Word to the Wise
Tuesday, June 28, 2016 - Tuesday in the 13th Week in Ordinary Time
[Amos 3:1-8; 4:11-12 and Matt 8:23-27]"Lord, save us! We are perishing!" He said to them, "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?" [Matthew]
TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2016 ST. IRENAEUS [bishop and martyr]
It can be dangerous to get in the same boat with Jesus - literally and figuratively! Without claiming to be an exegete or ascribing intention to the evangelist, I found myself noting a kind of vacillation in the faith of the "disciples in this scene on the stormy lake.
First, we are told that Jesus gets in a boat. The disciples "followed him." Right away, the question of the meaning of "following" arises. Literally, they get into the boat with him. How much are they "following" him as disciples? They have enough faith to beg him for help with the storm. (In the Gospel of Mark:4:35-41, they have to wake him up!), but once Jesus calms things down, he rebukes them for their fear and lack of faith! Indeed, they are left wondering what kind of person Jesus is if he can command the weather?
We have an expression in English, "Do you follow me?" We use that expression to ask if a person is understanding what we are saying or doing. Perhaps Jesus consistently asks us the same question. "Do you follow me?" It is not just a matter of saying that we understand words but also a matter of acting on them. The disciples are not quite sure of Jesus. We are told they were still doubting when, after his resurrection, he meets them and gives them their "great commission." [Matthew 28:17]
The question may both comfort us (we may be like the disciples) or challenge us (can we look Jesus in the eye and say "Yes!" or do we say, "Well, sort of!"). AMEN
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