Today’s scripture: Matthew 14:22-33 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Kristin Herrmann):
The movie Hoosiers is the story of a small, rural Indiana high school basketball team winning the state championship, against all odds and against a talented team from a larger urban school. It’s inspired by the 1954 Indiana Milan High School team that won its state championship by two points with a last second shot. The movie is considered one of the best sports movies of all times.
The Hoosiers script was written by Angelo Pizzo, who was the commencement speaker at my college graduation. In his speech, he stated the iconic movie was almost never made. After writing the script, he shared the work with his mentor, who had harsh criticism for the piece. Crushed by the rejection, Angelo Pizzo disregarded the screenplay for years until someone else close to him encouraged him to have faith in his work.
In today’s reading, Jesus walks on water. Peter also walks on water until he experiences fear. Jesus attributes Peter’s fall to Peter’s lack of faith.Two important principles jumped out at me.
The first is that faith can make the impossible possible. But is Jesus saying that so long as our faith is great enough anything is possible? I don’t think so. Jesus seems to be saying that having faith when an opportunity presents itself can make the impossible possible. We still need to take responsibility for our lives by discerning whether and when to take action in the name of faith.
The second principle from the passage is that the lack of faith can make the possible impossible. A young Angelo Pizzo entering film school to make a living doing something he enjoyed probably would have deemed his achieving the level of success from Hoosiers as improbable or even impossible. Without his finding the faith to act and give the screenplay a second chance, it would have been.
Thought for the day: What are the possibilities in my life that my lack of faith are making impossible?
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.