Reflection on the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Matthew 14: 22-33

Last Sunday’s Gospel and homily spoke of John the Baptist’s disciples coming to tell Jesus that John had been beheaded.  Jesus would have to be thinking that he might be next.  He and his disciples went off to a place where they could be alone.  But the people realized Jesus was in the neighborhood and they all gathered — lots of them, Matthew says.  Jesus feeds them with whatever food is around. 

He tries again for some quiet time alone.  He sends the disciples off in the boat to go to the other side while he sends the crowds away.  Then he goes up on the mountain by himself to pray.  It was evening.  He was finally alone.

Matthew does not tell us how Jesus got down from the mountain and out on the water at three or four in the morning. Some days or weeks earlier Jesus had been asleep in the boat when a big storm came up. He had quieted the storm. Maybe the story spread among Jesus’ followers and got even bigger.  This time Jesus is walking on the water. We have an expression that we say about someone who does amazing things: She walks on water. Maybe first century Galilee had an expression like that.

Nonetheless, Matthew tells us that the disciples are sure Jesus saved Peter and all of them from drowning. They bow down before him and say, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”

I wrote this much of the homily several days ago and did not know where to go next. Thursday Pat Frueh gave me the Liturgy Program for this Sunday.  She titled the liturgy “Discover God’s Presence with us.”  The word presence caught my eye. When we gather here in this church, there is a sense of God’s presence among us. 

Then we think of Jesus and God’s presence for Jesus: His trust in God, his trust in God’s love for him, his trust in his own commitment to the people … perhaps he pondered all that as God was present to him on the mountaintop.

Jesus’ presence with his disciples was very important to them. Certainly Jesus in their midst gave them a sense of God’s presence with them. Jesus brought them comfort and learning and experience and, in the end, the courage and ability to continue his work.

Mary Peter?  How was she experiencing God’s presence Thursday evening?  LeAnn Detherage was with her and reports that Mary Peter said she was “fine” and “ready to go.”  And she did, less than three hours later.

We gather this morning once again, amid the pandemic, aware of the racism that continues to permeate out country, conscious of the destruction of Earth that is happening more and more. We pray for health care workers and scientists, for those working in many ways to end racism, for those who make us more aware of climate change and what needs to happen. Somehow we are all permeated with God’s presence.