BEADS OF JOY 08-02-16
“Walking On Water”
©2016 James Dacey, Jr. OFS
My Friends,
Today’s
Gospel: Matthew 14:22-36 (Walking On Water)
“Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to them, saying, "Take heart, it is I; have no fear." And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "O man of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all that were sick, and besought him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched it were made well.”
“Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. But immediately he spoke to them, saying, "Take heart, it is I; have no fear." And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "O man of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all that were sick, and besought him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched it were made well.”
Reflection:
This miracle teaches us this and
I can personally attest to it: Our faith is tested by the storms of life; and
if we can only see past the wind and rain and the flood and see Jesus’ hand
reaching out to us to help us, to assist us, to comfort us. The key gem in
today’s gospel that I got out of it is, that we must take our eyes off the
storm and focus on Him and if we don’t see Him immediately, we must seek Him
out. Don’t waste your energy or your time sinking in the waters of self-pity
and discontent; instead focus all you have inside of you on Jesus and by doing
so He alone will give you the strength and ability to stand and get through the
storm.
Something else I noticed in today’s
gospel. Jesus had no fear in the troubled waters; in fact, He even accepted
Peter’s challenge to invite him out into the water. Jesus knew that if Peter
was with Him and if Peter kept his eye on Him, he would be fine. That is
absolute incredible faith, in that no matter what the situation is, no matter
how bad it gets, no matter how bad it looks; as long you step forward while
staying completely focused on Jesus you will be fine. This is most encouraging.
Life throws us some horrific
storms, some tear us apart, some put us in the hospital and some even
physically damage us for the rest of our lives. How are we to respond to this?
Well we could have a pity party. I have had many of them, I find that not too
many people like to come to them when I did have them. But I was awoken
Spiritually and realized how selfish I was on many occasions. So what did I do?
I buried my head in prayer and bible study (reading God’s word more) … Did that
solve everything? NO! But what it did do, was begin to calm the storms of crazy
stress in my life because my focus was on Jesus and no longer on me. I hope
that helps my sisters and brothers. I find this full focus life of faith to be
so much more fun, so much more calm, so much more focused.
LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!
Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
