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Most of us are very familiar with the natural order of things. Water is wet, objects fall to earth because of gravity, and so on. Generally, people also behave in predictable ways as creatures of habit. While it’s true that we may occasionally surprise each other, those surprises are contained within the boundaries of “the possible.”

Against this backdrop, we read our Gospel today from Matthew, in which Christ walks on the water to his distressed disciples and then bids Peter to walk to him in turn. Given that Jesus gave Simon the name “Peter,” which means rock, we see something of a pun in our miracle today.

Whoever could make a rock float? By all rights, rocks sink. But, in the midst of a storm, Our Lord’s word gives a rock not only the power to float, but to walk. And then not only to walk, but to journey to-ward the waiting embrace of God.

This might shock us as it did the Apostles, but then again, we shouldn’t be too surprised: Jesus is that same Word of God who, in the beginning, made man out of rock and earth and set Adam and Eve (and all of us rocky descendants with all our rough edges) on a journey to seek the face of the Lord. Making rocks do bold, supernatural things is the Lord’s modus operandi. Moreover, it was the same Lord who reminded us that a little faith, the size of a mustard seed, would move mountains. Here, the faith he instills in Peter is enough to set a rock walking.

What might we take away from the scene? In one sense, the passage gives us a strong encouragement about the power of God’s grace and his word to make extraordinary things happen that defy the ordinary natural order of things. Our faith is one of miracles, but more importantly, it is one of allowing the Lord to transform us by grace to grow in supernatural virtue. What may seem impossible to us by our own nature and gifts is very possible for God’s grace.

Often though, we discount this power of God’s grace to stretch us beyond what we think is possible or really is possible in that moment. I was recently reminded of St. Francis de Sales, who though he inwardly had a somewhat irritable temperament by nature, was known by all to be the gentlest man by God’s grace and super-nature. There is hope for us. Saul became Paul. Peter walks on water when bidden.

The Lord bids us, too, to step out into storms of our life to do things that seem impossible. It may be forgiving 77 times or making the bold move to invite someone to church. It may even be making that phone call to a person we’ve lost touch with, but who has been on our heart. There are many senses of things that are “impossible” by nature, but possible by grace when Christ bids our hearts to come to him. Like Peter, we just need to make the first step and keep our eyes locked on Christ.

One might ask: Is this then an invitation to start trying to do impossible things by God’s grace? Lest any reader of this column suddenly try to fly or handle rattlesnakes or enter a lion’s den, a caution: Peter didn’t initiate the walking, and didn’t seek the storm. Rather, finding himself in a storm while following the Lord’s command, he cried out in faith to the Lord who had come to rescue him. Then, at the Lord’s invitation, he responded in faith.

That same pattern is the roadmap for our life. Follow the Lord’s requests: weather the storms that come as we do so, and cry out in need as he draws near in the midst of challenges, make the act of faith and take the next step to respond to the call, even if tough. The brilliant thing is, even if we falter in our steps of faith, the Lord is there to catch us immediately, just like Peter. Nothing is outside the reach of God’s embrace.