REFLECTION Sunday´s Gospel

19^th Sunday A

Fr James McTavish, FMVD

Begin well and end well

Have you ever started something, like putting an initiative into practice and halfway through losing courage? Last Sunday we had a youth activity with about 40 youth. Many of them were from poor backgrounds and were slightly shy to speak to me in English. I decided to celebrate the mass in tagalog as a way of being closer to them. When the mass started one teenager came to read the first reading in tagalog. However she instead started with the introduction and then began to recite the penitential rite. I had to go over and point out where to read from. The second reading was read by a boy who much preferred English and stumbled over the long tagalog words like the word for faith – pananampalataya. “oh dear,” I thought “things are not going too well!” When it came to the homily I was wondering whether to give it in taglish (tagalog and English) or just plain English. I remembered my previous option to try to reach out to the youth and decided to go for taglish. It worked out just fine. It is easy sometimes to lose courage on the way.

Something similar happened to Peter in the gospel today (See Matthew 14:22-33). With the other disciples, he was caught up in a storm. Jesus came walking towards them on the water. By the way I remember reading a report on National Geographic a few years ago that Jesus did not actually walk on water but instead made use of freak weather conditions to perform his stunt. Give me a break! Do we honestly think that the other disciples would not have worked it out if it was just some natural phenomenon? They were fishermen. Just tell me this, who would know the sea and all its nuances better? A fisherman or a carpenter? The answer is so obvious that I felt sorry for National geographic for being so obtuse and naive in making that suggestion. Come on! Anyway sorry for that ranting but it was important for me to get it off my chest.

Ok, back to Peter and seeing Jesus walking on the water. The disciples were terrified and started to scream that they had seen a ghost (phantasma in Greek). Peter then does a crazy thing. He says to Jesus “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." How spontaneous is Peter. Jesus tells him to come and Peter begins to walk on water. 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!" It happens to all of us. We can start off in God but lose sight of him or lose faith on the way. Once St Paul reproached the Galatians in a similar vein “After beginning with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3).

It is very helpful for us every so often to stop and have a time out. As Socrates reminded us “an unexamined life is not worth living.” To reflect on the steps that we have taken. To see where we are and take stock in a way. In this way when challenges come we can be more clear of which direction we are going in. A fortnight ago we went to celebrate a mass in a school and felt it was an ideal moment to meet new people. After the mass there was a program and it seemed a challenge to carry out our initial goal. I gathered the missionaries together again and we reminded ourselves of the aim of our visit and encouraged each other to go for it. Within 5 minutes we were all sharing with different people and I must say I enjoyed so much the people I met that afternoon. In actual fact a week later I caught up with some of them again. What can I learn from that experience? That entering into situations it can be helpful to live with intentionality as opposed to just doing what I always might do, called ‘habituation.’ Then reviewing the progress and seeing what needs to be done to correct it. Perhaps many are used to doing this in their business or professional life but often do not put it into practice in their personal lives.

The Lord is always ready to help us when we call out to him. In Romans 10,13 we find “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Peter calls out to the Lord for help. What happened? Well he started off well and was even managing to walk on the water but on the way he noticed the strong wind. He lost sight of those words of Jesus – “Come!” He started to drown and cried out "Lord, save me!" How did Jesus respond? By saying “I will let you drown a bit more so you will learn the hard way”? No! Matthew the evangelist records that “immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him.” Thank you Jesus because you are so close to us and so willing to help us when we fall or are sinking in our sea of doubts and lack of faith. Imagine that strong hand of Jesus hauling him out of the foaming sea. It is very comforting and reassuring to know that we have a God who understands our humanity and our weaknesses.

Why did Peter sink? Jesus tells him "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" We need faith to do what Jesus asks us. How is my faith Lord? Even George Michael recognized that “you gotta have faith!” Faith in what Jesus is telling me. Lord, where are you inviting me to walk on water? Where are you inviting me perhaps into situations that I find daunting or challenging, where I do not control everything as the ‘ocean’ or situation is too powerful. How to recognize where God is inviting us? Well the first reading is helpful. God speaks to Elijah, not in the strong and heavy wind, nor in the earthquake or fire. Instead God spoke to him in a tiny whispering sound. The tiny whispering voice of a well formed conscience, the tiny whispering of God in his Word, in the experience of the sacraments, in the life situations, in the advice of others.

Let us open our hearts and ask for the grace of perseverance. To begin well, to continue well and to end well. Lord help us keep our eyes fixed on you in the storms of life. May we not lose our courage or faith and always remember that you are close to us, ready to grab our hand and save us when we start to sink. Amen.