As the deadline for this piece steadily approached, I struggled to find a fresh way into the familiar story of Jesus inviting Peter to join him on top of some stormy waves* and kept coming up with an empty net. One day, an idea floated out of the depths of memory, and I wrote,
One of the perks of my former job was to write recommendations for my students and various artist friends who were applying for jobs, scholarships, and grants. As the director of a center for arts and religion at a theological seminary, I was entitled to use letterhead that attested to my credentials as a professor of both art and worship, and I was always happy to leverage my own success to help others who were trying to get to the next step on their own professional journeys. When I would later learn about their success, it pleased me to believe my glowing report of their creative theological thinking, impeccable writing, subtle artistic cleverness, or superb printmaking skills, had made the applicant look like they walked on water.
It was a good start, I thought, but my mind went blank as I tried every trick I knew to figure out where to go next. Not wanting to rely on the tired, old admonishment about Peter sinking as soon as he took his eyes off Jesus, I started flailing around, looking for any piece of mental driftwood to hang onto. Over and over, I would start chasing some intriguing glimmer, judge it stupidly unworthy, and then throw it back into the implacable sea.
As I sank deeper and deeper into despair, I noticed an email from a friend, asking me to recommend her for a new job in a new field. Of course, my first reaction was annoyance, as the letter needed to be received in just two days. I was already feeling exhausted by too many other demands on my time, swamped with other deadlines, and mostly yearning for a nap rather than one more writing task. And then, I started to laugh.
It only took me ten minutes to write that letter and a few more to pray that my friend gets the job. Thank you, God, for helping me walk on water, and the invitation to help someone else think that that they can, too.
*Matt 14:22-33 is the text for August 13 but this was too good to skip. mzb
-Deborah Sokolove
- How do you respond when someone asks you to do something on short notice?
- What helps you when you feel like you are sinking into despair?
- How can you use your privilege to help someone else walk on water?
Something more…
Blessing on the Waves
I cannot promise
that this blessing
will keep you afloat
as if by lashing these words
to your arms,
your ankles,
you could stop yourself
from going under.
The most this blessing
can do, perhaps,
is to stand beside you
in the boat,
place its hand
in the small of your back,
and push.
Be assured that
though this blessing
is eager to set you
in motion,
it will not
leave you forsaken,
will not compel you
to leap
where it has not already
stepped out.
These words
will go with you
across the waves.
These words
will accompany you
across the waters.
And if you
find yourself
flailing,
this blessing
will breathe itself
into you,
will breathe itself
through you
until you are
borne up
by the hands
that reach toward you,
the voice that
calls your name.
Read more from Jan Richardson’s Painted Prayerbook
https://paintedprayerbook.com/2011/07/31/blessing-on-the-waves/
