A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 14:22-33)
Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
It is the fourth watch of the night, a dark hour. In the boat alone, the disciples have left Jesus to pray on the mountain after he had fed the five thousand. Then, in the midst of a storm that tosses about their boat, the disciples see a figure approach them on the water. They are terrified. Elijah, who took shelter in a cave also experienced the presence of God in a storm, in a landslide, in an earthquake, and in fire. But it was in none of these that the LORD was present. After the storms passed, Elijah heard a tiny whispering sound, and there the LORD was. In the same way, Jesus reveals his divine identity to the disciples in quiet, calming words: “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” The disciples come to know Jesus by his words, and they proclaim: “Truly, you are the Son of God.”
God, just as Jesus reveals his identity to the disciples, I stand in disbelief of your presence. Unlike them, my response to you is not terror, not primordial fear; instead, subject to the modern age, I express conscious or unconscious skepticism each day as I consider how things come to be, how you are at work in the world. Still, you are present to me in the same way you were to Elijah and the disciples. Lord, you have authority over all of nature; you who calms the storms, give me the grace to put aside any frame of mind that prevents me from recognizing that you alone are God. “I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for his word,” says the Gospel acclamation. God, quiet my heart today so I can hear your voice.
From the responsorial psalm: “I will hear what God proclaims; the LORD — for he proclaims peace. Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him, glory dwelling in our land.” Lord, give me courage to love and serve you.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.