19th Sunday in Ordinary Time – August 9, 2020 – Gospel: Matthew 14 : 22-33
I have told some of you my mom Rose has a green thumb, and that her son the priest kills cactus. And since cacti only need a few drops of water, it takes a pretty consistent hand to kill it, or should I say, drown it! Well, several years ago I went to visit my mom in Nassau County. From the moment I got out of my car and approached the house, I could see that Rose had been very busy: there was a BURST of color all across the front lawn. The first question she asked me was, “how do you like the tulip arrangement I created on the lawn?” I told her the truth: “it’s beautiful.” We started to talk about other things, and before I left to come home here, she asked me this: “did you see anything unusual in the tulip arrangement?” I admitted that I had not. This time, I took a longer and closer look: Rose had arranged the tulips in the shape of a heart, and the arrangement took over the entire front lawn. I hadn’t looked closely enough to see it before.
I must make the same kind of admission of inattentiveness to you today about the Gospel we just heard. For this year, I have heard something I did NOT hear in my previous hearings of this selection of God’s Holy Word. Now, you and I have heard this familiar story many times about the boat on the waves and Jesus walking on the water; we could probably almost tell the story ourselves, even before Deacon Bob proclaimed each and every part of it. I’m pretty certain that we all understood how Jesus tried to calm the fears and terrors of those in the boat. And I’m equally certain that we understand this Gospel as a miracle of earthly forces obeying Jesus, and that as the True Son of God, Jesus used Divine Power to teach all who can see and hear a valuable lesson.
Ah, but there’s another part to the story that I have overlooked in the past, for whatever reasons. When the disciples were terrified as Jesus walked toward them, Jesus spoke, and he reassured them: “It is I: do not be afraid.” Now, the facts are clear: these same disciples were with Jesus a little earlier that day: they knew what Jesus looked like, what he sounded like, how he spoke and also how he walked. You know: sometimes, even before you see someone’s face, you can tell them by the way they walk. Suffice it to say that there were LOTS of different signs to indicate that the one they were with less than 12 hours before was indeed the same Jesus. But then, Peter asked a Q that gave a sinking, uncomfortable feeling to my heart: “Lord, IF it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” That’s where the sinking feeling is!
Earlier in Matthew’s Gospel, Matt 4:1f, Jesus has been on retreat in the desert: we know that Gospel account if we’ve been to Ash Wednesday Masses and services in the last 50 years! When Jesus is feeling humanly and physically weak, Satan the Evil One comes to tempt him. And the first temptation is: “IF you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Hear the echo? Peter essentially asks the Lord to PROVE that he’s really Jesus on the water: “IF it is you!” The proof for which Peter was asking was to have Jesus command him to walk on water and come to him. What’s wrong with Peter asking that? Well, he was putting Jesus to the test, like Satan did before, and we know what Jesus responded back then very quickly to Satan: “you shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” Jesus is NOT just “one of the guys,” although he would
This is NOT a “pick on Peter the Apostle” day, though you and I can recall a few other mistakes that Peter made along the way. Remember when Jesus was telling the disciples that eventually, he’d have to go to Jerusalem, and undergo some trials, and eventually be killed before God the Father would raise Him up on the third day. Recall Peter? Peter tries to talk Jesus out of being obedient to the Father’s will: it’s as if Peter is saying this: “Jesus, don’t worry. I know a guy. And when it gets bad, this guy can get you out of town quickly; you’ll never have to go through that suffering/or death experience. Do you remember what Jesus said to Peter on that occasion: “Get behind me, Satan.” And why? Because Peter was looking at Jesus saving the world with human eyes, rather than through God’s divine eyes.
The bottom line: Peter should never have gotten out of the boat. Safety meant being IN the boat with Jesus. What are some of the takeaways for us? Well, Peter sank when he took his eyes off Jesus, for he was focused on the wind and the waves. For ourselves: 1) let’s keep our eyes on Jesus, in whatever storm we find selves: Covid-19; the pedophile priests scandal; a country sharply divided against itself; racial disharmony; and hurricanes, etc. 2) The second takeaway is to ask Jesus to strengthen our faith, while at the same time empowering us to name and acknowledge the storms around us. And then, as we name the storms of doubt, fear, sadness, desperation and isolation inside us, let’s ask Jesus: “Lord, calm these storms in us, and the true signs of storms outside us and all around us. Lord, calm them all, in your great mercy!
