19th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:22-23
“Courage! Don’t be afraid. It's me.”
Today, Matthew narrates to us another miracle of Jesus. The centerpiece of this story is, of course, his walking on the water. In the dialogue between Jesus and Peter rotates the theme and central message of our gospel: faith. But if we try to connect the gospel we had last Sunday, we discover that another equally important point is presented by the gospel: prayer. These are two important and beautiful themes for reflection. Let us meditate on them.
1. “And having sent the people away, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. At nightfall, he was there alone.” -- If we recall, we saw last Sunday how the people often disrupted the precious solitary moments of Jesus because of their burning desire to be with him. Jesus understood them so well and they were not denied of their cravings. But not this time. Our gospel of today starts with a pious scene that after having sent the people away, he went up the mountain to pray.
Actually, this fact is told to us in the gospel time and again. Jesus might have forgotten about his meals, or simply had no time for it, but never his prayers. No matter how busy he was, no matter how situations pulled him in and him out, he always thought of his prayer and had always time for it. No excuses. This teaches us, therefore, of the irreplaceable importance of prayer. To Jesus, one thing is to be with people for his apostolate and another thing is to be alone for his prayer. Or better, prayer and apostolate are two distinct realities that compliment each other but in no way destroy or absorb one another. One does not stand contrapose to the other, nor does one's presence already stand for the other. It is not as if his apostolate were already a prayer and his prayer were already apostolate. Rather, his prayer is the source and strength of his apostolate, just as his apostolate is the concrete overflow of his prayer. It is therefore integral. That is why his disciples were so impressed by his very person, by his prayer life. In him, there was no dichotomy. Prayer and life were a harmonious blending. His life was full of prayer as his prayer was full of life. Thus, as he ended his heavy day with prayer, he now begins his day with prayer. And what a big day he has for his disciples today. He comes to them walking on the waters.
2. Sometimes, we are tempted to ask why Jesus had to walk on the waters. Was it to save his disciples as fast as he could? Was it to prove that he was God? Was it simply for a show? - - - Jesus does not do anything without a purpose. His walking in the waters was surely not for a show, but no doubt he must have something to show. We can have as many good guesses as we want, each having an angle of truth. But as the gospel presents, he wants to teach us about faith.
a. "Courage! Don’t be afraid. It's me." — The disciples mistook the Lord for a ghost, and they were terrified. Perhaps, they were already in great panic since they had been rocked by the waves. Thus, they knew not what to do. They might have been waiting for the Lord's rescue, but they never expected him to come walking on the waters. Thus, as the gospel puts it, they had begun to cry out. Jesus was quite dismayed by their reaction crying out in fear was unbecoming of a disciple. So, he seemed to scold them for their fear and lack of faith.
This particular scenario alone gives us one of the most common cases regarding faith. Psychology would suggest that seeing ghosts or having fearful illusions of supernatural beings such as fairies, white ladies, witches, Dracula, etc. - and sometimes even irrational fear of God – are forms of religious anxieties. The same is quite true to some persons who claim to have witnessed religious apparitions. This and others are symptoms of a disoriented religiosity and an unhealthy conscience. But as the gospel puts it in a more understandable way and in the most common and popular parlance, these are manifestations indicative of a weak faith.
However, what is ironic here is the fact that these things use to happen among people "close to God or to the church." Of course, we are not saying here that daily church goers are more often psychologically sick. Neither do we say, as some extreme critics do, that this kind of people use the church and religion to cover up their psychological problems. This may be true to some - or better, to a few – but we cannot take it as a general proposition. Otherwise, our churches would end up to nothing more than institutions for mental and psychological problematic. This, we and all people of goodwill (even perhaps those “atheists” with an honest heart) cannot afford to take. And neither Jesus. In fact, if ever this were true, right from the very beginning Jesus would try to correct it. This cannot and must not happen to his Church and to his people. “Courage! Do not be afraid. It’s me.” Fear and lack of faith are incompatible with true religion and divinity. And if ever they are in fact manifestations of inner anxieties and insecurities, a disciple and any follower for that matter must get rid of it since true religion and the presence of the divine assure peace and security.
b. Peter’s case is a clear example of the incompatibility of doubt with divine presence, of insecurity with salvation. "Man of little faith, why did you doubt?” To walk on the waters is a big miracle which can only happen to and can be done by someone imbued with great faith. The fact that he sinks shows that his doubt ignores and insults the divine presence, and his fears and insecurities are not his salvation. Here, the reverse of some extreme impious claims seems to be truer. The gospel event suggests that religion is even meant for the firm and the strong and not for the troubled and the weak. Of course, we neither want to put discrimination here. Jesus gives himself to everybody, and in fact, to those who need him most which especially includes the weak and the troubled. But following him demands to be strong and firm in faith.
c. There is one most profound reason for this. That
strong faith which is needed here is demanded not by any ghosts, fairies, nor
of any beings of one’s hallucinations, but by a true God. And Jesus is precisely that powerful God. The disciples
must be reminded of the many occasions when Jesus healed the sick, made the
lame walk, the blind see, the dead back to life. Just lately, he multiplied the
five loaves and two fish to feed more than five thousand people. Now, he comes
walking on the waters, and lets Peter walk too. Then, as he gets into the boat,
he calms the cruel sea. These things can only be done by a God, a God who
masters over life and nature. In fact, they were right and correct in their
conclusion: “Then those in the boat bowed down before Jesus saying, ‘Truly,
you are the Son of God.’”