WEBVTT 00:00:00.479 --> 00:00:05.440 I want you to imagine standing on the shore that evening. 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:14.800 You've just watched Jesus feed more than five thousand people with no more than five loaves and two fish. 00:00:15.839 --> 00:00:23.440 You would expect celebration, a grand miracle, rest, a peaceful night. 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:28.640 But instead, Jesus points to the boat and says to his disciples, get in. 00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:32.560 Matthew is very deliberate here. 00:00:33.439 --> 00:00:38.159 Jesus did not simply invite them into the boat, he made them get into the boat. 00:00:39.119 --> 00:00:40.560 He compelled them. 00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:43.520 He sent them into the darkness. 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:46.640 And that changes the whole gospel. 00:00:48.079 --> 00:00:52.079 Because the storm they are about to face is not punishment. 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:57.200 It is not proof that they misunderstood God. 00:00:58.240 --> 00:01:01.679 It's not a sign that they took a wrong turn. 00:01:02.320 --> 00:01:06.400 They are exactly where Jesus told them to be. 00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:10.000 And still the wind is against them. 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:14.799 And that's difficult for us to accept sometimes. 00:01:15.120 --> 00:01:23.920 Because somewhere along the way, many of us have picked up the idea that if we are doing God's will, then our lives should be easier. 00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:28.400 If we're faithful, the road should be smoother. 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:32.560 If God is pleased with us, the storm should stop. 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:37.280 But this gospel tells us something completely different. 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:40.799 You are exactly where God wants you to be. 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:49.840 And you still may be exhausted, still confused, lacking faith, still afraid, still rowing against the wind. 00:01:50.079 --> 00:01:52.799 But God has you where he wants you. 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:57.200 Faithfulness does not always remove the storm. 00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:02.319 Sometimes faithfulness puts you right in the middle of one. 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:06.959 And while the disciples are fighting the wind, where is Jesus? 00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:10.319 Oh, he's up on the mountain praying. 00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:12.800 And this detail matters. 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:17.199 While they are struggling, he's praying. 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:23.280 While they are exhausted, he's praying. 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:29.120 While they cannot see him, he has not forgotten them for a moment. 00:02:30.719 --> 00:02:37.520 The disciples could not see the mountain from the boat, but Jesus could see the boat from the mountain. 00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:41.280 Somebody here today needs to hear that. 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:48.800 You may not be able to see God from where you are, but he sees you very clearly. 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:55.680 But then Matthew tells us that Jesus comes during the fourth night, fourth watch of the night. 00:02:56.240 --> 00:02:58.000 That's an important detail. 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:02.879 That's probably about between three and six o'clock in the morning. 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:08.400 Now the gospel is told us that we've they've been rowing for hours. 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:16.719 Hour after hour, stroke after stroke, the same darkness, the same wind, the same storm, the same resistance. 00:03:16.960 --> 00:03:18.560 But Jesus waited. 00:03:18.879 --> 00:03:19.520 Why? 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:21.520 Well, we don't know. 00:03:23.120 --> 00:03:30.639 But something I've learned from my own priesthood, God is rarely early according to my schedule. 00:03:31.919 --> 00:03:33.840 But he has never been late. 00:03:34.879 --> 00:03:42.319 Some of the greatest graces of my life only became visible after I had reached the end of my own strength. 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:47.280 Perhaps that's why Christ comes in the fourth watch. 00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:56.719 Not when they are strong, not when the disciples are confident, but when they almost have nothing left inside of them. 00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:01.680 But then comes the strangest moment in the story. 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:06.879 Jesus comes walking across the water, and they scream. 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:08.879 Think about that. 00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:12.800 The storm is raging, it's been raging for hours. 00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:17.199 The waves are pounding on the boat, water coming in. 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:19.279 These are fishermen. 00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:22.560 They are used to storms out on the water. 00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:26.959 But what terrifies them is Jesus. 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:32.000 Or more precisely, Jesus, that they do not recognize. 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:34.160 They say, it is a ghost. 00:04:36.959 --> 00:04:41.519 I wonder if that is not one of the greatest dangers of our spiritual life. 00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:48.160 Not that Christ is absent, but that Christ is present and we mistake him for something else. 00:04:49.439 --> 00:05:08.399 How often has he come towards us disguised as something we did not want, perhaps disguised as an interruption or a disappointment, disguised as a closed door, or even a difficult person, a diagnosis, a cross that we didn't ask for. 00:05:09.839 --> 00:05:15.279 And because he did not come in the form that we expected, well, we call him a ghost. 00:05:17.120 --> 00:05:20.399 That's what Elijah discovers in the first reading. 00:05:20.879 --> 00:05:24.879 He expects God in this huge, big, dramatic way. 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:30.079 A violent wind, the earthquake, the fire, but God is not there. 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:34.000 He comes in this tiny whisper. 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:35.680 He didn't expect that. 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:42.800 And Elijah knows God has always loved arriving in forms. 00:05:42.879 --> 00:05:44.560 The world overlooks. 00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:52.480 A whisperer, a carpenter, a crucified man, bread. 00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:57.120 Then Jesus speaks across the storm. 00:05:57.360 --> 00:06:02.560 He says to them in the boat, Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid. 00:06:03.759 --> 00:06:09.680 But the words translated in it is I are much stronger than they sound in English. 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:12.879 Because in the Greek, Jesus says, I am. 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:16.480 It's the divine name. 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:19.360 It's the name that's revealed to Moses. 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:23.199 When Moses asks God at the burning bush, who do I say that you are? 00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:24.639 He says, I am. 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:33.120 He's not merely telling them who is walking on the water, he's revealing who he is. 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:35.040 Take courage. 00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:36.000 I am. 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:38.399 Do not be afraid. 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:40.399 Notice the order. 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:45.120 Courage on one side, fear on the other. 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:48.160 And in the middle of that, God. 00:06:50.079 --> 00:06:52.639 That's where Christian courage comes from. 00:06:52.959 --> 00:06:59.600 Not because the storm is small, not because the waves are imaginary, but because God is present. 00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:05.279 And notice something else: Jesus does not calm the storm immediately. 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:08.079 The wind keeps blowing. 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:15.279 Because before he changes their circumstances, he gives them himself. 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:18.800 That's often how God works. 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:23.839 We ask for answers, he gives us his presence. 00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:29.439 We ask for explanations, he gives us himself. 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:36.720 But then Peter speaks Lord, if it is you, command me to come out to you on the water. 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:41.199 And Jesus has come. 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:44.959 And Peter gets out of the boat. 00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:49.360 We criticize Peter because he eventually sinks. 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:52.800 But let's give him some credit. 00:07:53.279 --> 00:07:55.839 The other eleven stayed in the boat. 00:07:56.639 --> 00:07:58.959 He's the only one that stepped out. 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:04.399 And for a few astonishing moments, he's walking on the water. 00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:07.439 The impossible held him. 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:14.079 But then Matthew says that when he saw how strong the wind was, he became frightened. 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:17.680 But the wind had been strong all night. 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:20.079 The wind did not change. 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:22.240 Peter's attention did. 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:26.240 That's often what happens to us. 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:28.399 Christ has not moved. 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:34.000 The promises of God has not changed, but our attention shifts. 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:39.759 We become distracted, overwhelmed, relying only on us. 00:08:41.759 --> 00:08:48.000 But from Christ to everything shaking around us, and Peter begins to sink. 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:53.360 But then he prays perhaps the most honest prayer in all of the gospels. 00:08:53.440 --> 00:08:55.519 He says, Lord, save me. 00:08:56.240 --> 00:09:02.159 Three words no eloquence, no great theology, no carefully prepared speech. 00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:04.159 Lord save me. 00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:09.279 And immediately Jesus reaches out his hand and immediately he grabs him. 00:09:10.240 --> 00:09:12.240 Don't miss the contrast. 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:17.519 Jesus waited hours before he walked out across the water. 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:22.320 But when Peter began to sink, he did not wait one second to catch him. 00:09:23.840 --> 00:09:27.440 God's timing may sometimes feel slow to you. 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:30.240 It's not on your time, it's on God's time. 00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:35.519 But something that we cannot miss is that his mercy is never late. 00:09:37.039 --> 00:09:43.200 Jesus takes Peter by the hand, they climb into the boat, and only then does the wind become still. 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:49.039 Then something happens that is even greater than walking on water. 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:57.840 All of the disciples fall down to their knees and say to Jesus, Truly you are the Son of God. 00:09:59.200 --> 00:10:03.840 They did not say this after the multiplication of the loaves. 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:08.639 They did not say this after a very successful day out in ministry. 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:12.879 They say it after the night that almost broke them. 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:21.279 There are things you will know about God in a storm that you will never know when the seas are calm. 00:10:23.519 --> 00:10:28.159 There are prayers you will only learn when there is a storm. 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:35.519 There are truths about Christ that only become real when everything else you trusted has failed. 00:10:36.799 --> 00:10:41.440 And so perhaps the real question of this gospel is not, will storms come? 00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:44.320 Of course they will. 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:50.159 The question is, will you recognize Christ when he comes to you in the middle of one? 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:55.919 Or are you so distracted in your head, so consumed by the me, me, me? 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:01.279 Because in a few moments he will come to you. 00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:08.320 Not in an earthquake, no fire, no dazzling night, no huge event, just bread. 00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:09.919 Simple bread. 00:11:11.840 --> 00:11:27.360 Ordinary in its appearance, the world may see it as a cookie, easy to overlook, easy to take for granted, and yet beneath that humility is the same Lord who walked across the sea. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:32.480 The same Lord who said, Take courage, it is I, I am. 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:35.360 Do not be afraid. 00:11:36.799 --> 00:11:44.320 Some of you will approach this altar today carrying a storm nobody else knows about, a struggle that you are going through. 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:46.960 Some of you are tired from rowing. 00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:49.679 Some of you have lack of faith. 00:11:49.919 --> 00:11:56.320 Some of you are frightened, some of you feel like the water is rising and coming into your boat. 00:11:57.759 --> 00:12:01.120 When you come forward, do not simply receive communion. 00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:02.399 Recognize him. 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:07.600 Recognize the one who has seen you all along. 00:12:08.320 --> 00:12:12.159 Recognize the one who's been praying from you from the mountain. 00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:18.240 Recognize the one who into the storm, who comes into the storm before he calms it. 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:24.639 And if you have nothing left, then you have Peter's prayer. 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:26.559 Lord, save me. 00:12:27.759 --> 00:12:32.720 Because the same hand that reached out through the waves is the same hand that caught Peter. 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:36.720 It is the same hand that stretched out his arms on the cross. 00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:40.559 It's the same hands that come to you in the Holy Eucharist. 00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:44.960 The question is no longer whether Jesus is coming towards you. 00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:46.879 He is coming towards you. 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:48.639 And he sees you. 00:12:49.519 --> 00:13:00.000 The question is whether you leave all the distractions, will you leave all the noise and recognize him when he's there standing in front of you? 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:00.960 Amen.