Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Also Read: Mass Readings for 13 August 2023 Mass Reading Reflection for 13 August 2023
Gospel: Matthew 14: 22-33
It is unbelievable to walk on water! It is amazing to get an invitation from Jesus to walk on water. Only Peter seems to have got such an invitation. Have you ever got a similar invitation?
Well, one may not get the same invitation. But we all have got similar invitations; to be a true Christian is similar to walking on water! It is a miracle. One day our scientists may invent a technology to let people walk on water, but you will never live a Christian without special assistance from Jesus. We are talking about the Christian by faith and deeds.
Just as Jesus invited Peter, He invites us saying, “Come.” We received that invitation on the day of our baptism. Jesus repeats the invitation as we receive the Holy Communion with due preparation. He repeats it wholeheartedly every time we receive the sacrament of reconciliation with due preparation. Every sacrament we receive is an invitation by Jesus to walk the life of a true Christian. Any time you open the Bible and start reading it, He repeats the invitation, “Come and walk with me.”
It is not an easy walk. Even our first Pope found it extremely tough and began to fail; he just started drowning. He started drowning right in front of Jesus! But he did an amazing thing while he was about to drown; he cried out to Jesus, “Lord, save me.”
Peter was an accomplished fisherman who knew the Sea of Galilee well. He could have swum to the boat near or to the nearest shore. A seasoned fisherman knows to stay afloat in such conditions. Setting aside all his skills and experiences, he cried out to Jesus, “Lord, save me.”
To be a true Christian, sometimes we have to forego our skills and experiences. Our world and our experiences might have taught us many lessons, but to stay a Christian you always have to stay with Jesus; you have to cling to Jesus. You may fail once, seven times, or even seven times seventy, yet stretch out your hand and cry like Peter, “Lord, save me.” He who instructed Peter to forgive seven times seventy will never let you down. (Mt 18:21-22)
It was not the only time Peter failed. He once tried to distract Jesus from the cross; Jesus called him Satan and asked him to stay off His path (Mt 16: 23). On that fateful night preceding the crucifixion, he denied Jesus three times in a row. But he never tried to run away from the presence of Jesus. Even after denying Jesus thrice, he was close enough to Jesus, so that Jesus could, “turn and look straight at Peter” (Lk 22:61).
No amount of training, no amount of acquired skills, or no amount of experience shall make you a total Christian. A total Christian is one who always stays by the side of Jesus. He is always at arm’s length of Jesus; he is at arm’s length of Jesus even if he fails and falls.
Remain close to Jesus always, everything else can wait.
Amen.
Praise God