by Fr Ted Toppses
9th Sunday of Matthew 2013
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…
Let us review this morning’s Gospel reading from St. Matthew
14:22-34
At that
time, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other
side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he
went up into the hills by himself to pray.
Finding a quiet place to be alone with God is something we
all would benefit greatly from. The peacefulness
and effectiveness of prayer at times by privately being with God and no one
else was demonstrated by our Lord and Savior many times. We must find a place of our own, not for
every once in a great while, but for regular time together to be prayerfully intimate
with God. This quiet place does not
replace the Church that Christ established but tremendously enhances the experience
by seeking Christ in the church at home and the Church here that is the living Body
of Christ.
The Gospel continues…
When
evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was many furlongs
distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. And
in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when
the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It
is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to
them, saying "Take heart, it is I; have no fear."
The presence of Christ does not invoke fear but calm. Christ gives peace not agitation. Christ gives eternal life, not death.
The Gospel continues…
And Peter
answered him, "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water."
He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water
and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to
sink he cried out, "Lord, save me."
Jesus
immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "O man of
little faith, why did you doubt?"
Peter wanted to come to Jesus and when the storms of the
world distracted his faith and he took his eyes off Christ he began to sink. When we take our eyes or our focus off of
Christ we too will begin to sink into the depths of this worldly life. We too must reach out when this happens and
call upon the Lord for help. The Lord immediately
reached out to keep Peter from drowning.
Christ is the only one who can help us to truly rise above the waters in
this life that would drown us. We must remain focused on Christ in order to stay
above the waves and must reach out to Him when we fall, Christ is there for us.
The Gospel Continues….
And when
they entered the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him,
saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." And when they had crossed
over, they came to land at Gennesaret.
The world is like the sea deep and wide full of storms and
winds and dangers. If we go into the sea
without even a boat it would be hard not to drown in the ups and downs of this
earthly life. The Boat could be looked
at like the Church which keeps us afloat and together safe in this dangerous
world. Jesus who comes into the boat of
our life calms the sea and the waves and instead of drowning in this world we
are saved for eternal life.
Our focus must be on Christ at all times by prayer and a conscious
effort to live constantly with Christ. Our
faith in Him will help us rise above the cares and troubles of this world and live
forever with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen.
As the saying goes, "in God we trust."
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