An Instruction for the Ninth Sunday After Pentecost

What was the Gospel read today about? Did you listen to it attentively, did you understand it, did you keep it in memory, did you lay it upon your heart, did you apply it to yourself? All this ought to have been done. What, then, was proclaimed? Of the Savior’s prayer in solitude; of His walking upon the sea as upon dry land; of His disciples’ fear at the sight of a man walking upon the water; of how the Savior encouraged them; of Peter’s request to come to Him upon the water, and of the Lord’s permission; of Peter’s little faith and his fright; of his beginning to sink; of the rescue of the sinking man by the life-originating right hand; of the Lord’s rebuke to Peter for his little faith; of the calming of the wind; of the disciples’ confession of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. In detail, the matter was thus: after the wondrous feeding of four thousand people, not counting women and children, the Lord bade His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side of the Sea of Gennesaret, while He Himself, meanwhile, began to bless the people to disperse, having taught them. «And having sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when evening had come, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying: it is a ghost; and they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying: be of good cheer; it is I, do not be afraid. And Peter answered Him and said: Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water. So the Lord told him: come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying: Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him: O you of little faith, why did you doubt? And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying: truly You are the Son of God. And when they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret» (Mt 14:22-34). There is the whole Gospel—and all of it clear and plain to understand!

Now we must apply from it what each of us can and should apply to himself. For the Gospel was written for our edification, comfort, and salvation. And here is the first thing to apply to ourselves: prayer. The Lord, in His humanity, often prayed in solitude, at night. We too must pray without fail, at every time. «Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation» (Mt 26:41), says the Lord. We have many sins; many needs of soul and body; many temptations; and therefore we too must pray unceasingly—inwardly, for the most part; but on feast days, openly, in church. Further, it is edifying and comforting in this Gospel that Jesus Christ, seeing His disciples’ perilous voyage, whose boat in the middle of the sea was being violently battered by the waves, went to their aid, and, as the Creator and Lord of the sea, walked upon the ridge of the sea as upon dry land. Seeing a man walking upon the sea, which seemed to them impossible, they took Him for a ghost, and cried out for fear. But the Lord, going to their aid, calmed them and said that it was He, and that they had nothing to fear. And upon us too, brothers, sailing on the sea of this life, contrary winds of temptation and various passions often rush; and we, like the Apostles, are often in distress. Let us not forget, in hours of temptation and misfortune, that the Savior is near (Phil 4:5) us and is ready to save us, if only we, with faith and sincere repentance for our sins, cry out to Him for salvation. We are often frightened by phantoms which the evil one shows us; we are troubled by the wiles of the cunning adversary. But let us cry out to the Lord with all our heart, and every phantom will scatter, and the contrary winds will fall still. So it has always been with believers, and so it shall be.

Remarkable is the boldness of the Apostle Peter. Encouraged by the Lord’s words, he asks permission to go to Him upon the water, as though for a moment forgetting the distinction between himself—a man—and the God-man. The Lord, however, does not reject his boldness, and says: come. And a wondrous miracle! The almighty command sustains Peter as he walks upon the water; he walks upon the water, marveling at himself. But Peter’s boldness did not last long: seeing the strong wind, he was afraid, and, beginning to sink, cried out: Lord, save me! Jesus immediately stretched out His hand, held him up, 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, fiery breath of the Holy Spirit, and so displayed human weaknesses. But after the descent of the Holy Spirit, holy Peter was above every doubt, and had the faith of God, by which he raised the dead. As for us—let us take care for our own faith. Peter had only begun to sink, and at once cried out for salvation: Lord, save me! But many of us are altogether sinking in our sins, and yet do not run to the Savior and do not say: Lord, save me. And how near is the Savior to all of us? Only look to Him, brother, with the eyes of your heart, with faith and 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 certainly save you: you yourself will see how He saves, you will see, of course, with the eyes of your heart. Learn, then, brother or sister, from the Apostle Peter, to cry out to the Savior, with the same faith and hope as he had, in misfortunes, sorrows, and sins: Lord, save me—and you will surely be saved. For this is why the Savior exists: to save us sinners. And when He has saved you, then you too will say: yes, truly You are the Son of God—and you will worship Him with love. Amen.