By P. Randall Wright
I remember the story but not its source. It's about a young woman's appointment to serve as pastor of a small country church. This was the first time the church had been served by a female pastor. Among the congregation was a man who wished the prophet Joel had not said, "... your sons and your daughters shall prophesy" (
Joel 2:28-32). But the fact that his new pastor was a woman was not as bothersome as the assumption that she was not a fisherman. He had always taken his pastors fishing.
He, wanting to keep tradition, and she, seeking to please her new parishioner, found themselves planning a fishing excursion. She tried to fake it, but it quickly became evident to the fisherman that his pastor knew little about the sport. He had to help her bait the hook and show her how to cast a line, how to reel in the catch, and, of course, how to take the fish off the hook. His fishing was interrupted by her inexperience.
It was a chilly morning, and to add to his exasperation, she began to complain about the weather and regret that she had left a jacket in the car. "Well, I'll just pull up anchor and take you back to shore to fetch your jacket."
"Oh, no, that won't be necessary," she said. And with that she stepped out of the boat and walked across the water to the shore. The fisherman shook his head in disbelief and said to himself, "Wouldn't you know it; she can't swim, either."
Let us think about swimming, fishing, and walking on water. Our character is not a nervous young pastor or a disgruntled parishioner but the disciple Peter -- an impulsive, boisterous sort. He was a rugged fisherman who often cast upon his waters things which returned to embarrass or cause him regret. He did things he wished he hadn't; said things he had to live with. When Jesus talked of the cross, it was Peter who wanted no theology of the cross. When Jesus said His disciples would disperse, Peter proclaimed, "I'll never deny you!" But we know the cock did crow as Peter denied his Lord a third time.
Yet, through it all Peter sustained his faith. From his call as an apostle to his masterful sermon recorded in Acts, Peter kept the faith. He's my kind of man. He's our kind of person. We, too, can be impulsive -- so sure one day and wondering the next, so willing to lay down our lives for our friends but then rejecting such notions -- because there are few heroes and martyrs anymore. How was it that through all his failings and bunglings and other expressions of our humanity, Peter finally proved to be the Rock of faith Jesus nicknamed him?
John Killinger gave me an image to remember Peter's faith by, a hook to hang these thoughts on. Peter swam toward Jesus.1 Swimming toward Jesus. On at least two occasions, it was a literal swimming. And throughout his life the figurative is there. Swimming toward Jesus. Moving in the direction of the Master. Concentrating on Christ. Focusing on faith in the Lord. Swimming toward Jesus.