“Waves & Distractions”
By Kristen Gawlik, Fiat Ventures
You probably shouldn’t ask me how many times throughout the day I planned to sit down and write this. I planned to sit down and write this, but then I figured I should put a load of laundry in the washer. I planned to sit down and write this, but then I saw some work emails I should respond to sooner rather than later. I planned to sit down and write this, but then I got hungry, and if hungry turned into hangry there would be no use even trying to write anything down. I tried to sit down and write this, but then I realized I forgot to put my clothes in the dryer. I tried to sit down and write this, but then I wanted to make sure I didn’t break any Snap-streaks.
Anyone might look at my laundry list of tasks (pun-intended) and say that most of my detours were productive (and that a little Snapchat break every now and then isn’t so bad!), and I would say this is true—I’ve gotten a lot done in the past few hours! However, if I am being honest with myself, I have to say that I got distracted. I had one thing in mind, and I lost sight of that thing while numerous other things took precedent.
In today’s Gospel, the disciples were stuck at sea during a bad storm when Jesus walked toward them on the water. Peter wanted to make sure that whoever was walking on the water was actually Jesus and not a ghost, and he had the perfect way to find proof: “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Jesus simply said, “Come.” Peter initially shows a lot of trust by immediately getting out of the boat to walk on the water. Jesus told him to do something, and so he believed it to be possible. While Peter started out really great as he walked on the water toward Jesus, the Gospel says that he began to notice the strong winds and became afraid. In other words, Peter got distracted.
If we all read the Gospel, we know what happens next. Peter begins to sink and needs to cry out to Jesus for help. Jesus saves Peter from the waves and says, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” What a contrast from where Peter started! When Jesus told him to come, Peter came right away. It wasn’t until he got distracted by everything around him that he became frightened and began to sink. It wasn’t until Peter lost sight of Jesus that he could no longer walk toward him on the water.
I think it’s safe to say that we have more distractions today than any society before us has ever had—phones, Netflix, fidget spinners—to name a few. While none of these things are bad in and of themselves, when we fill our time with them, we can become distracted from all that we need to get done in a day. Even worse, we can distract ourselves enough that we won’t be able to hear all the ways that God speaks to us, whether it be through silence, through our friends, or through the beauty of creation.
While everything I’ve mentioned so far are things that can distract us, Peter wasn’t checking how many likes he got on Instagram when he began to sink. Like Peter, fear can be our distraction. If it isn’t fear, it could be anger, unforgiveness, anxiety, stress, or some other form of negativity. We could even be using sin to distract ourselves from listening to what God is telling us. When these thoughts and feelings crowd our mind, or when sin takes charge, we can’t give Jesus enough room to come into our lives and do the impossible. It’s only when we keep our eyes fixed on Christ that we can walk towards him. Trials will come and the wind will continue to cause gigantic waves, but that doesn’t have to stop us from living our lives totally focused on Jesus. It’s when we start to choose to look at Jesus instead of all the chaos around us that we no longer face our problems alone; instead, we face them with him.
Some of us might read this Gospel and be at a point in our lives where we are already sinking. The good news is that just as Jesus saved Peter from sinking, he wants to save us too! It might be as simple as turning off Netflix for 30 minutes each day, or perhaps letting go of fear, or maybe even going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. No matter the circumstance, Jesus is there, beckoning us just as he summoned Peter. No matter the distraction, it is never too late to choose to look at Jesus in order to walk towards him! May we all keep our eyes firmly fixed on Christ and walk wherever he may lead.
