Prayer and Hope in God

Instruction for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

What Gospel was read today? Did you listen to it with attention? Did you understand it? Did you keep it in your memory? Did you lay it upon your heart? Did you apply it to yourself? But all of this ought to be done. And what was the good news that was proclaimed? It concerned the Savior’s prayer in solitude; His walking upon the sea as on dry land; the fear of His disciples at the sight of a man walking upon the water; how the Savior encouraged them; Peter’s request to come to Him upon the water, and the Lord’s granting of it; Peter’s weak faith and fright, his sinking; the saving of the one who was sinking by the life-giving Right Hand; the Lord’s reproach of Peter for his weak faith; the stilling of the wind; the disciples’ confession of Jesus Christ as the Son of God[1]. That is the whole Gospel, and all of it is clear to understand! Now each of us must take from it – what we can and ought – and apply it to ourselves. For the Gospel was written for our instruction, our consolation, and our salvation. So the first thing to apply to ourselves is prayer. The Lord, as man, prayed often in solitude, in the hours of night. We too must certainly pray, at all times. Keep watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation[2], says the Lord. We have many sins; we have many needs of soul and body; there are many temptations; and therefore we must pray unceasingly – inwardly, above all, of course. And on feast days, openly in church. Further, what is instructive and consoling in this Gospel is that Jesus Christ, seeing the perilous voyage of His disciples, whose boat was being battered by the waves in the midst of the sea, went to their aid; and as the Creator and Lord of the sea, He walked upon the spine of the sea as upon dry land. Seeing a man walking upon the sea – which seemed to them impossible – they took Him for a phantom, and cried out from fear. But the Lord, who was coming to their aid, calmed them, telling them that it was He, and that they had nothing to fear. – And upon us also, brethren, as we sail upon the sea of this life, contrary winds often rush against us – the winds of temptations and of various passions – and like the apostles, we are often in distress. Let us not forget, then, in the hours of temptation and trouble, that the Savior is near[3] to us and ready to save us, if only we call upon Him for salvation with faith and sincere repentance for our sins.

We are often frightened by the phantoms that the evil one sets before us; we are troubled by the schemes of the wicked adversary. But let us cry out to the Lord with our whole heart, and all the phantoms will scatter, and the contrary winds will subside. So it always is with those who believe, and so it will be. Notice the boldness of the Apostle Peter. Encouraged by the Lord’s words, he asks leave to come to Him on the water, as though forgetting for a moment the difference between himself—a man—and the God-man. The Lord, however, does not reject his boldness and says: Come. And what a wondrous miracle! The almighty command sustains Peter as he walks on the water: he walks on the water, marveling at himself. But Peter’s boldness did not last long: seeing the wind was strong, he was afraid, began to sink, and cried out: Lord, save me! Jesus at once stretched out His hand, took hold of him, and said to him: O you of little faith, why did you doubt? Do not marvel at Peter’s little faith: at that time he had not yet been renewed by the life-giving, fire-bearing breath of the Holy Spirit, and so he showed human weakness. But after the descent of the Holy Spirit, Saint Peter was above all doubt and had the faith of God, by which he raised the dead. Let us, then, take care of our own faith. Peter had only begun to sink and at once called out for salvation: Lord, save me! But many of us are drowning altogether in our sins, do not run to the Savior, and do not say: Lord, save me. And how near the Savior is to every one of us: only look to Him, brother, with the eyes of your heart, with faith, with the hope that He is right there before you, and He will save you—if only you truly desire salvation—He will save you, He will surely save you; you will see for yourself how He saves you, you will see, of course, with the eyes of your heart. So take instruction, brother or sister, from the Apostle Peter: with faith and hope like his, call upon the Savior in troubles, in sorrows, in sins: Lord, save me—and you will most certainly be saved. That is what the Savior is for: to save us sinners. And when He has saved you, then you too will say: Truly You are the Son of God, and you will bow before Him with love. Amen