Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

“God Passes By,\"
by Johann Christoph Weigel, 1695

Readings for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time[1][2]

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

Readings and Commentary:[3]

Reading 1: 1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a

At the mountain of God, Horeb,

Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter.

Then the Lord said to him,

“Go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord;

the Lord will be passing by.”

A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains

and crushing rocks before the Lord —

but the Lord was not in the wind.

After the wind there was an earthquake—

but the Lord was not in the earthquake.

After the earthquake there was fire—

but the Lord was not in the fire.

After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.

When he heard this,

Elijah hid his face in his cloak

and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.

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Commentary on 1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a

The Israelites have turned against Elijah and he has fled to Mt. Horeb.  This readings describes God’s response to Elijah’s need for the divine presence. “Compare these divine manifestations to Elijah with those to Moses (Exodus 19:1-23; 33:21-23; 34:5) on the same Mount Horeb (Sinai) (Deuteronomy 4:10-15). Though various phenomena, such as wind, storms, earthquakes, fire (Exodus 19:18-19), herald the divine presence, they do not constitute the presence itself which, like the tiny whispering sound, is imperceptible and bespeaks the spirituality of God. It was fitting that Elijah, whose mission it was to re-establish the covenant and restore the pure faith, should have returned to Horeb where the covenant was revealed to Moses and through him to the Israelite people (Exodus 3:1-4, 17; 33:18-34:9). Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ at the time of his transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9; Mark 9:1-7; Luke 9:28-36).[4]”

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14

R. (8) Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.

I will hear what God proclaims;

the Lord — for he proclaims peace.

Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,

glory dwelling in our land.

R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.

Kindness and truth shall meet;

justice and peace shall kiss.

Truth shall spring out of the earth,

and justice shall look down from heaven.

R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.

The Lord himself will give his benefits;

our land shall yield its increase.

Justice shall walk before him,

and prepare the way of his steps.

R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.

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Commentary on Ps 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14

Psalm 85 is a communal lament that focuses on the woes of the nation. These strophes reflect the joy of salvation at the restoration of the land following the destruction of the temple and the Diaspora. Those faithful to God see the reward; a land restored, justice returned, and the salvation of God.

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Reading II: Romans 9:1-5

Brothers and sisters:

I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie;

my conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing me witness

that I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart.

For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ

for the sake of my own people,

my kindred according to the flesh.

They are Israelites;

theirs the adoption, the glory, the covenants,

the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;

theirs the patriarchs, and from them,

according to the flesh, is the Christ,

who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

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Commentary on Rom 9:1-5

“The apostle speaks in strong terms of the depth of his grief over the unbelief of his own people. He would willingly undergo a curse himself for the sake of their coming to the knowledge of Christ (Romans 9:3; cf Leviticus 27:28-29). His love for them derives from God's continuing choice of them and from the spiritual benefits that God bestows on them and through them on all of humanity.”[5]

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Gospel:  Matthew 14:22-33

After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat

and precede him to the other side,

while he dismissed the crowds.

After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.

When it was evening he was there alone.

Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,

was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.

During the fourth watch of the night,

he came toward them walking on the sea.

When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.

“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.

At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Peter said to him in reply,

“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

He said, “Come.”

Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.

But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;

and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter,

and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

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.”

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Commentary on Mt 14:22-33

This passage from St. Matthew’s Gospel follows the feeding of the five thousand. The disciples return to the boat that brought them to this remote site while Jesus stays alone to pray (recall he had just gotten word of the murder of St. John the Baptist by Herod and had come to this place to mourn him).

The events that follow; Jesus approach to the boat, walking on the water supports the Lord’s earlier demonstration that he has power over the sea and elements (see Matthew 8:26). St. Peter’s response to the Lord is to try to do as the Lord wishes but his fear prevents him from accomplishing what the Lord has called him to do. This entire episode has one purpose – to allow the readings to share in the awe of the disciples as they make their profession of faith “Truly, you are the Son of God." This is account stands in stark contrast to St. Mark’s account of their response (see Mark 6:51)

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Homily:

We are in the heart of a very warm summer and similarly we are in the heart of our liturgical year – already at the 19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (just over half way since we end on what would be the 35^th week if it were not the Feast of Christ the King).  Here in the middle of our summer journey we age given three related topics of faith.

In the first reading from the First Book of Kings, we reflect upon were we look for God, as we are told how Elijah looks for God in the obvious places that are symbolic of his presence in Hebrew scriptures; first in the loud and powerful wind, then in the trembling of the earth itself and finally he finds God, subtly omnipresent, in the tiny breeze.  This encounter with God begs us to ask the question: do we seek God’s help in ways that would be spectacular like the feeding of the five thousand?  Or do we meditate upon the ways he has shaped our path in subtle ways, visible only after time has revealed his fingerprints on our lives?

We could also contemplate our own depth of faith.  Where have we been challenged by the Lord to attempt even walking on water, as St. Peter tried to do in today’s Gospel?  We were told in the parable of the Mustard seed that if we had that minuscule absolute faith we could move mountains.  Peter’s failure reminds us that we too are imperfect but we can also be God’s instruments none the less.

Finally, in the story from Romans, we hear the anguished words of St. Paul as he cries out to his own people, the Israelites, who have cut themselves off from life by rejecting Christ.  We admire his zeal for the Lord -that he is so fervently convinced in the salvation Jesus brings, that it causes him physical pain because those he also loves cannot accept the Savior as the fulfillment of all they had been promised.  He cries out to them because they have been given all of the pieces that should lead them to Christ –

1. theirs the adoption (God called them to be his chosen people).
2. the glory (God performed miracles bringing them out of Egypt through the Red Sea, feeding them with manna, even drawing water from the very rocks themselves)
3. the covenants (God promised Moses and Abraham is eternal fidelity)
4. the giving of the law (through the Law of Moses they were called to holiness)
5. the worship (The Sabbath held sacred was God’s special gift – a remembrance of his love for them)
6. and the promises (God promised them his love, his support in all things, the land and all his creating will had provided – all this he gave them)
7. theirs the patriarchs (Abraham was their father as they proudly called him, Isaac and Jacob their heritage)

Christ was the fulfillment of all this, the pinnacle of God’s love for them, but they would not see.  Imagine the prophet’s frustration.

St. Paul’s anguish stems from the love he feels for his own people.  He sees them rejecting Christ, and in doing so they choose not to enjoy the peace of Christ and the life that flows eternally from it.  Paul’s words for many of us could feel like the prayer for those we love who have chosen poorly in life.  Someone very close recently lost his wife of over fifty years to lung cancer.  On hearing that fatal diagnosis, his wife had uttered “Damn cigarettes.” (she had smoked for years).  From that time on, my friend told me it took every once of control he could summon not to scream at those he loved who still smoked.  It was just so painful for him to see them make a choice he knew was killing them.

We should that same level of intense love and faith in Jesus; we need to express the same kind of prayer to the people close to us who have rejected faith.  It should feel to us as if they had rejected the only cure to a fatal illness (which it kind of is).  We are called do all we can to convince them that what they are giving up is so important that their very rejection of it is causing us emotional distress.

This short reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans reminds us how important it is that we keep reaching out to those who have rejected faith most especially the agnostic and the atheist.  Their formal rejection of God and His Son has doomed them to give up peace in this life and eternal bliss in the next.  It is never too late though.  We need to continue to extend the offer of faith to them, just as Jesus reached out and rescued St. Peter.

We have been given much to think about today; whether it be where we see God’s presence with Elijah’s example, how strong or weak our faith might be as we swim with St. Peter, or what we should do to call those who have fallen away.  The common element with al of these lessons is this, our faith calls us to do more than ponder them.  We are called to act.  It is only though action that God’s will is accomplished through us.  As St. James says – faith without action is empty.  We are called to be filled.

Pax

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[1] ALTRE

[2] The picture used today is “God Passes By, by Johann Christoph Weigel, 1695

[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.

[4] See NAB footnote on 1 Kings: 19:11-13

[5] See NAB footnote on Romans 9:1-5