Monday in the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time, August 7, 2023

Matthew 14, 22-36

Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side of the sea, 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 him, 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.”  After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. When the men of that place recognized him, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought to him all those who were sick and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak, and as many as touched it were healed.

“Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side of the sea.”  The events in today’s Gospel Reading take place just after Jesus has fed a crowd of five thousand people and leads up to his rebuke of the Pharisees and their customs that they have taught the people to be mandated by the Law.  In essence, the Lord contests their supposed authority with his own, which is clearly established as from heaven in the miraculous feeding and then in his walking on the sea.

“He went up on the mountain by himself to pray.”  How greatly the Lord Jesus must have treasured those moments when he could get away from the crowds and even from his Apostles in order to pray!  The Gospels mention only a few time when he does this which indicates that these marked special occasions.  He chooses mountains and wastelands for praying because they allow him to be alone, but also because he seems to have genuinely liked these places.  Perhaps he liked them for their raw beauty, undisturbed by the workings of sinful men and thus reminiscent of how the world had looked before the cataclysmic sin of Adam and Eve, which brought destruction even to the natural world.

“The boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.”  We should consider the situation of a boat at sea at night during this era.  There are no lights except for the stars and the moon, there is no navigation equipment, no life vests, no long distance communications, and no Coast Guard.  While fishermen went out at night to the sea, they tried to remain within sight of the coast and avoided stormy weather.  Squalls blew up frequently and without warning, and such a one is blowing up now.  

“During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea.”  We can imagine the peace the Lord Jesus felt in his prayer to his Father while the Apostles were struggling fiercely to keep from capsizing.  And he maintains his peace as he walks on the water.  And in doing so, the Lord shows himself the water’s Lord and its Creator.  We might think of the water smoothing itself before him even as it threatened to swamp the boat of the Apostles.  He is walking on the water at the fourth watch, the time when the dawn breaks.  Apart from the dramatic scene this would have made, Matthew is probably specific about the time because it has significance in the history of Israel, for Almighty God saved the Hebrews from the Egyptians at the Red Sea at that hour (cf. Exodus 14, 24-25). This is also the time Matthew gives for the Resurrection (cf. Matthew 28, 1).  The water or the sea also signified death for the ancient Israelites, and so the Lord’s walking upon it shows his domination of death.  We might recall that in ancient times a conquering army would trod over their prisoners as a way of impressing on them the totality of their victory over them.  Here, the Lord Jesus shows the Apostles a sign which frightens them now but which they will understand and take solace in later: “When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.”  

“Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”  The sight that scares them calls out for them to recognize him.  He calls out from the sign of death to remind them that he is alive and present with them.

“Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.”  Peter also wishes to tread over death and he begins to do so.  The Lord gives him the grace to allow him to do this, but the paucity of his  faith results in his sinking.  That is not to criticize such faith as he had, for he will shortly confess his belief that Jesus is the divine Son of God.  But we see here how much faith is required if we are to tread death after this life and travel to heaven.  “Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him.”  If we call to Jesus for help in this life or at the time of our death, he will help us readily.  But if we rely on our own efforts, we will sink into the abyss without a trace.  “After they got into the boat, the wind died down.”  The wind had blown against them but now dies down, as though acknowledging the arrival of its king and bowing solemnly.

“Truly, you are the Son of God.”  The Apostles make this confession as a statement of faith that God has sent Jesus into the world and that he has given him great power, but it is not the confession that Peter will make later on, when he professes that Jesus is divine.  We recall here the various uses of this term for judges, kings, prophets, priests, and angels.

“People brought to him all those who were sick and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak, and as many as touched it were healed.”  The Lord further manifests his power and also his compassion through his healings.  It is as if to say, Indeed, I am the only-Begotten Son of the Most High Father and all honor is due to me, but I most desire to serve among you as one who serves.  “My delights were to be with the children of men” (Proverbs 8, 31).