19th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Cycle A)
Readings:
1 Kings 19:9, 11-13
Psalm 85:9-14
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:22-33
All Scripture passages are from the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) unless designated NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name, YHWH (Yahweh).
The two Testaments reveal God's divine plan for humanity. Therefore we read and relive the events of salvation history contained in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that the Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
The Theme of the Readings: God's Presence in Times of
Fear and Affliction
In our readings, we have the assurance that God makes Himself
present to His faithful amid frightening and unsettling events. In the First
Reading, the prophet Elijah felt he had failed in his mission to call the covenant
people to repentance. He sank into a deep depression and asked God to let him
die. God took pity on His prophet and gave him the strength and encouragement he
needed through an intimate encounter with God's Divine Presence. It is the same
way God welcomes us to come to Him and receive comfort and reassurance when we
feel alone and afflicted, facing struggles in our lives.
The Responsorial Psalm tells us that God's salvation is near to those who keep their trust and hope in Him. God revealed Himself to the children of Israel as the One abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness who offered the promise of salvation beyond their temporal lives. The Fathers of the Church saw in God's promise of future salvation the Incarnation of the Divine Word, the union of Godhead with human nature in Jesus Christ.
In the Second Reading, St. Paul wrote of enduring the pain of persecution he experienced from his Jewish countrymen for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When we face trials and suffering on our faith journeys through life, we must trust that God, who has called us to walk His path to eternal salvation, will comfort us as we struggle with disappointments and afflictions.
In the Gospel Reading, Jesus sent the disciples into a violent storm on the Sea of Galilee. He used the gale to reveal His Divine identity in His power over nature as He walked upon the sea, saved Peter from sinking into turbulent waters, and calmed the wind and the sea. We have God's assurance that we can find Him in the storms and struggles of life, especially in the trials and opposition we encounter trying to do His will. Christ continually reaches out to us. All we have to do is believe, reach out to Him in the obedience of faith, and receive His salvation.
The First Reading 1 Kings 19:9, 11-13 ~ God Comforts His Prophet
9a At the mountain of God, Horeb, Elijah came to a cave
where he took shelter. [ ] 11 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. 12 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. 13 When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and
stood at the entrance of the cave.
This passage repeats God's Divine Name, the Tetragrammaton YHWH (rendered LORD in the translation), seven times. In the symbolic significance of numbers in Scripture, the number seven represents fullness and completion; it is also the number of the Holy Spirit (see the document about the symbolic significance of numbers in Scripture). YHWH (rendered with vowels as Yahweh) is God's divine covenant name. It was first spoken in Scripture by Eve (Gen 4:1), used by Abraham when he addressed God (Gen 15:2), and the name by which God told Moses all generations in a covenant relationship with Him should invoke Him (Ex 3:15).
God's prophet Elijah had fulfilled his mission in defeating the pagan priests of Baal, offering proof to the people that Yahweh was the One True God (chapter 18). His victory only made Jezebel, the pagan queen of King Ahab of Israel, hate the prophets of God more, and she threatened Elijah's life.
The contest with the priests of Baal, the murders of so many brother prophets by wicked Queen Jezebel, and the continuing apostasy of the covenant people left Elijah in a state of physical and emotional collapse. Elijah sank into a deep depression. He stopped eating and prayed for death (1 Kng 19:4). God took pity on His prophet and sent an angel to feed Elijah until he was strong enough to travel forty days to Mount Sinai/Horeb (1 Kng 19:8). God sent him to the place where He first established His covenant with Israel to remind the prophet that what was at stake was more than the success or failure of one prophet.
Once he arrived at the mountain, God told Elijah to stand in a cave to await the coming of his God. He stood amid a mighty wind, an earthquake, and fire before he heard a tiny whispering sound (verses 11-12). The wind, earthquake, and fire were manifestations of God's power and sovereignty over the earth, as in the theophany the Israelites experienced at their rendezvous with Yahweh at Mount Sinai (Ex 19:18). But the "tiny whispering sound" was a manifestation of God's gentle Spirit that calls humanity to salvation. When the prophet heard the whispering sound, he realized God's Divine Presence was about to pass by. He covered his face and stepped forward beyond the cave entrance to be renewed by the experience of the unique intimacy of being in God's Divine Presence.
Elijah covered his face (verse 13) because he knew from the Pentateuch (the Torah of Moses), which recorded a similar experience Moses had in an intimate encounter with the Divine, that no human being could see the face of God and remain alive (Ex 33:18-23). Humans could see God's glory reflected in creation and the signs of His Divine Presence like the Glory Cloud (e.g., Ex 13:21-22). However, before the coming of God the Son in His Incarnation, sinful man could not behold the glory of God and remain alive. God knows our strengths and our weaknesses. When He calls us to fulfill a mission, our success depends not on our strength and courage but on our willing obedience to follow His call. In Jesus Christ, God has revealed Himself to humankind to offer us His loving compassion and the gift of eternal salvation.
Jesus "is the image of the invisible God" (Col 1:15). Jesus told the Apostles that those who had seen Him had also seen the Father: "No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on, you do know him and have seen him" (Jn 14:6-7). Today we experience intimacy with God in Sacred Scripture, in our prayers, in the Eucharist, and in the face of every person with whom we share the love of Jesus Christ.
Responsorial Psalm 85:9-14 ~ God's Salvation is Near to
Those Who Fear Him
The response is: "Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant
us your salvation."
9 I will hear what God proclaims; the LORD, for he
proclaims peace. 10 Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him, glory dwelling in our land.
Response:
11 Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall
kiss. 12 Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from
heaven.
Response:
13 The LORD himself will give his benefits; our land
shall yield its increase. 14 Justice shall walk before him, and prepare the way
of his steps.
Response:
Psalm 85 is a hymn proclaiming the LORD's goodness to His covenant people and is attributed to "the sons of Korah." God brings inner peace to those who draw near to Him. In verse 10, He assures the covenant people that He loves them and promises His salvation: Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him, glory dwelling in our land. You may ask, "What does fear have to do with love?" Fear, in the sense of verse 10, means the fear of offending our God, whom we are called to love with all our heart and soul. If you fully love, you express signs of your love in fellowship and harmony. We do not set out to offend and hurt those we genuinely love. We offend God and diminish our love for Him when we disobey His commands and the teachings of God the Son, as communicated by Mother Church (1 Jn 5:2-3). Our sins separate us from fellowship with God, from communion with our brothers and sisters in God's family, and evidence of a lack of love.
11 Kindness [hesed] and truth shall meet; justice and
peace shall kiss.
God revealed Himself to Israel as the one "abounding in
steadfast love (hesed in Hebrew means "covenant love") and faithfulness"
(Ex 34:6). The Fathers of the Church saw in verses 10-11 the promise of the Incarnation
of the Divine Word, the union of Godhead and human nature in Jesus Christ. St.
Athanasius wrote: "Truth and mercy embrace in the truth which came into the
world through the ever-virgin Mother of God" (Expositio in Psalmos, 84).
12 Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall
look down from heaven. 13 The LORD himself will give his benefits; our land
shall yield its increase. 14 Justice shall walk before him, and prepare the way
of his steps.
In verses 12-13, the psalmist proclaims that salvation comes
through God's steadfast love and forgiveness using the imagery of fruit produced
by rainfall and the fertility of the earth. His forgiveness will come down from
heaven (verse 12), and on earth, the people will live in justice, keeping their
vows of fidelity. In His works and His words (verses 13-14), "God displays not
only His kindness, goodness, grace, and steadfast love, but also His
trustworthiness, constancy, faithfulness, and truth ... He is the Truth, for 'God
is light, and in Him, there is no darkness'; 'God is love'" (CCC 214 quoting
1 Jn 1:5 ). God reveals His mercy to the people He chose for Himself. In their
unfolding history, the people of Israel entrusted themselves to the God of
mercy and love when facing misfortune and in times of restoration and
prosperity. St. John Paul II wrote, "All the subtleties of love became manifest
in the Lord's mercy towards those who are His own" (Dives in misericordia, 4).
God granted His mercy and salvation to the "sons of Korah," traditionally attributed as the authors of this psalm in the superscription. The sons of the traitor, Korah, understood God's forgiveness and mercy. They were the descendants of a Levite who led a rebellion against Aaron and the chief priests of the ministerial priesthood (Num chapter 16). God destroyed Korah along with members of his family and others who followed him in the rebellion, but the young children in Korah's family did not bear the curse of their father/grandfather (Num 26:10-11). In David and Solomon's time, the descendants of Korah became the Temple's chief liturgists and choirmasters (see the titles of Ps 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 84, 85, 87, 88).
The Second Reading Romans 9:1-5 ~ Paul's Sorrow
and His Confidence in Israel's Divine Prerogatives
1 I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie; my
conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing me witness 2 that I have great
sorrow and constant anguish in my heart. 3 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. 4 They are Israelites; theirs
the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and
the promises; 5 theirs the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh,
is the Christ who is over all, God, blessed forever. Amen
In the first two verses of this passage, St. Paul expressed the pain of his rejection by his fellow Jews. He also wrote of his longing for the salvation of all his Jewish countrymen, the "firstborn" sons of the old Sinai Covenant. Then, he expressed his desire for them to come to believe in Jesus as their Savior and Lord. These Jews have accused Paul of abandoning his people. St. James, Bishop of Jerusalem, advised Paul on this problem when he visited Jerusalem in the spring of AD 58 after this letter was written and delivered to the Christians in Rome. St. James told Paul, "Brother, you see how many thousands of believers there are from among the Jews, and they are all zealous observers of the Law. They have been informed that you are teaching all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to abandon Moses and that you are telling them not to circumcise their children or to observe their customary practices" (Acts 21:20-21). Knowing these things were being said about him; Paul refuted the accusations that he had abandoned his people. In verse 3, Paul states he wrote that he was willing to offer his life as a sacrifice if it would bring his Israelite countrymen and women into the New Covenant in Jesus the Messiah.
Compare what Paul wrote in Romans 9:1-3 with what he wrote in 8:31-39. What he wrote in our passage did not contradict his former words. The Chapter 8 passage deals with God's love and faithfulness, and his statement in Chapter 9 testifies to Paul's willing sacrifice of himself for the sake of the salvation of his Jewish countrymen and women. The two statements complement one another. God's faithfulness and love for us should move us to love others with His same intensity to the point at which we should be willing, as Christ was willing, to suffer anything to bring salvation to others in need of God's gift of forgiveness and eternal salvation.
4 They are Israelites; theirs the adoption, the glory,
the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; 5 theirs
the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is over
all, God, blessed forever. Amen
In this part of his letter, St. Paul reminds the Roman Christian
congregations of Jews and Gentiles that The LORD is faithful to His covenants. God
selected the children of Israel from all the nations of the earth to be His
chosen people whose mission was to move forward His divine plan for humanity's eternal
salvation. In verse 4, Paul listed the eight divinely instituted prerogatives
that uniquely characterize the covenant bond between Yahweh and Israel.
Israel's Divinely Instituted Prerogatives as Yahweh's Chosen People:
Notice that Paul wrote "covenants" in the plural in Romans 9:4 (also see Sir 44:12, 18; Wis 18:22; 2 Mac 8:15). See the chart on Yahweh's Eight Covenants. In his book "Many Religions, One Covenant," Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) commented on Romans 9 and the link between the people of Israel and God's covenants. He wrote: "In chapter 9 of Romans, Paul sang the praises of Israel: among God's gifts to his people are 'the covenants,' and according to the Wisdom tradition they are a plurality. [...]. Paul is well aware that, prior to the Christian history of salvation, the word 'covenant' had to be understood and spoken of in the plural; out of these various covenants, he selects two particularly, sets them up in mutual opposition, and refers each one to the covenant in Christ: these are the covenant with Abraham and the covenant with Moses" (Many Religions, One Covenant, page 55). Also see CCC 60, 762, 218-19.
In Romans 1:16, Paul acknowledged that the Gospel of salvation was intended for the Jews first: For I am not ashamed of the Gospel. It is the power of God for the Jew first, and then the Greek, referring to the Gentiles. Jesus made this same statement of priority when He instructed the woman of Samaria in His encounter with her at the well of Sychar, saying, for salvation comes from the Jews (Jn 4:22c). However, this preeminence of the Jew in God's plan of salvation has now become the problem. In Romans Chapter 3, Paul asked the question: If Israel is God's chosen people and the ones meant to receive the gift of salvation, how can it be that many have refused that path to salvation? In the first century AD, only a faithful remnant of the Jews of the old Israel embraced the New Covenant of the Messiah Jesus and His Gospel of salvation to form His Kingdom of the "new Israel" of the Universal Church (CCC 877).
What is the meaning of this rejection by the Jews? What is its significance in the historical election of Israel as the first among many nations? What about the irrevocable promises Yahweh made to His chosen people: to their forefathers, the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Israel as the first, unified covenant people at Mt. Sinai? In Romans Chapter 4, Paul referred to those promises, but he only mentioned them as they were related to Abraham's justification by faith contrasted with works of the old Law. In this section of his letter, Paul returned to the foundational promises made to Abraham, and he applied those promises to the question of Israel's rejection of the Messiah and the "ingathering" of the Gentile nations of the earth into the New Covenant of salvation in Christ Jesus.
In Romans, Chapters 9-11, St. Paul expressed a heart-wrenching yearning for the restoration of a fractured covenant family, and he developed the short answer he gave to his question in Chapter 3 into a more extended response. He assured his Jewish Christian audience that no matter how much human beings were unfaithful to their covenant relationship with Yahweh, their unfaithfulness could not abrogate God's covenant promises. Indeed, how humans behave only made God's righteous promises more remarkable. God's faithfulness, however, does not protect the sinner from God's righteous judgment, nor does it absolve his sin (Rom 3:6, 8); we are still held accountable for our actions.
As his letter continued, St. Paul addressed the question of Israel's part in the history of salvation and the future of those Jews who still clung stubbornly to the old Sinai Covenant that was fulfilled by Jesus (Heb 8:13; 10:9) and who have rejected the New Covenant in Christ. He relied heavily on Old Testament Scripture and quoted from it in all his fourteen letters; over half of those passages are in his Letter to the Romans, with the majority of those Old Testament passages are in the three chapters of Romans 9-11. Paul listed twelve Old Testament quotations with the three-part division of this portion of his address on the role of Israel in Salvation History. It is a division in our modern translations that forms the three Chapters of Romans 9-11. At the end of his discourse on the future of the Jews, Paul wrote encouragingly to his countrymen and women: ... but in respect to election, they are beloved because of the patriarchs. For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable (Rom 11:28b-29).
The Gospel of Matthew 14:22-33 ~ Jesus Walks Upon
the Sea and Calms the Storm
22 After he fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get
into a boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23
After doing so, he went up on the mountain [oros] by himself to pray. When it
was evening, he was there alone. 24 Meanwhile, the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. 25 During the
fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea. 26 When the
disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. "It is a ghost,"
they said, and they cried out in fear. 27 At once Jesus spoke to them, "Take
courage, it is I [Ego Ami = I AM]; do not be afraid." 28 Peter said to
him in reply, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." 29 He
said, "Come." Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward
Jesus. 30 But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and beginning
to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Immediately Jesus stretched out his
hand and caught Peter, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you
doubt?" 32 After they got into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Those who were
in the boat did him homage, saying, "Truly, you are the Son of God." [...] = literal
Greek translation (IBGE, Vol. IV, page 43).
This passage records Jesus's second nature miracle. In the first calming of the storm at sea miracle in Matthew 8:23-27, the disciples asked a question that concerned Jesus's true identity when they said: "What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?" In this second nature miracle, they discovered the answer to that question.
23 After doing so, he went up on the mountain [oros] by
himself to pray.
In verse 23, the Greek word oros means "mountain" and
has symbolic significance in Scripture since it pertains to revelations of God that
include:
Jesus withdrew from His disciples to have intimate, private prayer with God the Father. That they were "crossing" the Sea of Galilee and would land on the west side in the land of Gennesaret (Mt 14:34) supports St. Luke's account that the feeding miracle of the five thousand, which took place before this event, happened on the northeast side of the lake near Bethsaida.
25 During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward
them, walking on the sea.
It is a common occurrence for storms to spring up suddenly
on the Sea of Galilee. According to verse 25, this storm occurred during the fourth
watch of the night. Sometime after the Roman occupation of the region, which began
in 63 BC, the Jews abandoned their three night-watches in favor of the Roman four-night-watches.
The Roman night watches were seasonal hours that ran from approximately sundown/6
PM-9 PM, from 9 PM to midnight, from midnight to 3 AM, and from 3 AM to dawn. A
trumpet blast called the "cockcrow" announced the end of the third and the beginning
of the fourth watch. See Jesus's list of the night watches in Mark 13:35 when
He said: "Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is
coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the
morning."
26 When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they
were terrified. "It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear. 27 At
once spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I [literally Ego Ami = I
AM]; do not be afraid."
Jesus defied the laws of nature by walking on the waters of
the stormy sea. Since this was an impossible act for an ordinary human, the
disciples thought they saw a ghost. Jesus calmed their fears by calling out "Ego
Ami" = I AM. In the Old Testament Greek translation of the Septuagint, the
expression Ego Ami functioned as the Divine Name (see Ex 3:14; Dt 32:39;
Is 41:4 and in chapter 43 ten times: see 43:3, 5, 10, 11, 12 three times, 15,
19, 25 in the Hebrew and Greek OT texts). In Isaiah 43:5, the words of the
Divine Name appear along with the command "fear not" or "do not be afraid,"
just as Jesus reassured the disciples in this passage.
28 Peter said to him in reply, "Lord, if it is you,
command me to come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come." Peter got out of
the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.
The Fathers of the Church saw the "fourth watch" as having
typological significance relating to the four phases of salvation history.
However, they disagreed on the divisions (Sts. Hillary of Poitiers, Chromatius,
etc.). Many of the Fathers suggested that Jesus's response, using the Divine
Name "I AM," prompted Peter to ask to come to Him.
30 But when he saw how [strong] the wind was he became
frightened; and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Immediately
Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, "O you of
little faith, why did you doubt?"
At first, Peter was successful, but when he took his eyes
off Jesus to look at the stormy sea, he became frightened and began to sink
into the churning water. Peter had two choices: he could try to swim back to
the boat or call upon Jesus to save him. Evidence of Peter's faith in Jesus and
His confidence in what he knew was Jesus's divine identity is found in the fact
that Peter cried out to Jesus to save him. St. John Chrysostom and St.
Augustine identify Peter's appeal to Jesus as an act of repentance, for which
Jesus rewarded him with salvation (Chrysostom, The Gospel of Matthew, Homily
50.2; Augustine, Sermon 75.10).
31 Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter,
and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
Jesus did not so much give Peter a rebuke as a teaching
moment, telling him in times of peril not to doubt but believe. It may be
significant that this revelation of Jesus's divine nature occurred at the hour
of "cockcrow" at 3 AM. It was the same time that Peter would deny Jesus for the
third time while the Jewish Sanhedrin was holding Jesus's trial and condemning Him
to death (Mt 26:65-75). The Gospel of Matthew records: And immediately a
cock crowed. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: "Before the
cockcrow you will deny me three times" (Mt 26:74). In Greek, the verse
reads: And immediately cockcrow. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus
had spoken: "Before cockcrow you will deny me three times" (IBGE, Vol. IV,
page 85).
32 After they got into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Those
who were in the boat did him homage, saying, "Truly, you are the Son of God."
In the first calming of the storm at sea miracle (Mt 8:23-27),
the disciples asked: "What sort of man is this, whom even the winds
and the sea obey?" Now they had their answer: Jesus is the Divine Messiah; only
God can control nature. They immediately bowed down in submission, obedience,
and worship, using the title "Son of God" in the same sense as the prophets, identifying
Jesus as the promised Davidic Messiah.
In the Bible, the title "son of God" did not necessarily mean divine sonship but could also mean adopted sonship, as St. Paul described the covenant relationship with God as Father for Israelites and Christians (Rom 8:14-15; 9:4; Gal 4:5; Eph 1:5). For example, the title "son of God" identified intimate relationships between God and His creatures as in the case of:
*Genesis 6:2 and 4 refers to men in covenant with God who took wives from among the people who had abandoned Yahweh for false gods. They became men of influence with both groups of people, but because of their wives' pagan practices, they lost their relationship with Yahweh. The verses do not refer to angels marrying human women since angels are only spirit beings and do not have bodies, as Jesus stated in Matthew 22:30.
It is in the usual sense of God's divinely anointed servant or Davidic heir that the title "Son of God" was applied to the promised Messiah in Old Testament Scripture (1 Chr 17:13; Ps 2:7; and 89:26). However, when Jesus identified Himself as the "I AM" and demonstrated His power over nature, the disciples began to understand that Jesus was the "Son of God" in a sense not previously applied to other men by having God for a Father in a way others could not claim.
Each of our readings today assures us of God's continuing faithfulness, love, and protection as we make our way through the storms of life. When we take our focus off Christ and attempt to struggle through our difficulties on our own and begin to falter, He is ready to reach out His hand of salvation to pull us out of the swirling abyss of sin into His loving arms. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is our lifeline; we must remember to be like St. Peter as he sank below the waters of the sea and to cry out to Christ to save us!
Catechism References (* indicates Scripture quoted or
paraphrased in the citation):
1 Kings 19:9, 11-13 (CCC 2583*)
Psalm 85:11 (CCC 214*); 85:12 (CCC 2795*)
Faith experiences testing (CCC 164*)
In difficult times, cultivate trust that all is subject to Christ (CCC 671*, 672*)
The history of covenants; God's love for Israel (CCC 56*, 57*, 58*, 59*, 60*, 61-63, 64*, 121-122, 218*, 219*)
The Church's relationship to the Jewish people (CCC 839*, 840)
Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2014; revised 2023 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.