Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Lectionary: 115

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. 

We might entertain fantasies about our courage in hard times; but we're also rattled by disturbances at home and abroad. A single terrorist act causes widespread panic. People might even be afraid to leave their homes, as happened when two young men bombed the Boston Marathon several years ago. After nine-eleven, I knew a man who hid in his basement for a week, until his family finally checked on him.  Parents lock their children indoors when they hear of a missing child in a distant state. That anxiety invades state legislatures; and some states would prosecute parents who let their children bike to school or roam their neighborhoods without adult supervision. 

The Bible is not unfamiliar with terrorism, both random crime and state-sponsored terrorism; but the Good Book also tells us stories of individual heroism. The Old Testament Book of Tobit remembers a Jewish citizen of Assyria who buried the bodies of fellow Jews when he found them murdered and lying in the street. The government sentenced him to prison for practicing that corporal work of mercy. And then, when he was freed to return to his wife and family, the faithful Tobit did it again. 

The Gospels recount the journey of the Son of God as he marched resolutely to Jerusalem. Along the way, he three times predicted that he would be arrested, tried, tortured, and crucified when he got to the Holy City. Even some Pharisees warned him not to go. His disciples were clearly mystified by his predictions. Perhaps they thought he was speaking poetically! But, despite their boasts, they terrified when his word came true. 

Afterward however, they fearlessly proclaimed his resurrection and ascension to God's right hand. Saint Luke tells us that when Peter and John were arrested, tried, and given the standard punishment of 39 lashes, they laughed and felt grateful to have suffered for the Lord. Their punishment was a privilege, a communion with the Lord. 

Christianity is familiar with terrorism. It may a tactic of street bullies, religious sects, or the government.  We read of savage persecution in the Books of Maccabees and every generation since the birth of Jesus has faced opposition. 

Faith teaches us to be prudent in times of trouble, but repeatedly teaches us not to be afraid. Frightened people do foolish things which devolve first into illegal acts and then into immoral behavior. We have seen that predictable pattern ever since nine-eleven, twenty-five years ago. The American government has reacted with arrests and disappearances of terrified immigrants. They tell us they're deporting them but allow no one to keep track. Who would have thought that a well-planned and executed attack would shatter the constitutional foundations of the world's oldest democracy? 

Courage begins with faith in God. It is not a matter of bucking up and being brave. It is not about being stronger or more clever than anyone else. It begins when we dare to withdraw from everyone’s expectations, from the workplace, the marketplace, and the playground to wait in the presence of God. 

The Gospels tell us that Jesus often withdrew from his disciples to spend time with God. We can suppose he enjoyed these moments. But even when he didn’t – as he clearly did not when he entered the Garden of Gethsemane  -- he remained in silent waiting upon his Father. He was overcome with dread, his knees buckled, he sweated blood, and prayed that this cup might pass from him; but he stayed. The dread passed and he consented to go with his assailants after commanding them to let his disciples go!     

He might have fled from Gethsemane before the mob arrived. He could have left Jerusalem that night, and  returned to Galilee, his mother, and the carpenter’s shop. He had friends who would hide him until the crisis passed; he had a choice. But he was under obedience to his God and Father; he had a mission and a purpose and he would not fail. 

Today we are seeing deep, disturbing changes in the society around us. Strange, fantastic definitions of freedom dominate our entertainment media and threaten our way of life with bizarre promises of happiness. We seem to be a nation of grievances and victims. We watch helplessly as adultery leads to divorce, to family disintegration, to the atomization of society where every individual is a political party of one with their own private religion. They murder their own children and promote suicide. Young men hire surgeons to castrate them while young women have their breasts cut off in a vain effort to become like men. 

The Old Testament prophet Micah foresaw what we see today:

…the son belittles his father, 

the daughter rises up against her mother, 

The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, 

and your enemies are members of your household.

And Jesus prepared us for these day when he told his disciples: 

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. 

For I have come to set 

a man ‘against his father, 

a daughter against her mother, 

and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 

and one’s enemies will be those of his household.”

He has told us quite frankly, “Unless you hate father and mother, brothers and sisters, wife and children, and everything you possess, you cannot be my disciples.” Our family is the people He gives us. They're might not be flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone. Many faithful Catholic and Christian parents have been divorced and disowned by their adult children. 

Today we have heard the story of the terrified Elijah who fled into the desert when Queen Jezebel threatened him. Elijah was a violent man; he used violence but was finally sickened by it. He heard the familiar sounds of violence – roaring fires, storms, and earthquakes – but he recognized the voice of God in a quiet whisper. We too must listen for the Lord in quiet prayer. It's time to turn off the bluster of conservative and liberal commentators. They're only exploiting our fears and making money by it.

Saint Peter found his faith when he obeyed the command of Jesus and kept his eyes fixed on him. So long as he gazed at the Lord he could walk on water. But, distracted and terrified, he sank like a stone and was drowning until the Lord grabbed his hand and pulled him back. 

Put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the water

Put your hand in the hand of the man who calmed the sea

Take a look at yourself, and you can look at others differently

Put your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee