Nineteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time- How To Walk On Water.

As far as how to spiritually walk on water:

Acknowledge the wind and waves. Peter began his initial walking on water during the fourth watch of the night, between 3 AM and 6 AM.

Our culture teaches US to fix the problem and, if we can’t fix the problem, to learn better techniques, apply stronger systems, use more advanced technology. Our culture has nothing to tell us about a storm we can’t control- it tries to manage storms so as to make virtues like courage, trust, faith, and hope unnecessary.7

Jesus said to Peter, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Involuntary doubt refers to hesitation in believing, difficulty in overcoming objections connected with the faith, or also anxiety aroused by its obscurity. If deliberately cultivated doubt can lead to spiritual blindness. Catechism, 2088

Float past tension and fear- If we simply say to ourselves that this is where we are, in this fear, and there is no point fighting it, we’ll find a much greater sense of peace than if we continue to battle. In child-birth preparation class, the mother is taught to breathe through the contractions. Let time pass, be patient in faith, and we will see that some anxiety is part of the journey just as Jesus felt it during his Passion. Do not be impatient with time.8

To be patient is to be self-possessed which is to be centered and grounded. Francis de Sales tells us, "By your patience you will win your souls. It is our great happiness to possess our own souls, and the more perfect our patience the more completely do we possess our souls." (Introduction, Part III, Chapter 3). Revelation 21:1 says eventually the sea will be no more. The message is not to let our experiences of life overwhelm our experiences of faith.

In conclusion, with Jesus’ baptism, Tertullian reminds us that water is the "primal dwelling place “of the Holy Spirit.9 Peter got out of the boat. If you want to walk on water, you got to get out of the boat. Your boat could be your house, your car, your job, your relationships, your vocation and mission—do something for God with them that you have not done before.

Amen.

1. Saint John Chrysostom homily: Jesus’ Walk on the Sea

2. Article / Produced by TOW Project, Theology of Work, theologyofwork.org

3. Brian D. McPhee, Walk, don't run: Jesus's water walking is unparalleled in Greco-Roman mythology, Journal of Biblical Literature, 135 no 4 2016, p 763-777

4. Ibid. Brian D. McPhee

5. John Paul Heil, Jesus Walking on the Sea: Meaning and Gospel Functionsof Matt.l4:22-33, Mark6:45-52,and John6:15b-21, Anßib87 [Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1981], 141).

6. Eric Grundhauser, How To Walk On Water, Without Being the Son of God, Atlas Obsura, Sept. 23, 2015

7. Samuel Wells, Walking toward the storm, The Christian Century, 132 no 19 Sep 16 2015, p 35

8. Claire Weekes Publications website

9. Tertullian's Homily on Baptism, ed. and trans. Ernest Evans (London: SPCK, 1964) 19