Immediately following the narrative of Jesus’ multiplication of the loaves and fish to feed the five thousand (Matthew 14:13-21), the Gospel Reading of the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A (Matthew 14:22-33) describes Jesus’ supernatural act of walking on the stormy water of the Sea of Galilee and how the disciples reacted to this. There are two main themes in contrast: Jesus walking on the stormy water, which shows Jesus’ divine supernatural power, and Peter’s fear, which reflects human weakness.
This comparison is also found in the narrative of
Jesus calming the storm in response to the disciples’ fear (Matthew 8:23-27).
In that incident, Jesus was with them on the same boat but sleeping and not
disturbed at all, while the disciples were in panic and waking him up. They
begged him to save them from drowning (Matthew 8:25). In response, he pointed
out that they were afraid because of their little faith (Matthew 8:26).
Jesus’ supernatural divine power, storm, and the
disciples’ fear, are three main factors that run across these two Gospel
narratives of Matthew 8:23-27 and Matthew 14:22-33.
After feeding the five thousand people miraculously
out of five loaves and two fish (Matthew 14:13-21), Jesus dismissed the crowd
and had his disciples get on the boat so that he could be alone to pray to the
Father on the mountain (Matthew 14:22-23). This reminds that Jesus is the
original practitioner of this Benedictine motto of ora et labora.
Because his work is the work of the Father, not on his own (John 5:17, 19, 30;
14:31), Jesus always made sure that he is obedient to the Father’s will through
his prayer, listing to Him, aligning his hear to that of the Father. And it was
after he worked hard in feeding a great crowd, Jesus needed some quiet prayer
time alone with the Father, just as he did after healing many people, including
Peter’s mother-in-law (Mark 1:29-37).
While Jesus was praying alone on the mountain, the
boat, which the disciples were on, sailed a few miles offshore, but strong
winds began to hit to boat, turning and tossing (Matthew 14:24). Then, during
the fourth watch hours, sometime between 3 am and 6 am, Jesus was coming to the
boat by walking on the surface of the stormy Sea of Galilee (Matthew 14:25).
Seeing this, the disciples were terrified and cried out in fear, “It is a
ghost!”(Matthew 14:26).
To this, Jesus assured the disciple, saying:
Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid
(Matthew 14:27).
It was Peter, who responded to Jesus, as to test if
the man on the water was really Jesus, saying, “Lord, if it is you, command
me to come to you on the water”(Matthew 14:28), while the rest of the
disciples were probably simply bewildering. Then, Jesus commanded Peter to come
to him, and he got out of the boat and began walking toward Jesus (Matthew
14:29). But when he saw how strong the wind was, he began to sink and cried out
to Jesus, “Lord, save me!”(Matthew 14:30). And Jesus saved Peter from
drowning by stretching his arm to him and said:
O you of little faith, why did you doubt?
(Matthew 14:31).
Jesus and Peter got on the boat, and the wind died
down (Matthew 14:32). And it was when the disciples show their reverence to
Jesus, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God”(Matthew 14:33).
It is Jesus’ message, Take courage, it is I; do not
be afraid (Matthew 14:27), an antidote to our fear. It is a reminder that
our faith in him calm the storm of fear in our hearts and minds, just as his
supernatural divine power can make the storm die down.
When we are on a boat and the storm hits it violently,
shaking the boat up and down, right and left, our instinct tells us to hang on
to the boat. But it was Peter who got out of the boat amidst gusty wind and
began walking on the stormy water, just as Jesus walked, as long as, he
believed in the man, whom everyone else thought as a ghost, Jesus. But as soon
as he let the strong wind distract his attention from Jesus ahead of him, Peter
was plagued with fear and began to sink.
This teaches us that simply believing in Jesus is not
sufficient. Our belief in him must be steadfast and unshakable and, therefore,
sustainable.
Peter at first believed that it was really Jesus, who
walked on the stormy water and called him to come by walking on the water.
Otherwise, how would he get out of the boat, which was rather symbolic to
“security”. But it is “security” in human sense. But, Jesus sent a message to
peter, “Peter, if you really think it is me, then, take risk and get out of
your personal security zone and come to me by walking the stormy water”. So, Peter did and actually walked on the water
supernaturally.
The problem was that Peter’s belief was not
sustainable as it was not firm enough to shield him from the distractors, such
as the strong wind. As his attention drifted from Jesus ahead of him to the
wind, Peter was no longer able to walk on the water and began to sink. And he
cried out to Jesus to save him.
In citing the Nicene Creed and the Apostle’s Creed, we
profess our faith, saying that we do believe in Jesus the Christ. But is it
just our saying? Or can we make sure that our faith in him keeps us from fear
distracting us from following the Lord’s call on us? Are our eyes are always
fixed on Jesus or do they drift?
In contrasting to the Gospel narrative of Jesus being
awaken by the disciples frightened by the storm and calming it (Matthew
8:23-27), the disciples’ witness to Jesus walking on the stormy water, letting
Peter walk on the water as he did, and stopping the wind really made them
firmly believe that Jesus is truly the Son of God (Matthew 14:22-33). They were
no longer wondering what sort of man Jesus was to have the power over the storm
(i.e. Matthew 8:27).
These two Gospel accounts (Matthew 8:23-27; 14:22-33)
call us to strengthen our faith and make it unshakable so that we do not let
our fear compromise our prayer and work for the greater glory of God. And we
make sure that our faith is steadfast enough to remain sustainable so that we
can walk our path to be in union with the Lord in the Kingdom. In fact, our
path of exodus from this world to the Kingdom may be like walking on the stormy
water. As we learn from Peter’s case, we may be “drawn” by fear or devil’s
attacks, if our faith is not strong enough.
In the First Reading (1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a), we also
see Elijah being recoiled by fear. So out of fear, he retreated himself to a
cave. And it was when God called him. But, God’s voice neither came in heavy
wind nor earthquake nor fire, but it was a subtle whisper. Elijah could have
missed it easily if not being attentive or if letting the wind, earthquake, and
fire, distract him.
So, God said:
Why are you here, Elijah?
(1 Kings 19:9).
Elijah gave a rather awkward response:
I have been most zealous for the Lord, the
God of hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant. They have
destroyed your altars and murdered your prophets by the sword. I alone remain,
and they seek to take my life (1 Kings 19:10).
Then God said:
Go out and stand on the mountain before
the Lord; the Lord will pass by. There was a strong and violent wind rending
the mountains and crushing rocks before the Lord—but the Lord was not in the
wind; after the wind, an earthquake—but the Lord was not in the earthquake; after
the earthquake, fire—but the Lord was not in the fire; after the fire, a light
silent sound (1 Kings 19:11-12).
Did Elijah come out of the cave? Yes. Did he actually
go up on the mountain? No. He just hid his face as he came out of the cave and
stood by its entrance (1 Kings 19:13a). It means that Elijah was still in fear.
So, God had to push this fear-stricken prophet further, saying:
Why are you here, Elijah?
(1 Kings 19:13b).
Out of fear, Elijah pretty much repeated his previous
message to God:
I have been most zealous for the Lord, the
God of hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant. They have
destroyed your altars and murdered your prophets by the sword. I alone remain,
and they seek to take my life (1 Kings 19:14).
Then, God commanded Elijah to go back to where he
escaped from and take risk to engage in dangerous mission but assured of His
care for him and his mission (1 Kings 19:15-18). And Elijah set his way from the
cave and began his mission, as God commanded, including finding Elisha as his successor
(1 Kings 19:19).
Elijah coming out of the cave for was like Peter
getting out of the boat. Elijah setting his way from the cave to engage in his mission,
taking risk, was like Peter walking on the stormy water.
Therefore, in connection with the First Reading (1 Kings
19:9a, 11-13a), the Gospel Reading (Matthew 14:22-33) is about overcoming fear
with faith and by the Word of God. It is about coming out of our security zone,
taking risk by trusting God’s providence. Otherwise, our journey to get closer
to the Lord would never be accomplished, because it is like walking on the
stormy water toward him. Then, our faith would be superficial and cosmetic.
God speaks to us amidst stormy time in our life. But
it can be a subtle whispering, which is easy to miss. If we missed it, then, we
might sink into despair and even commit apostasy, left with dismay and even resentment
for having believed in God. That would be a problem of theodicy.
In the Second Reading (Romans 9:1-5), Paul reminds us
that his conscience is fortified by the Holy Spirit enjoining it. And it leads
to blessings. It calls us to have the Holy Spirit strengthen our faith as it is
a gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:9). Keeping clear conscience by the
power of the Holy Spirit also means to retain our clear vision of Christ before
us, to whom we “walk on the stormy water”, trusting in him and his care.
So, let us come out of our security zone, whether it
is like a cave or a boat! Now, let us take a risky path without fear, trusting
in the Lord and his providence, empowered by the Holy Spirit!
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