Today’s gospel is a continuation of last Sunday’s gospel on the Feeding of the Five Thousand. In the gospel readings for last month, the Catholic Church focuses its teaching on strengthening our faith. Last week’s gospel was perhaps one of the best ways that the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ would strengthen their faith for they all knew that there were only five loaves of bread and two pieces of fish. Yet their Master, was able to feed the five thousand men and a couple of a thousand more women and children who accompanied their fathers to listen to this man who claims to come from God.
I have no doubt that if we were one of the disciples who attended to the feeding of the five thousand with just a few loaves of bread and a couple of fishes, we would have been witnesses to one of the greatest miracles done by God himself! This is why we said last week that this is one scripture story that is found in all the four gospel writers because of its importance. Today’s gospel story can be found in your Bibles in Mark 14: 22-33.
[After he fed the people,] 22 [Jesus] made the disciples get into the boat and preceded him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 After doing so, he went up to the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. 24 Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.
25 During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. 27 At once [Jesus] spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
28 Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw how [strong] the wind was he became frightened; and. Beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt? 32 After they got into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”
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Today’s gospel starts at the end of last week’s gospel, wherein after the feeding of the five thousand, our Lord Jesus asked that his disciples get on the boat to cross to the other side of Lake Galilee. Then when the wind got stronger and the boat tossing in the strong waves… the disciples saw a ghostly figure… they were not sure if it was their Master. In ancient times, mariners believed in ghosts or spirits in the sea… and even mermaids. So who was this figure walking towards their boat?
Since Simon Peter was the acknowledge leader of the disciples inside the boat, the terrified disciples must have pushed him to check out who this ghostly figure really was? After all the man walking on the water already spoke to them, assuring them not to be afraid. Unsure of who the figure really was, Peter asked the question “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” As the story goes, Jesus told Peter, “Come.”
So when Peter got out of the boat, he too walked in the water, but rather than focus his thoughts and his sight on the Lord Jesus, he was distracted by the strong wind and waves and got scared and he began to sink! It was only when he cried out, “Lord, save me!” that the Lord caught his hand and pulled him back into the boat. The Lord then told Peter, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” When the winds died down, they did him homage and said, “Truly, you are the Son of God!”
Here is Peter, dubbed as “The Rock” by our Lord Jesus Christ to lead his church yet he was so lacking in faith despite the fact that he already confessed to our Lord Jesus Christ (in Matt. 19L 16) “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” Yet despite seeing with his own eyes all the miracles that our Lord had performed on the sick, the lame, and the blind…then that huge miracle of the loaves, he still lacked faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. What about our faith? Are we also lacking in faith?
This scripture reading teaches us to focus only on our Lord Jesus Christ and not let strong winds or waves or other things that terrify us humans distract our thoughts from Jesus. Remember the story of Martha in Luke 11: 40-41, who complained to the Lord that her sister wasn’t helping her on the house chores? Jesus told Martha, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” This is the lesson of our gospel reading today… focus only in our Lord Jesus Christ and put your total trust and faith in the Lord and he will always be with us.