Keeping Our Eyes Fixed on Jesus
“If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10
One of my favorite writings in the New Testament is the Letter to the Hebrews. The “Hebrews” referred to those Jews who were early converts to Christianity and came under some of the fiercest persecution in the early days of the church. They had been faithful Jews who heard the Gospel and decided to follow Jesus and be baptized.
As long as they were practicing Jews in the Synagogue life went pretty well, but as soon as they began to follow Jesus and gather with his followers they encountered exclusion, isolation, and persecution by the synagogue and especially the Romans. The Romans tolerated the Jews, but came to hate this new subversive group of Jesus’ followers. The Hebrew convert lived with a decision: should I return to the synagogue and escape persecution and death, or continue to follow Jesus? Most continued to follow Jesus, but eventually many were rounded up and put to death by the Romans. They provided a source of entertainment for the Roman crowds as the Christians were thrown to the lions, or experienced other forms of torture and death.
As a person was about to be sent to their death, their brother and sister Christians told him or her “Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.” This phrase developed from the Letter to the Hebrews and strengthened many as they were martyred for their faith in Jesus and belief in the Resurrection.
Look to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
In today’s Gospel Jesus and the disciples have been with the crowds all day. After the miracle of the loaves and fishes they tell the crowd to go home. Jesus goes up the mountain to pray while the disciples get into a boat and go to the other side of the lake. As evening came the winds came up and the seas became turbulent. The boat was battered to and fro all night. Early, the next morning, Jesus decides to join his disciples and walks toward them on the chaotic waters. The disciples think they’re seeing a ghost and are full of fear. Jesus calls and reassures them that it is him. Peter, in order to be sure its Jesus asks to be bid to come to him on the water. Jesus says “Come.” Peter jumps in and begins to walk toward Jesus, but when he takes his eyes off of Jesus and looks down and the troubled water all around him, he begins to sink. Peter cries out “Save me Lord!” Jesus immediately reaches out his hand and catches Peter, and then only after Peter is secure, chides him for his lack of faith. “Why did you doubt?”
This story illustrates what “keeping eyes fixed on Jesus” means. Sometimes the things we go through in life are difficult and frightening, we, or someone we love, are in danger. If we focus on the deteriorating situation, the waves swirling about us, we will feel ourselves sinking beneath them. As long as Peter kept his eyes fixed on Jesus he did fine, but when he looked down at the waves and doubted Jesus command to him, his fear caused him to sink.
We can relate very well to Peter. In some of life’s critical moments, we start out with faith, hear Jesus’ word to “Come,” but after a few steps, we take our eyes off of Jesus and allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by our situation and allow fear and doubt to take over and we begin to sink. When we cry for help, Jesus is right there, holding us up. Jesus’ help is immediate and his love is unconditional. Like with Peter, Jesus doesn’t chide us for our lack of faith andthen raise us up, Jesus forgives us for our lack of faith first, and then raises us up to a deeper more solid faith. The passage ends with the disciples exclaiming “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Whatever befalls us in life, God will try to lead us to greater and deeper faith. We live in a time when the “waters” around us are chaotic and make us fear for our lives (personal tragedies, leaders we feel might not have our best interests in mind, or geopolitical risks like North Korea, etc.). These are times when we must “keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.” We walk on troubled waters, but keep our focus on Jesus. The Holy Eucharist we celebrate is a pledge and promise of Jesus’ nearness to us at all times and in all circumstances.
Thank you Jesus!
Amen!
John+
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| St. Alban |
Saint Alban Episcopal Mission (English, Anglican Communion) meets for mass every Sunday at 10:00 A.M. (see welcome letter at sidebar) at Casa Convento Concepcion, 4a Calle Oriente No. 41, Antigua, Guatemala.
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| The Reverend John Smith, Vicar 5235-6674 cell telephone (502 country code) |
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