The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to open our minds to consider how we respond, perhaps in fear, when we don’t quite grasp truth and love.
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| Contemplate Love |
The reading from the First Letter of John asserts that God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God.
* [4:13–21] The testimony of the Spirit and that of faith join the testimony of love to confirm our knowledge of God. Our love is grounded in the confession of Jesus as the Son of God and the example of God’s love for us. Christian life is founded on the knowledge of God as love and on his continuing presence that relieves us from fear of judgment (1 Jn 4:16–18). What Christ is gives us confidence, even as we live and love in this world. Yet Christian love is not abstract but lived in the concrete manner of love for one another.1
In Psalm 72, the Israelite king is the instrument of divine justice and blessing for the whole world.
* [Psalm 72] A royal Psalm in which the Israelite king, as the representative of God, is the instrument of divine justice (Ps 72:1–4, 12–14) and blessing (Ps 72:5–7, 15–17) for the whole world. The king is human, giving only what he has received from God. Hence intercession must be made for him. The extravagant language is typical of oriental royal courts.2
The text from the Gospel of Mark is an account of Jesus walking on the water.
* [6:50] It is I, do not be afraid!: literally, “I am.” This may reflect the divine revelatory formula of Ex 3:14; Is 41:4, 10, 14; 43:1–3, 10, 13. Mark implies the hidden identity of Jesus as Son of God.3
Joe Zaborowski comments that both readings today clearly state that if we have faith in Christ and believe, we have nothing to fear. So why do I and most people I know need to be reminded of this on a regular basis?
For myself, I intellectually know that all things are possible in God. As a loving God, he only has my best interest at heart. That’s the rub for me. My idea of what's best often conflicts with God’s. I’ve had my share of Doubting Thomas moments. I recently returned from the Holy Land. Being where Christ was born, lived, walked, performed miracles, was crucified on the cross and most importantly rose from the death to redeem all of us was a tremendous boost to my faith. For me “do not be afraid” has taken on new meaning after experiencing the footsteps of God so closely. I am just praying for the courage to step out and fully put myself in Christ’s hands.4
Don Schwager quotes “The wind was against them,” by Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD).
"Meanwhile the boat carrying the disciples - that is, the church - is rocking and shaking amid the storms of temptation, while the adverse wind rages on. That is to say, its enemy the devil strives to keep the wind from calming down. But greater is he who is persistent on our behalf, for amid the vicissitudes of our life he gives us confidence. He comes to us and strengthens us, so we are not jostled in the boat and tossed overboard. For although the boat is thrown into disorder, it is still a boat. It alone carries the disciples and receives Christ. It is in danger indeed on the water, but there would be certain death without it. Therefore stay inside the boat and call upon God. When all good advice fails and the rudder is useless and the spread of the sails presents more of a danger than an advantage, when all human help and strength have been abandoned, the only recourse left for the sailors is to cry out to God. Therefore will he who helps those who are sailing to reach port safely, abandon his church and prevent it from arriving in peace and tranquility?" (excerpt from SERMON 75.4)5
The Word Among Us meditation on Mark 6:45-52 observes that in today’s Gospel, when Jesus walks across the water to the disciples in their boat, they “were terrified” (Mark 6:50). And “their hearts were hardened,” or in another translation, “their minds could not grasp” what Jesus had done (6:52). Does not compute!
We’re still in the Christmas season, so as you pray today, take the time to “compute” or, better, to contemplate the reality of the Incarnation. Ponder, as Mary did, that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world (1 John 4:9). Marvel that God not only sent his Son but sent him for you! Be astounded that Jesus not only laid down his life but did it out of love for you. If this does not “compute,” you’re in good company. Just keep asking God to persuade you of his love.6
Friar Jude Winkler cites the Letter of John to connect God as Love to our experience of Jesus. God, as a loving parent, does not create fear of judgement. Friar Jude notes allusions to Psalm 23 in the Gospel passage.
Jack Mahoney SJ comments as if all of the recorded appearances of the risen Jesus were not bewildering enough, scholars suggest that there are other passages in the gospels which also refer to post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. The most striking of these is the account of Jesus walking on the Sea of Galilee.
Raymond Brown cites the great C. H. Dodd as noting that in the three gospel accounts of the walking on the water there are many features appropriate to the literary form of a post-resurrection narrative, suggesting that the passage may have originally concerned an appearance of the risen Jesus.[2] Dodd uses the word ‘originally’, because sometimes the Gospels are like patchwork quilts which have fragments of material stitched together, with the joins more obvious in some places than in others. Pericopes, that is, particular passages, often turn out to be composed of sayings of Jesus, or events concerning him, which have been woven together in a different order by an evangelist; sometimes part of one scene may be taken by an evangelist and stitched into another, to create a particular overall impression that he wants to share with his readers. It would be plausible, then, that a passage which originally described the risen Jesus walking on the waters of the Sea of Galilee was later stitched into a narrative of Jesus’s activities by the Sea of Galilee during his lifetime.7
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, observes that the ego uses words to get what it wants. When we are in an argument with our family, friends, or colleagues, that is what we do. We pull out the words that give us power, make us look right or superior, and help us win the argument. But words at that level are rather useless and even dishonest and destructive.
The soul does not use words. It surrounds words with space, and that is what I mean by silence. Silence is a kind of wholeness. It can absorb contraries, paradoxes, and contradictions. Maybe that is why we do not like silence. There is nothing to argue about in true inner silence, and the mind likes to argue. It gives us something to do. The ego loves something it can take sides on. Yet true interior silence does not allow you to take sides. That is one reason contemplation is so liberating and calming. There are no sides to take and only a wholeness to rest in—which frees us to act on behalf of love.8
Our silent contemplation, that encounters Love of God in our being, assists in resolving ambiguity and paradox of our limited rational processing of Love and fear.
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