Reflection: Time to Get Out of the Boat (19th Sunday, Year A: 1 Kgs 19:9-13; Ps 85; Rm 9:1-5; Mt 14:22-33)
The first reading and gospel seem to be primarily about experiences of God’s presence in the midst of very difficult and dangerous situations. In the case of Elijah, he has hidden in a cave to escape those sent by Queen Jezebel to kill him, and he experiences God’s presence in a moment of silence. In the case of the disciples, they experience the Lord’s presence and help as he comes to them on the water and calms the sea, while Peter is saved from sinking. However, to say that these stories are about God’s presence and help in dire circumstances is true but incomplete, because in both instances the lesson is primarily about faith and discipleship. In Elijah’s case, for example, he is running for his life because he has been following God’s call to be a prophet, and speak out against idolatry and injustice. In the case of the disciples, they were in the boat with in the first place because that’s what Jesus told them to do, and Peter only got out of the boat when Jesus told him come to him. Both accounts, then, are not so much about divine rescue “out-of-the-blue,” as it were, but faith and discipleship, and particularly for us as Christians, what it means to trust the Lord more fully and follow him more closely.
Elijah teaches us that God’s presence may be experienced in ways we least expect. The strong wind, earthquake, and fire he experienced were traditional and familiar ways that God’s presence was known to the people of Israel (see Ex 19 and 24), but instead he experienced God’s presence in silence (a still voice), and then was able to continue his mission. However, I would like to focus on Peter in the gospel story because in many ways he represents what discipleship means for those “of little faith,” like most - if not all - of us. Although we believe in Christ, we know that we need to grow in our faith. In the gospel story, Peter and the disciples are in the boat following Jesus’ orders, and as a result they are in trouble. When Jesus comes toward them they don’t recognize him and think he’s a ghost because of their fear. Before they recognize him, fear is the predominant response to their predicament, as it is often for us in times of danger or extreme difficulty. In response, he assures them of his divine presence and help with the words that are meant for all of us in our times of need and distress: “Take courage, it is I. Do not be afraid.” At that point, Peter recognizes him and addresses him as “Lord,” which shows a certain amount of faith, and he asks the Lord to tell him to come to him across the water, which the Lord does. Although Peter will begin to sink and call out to the Lord for help, at least he took the risk and got out of the boat, and that is part of the lesson for us. The presence of Christ is not just to make us feel better, or alleviate our fear in times of trouble, but to call us out of the boat in order to grow in our faith and become better disciples.
Although the boat can signify the church, which is comforted and assisted by Christ in the midst of hostile forces, in the case of Peter it may also represent a sense of security that can impede growth in faith and discipleship. In our case, this boat may be familiar habits or routines that keep us from making a greater commitment to serving others in the church or civic community, or a comfortable lifestyle that keeps us from recognizing and responding to the needs of others. It may be our prejudices or feelings about others that keep us from treating them as we would like to be treated. It may be resentment or bitterness toward another that we don’t want to let go of, thereby keeping any process of reconciliation and healing from occurring.
Whatever it may be, discipleship requires that we step out of the boat and move closer to the Lord, whose love guides and sustains us. May the Lord who calls us strengthen us, that we may continue to grow in faith, hope, and love, and bring his help and healing to others as his disciples.
