Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 20, 2023

We must have faith in God’s goodness against all indications to the contrary/God’s love is for all peoples

Matthew 15:21–28

Then Jesus went from that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not say a word in answer to her.

His disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”

Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

Music Meditations

• “Lord of All Hopefulness” (by Jan Struther and Randall DeBruyn) [YouTube]
• “Hold Me In Life” (by Huub Oosterhuis and Bernard Huijbers) [YouTube]
• “Ahavat Olam” (Song of Thanksgiving) (sung by by Ben, Jonah and Henry Platt) [YouTube], a Hebrew song of trust in God
• “So Will I” (Ben Platt) [YouTube] (popular song)

Opening Prayer

Adapted from Thomas Merton:

Lord, there have been times when I was ready to give up, believing that nobody cared about my pain or that of a love one. Believing that nobody cared about the state of the earth. I need to remember Lord, that you care for me and mine and I need to remember your goodness when it seem all is lost.

Companions for the Journey

From Living Space, a Service of the Irish Jesuits:

Jesus is seen on one of his few visits outside Jewish territory. The cities of Tyre and Sidon are on the Mediterranean coast in what is today Lebanon. While he is there he is approached by a Canaanite (that is, a non-Jewish) woman whose child is “troubled by a demon”. Whether it was an actual possession or some natural physical or mental ailment does not really matter. Already the woman’s faith and trust in Jesus is indicated by the way she addresses him, “Lord, Son of David!” coupled with her plea for his compassion.

At first, Jesus ignores her completely. The disciples intervene and ask Jesus to give her what she wants because she is making such a nuisance of herself. Jesus replies that his mission is only to the “house of Israel”, to which this woman clearly does not belong. N the meantime the woman continues her pleading, “Help me, Lord!” She is following, in fact, advice that the Gospel gives – keep on asking. Jesus replies in words that sound very harsh, if not racist: “It is not right to take the children’s food and give it to the dogs.” ‘Dogs’, together with ‘swine’, was a common colloquial expression among Jews for Gentiles (cf. Matt 7:6: “Do not give what is holy to dogs or cast your pearls before swine.”) The dog was regarded as an unclean and promiscuous animal. Because it was such a common expression, it is probably not as harsh as it sounds to us and, if spoken with a measure of humor (implied by Jesus’ use of the diminutive, ‘doggies’), would not have given offence at all. As they say, everything is in the tone of voice. (Not unlike when my Chinese friends call me a gwai-lo [‘devil fellow’] – a common term for non-Chinese.) Jesus was not a racist; that is clear from other situations where he dealt with non-Jews and with other commonly despised groups. For her part, the woman certainly is not in the least fazed. She comes right back: “Even the dogs eat the leavings that fall from their masters’ tables.” That was enough for Jesus. She had proved her genuineness. “Woman, you have great faith. Your wish will come to pass.” Her daughter was cured on the spot. It is a hint of what is to come.

Membership of God’s people will be measured not by birth or circumcision but by a living faith in Jesus as Lord. A story like this is an occasion for us to look at our own attitudes to people of other races, ethnic groups and nationalities not to mention the socially disadvantaged or physically or mentally disabled – in other words, any people who are ‘different’. How inclusive are we in word and action? And does our parish community go out of its way to provide a welcome for the ‘outsider’? These are very real questions in societies which are becoming more and more inter-cultural.

Further reading:

• Reflection on Matthew 15:21–28 from “First Impressions” >>
• Reflection on Matthew 15:21–28 from The Lutheran School >>

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

• Have I ever seen the hand of God in unexpected situations?
  How did I react?
• Did the reaction of the Canaanite woman surprise me? How would I have reacted if the first answer I got from Jesus was “no”?
• Has it ever seemed that at times God was ignoring me, or at least distant and unapproachable?
  Does initial rejection of a petition or hope send me away in defeat or resentment, or does it call forth an energy and determination to make myself known and heard?
  Have I ever felt that my misery was ignored by God, as Jesus seemed to ignore the Canaanite woman at first?
• Do I see in this woman an indomitable spirit that will never give up hoping and praying for someone she loves?
  Who or what in my own life calls out that persistence in me?
• Her prayer to Jesus was an expression of both helplessness and trust. Where in my prayer life have I expressed both?
• Often we think of faith as belief in a set of theological constructs, but Jesus in this paragraph identifies faith as a trust in his love and kindness. How would I characterize the word “faith” in my own life?
• In chapter 10 of this gospel Jesus tells his disciples not to stray out of Jewish territory, and at the beginning of this segment of chapter 15, he seems to be emphasizing that his mission is to the House of Israel only. However, by the end of the section, we see that Jesus has learned something profound about the faith of a non-Jew, and changes his negative response to a positive one.
  Do I forget that Jesus had to learn how to walk, how to be a carpenter, how to pray, how to shape a mission, how to follow it, and that this learning might be a gradual process, subject to possible human error?
• Is it hard for me to think of the humanity of Jesus, with its attendant learning curve?
  Is it hard for me to think of Jesus having to learn things about his mission?
  Although theology tells me that Jesus is both God and human do I frequently dwell on Jesus’ divinity, at the expense of his humanity?
• Do I harbor, maybe even unconsciously, a sense of exclusivity about how the faith should be lived out and by whom?
• Who are the people in my life that I don’t pay enough attention to?
• Might the purpose of this story be to illustrate that membership in God’s kingdom is not limited to religious identity or to other external circumstances? Do I harbor an unconscious sense that my affinity group (religion, ethnicity, university affiliation, country of origin, etc) is better than others, or even more beloved by God?
• “Dogs” was a Jewish name for Gentiles, and Jesus’ expression raised no eyebrows in his own time, when ethnic and tribal loyalty in the face of danger from the outside was the norm. Many of us have more unconscious tribal tendencies than we want to admit to. Do I have epithets or subtle exclusionary names for the “others” in my life?
  Does my parish or my social group provide welcome for “the other”, for the outsider?
• Have I ever felt like an “outsider”?
• Have I ever participated in an inter-religious dialogue?
  What happened?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Jesus’ tone in much of the exchange with the non-Jewish woman seems rather exclusionary. In this very story, Jesus’ assumptions about certain groups in our present day might be:

• Would he exclude certain groups of people from our worship assemblies?
• Would the newcomer to our country find a warm welcome in his church?
• Would he favor the benefactors over the welfare mothers and their crying infants in the back row?
• Would he want teenagers to dress according to code?
• Does he hear the prayer of someone who hasn’t prayed in thirty years as much as he does the devout nun in a monastery?
• Does he confirm the notions of those exclusive Christians who see all others as “infidels” of one kind or another?

Are any of these possibilities above a reality in today’s religious groups, including mine?

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Could we treat this pagan woman’s dialogue with Jesus as a prayer of petition and her response as a prayerful and honest reaction expressing her disappointment and feistiness? How often is our Prayer “sanitized”—expressing what we think God wants to hear? In many of the psalms (often called Psalms of Lamentation) we see a people who are honest and raw in their feelings about life, and willing to share their frustrations with God. Read selections from Psalm 42, then write your own honest psalm about where you are in your life right now:

4My tears have become my bread, by day, by night,
as they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”

10I will say to God, my rock, “Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning oppressed by the foe?”
11With a deadly wound in my bones, my enemies revile me,
saying to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

I read selections from psalm 69:

2Save me, O God, for the waters have risen to my neck.
3I have sunk into the mud of the deep, where there is no foothold.
I have entered the waters of the deep, where the flood overwhelms me.
4I am wearied with crying aloud; my throat is parched.
My eyes are wasted away with waiting for my God.
5More numerous than the hairs on my head are those who hate me without cause.
Many are those who attack me, enemies with lies.
What I have never stolen, how can I restore?

9To my own kin I have become an outcast,
a stranger to the children of my mother.

14But I pray to you, O LORD, for a time of your favor.
In your great mercy, answer me, O God, with your salvation that never fails.
15Rescue me from sinking in the mud; from those who hate me, deliver me.
Save me from the waters of the deep,
16lest the waves overwhelm me.  Let not the deep engulf me, nor the pit close its mouth on me.
17LORD, answer, for your mercy is kind; in your great compassion, turn towards me.
18Do not hide your face from your servant;
answer me quickly, for I am in distress.

I consider how many times we as humans turn to God only in times of personal crisis. What am I hoping for when I pray at moments like these? Do I just want to share my anxiety, and yes, my anger? Or do I want to manipulate God into changing the plans set out for my life? Anne Lamott, in Traveling Mercies says:

Here are the two best prayers I know: “Help me, help me, help me”, and “Thank you, thank you, thank you”. A woman I know says, for her morning prayer: ”Whatever”, and then for the evening, “Oh well”, but has conceded that these prayers are more palatable for people without children.

What do I think that prayer is for anyway?

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

In the midst of the financial crisis caused by this pandemic, mothers are watching, helpless, as their children go hungry.

In the face of built-in inequality, mothers are watching, frustrated, as their children lack the basic learning tools and experiences to thrive and grow into their potential.

In the face of the opioid crisis, mothers watch in pain as their children succumb to anxiety and hopelessness, seeking escape from the lives they are living.

In the system of institutionalized racism, mothers watch in fear as their young sons are targeted for violence simply because of the color of their skin.

How do we answer the pleas of these mothers, spoken and unspoken? How do we help them nurture and protect their beloved children? The first step would be to learn more about the causes of these social ills. The next step would be to pick one cause that speaks to you personally and use the internet to discover where your resources and your time would be of use in our very community. The CC@S website would be a good place to start; contact Sister Regena Ross for some information on social Justice groups in our Catholic community.

We need to do more than wring our hands. We need to do more than pray. We need to DO!

Poetic Reflection:

How does the following poem from the Rev. Ed Ingebretsen, S.J. capture the care Jesus takes of us in our deepest need?:

“From Narrow Places”

From narrow places
the strength of our voice
rises:

our every breath
is prayer,
the great poem of need,
a constant scattering
of praise.

Early
we reach to God
in the claim of our hearts,
while he,
our father,
mothers us
in his

Poetic Reflection:

This poem by Thomas Merton seems to reflect how deeply Jesus cares for the fate of each one of us. Nevertheless, we possess free will and sometimes He has to stand by and watch us destroy ourselves and the planet we live on:

Slowly, slowly
Comes Christ through the garden
Speaking to the sacred trees
Their branches bear his light
Without harm

Slowly, slowly
Comes Christ through the ruins
Seeking the lost disciple
A timid one
Too literate
To believe words
So he hides
Christ rises on the cornfields
It is only the harvest moon
The disciple
Turns over in his sleep
And murmurs:
“My regret!”

The disciple will awaken
When he knows history
But slowly, slowly
The Lord of History weeps into the fire

—Thomas Merton “Cables to the Ace” (stanza 80)

Closing Prayer

From Sacred Space:

Lord, I want to remember this. When I want something badly, I will persist, even when the answers are not to my liking. Help me to be transformed by whatever answers you give me in my prayer life.

Reflection on Matthew 15:21–28 from The Lutheran School

In Matthew 15 we read that after Jesus had yet another “run in” with the Pharisees who had come from Jerusalem to scrutinize His actions and criticize His failure to follow the ceremonial traditions of the elders, He and His disciples withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon, two Mediterranean seaside villages northwest of the Sea of Galilee.

From a distance, a Canaanite woman saw, recognized and cried out to Jesus, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.”(Matthew 15: 22) Surprisingly, He did not respond to her at all! He was not “ignoring” her. He may, instead, have been testing the tenacity of her faith. So, with a faith that wouldn’t give up, she kept crying out to Him – to the point that Jesus’ disciples begged Him to “send her away!”

At that time, Jesus finally did respond to her, telling her that His ministry is only to the children (lost sheep) of Israel. But even this response – His recognition of her – is enough to embolden her to come closer to Him, throw herself at His feet and beg Him “Lord, help me!”(Matthew 15: 25)

He then said something to her that seems to our ears as even more harsh and “off-putting”… He told her that it is not right for Him to give the blessings that belong to the children of Israel to the dogs that surround them! With a faith that just won’t give up, she told Him she believed that He had more than enough mercy, grace, love, care, power, help and healing for the children of Israel, for her and for her ailing daughter. What GREAT faith she had!

Jesus saw her faith, commended her, granted her request and completely healed her daughter “from that very hour.” Hers was a great faith that called Him “Lord” or “Master.” Her faith caused her to come on behalf of her daughter. Against all odds, even when it appeared that she was being ignored and even turned away, she trusted, believed and hoped in Jesus! Her tenacious faith kept hanging on to the hope that He would have mercy and help her; and He did!

Have you ever felt like you were “at the end of your rope, and just barely hanging on?” perhaps it a situation at work; with your health or that of a loved one; maybe your family – or one near you – is in crisis. Does it seem, at times, that God is ignoring you, or at least distant and unapproachable?

It is at times such as these, against all odds, that God calls us to trust, believe and hope in Jesus! Our gracious Heavenly Father welcomes all who come to Him by faith. (See Isaiah 56 and Romans 11, the other scripture readings from this weekend’s services.)

He does know, love, hear and provide for us as He knows is best for us. Chiefly, God shows His mercy, grace and help for all people through the cross of Jesus – through His life-giving sacrifice for our forgiveness and the salvation of the entire world!

As we live out our faith through trials and testing, our faith grows into the “Great Faith” which Jesus commends – a Great Faith which invites us to come to Him; empowers us to seek Him every day, in every situation; and enables us to trust Him completely.

May God graciously grant you that kind of faith – “A Faith that Won’t Give Up!” – a faith that trusts your Savior, won’t let go of His promises, and carries you safely through this world and eventually into the arms of your loving, waiting Savior in the world to come!

See you in church this next weekend!

Blessings in Christ, Pastor Snow

Reflection on Matthew 15:21–28 from “First Impressions”

Today’s gospel is strange, don’t you think? It is embarrassing too, since it seems to depict Jesus in an unflattering light. A desperate woman has come seeking help for her tormented daughter. Since she is a Canaanite, an outsider to the Jewish faith, Jesus treats her abruptly. First, he ignores her then, in the parlance of the day, refers to non-Jews, as “dogs.”

If the story does anything, it certainly gets us on the side of the “under dog” -- we want to cheer the woman on, “Don’t give up! He’ll give in!” How strange, to side with a petitioner, hoping Jesus’ heart will soften towards the mother.

It is not the usual stance we take when we hear a person in need invoke Jesus’ help. Usually he is the compassionate one, eager to help those who exhibit need and faith in him. But not in today’s story. Is Jesus really as indifferent as he first seems? What’s going on here?

What will help us enter today’s story is to begin by reflecting on our basic faith in Jesus. What do we believe about his humanity? Most of us, I dare say, were raised with a strong affirmation of Jesus’ divinity. He is, we believe, the eternal Word of God made flesh. Less emphasized in our formation was an equally true doctrine of our faith: Jesus was truly human. We have to keep these two truths in balance. But we often tend to emphasize one side of the truth of Jesus’ identity; we favor his divinity. What has been neglected, at least in my upbringing, is the equally important truth that Jesus was fully human.

So ask yourself: If someone knocked on his door, would Jesus know who was there before he opened it? Traditionally we would not hesitate in answering, “Yes, he was God and knew everything.” Taking that perspective, we would approach Jesus’ rough treatment of the woman in today’s text by claiming that he knew all along what he intended to do and was testing the woman’s faith. And the woman does have faith!

Her faith has pushed her beyond her usual boundaries. She is a Canaanite and so has left her homeland to go out to Jesus. Remember that the Canaanites were the original inhabitants of the Promise Land and had been pushed out by the Israelites. The conflicts between the Jews and the Canaanites were ancient and the woman had taken a risk when she entered enemy territory. She had the courage to leave the security of the familiar to venture into a place of tension in order to get help from Jesus. It’s possible that, in making the journey, the woman was acknowledging the priority of the Jews and their faith as a place to find a gracious God willing to help her. Her desperation and courage are shown in her going to Jesus unaccompanied by a male guardian – something unusual for women of that time.

The woman’s faith is also shown in her persistence with Jesus. She is not easily dissuaded, even when Jesus refers to throwing the “children’s” (the Jews) food to the “dogs” (the Gentiles). (In the original language the word Jesus used is “puppies,” not the harsher sounding “dogs.” We sense Jesus is open to the woman and has pulled back from the way his Jewish contemporaries would have referred to her, as one of the “dogs.”) The woman insists she has some rights, even though she belongs to the “dogs” who eat the scraps from the table. She seems to be implying her belief that God will feed the “children” and the “dogs” -- both Gentiles and Jews.

Jesus has just been criticized by the Pharisees for his disciples (and by extension, Jesus) not observing dietary and ritual cleansing rules (15: 1-20).

He called the religious leaders hypocrites who only pay lip service to God. In contrast, Jesus praised the Canaanite woman for having great faith. One of the very people the religious leaders would have despised for their religious and ethical practices receives the highest praise from Jesus. So, who are the truly pious and observant in Jesus’ eyes? Those who see in him God’s gracious desire to heal, forgive and welcome to the table. At that table, as at our eucharistic table today, God serves the best bread.

The disciples were all too ready to dismiss the woman. But as it turns out she exhibits more faith than even they have, for she sees that the God Jesus proclaims includes all people, even those believed unworthy by the pious and observant. God doesn’t count class or ethnic standing as an entitlement to God’s favor. All people of faith receive and find a receptive ear in God.

Back to our earlier question: If someone knocked at the door would Jesus know who it was before opening it?” With a strong emphasis on his divinity and a lesser one on his humanity, the answer would be, “Yes, of course.” However, in recent years we have come to a renewed appreciation of Jesus’ humanity through our reinvigorated studies of scripture. For example, Paul says that Christ emptied himself, “taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness, one like us in all things but sin (Phil. 2: 6-7). In Hebrews we are told Jesus was “tempted in every way that we are, yet never sinned” (4: 15). Again in Hebrews, Jesus “learned obedience from what he suffered.” After his parents found the boy Jesus in the temple Luke tells us he returned with them to his home, “was obedient to them” and “progressed in wisdom and age and grace before God and humans” (2: 51-52). From this biblical perspective we observe that Jesus, like all humans, did not come into this world fully developed and all-knowing, but like us he grew, “in wisdom and age and grace before God and humans.” From this second perspective we might say that when Jesus encountered the woman and heard her request, he was expressing his first intention: to preach his message to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But when he saw the woman’s strong faith in him, especially after just being rejected by those who should have known better, the religious leaders, he then modified his mission plan.

The woman was a clear sign to Jesus that God’s salvation was meant for all people and all nations – not just for the Jews. Today’s encounter with the Canaanite woman shows a change in Jesus’ human consciousness and his human understanding of God’s plan for humanity. How does this change take place? By the woman’s persistence and unwillingness to accept a narrow and restrictive view of God. She realized birth and religious origins cannot hold back the outpouring of God’s love on all people. If we make God too small and puny in love we have not heard the gospel.

Thus, we have two general paths of entry into this story. One, with stress on Jesus’ divinity, seeing his behavior as the all-knowing Lord who draws out of a Gentile the faith that will be preached “to the ends of the earth.” The other approach views the human Jesus in an exchange that helps him grow in his mission towards all nations.

The early church, an even our present one, would struggle with the message of inclusivity being affirmed in today’s gospel. Even after the resurrection some in the church thought Jesus’ message should be restricted to Israel, even though Matthew’s gospel ends with the risen Jesus’ mandate to go into the whole world and preach the gospel (28: 18-20).

God has included us in Jesus’ message of forgiveness and reconciliation. We didn’t do anything to earn that inclusion, it was handed to us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and we have accepted the invitation to the table where the food of God’s reign is given us. Gathered at this table we hear the risen Jesus’ mandate to proclaim the message to all.

Are there any people or groups who are automatically included in our circle of friends and church members? Are any overlooked or ignored? Whom do we consider superior?... Inferior and not worth our time? In other words, who are the Canaanites in our lives who are ignored or quickly brushed aside? Jesus heard the woman’s voice and accepted her. Am I also open to the voices who call out to me for help daily? We are tying to respond to the gospel we have received by doing to others what has been done for us. Just as our God has listened and responded to us, so we offer a willing ear and respond to those who express their needs to us.

—by Jude Siciliano, O.P.

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 13, 2023

Trust in Jesus who tells us He is always with us.

Matthew 14:22–33

Then he made the disciples get into the 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 him, 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.”

Music Meditations

• “Be Not Afraid” (sung by John Michael Talbot) [YouTube]
• “Lord, I Need You” (Chris Tomlin)
• “Walk on the Water” (Britt Nicole) [YouTube]

Opening Prayer

We need to learn, Lord, not only to rely on ourselves, but on you, and in turn, on those around us who love and care for us. Help us to extend that same care and love to those we meet along the way, for that is how we experience your presence as we walk precariously on the waters of life.

Companions for the Journey

The Gospel today describes the difficult and tiresome crossing of the sea of Galilee in a fragile boat, pushed by a contrary wind. Between the discourse of the Parables (Mt 13) and of the Community (Mt 18), there is once again, the narrative part (Mt 14 to 17). The discourse of the Parables calls our attention again on the presence of the Kingdom. Now, the narrative part shows the reactions in favor and against Jesus provoked by that presence. In Nazareth, he was not accepted (Mt 13, 53-58) and King Herod thought that Jesus was a sort or reincarnation of John the Baptist, whom he had murdered (Mt 14, 1-12). The poor people, though, recognized in Jesus the one who had been sent by God and they followed him to the desert, where the multiplication of the loaves took place (Mt 14, 13-21). After the multiplication of the loaves, Jesus takes leave of the crowd and ordered the disciples to cross the lake, as it is described in today’s Gospel (Mt 14, 22-36).

Matthew 14, 22-24: To begin the crossing asked by Jesus. Jesus obliges the Disciples to go into the boat and to go toward the other side of the sea, where the land of the pagans was. He goes up to the mountain to pray. The boat symbolizes the community. It has the mission to direct itself toward the pagans and to announce among them the Good News of the Kingdom also, which was the new way of living in community. But the crossing was very tiring and long. The boat is agitated by the wave, because the wind is contrary. In spite of having rowed the whole night, there is still a great distance left before reaching the land. Much was still lacking in the community in order to be able to cross and go toward the pagans. Jesus did not go with his disciples. They had to learn to face together the difficulties, united and strengthened by faith in Jesus who had sent them. The contrast is very great: Jesus is in peace together with God, praying on the top of the mountain, and the Disciples are almost lost there below, in the agitated sea.

The crossing to the other side of the lake symbolizes also the difficult crossing of the community at the end of the first century. They should get out of the closed world of the ancient observance of the law toward the new manner of observing the Law of love., taught by Jesus; they should abandon the knowledge of belonging to the Chosen People, privileged by God among all other peoples, for the certainty that in Christ all peoples would be united into one Only People before God; they should get out from isolation and intolerance toward the open world of acceptance and of gratitude. Today also, we are going through a difficult crossing toward a new time and a new way of being Church. A difficult crossing, but which is necessary. There are moments in life in which we are attacked by fear. Good will is not lacking, but this is not sufficient. We are like a boat faced with the contrary wind.

Matthew 14, 25-27: Jesus comes close to them but they do not recognize him. Toward the end of the night, that is between three and six o’clock in the morning, Jesus goes to meet the Disciples. Walking on the water, he gets close to them, but they did not recognize him. They cried out in fear, thinking that it was a ghost. Jesus calms them down saying: “Courage! It is me! Do not be afraid!” The expression “It is me!” is the same one with which God tried to overcome the fear of Moses when he sent him to liberate the people from Egypt (Ex 3, 14). For the communities, of today as well as for those of yesterday, it was and it is very important to be always open to novelty: “Courage. It is me!. Do not be afraid!”

Matthew 14, 28-31: Enthusiasm and weakness of Peter. Knowing that it is Jesus, Peter asks that he also can walk on the water. He wants to experience the power which dominates the fury of the sea. This is a power which in the bible belongs only to God (Gn 1, 6; Ps 104, 6-9). Jesus allows him to participate in this power. But Peter is afraid. He thinks that he will sink and he cries out: “Lord, save me!” Jesus assures him and takes hold of him and reproaches him: “You have so little faith! Why did you doubt?” Peter has more strength than he imagined, but is afraid before the contrary waves and does not believe in the power of God which dwells within him. The communities do not believe in the force of the Spirit which is within them and which acts through faith. It is the force of the Resurrection (Eph 1, 19-20).

Matthew 14, 32-33: Jesus is the Son of God. Before the waves that come toward them, Peter begins to sink in the sea because of lack of faith. After he is saved, he and Jesus, both of them, go into the boat and the wind calms down. The other Disciples, who are in the boat, are astonished and bowed before Jesus, recognizing that he is the Son of God: “Truly, you are the Son of God”. Later on, Peter also professes the same faith in Jesus: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” (Mt 16,16). In this way Matthew suggests that it is not only Peter who sustains the faith of the Disciples, but also that the faith of the Disciples sustains Peter’s faith.

Matthew 14, 34-36: They brought all the sick to him. The episode of the crossing ends with something beautiful: “Having made the crossing they came to Gennesaret. When the local people recognized him they spread the news through the whole neighborhood and took all who were sick to him, begging him just to let them tough the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched it were saved”.

Further reading:

• Commentary on Matthew 14:22-33 from “Living Space” >>
• God’s Power Is Not Coercive, but Persuasive >>

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

Take courage, it is I. Do not be afraid

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

• From “First Impressions” 2020:
  Do we look into the midst of life’s storms and wonder if Jesus is just a ghost, a product of our fear-driven imagination?
  Can we hear him say to us what he said to his frightened disciples, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid.”
• What were some moments in your life when you encountered stormy seas, felt adrift or separated from Jesus? How did you handle this?
• When you are troubled or anxious, how do you talk to God? What prayers do you say?
• Has there ever been a time in your life where you had to work through fear to arrive at trust in your life?
  How did you do this?
  What gave you courage?
• Do you read this gospel as a warning that God will put our faith to the test, just so we can be graded on how well we did?
  Do you read this gospel as a scathing indictment of those who do not trust God enough?
  What, actually, does this gospel tell you about God?
• Where has our fear overcome our basic faith in the goodness of God, our faith in the eventual well-being of the world, our faith in the care and concern of Jesus?
  How did we handle it?
• From a Benedictine website featuring Lectio divina:
  Has there been a contrary wind in your life? What have you done to overcome it?
  Has this happened sometimes in your community? How was it overcome?
  Which is the particular crossing that communities are doing today? From what to what or where to where?
  How does all of this help us to recognize today the presence of Jesus in the contrary waves of life?
• Was Jesus praying for the disciples during the storm, do you think?
  Would some of our “storms” be more manageable if we turned to prayer?
• Is there someone you know experiencing a stormy time in his/her life to whom you can say “I am with you”?

Meditations

A Meditation on the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

(story from “First Impressions”)
Well, I knew a man in his mid-fifties who did things very well. A good man, he was a frequent church goer, excellent husband and family man. He was sincere in his religious practices and generous with his time for the needy. This very special man got cancer, fought a painful battle with it and a year later died. Didn’t he say the right prayers? What about the prayers we said for his healing? What more could we have done? Where was Jesus in his and our storm? We know lots of people with similar stories. When things turn out poorly for us or someone we love, we wonder what happened. We may even blame ourselves for not praying correctly or enough. Didn’t we follow the directions, say the right prayers, have the proper attitude, get enough people to pray with us? Do we secretly believe that if our prayers are not answered the way we want, it is because we didn’t pray correctly, or were otherwise deserving of the bad things that happen to us?

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:

Adapted from a prayer service by the Irish Jesuits:

Identify with the feelings of Jesus as he prays, having heard of the death of John, the Baptist. What are his thoughts at this time? What is the content of his prayer? Compose a prayer that you think Jesus might have made.

Imagine yourself in the boat with the disciples and listen to what they say as the storm develops.

Listen to them as they observe the figure coming across the water!

Note that the first step of Peter as he climbed out of the boat, was on Jesus, not at the water. Note how Peter’s trust slips when he turns his focus from Jesus to himself. Reflect on your own life and draw some conclusion.

Someone commented that Peter began to falter when he took his focus of Jesus and focus on himself. Do you agree with this assessment?

We criticize Peter for his “lack of faith”. Should we not notice that Peter was wise enough to ask for help when he needed it? Should we not be paying attention to the startling fact that Jesus didn’t refuse to help Peter because of Peter’s failure to trust?

A Meditation in the Augustinan Style/Relationship:

Meditation on the Lord’s Prayer:
Do I trust that God is my father, and the father of all of us? Do I believe that heaven exists because God is there? Is God’s name holy to me? Do I really trust that God will give me whatever of this world’s goods I need, or do I worry a lot about money, possessions, security? Do I believe that God forgives me? Do I forgive those who have hurt me, or do I still carry old resentments and pain into my relationships? Do I believe that God would never ‘tempt’ me to sin and thus lose eternal life, or do I believe that God sets traps for me so that I must constantly prove my love? Do I believe that my God, my Father/Mother, will deliver me from evil, that God, my Father/Mother, is my strength and my salvation?
And finally, I recite the Lord’s Prayer, praying each phrase as an affirmation of my trust in the Lord, rather than as a series of petitions.

A Meditation in the Augustinan Style/Relationship:

Rework Psalm 62, addressing God in the second person. How does this psalm help you to understand God's care for you?

2In God alone is my soul at rest; (In you alone is my soul at rest)
my salvation comes from him. (my salvation comes from you)
3He alone is my rock, my salvation,
my fortress; never shall I falter.
4How long will you all attack one man (How long will they all attack one man)
to break him down,
as though he were a tottering wall,
or a tumbling fence?
5Their plan is only to bring down;
they take pleasure in lies.
With their mouth they utter blessing,
but in their heart they curse.
6In God alone be at rest, my soul,
for my hope is from him.
7He alone is my rock, my salvation,
my fortress; never shall I falter.
8In God is my salvation and glory,
my rock of strength;
in God is my refuge.
9Trust him at all times, O people.
Pour out your hearts before him,
for God is our refuge.
10The sons of men are a breath,
an illusion, the sons of men.
Placed in the scales, they rise;
they all weigh less than a breath.
11Do not put your trust in oppression,
nor vain hopes on plunder.
Even if riches increase,
set not your heart on them.
12For God has said only one thing;
only two have I heard:
that to God alone belongs power,
13and to you, Lord, merciful love;
and that you repay each man
according to his deeds.

Poetic Reflection:

Read Thomas Merton’s famous “Prayer” which speaks to the kind of faith I am talking about: How does this poem reflect the poet’s utter trust in God and in God’s care for us?

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think that I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Closing Prayer

Adapted from Sacred Space, a service of the Itish Jesuits

Jesus help me to remember to put my trust in you and not to think that I must go through life’s trials alone. Help me to keep my eyes fixed on you and trust that you will reach out to me in my fear and need.

God’s Power Is Not Coercive, but Persuasive

by The Rev. Dr. Amy Lindeman Allen

In Matthew’s gospel text, an interesting interaction occurs between Jesus and Peter. At the same time, Jesus is totally in control of (including the presumed ability to anticipate Peter’s reaction to) the entire situation as it unfolds on the Sea of Galilee; on the other hand, Peter’s reaction is entirely external and thus outside of the control of Jesus.

Early on in the episode Jesus sets the scene, first by sending the disciples ahead of him in the boat (Matthew 14:22) and then by walking out towards them on the lake, both against the wind and atop the tumultuous water (Matthew 14:25).

Even before this particular episode, however, Jesus sets up the relationships involved by inviting the disciples to come and follow him. In the top-down worlds of both the Roman Empire and Rabbinic Judaism, acceptance of this invitation meant the disciples’ submission to Jesus’ authority. This was the sort of authority that demanded unquestioned obedience: when your teacher said, “Go out and heal,” you went out and healed and when your teacher said, “Come,” you came.

Within these parameters, then, Peter exercises his freedom in beckoning his teacher to “command me to come to you on the water” (Matthew 14:28). It’s important to remember this relationship and dialogue, so as to understand that Peter does not rush carelessly into the water—though, perhaps, from what we know of Peter in other episodes, he may have liked to have done just that. Instead, Peter observes the parameters Jesus has laid out. He seems consciously concerned about what, in this impressive moment, Jesus is seeking to express.

Within this dual context of desire and restraint,

[Jesus] said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’

Even in Peter’s fear, the relationship is maintained—Jesus is Lord and Peter is student. Jesus’ authority, along with the initial parameters of Jesus’ action, are intact. However, the strength of Peter’s emotion remains outside of Jesus’ control. He cannot command Peter to “fear not!” In fact, he already did (Matt. 14:27) and that has not prevented Peter’s predicament.

Power, then, whether it is the power of a teacher over a student or an artist over an installation, ends at the emotional response of the “other.” Imagine the parent of a hysterical toddler telling the child, “Don’t be upset.” The child may have every reason to believe that their parent is trustworthy in saying there is nothing to be upset about; however, this knowledge or intuition cannot change the way they feel.

This is the power of art installations—they draw their life and thus their beauty from the uncontrolled emotional response of those who encounter them. The same can be said about faith.

An all-powerful God could simply have made people to have faith. Jesus certainly could have steadied Peter on the water. But to do so means to cross the boundary of the self—it means to extend the control beyond the conditions of the experience into the experience of a person themselves. It means to diminish or take away our sense of self—our self-awareness and autonomy, the very things that make us human.

And so Jesus does not calm Peter’s fears. He does not steady Peter’s feet beneath the unsteady waters. He does not cross that line of self. But neither does Jesus abandon Peter. Jesus extends his hand towards Peter. Jesus preserves Peter in all of his fear and all of his doubt.

This is the gospel, indeed the beauty, of Matthew’s text for me. In the midst of whatever tumultuous seas that we are bound to encounter, our Lord gives us the space to walk, to experience the sensation, and then the grace to catch us and pull us back ashore when we flounder.

It is not as perfect as an already “finished” piece of art. Perhaps we are not as “obedient” as a perfectly executed computer code. But in our free-will, in our emotions, in our response to the scenes which God has set before us, the power and the majesty of our Lord and creator are perhaps most beautifully revealed.

The Rev. Dr. Amy Lindeman Allen is Co-Lead Pastor at The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Reno, NV and Assistant Professor of New Testament at Christian Theological Seminary and an ordained Lutheran minister (ELCA). She holds her PhD from Vanderbilt University and is interested in the intersections of God’s Word in scripture and the world.