Water-Walking

Days' Saints
Hippolytus, Martyr
Anastasius the Monk, Martyr

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 115

1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a
At the mountain of God, Horeb,
Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter.
Then the LORD said to him,
"Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD;
the LORD will be passing by."
A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains
and crushing rocks before the LORD—
but the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake—
but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake there was fire—
but the LORD was not in the fire.
After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.
When he heard this,
Elijah hid his face in his cloak
and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.

Gospel Mt 14:22-33

After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat

and precede him to the other side,

while he dismissed the crowds.

After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.

When it was evening he was there alone.

Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,

was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.

During the fourth watch of the night,

he came toward them walking on the sea.

When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.

"It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear.

At once Jesus spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."

Peter said to him in reply,

"Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."

He said, "Come."

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!"

Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter,

and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

After they got into the boat, the wind died down.

Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,

"Truly, you are the Son of God."

+

Peter had already transcended the laws of nature by walking on the water to come to Jesus, and was distracted by the storm and began to sink, at which point he cried out to Jesus to save him, and was saved. When they were aboard the boat, the weather calmed, and everyone was astonished. This came immediately after feeding the crowds.

The Lord has pointed out to me, that He has given each of us everything we need to believe in Him and love Him so that we can obey His Will. Why then, are we so distracted as to forget to continue moment to moment to do His Will ? His Will is stronger than ours, a condition He continually works to improve every day, moment to moment.

Why do we have secrets that we hide from one another? I ask because Peter must certainly been able to swim, and the narrative does not say how far away Jesus was when Peter began to walk toward Him. Otherwise, he might not have been distracted and begun to sink.

As a teaching moment, Jesus did not doubt HE could walk the whole distance to the boat, and calm the wind that so frightened the disciples. There are many movies about Gallilee and from what I gather, the lake is not very deep, and I can see very easily why one might not catch many fish there; they probably were farther out where it was deeper and the water fresher. As a fisherman myself, there is a certain wisdom that asserts itself when fishing, that dictates where to fish for success. One fishes when the surface is freshened by the wind so the fish can't be seen, and not on a slack tide, but when the tide is growing and water with more oxygen increases. On the other hand, even  when the water is ideal for a catch, if the fish are not hungry, you will waste your worms. A succesful fisherman can think like the fish and rest in cool deep pools full of light and oxygen. You don't fish in a rapids, and not for bottom fish, but trout.

I spent a lot of time fishing by myself after I had returned from Vietnam. I needed the solitude and the peaceful quiet to heal. The lake nearby is unfit; there is no outlet for the water; it only fills when there is sufficient rain and the runoff gathers in the lake, as the lowest point in the local topography. Otherwise, in the summer months when it gets very warm, the water evaporates rapidly. The lilypads thrive at the southern tip  of the lake, and at certain times, introduced carp and koi gather for mating, as the female deposits her eggs into the water to settle on the bottom, and the make fertilises the eggs by emitting sperm to cover the eggs. After that, you won't see them again until next year at the same time.

Because of sewage spills, the fish are not safe to eat, so if you catch anything, it is best to throw them back into water to live another day.

Jesus, in the narrative, went to pray in the afternoon, by Himself, and the disciples went fishing. God does not intrude, but is a gentleman. He will leave us to our preoccupations, and we must guard against ease lest the preoccupations become excuses to be lazy and we lose our privilege of easilly encountering Him and His consolations unnecessarilly.

In the first reading, Elijah came to shelter in a cave on Mt. Horeb. The Lord told him to stand on the mountain, and the wind came up strong enough to break rocks, but Elijah did as he was told. We need to pay heed; Elijah saw that God was not in the wind, nor the earthquake, nor the fire, but only in the small, still voice in the peace. In our day of upheavals and distractions, we need so very much to be listening for the footsteps of the Lord.

We still have horrendous wind storms that tear the trees up and break them off at their base, and rains that obscure every feature in their intensity, and finally, when everything has calmed down again, the Lord approaches speaking softly, and we can stand in the entrance to our cave, life Elijah, waiting on the Lord, to do what He says. He calls us not when we are resting in the cave, but when we are outside, not sheltered but attending on the Lord in the midst of everything, seeking that still small voice. It is there, and His peace is abundant, and the Garden is cool and pleasant when He bids us come enar Him. He does not crush us in the wind, not shake us off our feet in the earthquakes, nor threaten our destruction when a fire breaks out to consume everything that can burn.

So if you are struggling, and life is fearful and you are hungry for His peace, do not doubt that He is there, but be at peace and He will reveal Himself to you again, and you will rest with Him in the Garden. Do not fall asleep, or you will miss what He has to say.