A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 6, n. 37)
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – August 10, 2008
“The Saving God Who Called Us”
BIBLE READINGS
I Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a // Rom 9:1-5 // Mt 14:22-33
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
This Sunday’s Old Testament reading (I Kgs 19:9a, 11-13) is a part of some of the most fascinating passages in the Bible (cf. chapters 18-19 of I Kgs). It depicts the Lord Yahweh manifesting his saving presence to Elijah, a persecuted and fugitive prophet. Elijah was in full flight from the fiercely enraged Jezebel, the wife of Israel’s King Ahab. Queen Jezebel vowed to kill Elijah for publicly embarrassing her and her pagan god Baal, and for the killing of hundreds of Baal’s prophets. Fragile, despondent, fearful and powerless to sustain himself, Elijah escaped southward to Judah where he begged God to take his life. An angel of God appeared to nourish and protect him. Just as the Israelites wandered forty years in the desert, Elijah journeyed through the desert forty days and forty nights toward Mount Horeb (also known as Mount Sinai, the place where Moses had an intimate encounter with God and where the covenant with the Israelites was sealed). Responding to Elijah’s pitiful predicament, the Lord Yahweh revealed his loving presence to the beleaguered prophet, not in the fiery manifestation of heavy winds, earthquake or fire, but in a “tiny whispering sound” – in the soft voice of a gentle breeze. The perils and dangers of his prophetic vocation seemed less foreboding and menacing in the context of the gentle and reassuring presence of God, manifested in the whispering breeze. Indeed, the soft whisper of the almighty God had more power than the ferocious threats of wicked Jezebel. The saving God, who called Elijah to proclaim his word, energized him anew for his prophetic ministry.
In the Gospel reading (Mt 14:22-33), we hear the amusing episode of the impetuous Peter in distress. Fisherman by trade, Jesus had called Peter to be a “fisher of men”. At the beginning of his public ministry, the Divine Master called him by the sea to follow him more closely and to participate intimately in his saving ministry. During the “fourth watch of the night”, i.e. the three hours of night before dawn, Jesus came toward the boat walking on the sea. Wishing to ascertain the Lord’s identity, he cried out to Jesus to bid him come over the raging waters. Jesus obliged and commanded him to come. Peter thus participated in Christ’s wondrous feat of walking on the waters. When Peter started to doubt and allowed the power of the raging sea to daunt him, he started to sink. Jesus saved Peter, but rebuked him for his feeble faith. The raging sea that engulfed the vacillating Peter represents the perils that assail our vocation as Christian disciples. Moreover, the faith response of the distressed disciple, who cried out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!” inspires us what to do when our baptismal consecration is threatened.
St. Augustine exhorts us to contemplate this Gospel episode so that when beset with the turmoil of temptations we could put our faith in Jesus, who for our sake suffered death in order to save us: “Look at Peter, who in this episode is an image of ourselves; at one moment he is all confidence, at the next all uncertainty and doubt; now he professes faith in the immortal One, now he fears for his life … Think, then, of this world as a sea, whipped up to tempestuous heights by violent winds. A person’s own private tempest will be his or her unruly desires. If you love God you will have power to walk upon the waters, and all the world’s swell and turmoil will remain beneath your feet. But if you love the world it will surely engulf you, for it always devours its lovers, never sustains them. If you feel your foot slipping beneath you, if you become a prey to doubt or realize that you are losing control, if, in a word, you begin to sink, say: Lord, I am drowning, save me! Only he who for your sake died in your fallen nature can save you from death inherent in that fallen nature.” (Cf. Journey with the Fathers, ed. Edith Barnecut, New York: New City Press, 1992, p. 114-115)
The Gospel episode of Peter’s rescue by Jesus invites today’s Christian disciples to cling to the saving Lord through whatever storms we may be experiencing. When we are overwhelmed with anxieties and overcome with doubts, when we feel that we are sinking and drowning in misery – we need to call out to Jesus, the font of vocations. We need to cling and to put our faith in him. The liturgical theologian, Romano Guardini comments: “The passage contains one of the most important revelations of the nature of faith. What the believing soul experiences is not a truth or a value, but a reality – the reality. Which? The reality of God in the living Christ. In the midst of all that is known as the ‘world’, there rises a point that does not belong to the world, a place into which one may step, a room one may enter, a power on which one may lean, a love to which one may give oneself. This is reality, a reality different from the reality of the world, more real than the world. Faith is the act of seizing this reality, of building one’s life on it, of becoming part of it.” (Cf. Meditations on the Sunday Gospels, Year A, ed. John Rotelle, New York: New City Press, 1995, p. 112-113)
Like the persecuted Elijah who encountered the saving presence of God in the gentle breeze, we need to trust in the saving God who anointed us for a prophetic ministry in the world. And like the imperiled Peter, we need to invoke the help of Jesus who called us for a special mission in the Church and today’s society. When imperiled and inundated with fears, when overwhelmed with many challenges, the Lord Jesus is always there for us to save and strengthen us. Indeed, we need to keep faith and grasp the reality of God living in Christ, our saving Lord and the author of every vocation. As Christian disciples treading the troubled waters of our daily life, we need to give witness to a compassionate God ready to envelop us with the refreshing sound of a gentle breeze. We need to affirm our belonging and trust in our Lord Jesus Christ, who is ever ready to stretch out his strong arm and draw us safely from tempestuous waters.
An example of a deep trust in Jesus can be gleaned from the life of the PDDM religious, Sr. Mary Agape Saccone who recently died in Fresno, California on April 28, 2008. Born in Messina, Sicily, this Sister with a bright smile was a gift of love, an ardent missionary, a woman of faith and was deeply united with God. For 60 years she worked as a missionary, mostly in USA. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of her profession, she wrote to Mother General Maria Lucia Ricci: “I have given much praise to our Divine Master who led and guided me up to this point. Through our apostolate I will seek to proclaim the Word of God throughout the world.” Indeed, she proclaimed the Word of God in dire and difficult situations in order to give people hope. Here is her personal account of a missionary and faith experience in 1965, during her second trip back to the United States after visiting her family in Italy.
“We had a reservation on the ship NUOVA RAFFAELO, a beautiful ship traveling to America. (…) After sailing for five days, at around 2:00 P.M., I went to the upper balcony to contemplate the sea and the immensity of the ocean and enjoy the beautiful view. All of a sudden, I heard a noise, like an explosion. After a short while, I became aware that the crewmembers were hurrying back and forth, and seemed to be worried. Later I learned that one of the engines of the NUOVA RAFFAELO had caught fire. The captain was forced to advise the passengers that the ship had to return to port for mechanical reasons. When the crew began the maneuvers to turn around, there were other noises and the ship began to shake. Everyone was worried. I sought to help the others remain calm and to encourage them during those terrible moments. I recall that I took the Gospel and read the passage about the calming of the sea to the other passengers. Finally, on November 6, we arrived safely at the port in Genoa. From there we left for New York once again, this time in an airplane. Once again we thanked God for his help.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
When we are buffeted by howling winds and violent storms in the sea of life, how steadfast is our faith?
Do we dare walk on the “raging waters” on the basis of our faith in Jesus? When we sin and falter, what do we do? Do we have recourse to Jesus and cry out: “Lord, save me”?
In the midst of life’s storms, do we seize the reality of God in the living Christ? In our general vocation as Christian disciples and in our specific vocations as ordained ministers and consecrated religious and laity, how do we give witness to the saving God who called us?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: O loving and merciful God,
you have called us to participate intimately in your divine life
and anointed us to proclaim your word of truth in today’s world.
When we are imperiled and persecuted,
when we suffer on account of justice and truth,
give us your grace that we may endure and live.
Envelop us with your gentle presence
and enable us to perceive your soft whisper in a refreshing breeze.
Like the prophet Elijah,
help us to experience your sustenance and goodness.
When we are treading on troubled waters,
you always give us a deep assurance of your saving love
through your Son Jesus and your Holy Spirit.
God our Father,
when the winds are contrary at sea
and when we are sinking,
help us to cry out with faith to Jesus: “Lord, save us!”
When overwhelmed with fears and challenges,
may we not sink into despair,
but believe that the Lord Jesus is there for us
to draw us out with his strong, right arm.
Strengthened by the Holy Spirit
in living out our baptismal consecration
and our special vocation as priests, religious and consecrated laity,
we desire to give faithful witness to you, Lord God, living in Christ.
We give you praise and bless you,
we thank and serve you,
we adore you and obey your gracious will,
now and forever.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“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’.” (Mt 14:32-33)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Pray for those whose lives are in a “raging sea” and beset with trials and difficulties. Pray for fishermen and seamen and all those engaged in ministering to their material, moral and spiritual needs. Pray for God’s blessings upon the Australian National Vocations Awareness Week (August 3-10, 2008) and that God may raise up many priestly and religious vocations in the Church today.
ACTION PLAN: That we may appreciate and experience more deeply the strength of Christ when treading on life’s troubled waters and that we may be more faithful to our baptismal consecration and priestly- religious vocation, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year A, # 37).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US