Intent: Devotion
Our Intent today, is Devotion; for those of you who follow our annual path in the Liturgy – AKA the name of our Missal/Prayer Book. Although, I do not normally follow the Intents when it comes to my sermons, I couldn’t help but immediately think of a different word that, to me, Devotion represents – Faith. And interestingly enough, as God so works, our Gospel is about faith – or maybe better – our lack thereof.
In today’s Gospel, as Jesus walks upon the surface of the water in the midst of a storm, the terrified disciples mistake Him for a ghostly apparition. “Take courage,” Jesus says, “it is I; do not be afraid.” It is Peter who responds: “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Well Peter’s faith, at first, is strong, but then he loses it. And Jesus does not belittle Peter and tell him he has no faith, but that he has little faith. Why? Simply because Peter goes along well at first and the moment he looks down, taking his eyes off of the Blessed Lord, he starts to sink. We start to see patterns in this year’s Gospel choice. In the previous weeks we learn of the sowing of see. The seed among the rocky ground.
Sometimes in trying to understand the Bible, we settle for too little. Often, for example, today’s Gospel reading is taken to mean only that when the troubles of life assail us, we can prevail over these storms simply by having faith. After all, does not Jesus say as Simon Peter sinks in the sea, “O you of little faith?”
There is a grain of truth in such an understanding; yet to leave it there is to settle for too little. The point of today’s Gospel reading is that God is ruler of creation and therefore is to be adored and served. The maker of heaven and earth still governs all that has been made; this is the basis for our worship and the foundation of our hope.
Often we do suffer from too little faith. But the matter is not remedied by sitting ourselves down and resolving to have more faith. We might as well pray for more patience! Usually that is a futile enterprise designed only to make matters worse. We focus more and more upon ourselves and less and less upon God, as did Peter when he approached Jesus on the sea.
Attentiveness to divine strength and goodness is the remedy for lack of faith. The Gospel calls us to look outward, not inward, and thus to behold the glory of God, who is our help.
Note the conclusion of today's story from Matthew. When the storm ceases at the behest of the Lord, the Gospel writer reports that “those in the boat worshipped Jesus, saying, ‘truly you are the son of God.’” The disciples recognize and acknowledge the power of God in the person of Jesus. The Holy One is in their midst; thus, fear is transformed into hope.
To know the closeness of God in Jesus is a central insight of the Christian faith. But if we overemphasize that affinity of Jesus to us as human beings, we are in danger of losing something important: the crucial confidence that this one who is near to us is nevertheless vastly different from us. The One we address as the Christ is not merely a human companion with us on our journey of faith, but is the source and sustenance of our faith.
In today's Epistle, Paul agonizes over the inability of some people to see in Jesus anything more than a good teacher and moral example. People who recognize Jesus as someone greater - as the One sent from God, as the Anointed One long expected by devout believers, as “Messiah.” So important is this expanded understanding to Paul that he says he would himself be willing to be cursed and cut off from Christ if that would help others to see Jesus for who he truly is.
Is our understanding of the One we call Christ so rich, so important to us in our daily lives, that we are in agony because other people think too little of Jesus? Or are we like the disciples during the storm who need our faith in Christ expanded and intensified.
Maybe that is an important question for each of us to ponder: with whom do I more closely identify in today's New Testament reading? Am I a disciple who cries out in fear for my own life because my understanding of Jesus is too small? Or am I an apostle who cries out in agony at the impoverished faith of others? Like Paul, would I give up my own fellowship with God if only that could enable others to have the joy of that fellowship in their lives?
These are hard questions; and if we're not satisfied with our answers, that is good. For it is evidence that we see our need to grow in faith. But again, let me emphasize growth comes not by looking inward and lamenting our lack of faith. Growth comes by concentrating on the goodness, mercy and power of God. Faith is a response to the faithfulness of God. We do not produce faith by deciding to have more of it. But as we witness and identify God's love again and again, faith springs forth within us and flourishes.
Is that not one reason we come regularly to the Eucharist? Here the goodness of God is proclaimed, even during the greatest adversity. The more difficult and tortured our daily lives are, the greater the value of experiencing the grace of God at the holy table. The Sacrament is not something we earn the right to receive by being people filled with faith. No! The Sacrament announces to us the faithful power of God in the midst of our emptiness; and thus, faith grows within us.
We too are an assembly of people who have “little faith” in Jesus mixed with some doubt that He is in the midst of our ordinary and often chaotic lives, people who struggle to keep faithful, people who sometimes risk a great deal for Jesus in terms of relationships and vocations, in the broad sense of our many and different callings. Yet, even in our “Little Faith,” we care here today to worship.
One of the ancient writers of the church called the Eucharist “the medicine of immortality.” So, it is not a reward for our strength, but a remedy for our sickness: God's gift, given until we no longer are those of little faith; given freely until we are enabled to be those who see the glory of God and give thanks.
Here is something to think about during the week. When you have your moments of “little Faith,’ do you attempt to turn around and run back, or do you stay the course and ask our Blessed Lord for help instead?
Let us pray.
+ The Most Rev. Robert Winzens Soli Deo gloria - Glory to God alone Liberal Rite Catholic Church Presiding Bishop Archbishop – Province of the United States and Diocese of the West Chancellor - St. Clement Theological Seminary Pastor - St. Francis Chapel-Cathedral 741 Cerro Gordo Ave. San Diego, Ca. 92102 (619)871-8002 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. - Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 Without members of our beloved immigrant community, our nation would experience tremendous loss in jobs, community resources, and opportunities to connect with that creative spirit.
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