). We think that He is sitting there reading a newspaper, or some interesting book. Everything is going on and on by itself; we’re responsible for ourselves, and He is not particularly interested. This is the absolute opposite of what is really the truth, and what is revealed to us in the Scriptures. The Lord is not disinterested. He is involved in everything that we are, and do. He wants you, and me to be constantly involved with Him, referring everything to Him so that it can grow well, so that what we are building will be precious, and long-lasting. It will be so because it is accomplished in, and with Him.

We should not be asking the Lord to save us at the last minute when we’re almost under the water, as the Apostle Peter did today. We should be saying this all the time, even before we begin to sink. We should be saying: Lord, help me. Lord, save me. Lord, be with me in this, and be with me in that. Bless this thing that I am doing. Show me how to do it right. Human beings who have done the greatest things in history are people who have had that sort of focus. I’m not talking about building pyramids, which is a big enough thing. I am talking about the mighty works of love. People have been healed from diseases. People have even been raised from the dead. These are much greater things, far greater things than building pyramids, skyscrapers, and architectural monuments, grand as they may be. (This is not to suggest that I am discounting architectural monuments.) However, everything is at its best when it is built in co-operation with the Lord, when we are referring everything to the Lord.

You, and I have our difficulties in our lives as well. Troubles afflict us. Problems face us. Turmoils are sometimes our environment. How do we live in the middle of all these difficulties, and the turmoils of our lives? How do we get through it unless we turn to the Lord in the middle of it, and ask Him to be with us, to help us, and to save us. When the Apostle Peter did this, the Lord took his hand, and raised him up. They went to the boat together, got into the boat, and immediately the storm stopped. Storms on seas don’t immediately stop as a rule. They calm down; they take some time, and in some hours the waters settle down. However, we are told that the water settled, the storm ceased, and immediately the sea was calm. Immediately the Apostle confessed WHO IS Jesus Christ – the Son of God. The Lord is ready to calm the waters of our lives as He calmed the waters of Galilee on this day. He is ready to calm our hearts, and focus our hearts, and keep us on the right path, as He does today with the Apostle Peter.

The Lord is ready to help you, and me together to build whatever we are building in this life to His glory, things that will last truly because they are built in love, and in the hearts of human beings. Let us ask the Lord to give us the Grace to take up His offer constantly, and, following the words of the holy Elder Herman of Alaska, let us “from this day, from this hour, from this minute, love God above all, and do His holy will”, and glorify the all-holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

† Archdiocese of Canada - Orthodox Church in America