Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

There is something remarkable about today’s Gospel. Right after Jesus miraculously feeds the five thousand, He sends His disciples ahead by boat while He goes up the mountain alone to pray. The disciples obey, but instead of finding calm waters, they find themselves fighting against strong winds in the middle of the night. Imagine the scene. Exhausted fishermen, experienced on the sea, are rowing with all their strength, yet getting nowhere. Then, in the darkest part of the night, they see someone walking toward them on the water. Instead of relief, they are terrified, thinking it is a ghost. Isn’t that often how God comes into our lives? In the middle of our struggles, He is closer than we realize, yet fear blinds us from recognizing Him. Jesus simply says, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Before He calms the storm, He first calms their hearts.

Peter’s response is both courageous and deeply human. He says, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Jesus answers with one word: “Come.” Peter actually walks on water, not because he is extraordinary, but because his eyes are fixed on Jesus. The miracle ends only when Peter shifts his focus from Christ to the wind. The waves had been there all along, but they only became powerful when they captured Peter’s attention. How often do we do the same? We begin with confidence in God, but then our fears, failures, financial worries, family problems, or uncertainty about the future become louder than His voice. We don’t sink because the storm is strong; we sink because we forget Who called us out of the boat.

This Gospel invites us to live by three simple directives. First, step out in faith. Faith is never lived from the safety of the boat. Every vocation, every act of forgiveness, every decision to trust God requires stepping into waters where we cannot stand on our own. Second, keep your eyes on Jesus. Storms are inevitable. There will always be winds of disappointment, temptation, grief, and anxiety. The question is not whether storms will come, but where our gaze will remain when they do. Third, never be afraid to cry out. Peter’s shortest prayer became one of the greatest prayers in Scripture: “Lord, save me!” He didn’t pretend to be strong. He admitted his need, and immediately Jesus reached out His hand. God is never offended by our weakness; He only asks that we turn to Him.

Perhaps the greatest miracle in this story is not that Jesus walked on water or that Peter briefly did the same. The greatest miracle is that Jesus reached out before Peter disappeared beneath the waves. That is the heart of our faith. Our salvation depends less on the strength of our grip on Christ than on the strength of His grip on us. Even when our faith is weak, His love remains steadfast. Every Eucharist is another moment where Jesus comes walking into the storms of our lives and says again, “Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid.”

The question for each of us is simple yet challenging: What storm has captured my attention more than the presence of Jesus? Perhaps today is the day to look away from the wind and fix our eyes once again on the One who never stops reaching for us.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, when the storms of life become louder than Your voice, remind me that You are always near. Give me the courage to step out in faith, the grace to keep my eyes fixed on You, and the humility to cry out when I begin to sink. Take my fears, my doubts, and my distractions, and replace them with a deeper trust in Your faithful love. May I never forget that Your hand is always stretched out toward me. Help me to walk with You, not because the sea is calm, but because You are with me. Amen.

– Homily by Rev Fr Patrick Agbeko