ABSTRACT
My presumption in choosing to begin with this biblical passage is that it might illustrate innocence – not so much in the etymologically strict sense of ‘harmlessness’ as in the more conventional sense of ‘trust’. Peter’s brief buoyancy seems readable as the outward manifestation of a trusting relationship to the one who calls him, and in the purity and completeness of this trust he can do wonders. For as long as he is in this state he is unafraid. He looks neither to right nor left, and neither up nor down, but only ahead, deriving all his confidence from what he sees there. As an illustration of a moment of purity of intent (which is in significant measure imparted to him in and with the command ‘Come!’), this innocence can be equated with faith. Indeed, the equation is explicit in Jesus’s rebuke when distraction and fear reclaim Peter (‘why did you doubt?’).
