How is God calling you out of the boat?

     August is here, back-to-school sales are running, and I even saw some Halloween candy in the store yesterday (yes, those peeps consumed in October have been sitting packaged since August...).  The summer is finally starting to feel like summer and not some foretaste of a fiery afterlife, the vacations are coming to a close, and schedules are getting set for the start of a new program year.
     In many ways, it feels like New Years - many more new things start in September than in January.  (And these new things usually end up sticking, unlike those New Years' resolutions!)  Fall activities like sports, arts, and other extra-curricular events are already on the calendar.  Sunday School, confirmation, and weekly worship are back on the schedule as a weekly event.  At St. John we have a couple of new things on our calendar - WoW, or Worship on Wednesdays, each Wednesday from 6:00-6:40, and the after school program each week on Tuesdays from 3:00-5:30.  The random, somewhat chaotic schedule of summer is giving way to the methodical, even more chaotic schedule of fall.
     And in the midst of this transition we are met with our gospel lesson.  We are continuing from last week with Matthew 14.22-33, and we meet a tired and worn out Jesus who finally gets some time alone to grieve, pray, and rest.  He sends the crowds away satisfied, he sends the disciples away in the boat, and takes the night for himself, only to find the boat far off shore in the morning.  It is the well-known story about Peter who gets out of the boat when Jesus commands him.  He actually walks on water!  But when he notices that he's doing something quite miraculous and the wind is howling around him he begins to sink and Jesus saves him.  Jesus also asks, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"
     "You of little faith" sounds like Jesus is telling Peter he has a little amount of faith, but there is a little something lost in translation here.  Instead of it being a statement on the amount of faith Peter actually has, it is in reality a term of endearment and would be translated more like, "Little Faith, why did you doubt?"  Jesus also uses this term three other times in Matthew's gospel (6.30, 8.26, and 16.8) as a pet name for the disciples.  It is, in my opinion, Jesus' way of reminding the disciples that they already have all the faith they need and that Jesus works through them just as they are, no strings attached, no ifs, ands, or buts.
    We are the same as Peter.  Each day is an opportunity for Jesus to do miraculous things through us.  We may not walk on water in the middle of a storm, but God's miracles happen through us every moment, little signs of God's tremendous grace that together add up to show that God's hand is in all parts of our life.  It is God working in us 'Little Faiths' each time we take a breath and think before we say something hurtful.  It is God working in us each time we carve out the 10 minutes it takes to read our daily devotion, or quiet ourselves in prayer.  It is God working in us as we live out our faith at work - maybe you don't curse or swear, maybe you love unconditionally, maybe you even talk about your faith or how God has made a difference in your life.
     Each day is an opportunity for God to work in and through you, just as Jesus used Peter to do a miracle, so God uses you to show God's power and love in the world.  And, just as Peter, Little Faith, got out of the boat, so God is encouraging you to get out of the boat.  The mystery of all this is, how is God calling you out of the boat?