Cycle A - Year II:  

9 August 2020:  Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        1 Kings 19:9, 11-13a

Second Reading:   Romans 9:1-5

Gospel:  Please Read  Matthew 14:22-33

"Lord, increase our faith!"

 What is a miracle?  Why did our Lord perform miracles?

The simplest definition of miracles is that they are divine intervention in human events and natural order of things.

We can also say that miracles are something out of the ordinary.  Yet, if we reflect further almost all of our Lord's recorded miracles in the Bible have something of the ordinary about them.  That is to say, for example, in His healing ministry Jesus did not bestow superhuman powers to those He healed.  He merely restored to them what every normal person should have.  Thus, to the blind He gave sight, but not x-ray vision; the lame walked at His command, but they were not given wings to fly.

Even when Jesus fed the multitude with just five loaves and two fish, and still had twelve baskets full of left over, it was not magic food to satisfy their hunger forever.  

And the most spectacular perhaps, when our Lord Jesus raised Lazarus back to life, it was not yet eternal life.  Because Lazarus had to live out the rest of his years on earth as an ordinary man, and die again before he could enter heaven.

Now, in this Sunday's Gospel narrative there is a notable exception to this rule of the ordinary.  Because St. Peter able to walk on the water is like having superpower that no other men could do.  Jesus granted this exceptional privilege only to St. Peter, and not to any other disciples.  Biblical scholars say that this is indicative of the Lord's gift of authority to St. Peter as the "rock" on whom He builds the Church.

And it is interesting to note that while this event of Jesus walking on the water is also told by Mark (Mk 6:45-52) and John (Jn 6:16-21), Matthew is the only one to include the story of Peter attempting to walk on the water to meet Jesus.

Scriptures describe God as having authority over the waters.  Thus, Jesus' walking on the water Himself reveals His divinity.

So then, when St. Peter asks our Lord to let him come out to the waters is clearly a confirmation of his faith in Christ's divinity.  But then, when Peter takes his eyes off the Lord, because he begins to fear the big waves, trouble comes and he begins to sink.  And our Lord Jesus needed to rescue him.

And so what does this miracle of walking on the water teach us in our particular time and situation today?

With Jesus, anything is possible in our lives, even walking on the water.  For the God who created the universe out of nothing is "well-qualified" to direct our lives and allow us to overcome seemingly insurmountable  difficulties and challenges we face every day, including this deadly pandemic.

But we must remain focused on Jesus, even when outside factors appear and overpower our own abilities.  Because without Jesus in our lives, even our own abilities limit us.

In the Eucharist at Mass, let us pray for faith to believe in God's presence in both the ordinary and extraordinary moments in our lives.

A blessed Sunday to us all.  And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!