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1. 1Kings19:9,11-13
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2.Romans9:
1-15
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Gospel:
Matthew 14: 22-23
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" Walking
on the sea"
Dear brothers and
sisters as we celebrate the 19th Sunday of the year ordinary time, today we are
invited to understand about the miracle of Jesus walking on the sea. A proper
understanding of the gospel story has a lot to teach us about who Jesus is, but
also about the church in its journey through the world, and about the life of
faith of the individual believer.
About
Jesus: The miracle story of Jesus walking on the sea,
together with the one that goes before it, the multiplication of loaves, shows
that Jesus is Lord and has authority over all forces natural and supernatural.
For the Jews the sea the domain of supernatural demonic forces. A rough and
stormy sea was regarded as the work of
these hostile spirits. By walking on the raging waves and calming the stormy
sea Jesus is showing himself to be one who has power and total control over
these hostile spiritual forces. Today's gospel brings us the good news that
these powers of darkness stand no chance at all when Jesus is present and
active in our lives and affairs.
About
the Church: The boat on the sea is one of the earliest
Christian symbol for the church in its journey through the world. Just as the
boat is tossed about by the waves so is the church pounded from all its sides
by worldly and spiritual forces hostile
to the Kingdom of God. In the midst of crisis Jesus comes to restore peace and
harmony in his church. But he comes in a form and manner in which he is easily
mistaken for the enemy. He comes in a way that makes many well-meaning
Christians cry out in fear " It is
a ghost" ( Mt14:26) as they try to keep him out. However, when we
listen carefully we shall hear through the storm his soft, gentle voice
whispering in the wind, " Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid"(
verse27). If we believe his word and take him on board, the storm immediately
subsided and the crisis is resolved.
The critique is that
how can we be absolutely sure that it is Christ and not a hostile ghost? The
answer is that we can't . We must act in faith. We must stand on the promise of
Christ that if we are busy going about the duty he has assigned us, just as the
disciples were busy rowing their boat to the other side of the shore as Jesus
had instructed them, then Jesus himself will come to us riding on the very
waves that threaten to swallow us up. As the church in the modern world, like
Peter's boat, sails through the stormy seas of our time, we need to keep an eye
on those very seas for Jesus who comes to bring deliverance and solace. We must
strive to recognize him even when he comes in the unseemly and utterly
unexpected form of a ghost.
About
the individual Believer: From the point of view of the
individual believer, the story of Jesus walking on the seas, especially the
involvement of Peter in the Story, is a lesson for disciples who are tempted to
take their eyes off Jesus and to take more notice of the threatening
circumstances around them. Peter had said to Jesus, " Lord, if it is you,
command me to come to you on the water."( verse28). Jesus gives him the
word of command, " Come"( verse29). It would seem like Jesus is
commanding the impossible. Yet whatever Jesus commands us to do he gives us the
power to do it. And the ordinary man, Peter, begins to walk on the seas, coming
to Jesus. " But when he notices the
strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink" ( vers30).
While Peter kept his eye fixed upon Jesus, and upon his word and power, he
walked upon the water well enough; but when he took notice of the danger he was
in, and focused on the waves, then he became afraid and began to sink. " For we walk by faith, not by sight"(
2Corinthians 5:7).
Let us pray that may
the Lord increase our little faith so that in all the storms of life we shall
have our eyes and our trust constantly fixed on Jesus and his power and not on
ourselves and our weaknesses.
0 Response to "HOMILY FOR THE 19th SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME YEAR A"
Chapisha Maoni