Tuesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

“St Peter is Walking on the Water”
by  Lluis Borrassa, 1411-13

 
Readings for Tuesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary:[3]
 
Reading 1: Numbers 12:1-13
 
Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses on the pretext
of the marriage he had contracted with a Cushite woman.
They complained, “Is it through Moses alone that the LORD speaks?
Does he not speak through us also?”
And the LORD heard this.
Now, Moses himself was by far the meekest man on the face of the earth.
So at once the LORD said to Moses and Aaron and Miriam,
“Come out, you three, to the meeting tent.”
And the three of them went.
Then the LORD came down in the column of cloud,
and standing at the entrance of the tent,
called Aaron and Miriam.
When both came forward, he said,
“Now listen to the words of the LORD:
 
Should there be a prophet among you,
in visions will I reveal myself to him,
in dreams will I speak to him;
not so with my servant Moses!
Throughout my house he bears my trust:
face to face I speak to him;
plainly and not in riddles.
The presence of the LORD he beholds.
 
Why, then, did you not fear to speak against my servant Moses?”
 
So angry was the LORD against them that when he departed,
and the cloud withdrew from the tent,
there was Miriam, a snow-white leper!
When Aaron turned and saw her a leper, he said to Moses,
“Ah, my lord! Please do not charge us with the sin
that we have foolishly committed!
Let her not thus be like the stillborn babe
that comes forth from its mother’s womb
with its flesh half consumed.”
Then Moses cried to the LORD, “Please, not this! Pray, heal her!”
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Commentary on Nm 12:1-13
 
In this selection from Numbers, the authority of Moses is challenged because he has married a woman from outside the Hebrew community. In response to this, God first calls the accusers to the “meeting tent.” This action reaffirms the Lord's connection with Moses. God then punishes those who challenged him. This passage sets Moses apart from the later prophets by differentiating the means by which God communicates with him, that is, face to face.
 
CCC: Num 12:3 2576; Num 12:7-8 2576; Num 12:13-14 2577
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 6cd-7, 12-13
 
R. (see 3a)  Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
 
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
 
For I acknowledge my offense;
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned;
and done what is evil in your sight.”
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
 
That you may be justified in your sentence,
vindicated when you condemn.
Indeed, in guilt was I born,
and in sin my mother conceived me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
 
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not off from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
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Commentary on Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 6cd-7, 12-13
 
Psalm 51 (one of the great penitential psalms) is an individual lament. The psalmist praises God’s goodness, acknowledges his offenses against God, and asks for absolution from sin. In these strophes we hear the singer beg forgiveness, linking it to the plea of Aaron and Moses in the first reading.
 
CCC: Ps 51:6 431, 1850; Ps 51:12 298, 431
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Gospel: Matthew 14:22-36
 
Jesus made the disciples get into a boat
and precede him to the other side of the sea,
while he dismissed the crowds.
After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
When it was evening he was there alone.
Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them, walking on the sea.
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.
“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.
At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter said to him in reply,
“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.”
Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,
and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
After they got into the boat, the wind died down.
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
“Truly, you are the Son of God.”
 
After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret.
When the men of that place recognized him,
they sent word to all the surrounding country.
People brought to him all those who were sick
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak,
and as many as touched it were healed.
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Commentary on Mt 14:22-36
 
This passage from St. Matthew’s Gospel follows the feeding of the five thousand. The disciples return to the boat that brought them to this remote site, while Jesus stays alone to pray. (Recall he had just gotten word of the murder of St. John the Baptist by Herod, and had come to this place to mourn him.)

The events that follow, Jesus' approach to the boat and walking on the water, support the Lord’s earlier demonstration that he has power over the sea and elements (see Matthew 8:26). St. Peter’s response to the Lord is to try to do as the Lord wishes, but his fear prevents him from accomplishing what the Lord has called him to do. This entire episode has one purpose, to allow the readers to share in the awe of the disciples as they make their profession of faith: “Truly, you are the Son of God." This is account stands in stark contrast to St. Mark’s account of their response (see Mark 6:51).
 
CCC: Mt 14:30 448
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Or: (especially in year A where Mt 14:22-36 is read on Monday) Matthew 15:1-2, 10-14
 
Some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?
They do not wash their hands when they eat a meal.”
He summoned the crowd and said to them, “Hear and understand.
It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles the man;
but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.”
Then his disciples approached and said to him,
“Do you know that the Pharisees took offense
when they heard what you said?”
He said in reply, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted
will be uprooted.
Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind.
If a  blind man leads a blind man,
both will fall into a pit.”
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Commentary on Mt 15:1-2, 10-14
 
This dispute begins with the question of the Pharisees and scribes why Jesus' disciples are breaking the tradition of the elders about washing one's hands before eating. In front of the larger crowd of followers the Lord refutes them with a parable that is an attack on Mosaic law concerning clean and unclean foods (see also Matthew 5:31-32, 33-34, 38-39). [4] The concluding remarks concerning the blind leading the blind indicate to the disciples that the Pharisees and scribes do not understand God’s law but lead those who refuse to accept Jesus as the Messiah.
 
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Reflection:
 
Faith is a very hard thing to wrap our heads around.  We are taught that it is a gift, freely given, a consequence of our baptism in the Lord.  We know that some people (look at St. Dominic) seem to have faith in abundance while others have little or no faith at all.  We cannot see it. Faith is an intangible quality of the soul, but we can feel it inside ourselves.
 
In Scripture today we see two examples of faith in action.  In the first reading, Miriam and Aaron apparently lost faith in Moses.  They presumed to pass judgment on him because he had married outside the Hebrew community; how could the person to whom God spoke do such a thing.  In response or out of bigotry they publicly refuted his spiritual leadership.  Scripture tells us that God had an immediate response, calling them to account and then punishing Miriam with the outward sign of her sinfulness, leprosy.  Was her sin the lack of faith in God’s selected holy one, the one to whom he spoke, face to face?  Or was her sin the bigotry in her heart as she rejected the wife Moses had selected?  Scripture does not say, but had her faith been stronger, she would not have fallen into that trap.
 
In the Gospel, we see the disciples in a bad way.  They had ventured out into the sea and were caught in a storm.  Jesus comes to their aid in an unexpected way, walking on the water.  Unprepared for his appearance, the disciples think he is a ghost at first.  Peter, first among the disciples, sees (or thinks he sees) the Lord and calls out to him: “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." (Not quite sure, is he?)  When Peter goes out to the Son of God, his faith is fastened on Christ.  He does not see the sea or the waves.  He does not feel the wind.  But when he loses that focus and starts looking around. He sees that he is doing the impossible and becomes frightened and starts to sink.  God, of course, saves him.  We can almost hear the Lord speaking to his friend in secular tones saying “Peter, you almost had it.  Why didn’t you just keep coming?”
 
We often feel that way don’t we?  We almost had it, our faith was almost strong enough to withstand the temptation of doing something we should not have.  It was almost strong enough to carry us through a difficult situation without faltering.  But in the end, like Peter, the Lord had to help us out as well.
 
Faith may be a gift but it also acts like a muscle.  If we don’t use it, we lose it.  If we don’t exercise it, when we need the strength that comes from a strong and lively faith, it will not be there.  Our challenge today is to renew our dedication to get into the gym (church), get on the machines (prayer), and do some jogging (exercise charity), so that when we are called out onto the water we will not fail.
 
Pax

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[1] The picture is “St Peter is Walking on the Water” by  Lluis Borrassa, 1411-13.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] NAB footnote on Matthew 15:1.