First Reading – 1 Kings 19:9, 11-13 ©
Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 84(85):9-14
©
Second Reading – Romans 9:1-5 ©
Gospel Acclamation – Luke 19:38, 2:14
Alternative Acclamation – Psalm 129:5
The Gospel According to Matthew 14:22
- 33 ©
(NJB)
The Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary
Time (Year A)
Listen!
God, the creator of the universe: God is not a maker
of kings. God is not a general leading armies. God does not desire sacrifices
of flesh and blood.
God, the creator of the universe is a god of love
and mercy, of justice and compassion, of humility.
Consider the words of the psalmist and know that all things belong to God:, all lands, all seas, all planets, all stars,
all galaxies; everything and everyone that is in them.
God did not end the captivity of Jacob, the tribe of
Jacob did.
This is not hubris. What is hubris is thinking that
God loves a special people above all others, and that God would do for them
things that God would not do for others, not the understanding that the
Israelites escaped their bondage in Egypt under their own power.
Know this:
God was never angry or indignant with the people, it
is not due to God’s anger that people suffer. God does not rescue us from our
plight or from the miseries of the world; that is for us to do, we must rescue
ourselves and deliver the other.
Be mindful!
There are no individuals, there are no families, no
tribes, no clans, there are no nations of whom it may be said that God loves
them more than any other people.
Do not chase after vanities, trust in the judgement
of God, trust in God’s plan for creation, trust that God loves everyone and
desires their salvation.
Have faith that God will accomplish what God wills.
Remember this, God is not king, or a lord.
The creator of the universe does not wear a crown.
We do not seek glory as we struggle on the way
toward salvation.
As we follow the way of Jesus we seek out the
lowest of the low, not the highest heaven, we seek to serve those in the
deepest dark and return them to the light of love.
God, creator of the universe, God is patient, loving
and kind. God is merciful and just, God is humble and desires that we emulate
the divine in these ways
Learn from God; become like God, loving, merciful,
patient, humble, just and a blessing to all.
Consider
the Gospel reading for today:
Bear
in mind that the events it describes never happened.
This
myth is a metaphor.
It
is intended to communicate the idea that Jesus is not merely the Son of God,
but the king of the gods. In it Jesus is depicted as master of the storm and
lord of the deep, like other God-Kings, in the Ancient Near East and
Mediterranean region.
The
image of Jesus walking on water, abating the winds, mastering the weather, and
calming the storm, is analogous to the triumph of Zeus over the sea monster
Typhon, or Marduk over the forces of Chaos represented in the dragon Tiamat.
In
the reading for today Jesus is depicted as triumphant over the same forces,
walking over the water just as Zeus and Marduk stood over the bodies of their
vanquished foes in victory.
The
myth is also intended to convey that the early church, represented by Simon Peter,
was not entirely comfortable with this narrative, though it set aside its fears
and embraced it nonetheless. In this metaphor Peter is the Church (Peter is
always the church in Matthew’s Gospel), and the Church has been shaken by the
death of Jesus.
Jesus
had disappeared, returning only as an apparition. Peter moves toward the
ghostly figure seeking to embrace it, but he is terrified and begins to lose
heart. Peter does not know if they can transform the life and death of his
friend and teacher into the grandiose and spectacular narrative that the people
who had followed Jesus, who were now following him and the disciples into the
narrative that they are hungry for.
In
the end Peter embraces the mythology, the church sets aside the historical
Jesus and embraces it too, in so doing the chaos that was shaking their
movement in the wake of the crucifixion settles down. The mythological
narrative is advanced and Jesus rises from the dead, he is no longer an ordinary
man, the rabbi from Galilee; he is the Son of God, he is Christ the King.
Peter
understood that in this way the church would survive, the storms would abate,
if he and the others could convince people to believe this above all other
things.
The Lord was Not in the Wind, or the Earthquake,
or the Fire
When Elijah reached Horeb, the mountain of God, he
went into the cave and spent the night in it. Then he was told, ‘Go out and
stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ Then the Lord himself went by. There
came a mighty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the rocks
before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind came an
earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a
fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there came the sound
of a gentle breeze. And when Elijah heard this, he covered his face with his
cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 84(85):9-14
©
Let us see, O Lord, your mercy, and give us your
saving help.
I will hear what the Lord God has to say,
a voice that
speaks of peace.
His help is near for those who fear him
and his
glory will dwell in our land.
Let us see, O Lord, your mercy, and give us your
saving help.
Mercy and faithfulness have met;
justice and
peace have embraced.
Faithfulness shall spring from the earth
and justice
look down from heaven.
Let us see, O Lord, your mercy, and give us your
saving help.
The Lord will make us prosper
and our
earth shall yield its fruit.
Justice shall march before him
and peace
shall follow his steps.
Let us see, O Lord, your mercy, and give us your
saving help.
Second Reading – Romans 9:1-5 ©
I Would Willingly be Condemned if it Could
Help My Brothers
What I want to say now is no pretence; I say it in
union with Christ – it is the truth – my conscience in union with the Holy
Spirit assures me of it too. What I want to say is this: my sorrow is so great,
my mental anguish so endless, I would willingly be condemned and be cut off
from Christ if it could help my brothers of Israel, my own flesh and blood.
They were adopted as sons, they were given the glory and the covenants; the Law
and the ritual were drawn up for them, and the promises were made to them. They
are descended from the patriarchs and from their flesh and blood came Christ
who is above all, God for ever blessed! Amen.
Gospel Acclamation – Luke 19:38, 2:14
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessings on the King who comes, in the name of the
Lord!
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heavens!
Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia!
My soul is waiting for the Lord, I count on his
word.
Alleluia!
The Gospel According to Matthew 14:22
- 33 ©
Jesus Walks
on the Water
Jesus
made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he
would send the crowds away. After sending the crowds away he went up into the
hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, while the
boat, by now far out on the lake, was battling with a heavy sea, for there was
a head-wind. In the fourth watch of the night he went towards them, walking on
the lake, and when the disciples saw him walking on the lake they were
terrified. ‘It is a ghost’ they said, and cried out in fear. But at once Jesus
called out to them, saying, ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.’ It was Peter
who answered. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘if it is you, tell me to come to you across the
water.’ ‘Come’ said Jesus. Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking
towards Jesus across the water, but as soon as he felt the force of the wind,
he took fright and began to sink. ‘Lord! Save me!’ he cried. Jesus put out his
hand at once and held him. ‘Man of little faith,’ he said ‘why did you doubt?’
And as they got into the boat the wind dropped. The men in the boat bowed down
before him and said, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God.’
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