August 9^th 2020. The Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL: Matthew 14, 22-33

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini broadcast on Vatican Radio

 

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Don Fabio’s homily follows the Gospel

GOSPEL: Matthew 14, 22-33

After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat
and precede him to the other side,
while he dismissed the crowds. 
After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. 
When it was evening he was there alone. 
Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. 
During the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them walking on the sea. 
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. 
“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. 
At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” 
Peter said to him in reply,
“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 
He said, “Come.” 
Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. 
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter,
and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 
After they got into the boat, the wind died down. 
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
“Truly, you are the Son of God.”

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

 

Kieran’s summary . . . In the Gospel for Sunday, Jesus constrains his disciples to cross the notoriously stormy Sea of Galilee by night. Why did Jesus force them to do such a counter-intuitive thing, to confront their deepest fear – that of being lost at sea? Then, during the storm, Jesus comes to them over the water. Christ wants us to cling to him in the midst of our greatest fears. The crossing of the sea is the great biblical symbol of Passover, the fearful crossing of the deepest abyss of human existence. We are not truly free until our fears are enlightened with the presence of Christ. The storms of life reveal the power of God, but they also reveal who we are: we are people called to true freedom, and this only happens when we abandon ourselves to God. When storms come, we might wish that the Lord would take them away from us. But what is important is not the calming of the storm, but that we keep faith in God in the midst of the storm.

The Sea of Galilee is dangerous at night. Why did Jesus force his disciples to make such a risky crossing? Why did he make them confront their deepest fear – that of being lost at sea? Crossing the sea, of course, is, in Scripture, symbolic of Easter, the crossing of the deepest chasm known to man

"Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other shore". One thing may escape our attention in this phrase: the fact that Jesus constrained the disciples to enter the boat. The Greek term means “to induce to act in a particular way, to force, to impose”. Why does Jesus force this crossing? The story follows the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, and we know that it is evening time. In fact, the disciples had asked for the dismissal of the crowd for this very reason. Jesus must constrain his disciples to get into the boat. One may rightly think that perhaps they do not want to go without him, but the account that follows also indicates something else. We must remember that the core group of his disciples is made up of fishermen - the first four are fishermen by profession - while the others are from the same part of the region. They are all familiar with that stretch of water that they call the “sea”. They don't want to cross it in the evening because they know one thing: evening and night storms on the Sea of ​​Galilee are very frequent. This also happens today due to the fact that air currents from diverse climatic regions converge over the lake. Often this gives rise to very localised storms right in the middle of the water basin. If, on a trip to the Holy Land, you wonder why there are no crossings for tourists after a certain hour in the afternoon, the local boatmen can explain all of this. It is very risky to leave in the evening. Why does Jesus force them to take this risk? They are fishermen and they are made to confront their basic professional fear: to die at sea, or at least to fail in making the crossing. The Lord pushes them to confront their fears. The sea, in fact, in Scripture represents the historical obstacle, that of Passover. It evokes all human fears, and the night never seems to end.

 

Jesus wants them to confront their fears by experiencing his Lordship in the midst of their fears. We are not free until the day that we learn to cling to him, despite the object of our fears still being present. These storms reveal that Jesus is Lord, but they also reveal that we are people called to freedom, called to trust in him in the midst of tribulation. This is our life. This is our freedom. We do not call on the Lord to take away the storm, but that we might adhere to him despite the storm.

But in the midst of their fear, Jesus returns and appears as someone walking on that sea. Like a ghost. Right in the heart of their terror, the Lord wants them to have this experience: to know the Son of God. In fact, we are not truly free until the day in which God enlightens our deepest fears with his Lordship. Indeed, like Peter, we too are called to walk on that sea. The Lord not only manifests who He is, and that is already a great thing, but he reveals who we are: people called to freedom. If life sometimes forces us to enter the storm, it is so that we may come to know the God of Jesus Christ. To know him does not imply that we are given the power to escape that which we fear, but becoming free from what we fear, without having to distance ourselves from it. Our problem is not the storm, but to keep faith during the storm. And our faith always has room to grow.