Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

My dear parishioners,

 

God is Good!!!  All the Time!!!  And All the Time!!!  God is Good!!!

 

The prophet Elijah is convinced there is nothing more he can do for the Lord. He has even prayed for God to take his life. But God has a different plan and gives him the strength to make a 40-day journey to Horeb, the name for Mount Sinai preferred by the book of Deuteronomy. God asks Elijah to explain why he has been directed to go to Horeb/Sinai, suggesting there is a lesson for him to learn in being there. Elijah responds by asserting that he is the only loyal Israelite left in all the land. Elijah does not seem to remember that on that same mountain Moses interceded for the people even after they had been disloyal to God by worshipping the golden calf (Ex 32).

Today’s Gospel shows Jesus manifesting his divine identity by walking on the sea and saving Peter from sinking in the turbulent waters. Early Christians sometimes portrayed the small struggling Church as a boat in rough seas being  battered about. It is the presence of Jesus that protects the boat and keeps it from sinking. Courage and a strong faith in Jesus are the keys to survival.

The battered boat. Jesus has sent his disciples by boat to the other side of the sea. He retired to the hill country to pray. In the meantime, the boat carrying the disciples had encountered a serious storm several miles off shore. It was being tossed about by waves. At the time this Gospel was written, many Christians experienced the turbulent life in the Church as similar to a small boat about to be swallowed up by violent waters. They were afraid and very insecure about the future.

Walking on the sea. Sometime between 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., Jesus appeared walking on the waters coming toward the boat. The disciples respond in fear thinking Jesus is a ghost. Quickly, Jesus responds to them saying: “Take courage, it is I; do no be afraid.” Here Jesus reveals his divine identity (“it is I” = “I am who am”). God calming rough seas is found throughout the Scriptures (Ps 107:23–32). Thus Jesus does what God did because of who Jesus really is: the Son of God.

Peter sinks. Peter is not convinced by what Jesus says (“if it is you”) and thus attempts to put Jesus to the test. The test is for Peter to get out of the boat and walk on the water toward Jesus. Jesus tells him to come. No sooner does Peter begin to walk on the water than he quickly begins to sink. He is forced to call to Jesus for help and, of course, Jesus saves him from drowning. Jesus refers to Peter as “you of little faith,” and questions why Peter doubted. Many say that Peter was overwhelmed by the force of the rough sea, lost his focus on Jesus, and thus began to sink. Perhaps Peter’s real mistake was getting out of the boat in the first place. He is not God, so he cannot do the things God does. Jesus is coming to the boat, thus the boat will be safe. Real faith demands that one stays in the boat. Peter failed to realize that Jesus was the Son of God. Excerpts from  “Sunday Homily Helps”, is used by permission of Franciscan Media. www.FranciscanMedia.org.©2016. All rights reserved.

 

Sincerely in Christ,

Fr. Aloysius