Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?

Transcription

1 Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? (Matthew 14:31) 19 th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A August 7 th, 2011

2 First Reading: 1 Kings 19: At that place Elijah came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, What are you doing here, Elijah? 10 He answered, I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away. 11 He said, Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by. Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, What are you doing here, Elijah? Responsorial Psalm: 85:9, 10, 11-12, Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. 10 Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. 11 Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. 12 The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. 13 Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps. Second Reading: Romans 9:1-5 9 I am speaking the truth in Christ I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; 5 to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. Gospel Reading: Matthew 14: Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.

3 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 25 And early in the morning he came walking towards them on the lake. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, saying, It is a ghost! And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid. 28 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, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me! 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, You of little faith, why did you doubt? 32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, Truly you are the Son of God. 34 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 After the people of that place recognized him, they sent word throughout the region and brought all who were sick to him, 36 and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed. Homily In today s reading, we have a story that again we have all heard from childhood, the story of Jesus walking on the water of a raging sea, and Peter attempting to come to Jesus on the water, but sinking due to his lack of faith. Let us dig a little deeper into this story. It is reported in two versions in each of the Gospels of Mark and Matthew. Today, we are reading one version of story in the Gospel of Matthew, the other being found a few chapters earlier (8:23-28). It is also found in Mark 4:35-41 and again in Mark 6: We can learn more by studying them all. Matthew s versions probably took over from those presented in Mark, and it is useful to look at how the account was altered. In Matthew, we have a dialogue added between Peter and Jesus, and Peter walks on the water, but in Mark, this is missing. Some think that Matthew used a special Petrine source not found in Mark. We can see that metaphorically, Peter in particular had difficulty in remaining firm on his own during a time of testing which is emphasized in Matthew. In Mark, instability and lack of faith was attributed to the

4 disciples as a group. But a little later in Matthew, Jesus has yet another conversation with Peter, giving him the keys to the kingdom (Matthew 16:16-20) which was not found in Mark. So there are issues raised in these various passages about how we develop and maintain a spiritual stability in our relationship with Jesus, and for some, the development of church authority resting in Peter. In both Gospels, Jesus has his disciples separate from the crowds after the feeding of 5,000 which we studied last week. Mark emphasizes Jesus appearance in stormy waters as associated with their lack of understanding about the meaning of the loaves and perhaps a lack of faith. In Matthew, when Jesus appears on the waters, there is a confession of who he is, ending with a declaration of faith in Jesus as the Son of God. We see that in both cases, the disciples were terrified, but in Matthew, the story ends with a trust in who Jesus is. Matthew differs in having Jesus addressed as Lord. He also describes the water in the plural, waters rather than just a lake or the sea. Perhaps this imagery heightens the sense of fear. This story of Jesus which seems to repeated within both Gospels must be important, given its repetition within and across Gospels. Jesus tells the disciples It is I and Peter answers If it is you, and is told to Come. We re dealing with who Jesus is, the trust that allows Peter to walk on the water, that is, to master his feelings of helplessness and his fears by his recognition of who Jesus is. As we look at what precedes and follows each of these accounts, we see that they are followed by stories about the demoniac that no one could control, whose name was Legion, or two demoniacs coming out of the tombs. Their disturbed demonic spirits were then cast into a herd of swine. In one case there is rejoicing over the man s healing and yet in another, the people are afraid and ask Jesus to leave their neighborhood. It appears to me that the raging sea and the disturbed demoniacs share in common external and internal forces that are frightening for us. They both capture our own fears about the forces of nature that we can t control as well as the internal chaos that we fail to understand and manage in ourselves or others. We all find ourselves on fitful or raging seas of our lives and the central message is that we will find safety and stability by focusing on the person of Jesus, to remember our compass, our source of orientation, and to trust that we are being directed even when we can t anticipate what is happening. We all experience Legion in ourselves and others, the divisive forces that paralyze and alienate us from God, from ourselves, and from others. Jesus says, Come. If we consider the context of this story as found in Mark, we can infer that the disciples failure to understand how they are being fed when the 5,000 are fed is a part of their continued fear and anxiety in the face of life s storms. In other words, part of our healing of these chaotic forces is to be found at his Table. And we see in the biblical narratives that stories of healing follow the rough ride in the boat on an unpredictable sea. Let us ride it through, remember who he is, find our moorings, and come to healing.

5 In the storms of our lives, how do we make a leap, in faith from life s safe ships into raging water? Christ, we fear sinking. Chase out our doubt; help us keep our eyes on you. If we flounder stretch out your hand and renew in us the trust we so need. Amen. Prayer copied by permission. Copyright 2011, The Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce for personal or parish use. Study Notes: Here are the various passages we referred to in this homily that were not a part of today s lectionary selection. Mark 4:35 41; 5: On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, Let us go across to the other side. 36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37 A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? 39 He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Peace! Be still! Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40 He said to them, Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith? 41 And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? 5 They came to the other side of the lake, to the country of the Gerasenes. 2 And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. 3 He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; 4 for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. 6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; 7 and he shouted at the top of his voice, What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me. 8 For he had

6 said to him, Come out of the man, you unclean spirit! 9 Then Jesus asked him, What is your name? He replied, My name is Legion; for we are many. 10 He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; 12 and the unclean spirits begged him, Send us into the swine; let us enter them. 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and were drowned in the lake. 14 The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. 17 Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 But Jesus refused, and said to him, Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you. 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed. Mark 6: Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 When evening came, the boat was out on the lake, and he was alone on the land. 48 When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the lake. He intended to pass them by. 49 But when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid. 51 Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. 53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. 54 When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, 55 and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the market-places, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed. Matthew 8: And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 A gale arose on the lake, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him up, saying, Lord, save us! We are perishing! 26 And he said to them, Why are you afraid, you of little faith? Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. 27 They were amazed, saying, What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him? 28 When he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way.

7 Keys of the Kingdom? Matthew 16:18-20: This is the passage which those out of Roman Catholic tradition point to as indicative of Peter being given a special role of authority in the early church over other disciples. The keys are a symbol of authority (cf. Isaiah 22:22 key of the house of David ). Bind and loose were legal/judicial terms meaning forbid and permit. Some scriptural authorities say that this passage is not found in the earliest manuscripts. Others say it was intended to contrast Peter s teaching authority with that of the scribes and Pharisees, not necessarily over the other disciples. (See Matthew 23:13). And later in Matthew (18:18) the same authority described here for Peter was also given to all of the disciples. Redaction Criticism: When a passage has been used but modified between one Gospel and another, a form of analysis known as redaction criticism is employed to study the differences. Some scholars who prefer to minimize seeming differences or even contradictions found in scripture prefer to blend and obscure or explain away any seeming differences. Other scholars, at the other end of the continuum, prefer to emphasize the differences and the human element that went into the writing of our scriptures and thus to deemphasize the validity of scriptures as having any kind of divine origin. I prefer to look at the differences as informing us about what was important to the compiler of a given Gospel: Who was the community that he was writing for, what was the context, what theological emphases did he wish to draw out? I think the differences are informative and helpful, and should neither be obscured nor used to discredit scripture. It is helpful to figure out which version of a text came first, what each author added or subtracted. The essence of the story is generally the same, but we can infer additional layers of interpretation depending on its particular context and setting. I m not an expert in these things, but I do try to read the scholarship at both ends of the continuum as well as those in the middle. I try not to get myself too far out on a limb, but to consider alternative interpretations that may have been forgotten lost over time. Too often, however, the same simplistic interpretations have been passed down to us with little thought, and that is not food, that is not bread, that is analogous to tasteless, styrofoam wafers, or worse yet, a stone. Some good sources which I consider to be scholarly but within the grasp of the intelligent layman are listed below. It is useful to know something about these authors so that you can discern for yourselves what their possible bent or biases may be. Here s Martha s quick and dirty approach to weighing sources: Who s backing them to say what they say? Who s the gate-keeper that muzzles them? Whose pocket is being lined? All three of these individuals have strong academic credentials, although Wright and Ehrman are stronger. Ehrman s employer is a public university and his popular books are published by secular publishers. The other two use well-recognized religious presses. All three are mature scholars who have spent a lifetime doing what they do. Amazing, but there is actually lots of interest among the general population and all three of these scholars have probably made millions. For Wright and Rohr, it hasn t gone into personal fortunes but Ehrman has done extremely well for himself. So, take that all with a grain of salt and go on to think through what they have to say. They are listed in alphabetical order: Bart D. Ehrman (2009). Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (and Why We Don t Know About Them). HarperCollins e-books and Kindle edition. Also available through Amazon in hard copy. Dr. Ehrman is a world-class NT scholar who has written many popular books about the New Testament. A few years ago he came out as an agnostic. I have attended many of Dr. Ehrman s seminars and have many of his books in hard copy or kindle editions. I may be wrong, but my take is that

8 Dr. Ehrman, despite all his sophisticated scholarship, has never overcome the unconscious fundamentalist leanings on which he was first exposed to scripture. His breaking point with Christianity was the whole issue of evil and pain in the world, and so his god is interpreted as a hopelessly contradictory figure. If you read Ehrman, also read Rohr and Wright and vice versa. It is strange to say, but Ehrman is on the one hand, very critical of orthodox Christianity and yet, underneath, still seems to be immensely influenced by his early fundamentalist background. Take my take with a grain of salt; it comes from reading his books, conversations and sitting in his classroom perhaps a 100 hours in the past six years, as well as my own journey from fundamentalism to lectio divina and reading scripture as a prayer form. Richard Rohr (2008). Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality. Available through Kindle or through Amazon in hard copy. This book provides an integration and balance of biblical criticism and lectio divina reading scripture as a spiritual exercise -- with your whole brain, and not with a left-brain, concrete, linear fundamentalist bent. If you grew up evangelical or fundamentalist, this book will open a lot of doors for you. Fr. Richard is a Franciscan / Roman Catholic priest. He is an immensely popular retreat master and writer of many good very readable books. Fr. Richard is an important figure in the emergent church movement, which espouses the idea that we should focus on our common shared principles and set aside those things which divide us. He has been well received by Christians across the denominational spectrum. He seems to be sympathetic to the independent sacramental / catholic movement and is not adverse to criticizing divisive leaders or structures, including the Pope or the Vatican. (I m sure he s been called on the carpet many times, but they haven t thrown him out!) He also publishes his seminars in DVD format. I have quite a few of them if you are interested. Richard is middle road/mainstream but some consider him a bit on the edge because he is so gifted in reframing information. N.T. Wright (2010). Scripture and the Authority of God: How to Read the Bible Today. HarperCollins e-books and also available through Amazon in hard copy. Previously published as The Last Word. Bishop Wright is an Episcopalian scholar. He is considered by many the foremost NT scholar of our times. He is a sophisticated biblical researcher who is well-versed with the changing paradigms in scholarship, incorporating new knowledge about first century Judaism and Christianity, God as Jesus conceptualized and knew Him, how the writings were likely understood within their own communities, modernist and postmodernist literary disciplines and criticisms, the phenomenology of reading texts, and interaction between the text and theological development. I have many of his books in hard copy or on my Kindle and he is an important source. They are accessible to the non-scholar but not casual reading. But if you really want comprehensive scholarship that takes into account secular and religious criticism, he is the man.