19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

"O YOU OF LITTLE FAITH, WHY DID YOU DOUBT?"

Jesus made the disciples get into a boat...

The better Greek translation would be: "Jesus compelled his disciples to get into a boat..." Why would he do that?

John's Gospel says that having seen the miracle, the people wanted to forcibly make him king. The people's idea of the messiah was a political and earthly one. But Jesus was not that kind of Messiah.

The disciples were perhaps thinking along the same line. They had to be shielded from this misconception. It is noteworthy that even after the Resurrection some of the disciples still held onto the hope of an earthly kingdom. They asked when he would re-establish the kingdom of David.

Jesus went up on the mountain by himself to pray.

Jesus was tired. He had his hands full that day. Yet he prayed. He communed with his Father. He was able to pray because he found the time to pray. And he made sure he had the time to pray because being alone with his Father was important to him.

During the fourth watch of the night...

In ancient time the night was divided into four watched: from 6pm-9pm, 9pm-12am, 12am-3am and 3am-6am. The time was around 3am.

"Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."

Someone said that you can find the phrase "do not be afraid" 365 times in the bible. It is as if God is re-assuring us everyday of the year.

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

That Peter could ask for such a thing meant great faith. It is enough for Jesus to give him permission to walk on the water for him to be able to walk on the water. In fact, he was able to walk on the water until...

But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink...

As long as he had his eyes fixed on Jesus, everything was alright. But when he took his gaze away from Jesus, fear took over and he began to sink.

"Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter.

In the midst of the vicissitudes of life we can always cry out, "Lord, save me." Knowing that the Lord is there gives us courage and confidence.

"O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

I think the Lord was not angry with Peter. I think he was disappointed or even sorry for Peter. Peter started out with great faith but "lost" it in just a few seconds. Later Peter would tell Jesus that even if everyone would desert him, he would never desert him. Feeling sorry for Peter, Jesus had to tell him that before the cock crows he would have denied him three time.

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

Jesus does not take away our problems. He doesn't protect us from the trials of life. But he does give us peace of heart and mind even in the midst of the problems and the trials that come our way.