"Hand Of God"

Saint Peter Walking on Water' by Alessandro Allori, from the Catholic Peace Weekly:

The "cave that screens the past" stirs up feelings of loss and guilt stemming from past honors and successes, or wounds and failures. The "cave that screens the present" shuts out both yesterday and tomorrow, driven either by the positive brainwashing of "carpe diem" (seize the day) or by the pressure to urgently resolve immediate tasks.

The "cave that screens the future" creates an atmosphere dominated by vague expectations born of baseless confidence, or by fear triggered by uncertainty and a lack of clarity. God, who sought out the first human hiding in the garden with the question, "Where are you?" (Genesis 3:9), and now issues a command to Elijah in the cave. “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” (1 Kings 19:11)

Galilee, the hub of Gospel proclamation, was a region where the population was concentrated around the lake; thus, the boats that the disciples—formerly fishermen—had “left behind for the sake of the Master” (cf. Mark 1:20) served as useful means of transport (cf. Matthew 9:1) and as platforms for addressing the crowds (cf. Matthew 13:2). Whenever the disciples, having returned to those abandoned boats, felt the instability and futility of the “boat for proclaiming the Gospel” (the present), they would recall the “boat for earning a livelihood” (the past).

The account of these experts in navigation waking their sleeping Master because of the rough waves on the lake—not even the open sea (cf. Luke 8:24) — hints at their doubts and uncertainty regarding their own identity as disciples. Furthermore, they foresaw, directly or indirectly, a “boat without the Master” (the future). The physical and psychological distance between the disciples struggling against headwinds on the lake and the Master praying on the mountain vividly imprinted the image of the “boat to which they would eventually return as fishermen” (cf. John 21:3) and amplified their suspicion that they had been following a mere “illusion” (a ghost: Matthew 14:26). 

When Peter, attempting to overcome this, walked on the water like the Master but then sank into “fear” (the water) upon seeing the strong wind, the Master reached out His hand and caught him (cf. Matthew 14:30-31).

Those in whose hearts “great sorrow and unceasing pain have taken root” (cf. Romans 9:2) retreat into a cave of self-imposed isolation. Just as God asked Elijah—who was spending the night in a cave—to "come out of the cave and stand on the mountain," Jesus calls upon His disciples—swept up in thoughts fueled by headwinds while in the boat—to "step out of the boat and stand upon the lake."

To a "world without God" that insists only on the laws of gravity, "God who is over all things" (Romans 9:5) invites us to the mountaintop and the surface of the lake. The "hand of God" (Wisdom 3:1)—He who created all things—is extended to grasp those groaning as they remain "trapped in dark caves or rocking boats" (bound by the past, present, and future), while the "finger of God" (Luke 11:20) shields them from evil. To dispel the anxiety and doubt of those seeking to stand upon the mountain or the lake, the One who is "the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8) reaches out and speaks in a "still, small voice" (1 Kings 19:12): "Take courage. It is I." (Matthew 14:27)