A Discourse for the Ninth Sunday After Pentecost

In the Gospel read today, beloved brothers and sisters, we are told of the testing of the disciples through their being placed in various difficult circumstances, so that they might rely not on themselves but on God in everything, and so that they might be established in faith and hope in Him.

Let us repeat this Gospel word for word in Russian. «At that time—that is, after the wondrous feeding of the people, wondrously multiplied from five loaves and two fish—Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 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). Here the reading from the Gospel ends.

The Gospel we have just read impresses upon us, above all, the need and necessity of prayer. You hear many times over, from the Gospel throughout the year, that Jesus Christ often prayed to His heavenly Father—praying, of course, in His humanity and not in His Godhead—both by day and by night, especially by night, since by day He preached and did good to people, working countless miracles. And if He, God and man, prayed often, then how much more must we, sinful and weak, ceaselessly tempted and exposed to every danger, pray unceasingly? The holy Apostle Paul says: «pray without ceasing» (1Thes 5:17), that is, both outwardly and inwardly. The holy Apostle Peter says: be sober (in prayer), be vigilant, for your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1Pet 5:8). Neither by day nor by night are we free from his temptations. And hence the need, especially, of morning prayers and prayers before sleep. With earnest prayer we ought both to begin the day and to end it—that is, to pray without fail both in the morning and at night; and, besides this, at the beginning and end of our tasks, and also before and after taking food, which has now fallen entirely out of custom for many. Prayer refreshes and strengthens the soul, cleanses it, sanctifies it, comforts it, enlightens it, feeds it, and unites it with God, if it is offered with understanding, from the soul, with sincere faith.

So then, all of you, pray. Prayer is the source of every good thing; through prayer, everything is obtained. Whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive (Mt 21:22), says the Lord. Jesus Christ prayed especially often upon a mountain. He teaches us to cast off earthly thoughts and attachments during prayer, and to lift up our mind and heart on high; set your mind on things above, that is, on the things of heaven, and not on the things of earth (Col 3:2), says the Apostle. Let us lift up our hearts, proclaims the Church—that is, let us direct our hearts upward; this is needed above all during the Liturgy, when so great, so heavenly, so fearsome a Mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ is accomplished.

Further, beloved brothers and sisters, today’s Gospel teaches us not to lose heart, not to be frightened, not to grow despondent in times of danger, temptation, and the various troubles of life. The Gospel says that the Apostles, in the fourth watch of the night (that is, in the interval between three and six in the morning), seeing a man walking upon the sea, were troubled and said: it is a ghost; and cried out for fear. Why were they so frightened? — From little faith and a lack of trust in God: for they were still imperfect. The Holy Spirit had not yet transformed them. They became clothed in courage after the descent of the Holy Spirit; but for now, the Lord, accustoming them to courage and fearlessness, said: be of good cheer; it is I, do not be afraid. Indeed: whom, and what, should one who believes in the Lord fear? The Lord is my light and my Savior; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defender of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Ps 26:1) Even if I walk through the valley of deadly shadow, I will not be afraid of evil, for You are with me (Ps 22:4), says the prophet-king David. We must not waver in faith and lose heart amid the storm and waves of temptation from evil spirits, and, in general, in difficult circumstances, but must firmly trust in the mercy and almighty power of God: for «all things are possible to him who believes» (Mk 9:23), says the Lord. The Apostle Peter asked the Lord’s permission to come to Him upon the water, and the Lord permitted it; Peter got out of the boat and walked upon the water as upon dry land, and the waves did not hinder him, and his feet did not sink; but 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? This means that, had he not doubted and been frightened, he would have reached the Lord over the waves without hindrance; but his little faith deprived him of that grace-given power; and when he cried out for help, the Lord held him up and did not allow him to sink into the deep.

The Apostle Peter depicts us. We are made to sink by demonic temptations and by our own sins, by our little faith and unbelief, by worldly attachments and by a lack of Christian love; this deprives us of the power of God; we are often afraid where there is nothing to fear; we are afraid of phantoms and demonic delusions. But when we are strengthened in faith and cry out to the Lord for help with our whole heart, that help will not be slow in coming, and we will overcome the temptation. When the Lord got into the boat, the wind fell still. The boat depicts our soul. When the Lord takes up His dwelling within us, then the storm of temptation grows quiet, and a great stillness is established in us. Those who were in the boat confessed Jesus Christ as the Son of God, for they had seen His almighty power. And we too confess the Godhead of Jesus Christ with great faith, every time we feel peace in our soul after a storm of passions has been stilled by calling upon His name. Glory to You, Christ our God, who still the storm of our passions and build peace in our hearts! Amen.