This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.
Jesus once said, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” (Lk. 17:5). The transformative impact of a deep faith, of intimacy with God, is monumental, and it is our destiny.
We see it in today’s readings. From the towering cloud, the Lord testifies to His intimacy with Moses:
“Should there be a prophet among you,
in visions will I reveal myself to him,
in dreams will I speak to him;
not so with my servant Moses!
Throughout my house he bears my trust:
face to face I speak to him;
plainly and not in riddles.
The presence of the LORD he beholds.”
It is as if the Lord is proud of this relationship. He considers intimacy with His creatures, it seems, His greatest achievement, one not to be taken for granted.
Today’s gospel puts an exclamation point on this reality. The apostles had seen Jesus work many miracles of nature, perhaps none more powerful than the healing of human flesh. But it may be said that they had never witnessed any miracle as impactful to the senses as the calming of an entire sea. Certainly, His Divinity–and His intimacy with the Father–is the source of this power, bringing His human reality to a whole new level. Still, maybe we would “expect” this level of power from God-made-man.
Something perhaps less to be expected is the impact on Peter–rough, vacillating, impetuous, not-yet-saintly Peter. In faith, grounded in his relationship with His Master, he asks to be bid to come out onto the water. Jesus so bids him. And regular old Peter takes some steps out onto the water–and it holds him, as surely as cured concrete.
Sometimes we think that our Christian life and its impact and power is seated on our moral advancement and perfection. It is not. It is seated upon the trusting and intimate relationship that we have with the Lord, which is the entire end game of our creation and redemption. Our moral life is merely an essential element of our “yes” to that relationship.
Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus to help you become a giant of trust in Him, and to be fully infused with His divine life, not for your own sake only, but so that you may have the powerful impact in spreading His grace to others that He desires for your life.
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