19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Matthew: 14:22-23

‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.’

Reflection
Matthew 14:22-23

The storm at sea is Jesus’ response to the problem of storms in our lives. First, Jesus shows that he is present even where we least expect him. When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea he identified himself with the words, It is I, ego eimi in Greek, the same words God used to identified himself to Moses on Mt Sinai.

Next, the story teaches us a powerful prayer: ‘Lord, save me.’ St Peter’s cry occurs only once in the whole bible, but it goes to the heart of our helplessness. True to his name, Peter ‘the rock’, he begins to sink like a stone. Peter cries out: ‘Lord, save me.’ At Mass we repeat the litany, ‘Lord, have mercy.’ In our private prayers we might say with the publican: ’Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.’ But, Peter’s short pray includes them all: ‘Lord, save me.’

Finally, the story teaches how Jesus helps us. He brings us back to the boat. That’s the climax of Matthew’s story: Jesus saves by bringing us into the praying community. Separated from the boat, from the people of God, we are exposed to being overwhelmed by the wind and the waves. The Christian assembly gathered in church at the Eucharist is the boat that carries us safely to the other shore. To this day the long central part of our Church buildings, where the community gathers to pray, is called a nave, from the Latin word navis, which means a boat.

As successors of the first Christians, with grateful love and one voice, we proclaim our faith together saying, ‘Jesus, truly, you are the Son of God.’

Fr Stephen Verbest newmellery.org Intercom Aug 26