This weekend, the Church celebrates the Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time and today’s Gospel reading comes from Matthew 14:22-33, which describes the Miracle of Walking on Water. Jesus had dismissed the crowds and ascended a mountain to pray to His Father when the disciples encountered a storm. Their ship could make no progress and they were stuck in the middle of the sea. Suddenly, they saw Jesus walking on the water. At first thinking He was a ghost, they were afraid but Jesus said, “Do not be afraid, it is I!”, reminding us of the words God used to reveal Himself to Moses: “I am who am.” Peter asked Jesus to make him walk on the water too and at first all was well while he looked at Jesus, but once he saw the wind and waves around him, he became scared and began to sink. He cried out and Jesus reached out to grab him, criticizing his little faith in order to strengthen him. Afterwards, the wind and waves subsided, showing how Jesus was the Son of God who controlled even the natural realm. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is recognized as the Son of God three times: (1) after Jesus walks on water, (2) before Peter is chosen to be His “rock”, and (3) after the centurion sees Jesus die. Controlling the wind and waves is the work of God in the Old Testament, so this shows that Jesus is not only the Son of God, but has a divine nature as well. In our lives, we will encounter storms just like St. Peter and begin to doubt, but we only need to keep our gaze on Jesus and ask for His help to obtain it.
「Spiritual Talk」Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Fr. Anthony Ho
