Scripture readings for Aug. 9, Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a Ps 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14 Rom 9:1-5 Matthew 14:22-33
Walking on the sea, we see Jesus “in the form of God.” That’s what St. Augustine would say of this story from Matthew’s Gospel. In some stories Jesus is revealed in the “form of a servant,” in others we see in him the “form of God.” This is just one of the ways St. Augustine read the Gospels, and it’s still a good way to read them.
Jesus walks on the sea during the “fourth watch of the night” (Mt 14:25). The reason Jesus is revealed in the form of God in this story is because, well, that seems to be a God-like thing to do. I can’t walk on water nor can you. Like making a blind man see, turning water into wine, these seem to be divine deeds.
But of course, it’s deeper than that. The ancients, you see, were more aware of natural things like the sea, more fearful of such things than we are. Our climate is controlled, our food is delivered; the natural world, both its wonders and its dangers, is a bit less real to us than it was to our ancestors. Our wonder, our fear of things like the sea, just isn’t as great.
Thus, we don’t notice as readily how in the Scripture that ancient and more primeval wonder and fear of the natural world is closely connected to the wonder of God. The ancient mind comprehended quicker than us that it was God who “assigned to the sea its limit” (Prv 8:29).
The ancient mind more viscerally and more immediately cried out to God in distress, confronted by the terrors of nature, by things like the terrible power of uncontrollable waters.
“Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress; he made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed” (Ps 107:28-29).
Again, that’s the sort of stuff God does; he controls the uncontrollable waters. And so, when Jesus commands the waves — “Peace! Be Still!” Jesus says (Mk 4:39) — and when they’re immediately stilled, what do you think his disciples made of such a miracle? What do you think we’re to make of such miracles?
“Truly, you are the Son of God,” the disciples cried out (Mt 14:33). That’s what they eventually made of such miracles. And so, here we come to the first lesson of the story. The point is simple, theological: Jesus is the Son of God; he does things like God does things. This is what we’re asked to believe. Do we believe what this story says about Jesus? Do we believe he’s the Son of God?
But these are not immediately easy questions to answer. Coming to faith, apprehending Christ in mind and heart, sometimes takes time. The disciples first thought that Jesus was a ghost (Mt 14:26). And here is the second lesson of the story. For a person to come to faith in Christ, one must perceive that Christ has first come to them.
After the disciples cried out, thinking they saw a ghost, Matthew writes, “At once Jesus spoke to them, ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid'” (Mt 14:27). The point here is spiritual: To come to faith in Christ, one must hear the word of Christ. One can’t merely do one’s research; one must wait, one must listen. The Christ who is revealed to us speaks to us.
And only then, when we hear him, will amazing things begin to happen. Such is the lesson to be drawn from the remarkable story about Peter. To hear the word of Christ, to believe in him, to receive the gift of faith opens the possibility that a disciple can do what the Master does.
“Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus” (Mt 14:29). Jesus does God-like things because he and the Father are one (Jn 10:30). But: “Abide in me, and I in you,” the same Jesus says to us (Jn 15:4). That’s the amazing thing, that by the revelation of God in Christ, and by having faith in Christ, we are invited not simply to walk on water but to become partakers of the divine nature (2 Pt 1:4). That is, the Christ who is revealed, who speaks to us, ultimately welcomes us to share in his life and even his power.
But only if we take courage and keep courage as Jesus said. This is the final lesson. As Peter walked on the water, notice that he didn’t begin to sink and then became afraid; rather, he became afraid and then began to sink. That’s a lesson about faith, about how we must continue to trust in Christ if we’re to continue to walk in Christ, if we’re to continue to do great things in him. Things like keeping close to Christ in the storm.
Father Joshua J. Whitfield is pastor of St. Rita Catholic Community in Dallas and author of “The Crisis of Bad Preaching” (Ave Maria Press, $17.95) and other books.
