Let us trust in the Lord

Aug 11, 2023

Reflecting on our Sunday Readings with Fr Martinian Lee

19th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A)
Readings: 1 Kings 19:9, 11-13
Romans 9:1-5;
Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33

It seems that we have been using more of our left brain than our right brain. And this is one of the reasons why we find it very difficult to relate to God and interpret the Bible correctly. A great book about vocation as a gift from God by Luke Burgis and Joshua Miller called Unrepeatable: Cultivating a unique call of every person, talks about this:

“In his book, ‘The Master and His Emissary,’ Ian McGilchrist shows that there has been an increasing reliance on the left hemisphere of the brain over the past few 100 years (a result of Cartesian dualism, the industrial revolution, technology, and other factors). As a consequence, we live a more calculated life, relating to the world in a way that is suspicious of gifts. Calculated living prefers earning, not receiving...

The right brain (the ‘Master’) is an open system where we take in new experiences, seeing the whole rather than the parts. It’s where we wonder. The left brain (the ‘Emissary’) is different. It’s a close system that operates within the boundaries of what it has received. It likes certainty more than adventure, maps more than metaphor, mechanisms more than living things… The two hemispheres of the brain see the world in radically different ways, but they have a partnership. The right brain gives us a way of seeing the world that is opened to the dynamism of new experiences. As the right brain takes in new aspects of reality, the left brain constantly revises its models in order to make sense of what it is receiving. There’s a feedback loop. Wonder is the attitude that people have in the presence of Jesus in the Gospels.”

With this mindset, let us approach the readings of the 19th Sunday in Ordinary time. In today’s Gospel, Jesus does something scientifically, physically, and humanly impossible. He walks on water towards his disciples who were in the boat, in the midst of a raging storm on the Galilean Sea. But the more amazing thing is that Jesus invited Peter to do the same and Peter too, succeeded in walking on water. Peter, a mere mortal, was doing something impossible, like Jesus.

This means that we too can achieve the impossible like Peter when we fix our eyes on the Lord. Peter got out of the boat which, traditionally symbolises the Church, but the boat can also mean our own comfort zone, our false sense of security, our laziness, fear, selfishness, insecurities, hurts and past traumas, (whatever is keeping me away from believing that I can achieve the impossible for God).

Jesus is asking us to come out of our “boats” and trust Him. He is inviting us to walk on water like Peter — I can walk on water like Peter, if I just fix my eyes on Christ, on His gaze at me. These impossible things in my life — (not referring to miraculous or magical events like body levitation or changing water into wine) but “impossible” acts like forgiving and loving the one you hate most, a husband and wife reconciling with each other and saving their marriage after years of hurts and fights, a young person leaving all that he loves behind to answer God’s call to be a priest or religious or missionary, a porn addict able to be free from porn to live in chastity and still be joyful, a parent giving up his high-paying job just to be a full time dad to care for his autistic child, a young girl becoming free from depression after finding a support community of her peers that offers a sense of belonging and genuine love, etc. But when I start focusing on the fears and worries in my life, when I start counting the cost for being selfless, the price for being generous and charitable, I start drowning like Peter (because he took his eyes off Jesus and was distracted by the waves and storm). Nevertheless, when that happens, all I need to do is put aside my pride and shout out the Lord’s name for help and He will reach out to me and save me. The question begs, how do we learn to truly trust in the Lord?

Like Elijah, we can truly meet God in the silence of our lives. In the “gentle breeze” moments. I am referring to the power of contemplation and deep reflection. In contemplation and meditation, we allow our right brain to flourish and wonder. To see the world and our lives very differently through God’s lens. Contemplation and deep reflection can only come with having a prayer life. Approaching Jesus and His Gospel with the attitude of wonder, is believing that God is truly present and speaking to me when I intentionally seek Him like Elijah. We need to take a break from our handphones, gadgets and our social media hits and go to our “caves” intentionally, into the realm of God, and there we will see, hear and encounter Him. Then you will see Him giving you the grace and power to walk on water like Peter, doing the impossible in your life! Now, will you come out from your “boat” and walk to Him?