Tuesday of Week 18 of Ordinary Time – Gospel
22Immediately he made the disciples get into a boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 25And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 26But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
28Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 30But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
34When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35After the people of that place recognized him, they sent word to that whole surrounding region, and people brought all who were sick to him 36and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
Commentary on Matthew 14:22-36
As soon as the people had been filled with the food that Jesus gave them, Jesus packs his disciples off in the boat to the other side of the lake. He sends the crowds away and then retreats to the mountain to pray all by himself.
We know from John’s account that the people wanted to make him a king. If Jesus wanted to take control of the crowd, this was the moment; they were ready to follow enthusiastically. Jesus was indeed their King, but not the kind they were expecting. He would draw the crowds to him in a very different way, hanging in shame on a cross.
It looks too as if he did not want his disciples to get any wrong ideas either. They must have been elated at their role in the extraordinary event of feeding more than 5,000 people. So, perhaps with a lot of grumbling, they are sent off even before the excited crowds have dispersed.
As they make their way across the lake in this dark mood, things get even worse. They run into a big storm and their boat is being tossed about like a cork. Then out of the darkness, between 3 and 6 in the morning hours, they see Jesus approaching them across the water. Far from being delighted, they are terrified out of their wits. Superstitious men that they are, they think it is a ghost. Ghosts were very much a part of their world.
Words of encouragement come across the water:
Take heart, it is I [Greek, ego eimi = I AM]; do not be afraid.
Jesus gives himself the very name of Yahweh; this is all the reassurance they need. Their God is with them.
Only in Matthew’s account of this story do we have Peter’s reaction:
Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.
To which, Jesus replies:
Come.
Peter gets out of the boat and goes towards Jesus. It is an act of love, faith and trust. But not quite enough. The power of the wind and waves gets stronger than his desire to be with Jesus. He begins to sink.
Lord, save me!
Jesus lifts him up and says:
You of little faith, why did you doubt?
As soon as Jesus and Peter get into the boat, there is a complete calm.
The rest of the disciples are overwhelmed and bow down before him saying:
Truly you are the Son of God.
We have here behind this story an image of the early Church, of which the boat and the disciples are a symbol. The surrounding water is the world, and the wind and waves are the forces which threaten the tiny community. Jesus seems to be far away, but he is not, and he appears in the midst of the storm. Once he steps inside the boat, there is calm, not only because the surrounding storm has stopped, but also because of the peace which the awareness of Jesus’ presence gives.
There is an added element in this story in that Peter, the leader of the community, comes hand in hand into the boat with Jesus. In time, the authority of Jesus will be passed over to him.
There is also, of course, in the calming of the storm an indication of Jesus’ real identity, expressed in the awe-filled words of the disciples, “Truly you are the Son of God”, echoing Jesus’ own statement of “I AM”.
There is a brief epilogue at the end of our passage. The boat reaches the area of Gennesaret. The name refers either to the narrow plain, about four miles long and less than two miles wide on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, north of Magdala, or a town in the plain. Significantly for the work that Jesus was about to do, the plain was considered a garden land, fertile and well-watered.
As soon as Jesus reaches the shore the crowds again gather in huge numbers especially to have their sick cured. So great was their faith that they asked only to touch the fringe of his garment. All those who did so (in faith) were healed.
Jesus had sent away the crowds earlier probably because of the late hour, but also perhaps because of the mood of the crowd which was taking on political overtones not wanted by Jesus. But now they are back to seek from him what he came to give them—healing and wholeness.
