I’ve been thinking a lot this week about distractions. As many of you know, I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2024 and it has been an interesting journey learning how to manage it, as the increased complexity of family schedules and changing hormones has led to symptoms becoming much more apparent. It’s been a game of skill, navigating the right combo of strategies and the right dosing of medication.

I’ve learned a lot about how my brain works and how some things that would be helpful for neurotypical people to focus, like a quiet space, often does nothing for me. And how somethings that others might find distracting, like having music or the tv on in the background, can actually help me focus better.

Figuring out what is actually a bothersome distraction for me and what is a something others would deem a distraction, but is actually necessary for me to focus, has been very insightful.

And so, when I first read this week’s gospel, I was thinking about distraction.

I read again this text that I’ve heard so many times over the years. I read the story about how there was a great storm and Jesus began walking to the disciples upon the water. I read about Peter taking steps to get to Jesus. And I read about Peter’s doubt causing him to sink.

And most of us take for granted the fact that Peter sinks because he doubts—he sinks because his faith isn’t strong enough. He sinks because he doesn’t believe enough. Clearly this passage is about faith and doubt—but what if there’s something more?

Reading this text in light of the past few weeks, something else strikes me.

What if this passage is more about distraction than unbelief?

Peter is out on the water on this fishing boat. All night, the boat has been tossed and turned by the storm. It isn’t until the early morning that Peter sees something coming across the water.

It is a ghost? Peter and the other disciples can’t tell at first…and then Jesus speaks to them: “Take heart, do not be afraid.”

In that moment Peter forgets about the storm. The wind and the rocking boat fade away and all Peter sees is Jesus. He’s focused on Christ, focused on how much faith he has in this man. And he is so focused that the words come out of his mouth—maybe before he even knew what he was saying:

“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

And Jesus says, “Come” and Peter begins to walk. He does it! His feet don’t sink, his skin stays dry. He believes that this is something he can do.

…but it doesn’t last. He feels his hair ruffled by the wind and remembers: remembers the wind, the storm, the waves, his friends frightened on the boat behind him. He remembers, he’s distracted from his goal, distracted from Jesus…and he begins to sink.

Luckily, Jesus reaches out through the wind and waves and pulls Peter to safety.

Peter is all of us. We all struggle to keep our eyes on God and the work God is calling us to do in the face of all the distractions our world offers.

We care more about our social lives than the social welfare of the people around us. We worry more about the food in our homes than the people who worked to provide that food. If something doesn’t affect us directly, it’s hard to pay attention long enough to actually do something of value or importance to make a difference.

This isn’t to say thatwe never do things for our neighbors or the larger world. It’s not to say that we are wholly selfish or narcissistic individuals—but it does point to the larger issue that we’re fine with distractions. Some of us may even prefer them.

We’re able to concentrate for five minutes, thirty minutes, maybe even an hour…but eventually the distractions come and worm their way into whatever our minds are thinking of.

I heard about this study—maybe you have, too—where participants were asked to sit alone in a room for six to fifteen minutes with nothing but their own thoughts. No cell phones, no books, nothing to write with, no music—nothing. The only thing they could do was choose to shock themselves.

It might not seem like such a big undertaking: ten minutes, give or take, of “me time”—of people just sitting with their own being, feelings and inner self.

It might not seem like a big undertaking, but the results speak for themselves: out of all the participants, 67 percent of the men and 25 percent of the women opted for the shock. I don’t know about you, but those statistics surprised me: two-thirds of the men and a quarter of the women! (I won’t speculate on what that says about the difference between men and women!)

The report even said that one participant somehow managed to shock himself 190 times in just 15 minutes.

We can look at this study and start to make excuses. Maybe the shock was somehow pleasurable. It wasn’t that bad. Maybe people were just curious! There has to be more to the story.

But the fact of the matter is that this study supports the idea that we are always seeking distraction. And what’s more, even if the distraction is painful, it’s better than being faced with our true selves.

We can turn that to our own faith and recognize that although distractions can keep us from God or keep us from hearing God’s voice, it’s better than facing the mirror of our own sinfulness.

We would rather focus on things that don’t matter so much—our social calendar or our material wealth—than hear God’s voice and realize that we are a broken people.

When we are paying attention to what God desires for our lives, that’s when we realize how short we fall, again and again. We are never able to live up to the ideal set out in creation. We will be selfish, we will be hurtful, we will find little ways to deny God.

We may even begin to believe that we can never be good enough for God.

But if we hear all of what God is saying, if we listen past how we have fallen short, we hear God saying something else—something more. We hear God saying that we are perfect, precious and loved. We are forgiven, healed and restored. We are still able to do God’s good work just as we are.

So when Jesus asks Peter, “Why did you doubt?” I wonder if Jesus isn’t asking Peter about his faith in God, but about his faith in himself.

Not “Why did you doubt your God?” but “Why did you doubt your own ability?” Maybe Jesus wanted Peter to realize that he is capable of doing incredible things.

Because Peter will. He will stumble and make mistakes. He will fall asleep in the garden of Gethsemane, he will deny Jesus—but he will also be an apostle and preach a sermon that leads to three thousand baptisms!

Yes, he is occasionally distracted—by fear, or conflicts with others, but when he is his truest self, when he is focused on the great commission Jesus gave him to, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them,” then he does the most incredible things.

So whatever it is that distracts us, whether it’s our own fears, insecurities, or selfishness—God can work with that, too. God will come to us from across the water. God will reach out through the whirling wind and waves of our doubts. God will pull us to safety and focus.

Distractions will happen. They’re inevitable. But God is always finding ways to pull our focus back: back to our creator, back to forgiveness and grace, back to the life we have been called to live.

Amen.

– Rev. Rebecca Ajer Frantz, Lutheran Church of Our Saviour

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