This coming Sunday is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
32 After they got into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”
At last – back in the boat. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
28 Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw how (strong) the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
This coming Sunday is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In biblical thought, only God walks on the sea (Job 9:8 – “He alone stretches out the heavens and treads upon the back of the sea”; Ps 77:20 – “Through the sea was your way; your path, through the mighty waters, though your footsteps were unseen.”). But by treading on the sea, Jesus now takes a role that the Hebrew Bible had reserved for God alone. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In this post we catch up with the disciples who have shoved off into the Sea of Galilee at Jesus’ command. With apologies to the writer Daniel James Brown, I have borrowed the title to his 2013 book on the nine young men from the University of Washington and their epic journey through the Great Depression seeking a gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. If you have not read it, put it on your “must read” list. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Matthew is known for his use of “fulfillment” in his gospel. Notable is the fulfillment of the prophecy of the “great prophet like Moses” who was to come as Messiah. There is also another theme that arises in this content. Matthew is the one gospel writer who uses the term ekklesia, the word which means “church.”
This coming Sunday is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Lectionary Cycle A. Most often the first post in the series is “Context,” but given the nautical setting of the story, “getting our bearings” seemed more appropriate. After the collection of parables in Mt 13, the following chapter takes up what might well be a natural fall out of his teachings that are increasingly vague even as they point to coming judgment – weeds that will be burned and fish that will be discarded. People begin to wonder if Jesus is pronouncing judgment upon them or their “group.” Continue reading
In today’s gospel we read about Jesus walking on the water in the midst of a tempest. The Sea of Galilee has a temperament of wind and storm that can turn on the unwary sailor. The seas and wind are building. Is this just the front of a more powerful trailing storm? It’s the dead of night and one can’t see the horizon. Maybe concern is giving way to apprehension and is arriving at the door of fear. All of this and more makes me think about the passage and the role of the power of fear in this gospel and in our lives. There is a lot to fear these days. Continue reading
Next Sunday is the celebration of the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time. You can read a complete commentary on the Gospel here.
22 Then he made the disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. 24 Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. Continue reading
A routine anchors us in life, but sometimes the problem is that it anchors us in life. Keeps us from those wide swaths of life where things are unpredictable. Where things get lost. Once in a while we need to get lost.
Elijah the prophet is lost. Alone, isolated, without friends or support. King Ahab and Queen Jezebel have the army out trying to hunt down Elijah – and they mean to do him harm, to take his life. Elijah is lost and on the edge of gone – and he encounters God. Continue reading
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