The face of the disastrous floods and cyclone in the minds of many seems to be that of thirteen year old Jordan Rice. It was he who asked his rescuers to save his younger brother first. In doing so he lost his own life. Teenagers are capable of extraordinary acts of generosity. You students of St John's are capable of such extraordinary acts of courage and love as well.

Teachers are really privileged people. They are second only to the parents of the young people they teach in that respect. Both teachers and parents provide the environment for these students grow and learn. Even though they can be very close to students personally they can only stand back wonder at the inner workings of the adult that is coming to be. That is their privilege: to participate in what can only be described as a work of art being fashioned before their very eyes.

Teenagers I suppose do not see themselves as works of art as they struggle with all those physical and emotional changes taking place. I certainly didn't consider myself a work of art at your age!

The parable of the potter we have heard in the reading from the prophet Jeremiah does have a particular historical event in mind. Jeremiah is warning Israel that just as God has made them a people, he can just as easily remake them if they do not keep the covenant. Just because they are the chosen people does not mean they are immune from the attacks of neighbouring armies. But the basic truth of the story is that from God's point of view this people is the work of God's hands. They were created just like a potter fashioning a pot at a wheel. Sometimes the clay becomes misshapen but God, like the potter, remakes the pot. He does it again and again until it takes the shape he wants. That is reassuring. God does not give up on us even if we think we are useless or have failed in some way. Let us begin a new year confident and not afraid to take up the challenges ahead.

The way St Matthew has presented the story of Jesus and Peter on the water suggests a similar situation. When Matthew is writing the early Christians were feeling lost and persecuted. They missed the physical presence of Jesus amongst them. The boat on the lake is an ancient symbol of the Church with Peter at the helm struggling in an often violent world.

This story reassures those early Christians, and us today, that even though it seems God appears to have abandoned us God is with us still. Jesus walking on the water, water itself seen as the embodiment of chaos and destruction by the ancients, here recalls a theme in the Old Testament which describes God as trampling on those tumultuous waters and making a path for his people through them (Psalm 77).

(An interesting aside: Lake Galilee on which the disciples are sailing covers an area of 166 sq km. To put that in perspective, Lake Wivenhoe which figured so much in the recent floods, covers 109 sq km. So Lake Galilee is not an ocean by any means.)

We are very familiar after the floods and cyclones of the power and destruction water and wind can cause. And even though we can measure and to some extent control their effects we human beings can still be very afraid when faced with their awesome power. So St Matthew is telling us that Jesus is in the boat with us. And he will come to us no matter how little our faith might seem to be. It is only when we take our eyes of our Lord as Peter did, that we, too, can let the water overwhelm us.

Today then we step into the boat and head out into the deep of a new school year. We do it by celebrating the Eucharist which is the pledge of God's ever faithful, ever present love for us. That is the same message of the Gospel story we read today. Young Jordan Rice may have drowned in the floods in the Lockyer Valley but in spirit he walked on water! We too can walk on water if we keep our eyes on the needs of our neighbours and in doing so receive the out stretched hand of Jesus

Fr Graham