Great Skaters Cannot Walk on Water

 

Matthew 14:22-33

It’s a great day for hockey! If you like hockey, I am sure that you are enjoying the NHL playoffs. Hockey fans know and love their players, and every team has great ones. There are a handful of players who are the best of the best. But did you know that a woman invited to the NHL All Star Skills Competition finished ahead of several NHL players in speed skating? That woman is Kendall Coyne, an Olympic Gold Medalist for the USA Women’s Hockey team. She too is one of the best.

Although hockey is played on ice, some fans would say that a player like Crosby or Ovechkin, Lemieux or Gretzky not only can skate on ice, but also can walk on water.

We know that no one can walk on water, but Jesus did. Right after he completed one miracle – feeding thousands of people with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish, he walked several miles on rough waves to meet his disciples. That’s a greater miracle than the USA All Stars winning a Gold Medal!

Jesus walked on water to prove something greater than winning a championship. He proved that he is God, that he is divine, that he is the Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. The other thing Jesus did was save Peter from being swallowed up by the sea. Rather than let Peter die, he reached out and saved him from certain death.

When you are so afraid that your body shakes and your voice quivers, all you need to do is call out to Jesus, “Save me!” and he will. Jesus came to save you and me, and that makes him the greatest goalie who ever played. Of all the people who cry out to him to be saved, he has a 100% save percentage.

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless all children, and give their fathers and mothers the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.