Risk and failure

Kia ora whānau,

In the theme of restored relationships with God, ourselves, others, and creation, this Sunday we focused on the gospel reading. Matthew 14:22-33 is the story of Jesus walking on the water. It’s the story of the disciples alone in a boat at night, battered by wind and waves. It’s also the story of Peter taking a very uncalculated risk.

We take risks everyday when we cross busy streets, have a difficult conversation, or try a new food. We don’t think about these kinds of risks too much for a few different reasons. One reason is because we do them so frequently we have normalized them. A second reason is that there’s often not too much at stake. With these risks, we are on autopilot.

Yet, risk and failure go hand in hand. Daily people fail to safely cross the street. Often people find themselves in conversations that are in a steady decline toward disaster. Frequently individuals of all ages are a little disappointed because they try a food they don’t like. To risk and to fail are both a part of being human.

Peter in the gospels is a risky kind of guy. He seems rather impulsive with his words and his actions. Jesus sees this willingness to risk and it’s potential. Peter fails quite a bit. In this Matthew 14 passage Peter loses sight of Jesus and begins to sink into the water. This isn’t the only time Peter sinks. At one low point Jesus tells Peter, “Get behind me, Satan,” and later Peter denies Jesus three times. But, through all of this failure is a promise. Jesus calls Peter a rock, a strange name for a risky fellow. Peter is supposed to be a rock the church is built on. We finally get to see evidence of that promise when Peter is transformed from risk-taker to bold-proclaimer on the day of Pentecost. Peter still messes things up occasionally in the book of Acts, but Peter’s failures are signs that God can use us, even our failures, for his glory.

In Christ,

Wendy