5th August 2014 Daily Reading & Meditation Reading : Jer 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22; Matthew 14:22-36. “Lord, save me.” Gospel : Matthew 14:22-36 Jesus Walks on the Water 22 lImmediately he mmade the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, nhe went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When oevening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way2 from the land,3 beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And lin the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, pthey were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, q“Take heart; it is I. qDo not be afraid.” 28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and rwalked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind,4 he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, s“Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, t“O you of little faith, why did you udoubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, sthe wind ceased. 33 And vthose in the boat wworshiped him, saying, x“Truly you are ythe Son of God.” Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret 34 zAnd when they had crossed over, they came to land at aGennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and bbrought to him all who were sick 36 and implored him that they might only touch cthe fringe of his garment. And das many as touched it were made well. 1st Reading :Jer 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22; Restoration Promised for Israel and Judah 30 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. For thus says the LORD: Your hurt is incurable, your wound is grievous.13 There is no one to uphold your cause, no medicine for your wound, no healing for you. 14 All your lovers have forgotten you; they care nothing for you; for I have dealt you the blow of an enemy, the punishment of a merciless foe, because your guilt is great, because your sins are so numerous.15 Why do you cry out over your hurt? Your pain is incurable.Because your guilt is great, because your sins are so numerous, I have done these things to you. Thus says the LORD: I am going to restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob, and have compassion on his dwellings; the city shall be rebuilt upon its mound, and the citadel set on its rightful site.19 Out of them shall come thanksgiving, and the sound of merrymakers. I will make them many, and they shall not be few; I will make them honored, and they shall not be disdained.20 Their children shall be as of old, their congregation shall be established before me; and I will punish all who oppress them.21 Their prince shall be one of their own, their ruler shall come from their midst; I will bring him near, and he shall approach me, for who would otherwise dare to approach me? says the LORD.22 And you shall be my people, and I will be your God. Reflection : Matthew 14:22-36 As soon as the people had been filled with the food that Jesus gave them, Jesus packs his disciples off in the boat to the other side of the lake. He sends the crowds away and then retreats to the mountain to pray all by himself. We know from John’s account that the people wanted to make him a king. If Jesus wanted to take control of the crowd this was the moment; they were ready to follow enthusiastically. Jesus was indeed their king but not the kind they were expecting. He would draw the crowds to him in a very different way, hanging in shame on a cross. It looks too as if he did not want his disciples to get any wrong ideas either. They must have been elated at their role in the extraordinary event of feeding more than 5,000 people. So, perhaps with a lot of grumbling, they are sent off even before the excited crowds have dispersed. As they make their way across the lake in this dark mood, things get even worse. They run into a big storm and their boat is being tossed about like a cork. Then, out of the darkness, between 3 and 6 in the morning hours, they see Jesus approaching them across the water. Far from being delighted, they are terrified out of their wits. Superstitious men that they are, they think it is a ghost. Ghosts were very much a part of their world. Words of encouragement come across the water: “Courage! It is I [Greek, ego eimi, ego eimi] = I AM]. Do not be afraid.” Jesus gives himself the very name of Yahweh; this is all the reassurance they need. Their God is with them. Only in Matthew’s account of this story do we have Peter’s reaction. “Lord, if it really is you, tell me to come to you across the water.”“Come!” Peter gets out of the boat and goes towards Jesus. It is an act of love and faith/trust. But not quite enough. The power of the wind and waves gets stronger than his desire to be with Jesus. He begins to sink. “Lord, save me!” Jesus lifts him up, “How little faith/trust you have!” As soon as Jesus and Peter get into the boat, there is a complete calm. The rest of the disciples are overwhelmed: “Truly, you are the Son of God.” We have here behind this story an image of the early Church, of which the boat and the disciples are a symbol. The surrounding water is the world and the wind and waves, the forces which threaten the tiny community. Jesus seems to be far away but he is not and he appears in the midst of the storm. Once he steps inside the boat, there is calm, not only because the surrounding storm has stopped but also because of the peace which the awareness of Jesus’ presence gives. There is an added element in this story in that Peter, the leader of the community, comes hand in hand into the boat with Jesus. In time, the authority of Jesus will be passed over to him. There is also, of course, in the calming of the storm an indication of Jesus’ real identity, expressed in the awe-filled words of the disciples, “Truly, you are the Son of God”, echoing Jesus’ own statement of “I AM”. There is a brief epilogue at the end of our passage. The boat reaches the area of Gennesaret. The name refers either to the narrow plain, about four miles long and less than two miles wide on the north-west shore of the Sea of Galilee, north of Magdala, or to a town in the plain. Significantly for the work that Jesus was about to do, the plain was considered a garden land, fertile and well watered. As soon as Jesus reaches the shore the crowds again gather in huge numbers especially to have their sick cured. So great was their faith that they asked only to touch the fringe of his garment. All those who did so (in faith) were healed. Jesus had sent away the crowds earlier probably because of the late hour but also perhaps because of the mood of the crowd which was taking on political overtones not wanted by Jesus. But now they are back to seek from him what he came to give them: healing and wholeness. Would you like to receive Jesus Christ as your savior? If you would, you can pray a prayer like this: “Jesus, I need you. I repent for the life I’ve lived apart from you. Thank you for dying on the cross to take the penalty for my sins. I believe you are God’s Son and I now receive you as my Savior and Lord. I commit my life to follow you.” Psalm 81:1, 12-16 1 Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob. 11 But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. 12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels. 13 O that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways! 14 Then I would quickly subdue their enemies, and turn my hand against their foes. 15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their doom would last forever. 16 I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 02:42:19 +0000