Nineteenth Sunday in
Ordinary Time
August 10, 2014 Cycle A
by Rev. Jose Maria Cortes, F.S.C.B.
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In the name of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
After the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and
fish, Jesus sent the disciples to the other shore of the Sea of Galilee. He
dismissed the crowds and went up the mountain to pray. For what purpose did he
go there? Saint John Chrysostom answers: “To teach us, that loneliness and
retirement is good, when we are to pray to God. With this view, you see, He is
continually withdrawing into the wilderness, and there often spends the whole
night in prayer, teaching us earnestly to seek such quietness in our prayers
[…].”
Today’s first reading tells us that the Prophet Elijah
went to the mountain of God, Mt. Horeb, where he took shelter in a cave. Then
God commanded Elijah to go outside and stand on the mountain, where he waited
for God to pass by. The Lord was not in the wind or in the earthquake or in the
fire. God’s voice is like a tiny whispering sound. We do not find God in a
confusing and noisy environment. We need silence and solitude to listen to our
Lord.
That night, Jesus was praying on the mountain. The
Apostles were by themselves in the boat, tossed about by the raging sea. Why did
Jesus leave the Apostles to their own devices? Jesus wanted to teach them
something. For many hours, the boat was battered by waves. The Apostles were
tired and afraid. It is easy to imagine that they were starting to wonder why
Jesus had left them there alone. During a previous storm, Jesus had been on
board but asleep when their boat almost sank but then woke up and calmed the
sea.
The Apostles did not expect Jesus to come after them but
there he was, walking on the water: “When the disciples saw him walking on the
sea they were terrified.” They thought he was a ghost.
We should not be surprised by the ways that Christ chooses to come to us. They
are what we least expect! Jesus told the Apostles not to be afraid but Peter
wants to make sure that it is really Jesus out there and not a hallucination.
Jesus says to Peter: “Come.” Peter gets out of the boat and begins to walk on
the water. He takes some tentative steps toward Jesus, like a child’s first
steps. As long as the child is looking at the father or mother, he is able to
walk. The problem comes when instead of looking at the one calling him, he looks
at the floor or his hesitant legs. A flicker of doubt and down he goes. When
Peter was focused on Jesus, he was able to walk toward him on the cold, dark
water. Water is a symbol of death. As soon as Peter’s attention shifts to the
wind and the size of the waves, he is immediately paralyzed by doubts, becomes
frightened, stops looking at Jesus and begins to sink. That is when Peter says:
“Lord, save me!” Jesus’ strong warm hand immediately grasps Peter’s hand and
lifts him out from the waters that were beginning to swallow him.
This scene reminds me of a quote from Saint Thomas
Aquinas: “From nature springs the fear of death; from grace springs audacity.”
If we accept Jesus’ call, we can do really amazing things in our lives. We can
walk over the abyss of despair. We are able to perform audacious deeds! On the
contrary, if we follow our own will, if we follow the voice of the world instead
of the “tiny whispering sound” of God’s voice, we will sink into the deep waters
and the sea of our unhappiness will swallow us.
“Lord, save me!” Peter gives us an example to follow. We
constantly need to cry out like Peter: “Lord, save me!” Let us pray for the the
same experience of salvation that Peter had when Jesus saved him.
In the name of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. Amen.