The Mystery of Christ
The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience

by Father Thomas Keating

Chapter 4 Part X

Ordinary Time

Peter at Lake Gennesaret

    After the miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes, Jesus obliged the disciples to re-enter a boat and precede him to the other shore while he would dismiss the crowds. After dismissing them, he went up the mountainside alone to pray. Night fell and he was still there alone while the boat was far out at sea. It was hit hard by the waves since the wind was against them. During the last part of the night, however, he came toward them, walking over the sea. When they saw him walk upon the sea, they were perplexed. "It is a ghost!" they said, and from fright cried out. Jesus at once addressed them. "Take heart," he said, "it is I. Do not be afraid."

    Thus reassured, Peter said to him, "Master, if it is you, tell me to come to you over the water."

    "Come," he replied. So Peter climbed out and started in the direction of Jesus, walking over the water. But when he felt the stiff breeze, he took alarm, and when he began to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him. "How little faith you have," he said to him. "What made you doubt?"

    Then they climbed up into the boat and the wind subsided. The men in the boat prostrated themselves before him and said, "You are indeed the Son of God."
 [Matt. 14:22-3 3]
Gospel of the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Having dismissed the crowd, Jesus went off to pray in solitude. While absorbed in God, he did not notice that a storm had arisen on the lake and that his disciples, whom he had sent off to the other shore, were being bounced around by the waves and the wind. The disciples were rowing with all their might but were not making any headway. Jesus started coming to them walking on the water. 'They thought he was a ghost! Jesus reassured them, "Don't be afraid. It is I."

    The words, "Don't be afraid," seem to have served as a bugle call in Peter's ears, and he responded, "Master, if it is you, tell me to come to you over the water!"

    Jesus could have said, "Stay in the boat. We don't want to have two ghosts walking on the water." Instead, Jesus called back, "Come!" When Peter, after a few steps, began to sink, Jesus reached out and pulled him out of the water. As soon as they were back in the boat, Jesus said, "How little faith you have! What made you doubt?" There is nothing like humiliation and failure, especially when witnessed by our peers, to help us face up to our motivation and to ask important questions: Why did you do it? Excessive desires for security and survival, affection and esteem, and power and control are out-of-date motives as far as the Gospel is concerned. Since Peter was deeply enmeshed in them, this was a crucial experience for him. It challenged him to change the direction in which he was looking for happiness and in particular, to stop seeking the esteem of others.

More information can be obtained by reading the book The Mystery of Christ by Fr. Thomas Keating.  It is offered in our Book Store.