Reflection
When Interruption Becomes Invitation
After hearing of John the Baptist’s death, Jesus is interrupted on his way to a place of prayer. The crowd knew where he and the apostles were going! Moved with compassion, Jesus stops where he is and says, ‘We must feed them’. Only after this interval, does Jesus continue up the mountain, alone, to pray, after sending the apostles away in their boat. Once alone, Jesus listens to and shares with the Father in prayer. In the meantime the apostles struggle with the waves and a contrary wind. At an early morning hour, Jesus goes to meet them and appears to be walking on the sea. “Do not be afraid”, he says. Peter goes to Jesus, but sinks into the water; and as he is being pulled into the boat he hears, “Peter, such little faith”! The apostles respond, “Truly you are the Son of God!”
Everything Jesus does he does with the Father. How generous of him to put aside his intention of going to pray in order to minister to the crowd and to feed them. Jesus wants this and so does the Father. Our Lord does finally get his moment of prayer, and what follows is a revelation of divine power to the apostles and a brotherly observation given to Peter.
Matthew´s text follows the older gospel of Mark with one significant change. In Mark, Jesus intends to pass by the apostles as they struggle with the sea. Where was Jesus going? We’ll never know! But in Matthew, his friends are struggling, and Jesus once again interrupts his plans to serve others just as he had earlier adjusted his plans in order to see to the crowd’s hunger.
Jesus makes a beeline for the boat, and these fishermen will experience only what God can do – to walk upon the sea and to calm wind and wave.
I wonder whether, as Peter was pulled from the deep and heard Jesus say, “Such little faith, Peter!”, he might have been thinking, ‘What about the faith I showed when I put out into the deep for Jesus?’
Peter could not foresee the new and unimaginable revelation of love that would accompany Jesus’ words at the end of John’s gospel, ‘Oh, you caught nothing! Lower the nets again over that side…come eat’! That morning, at the seashore, was Jesus interrupting Peter’s desolation over denying him? Was Jesus interrupting Peter’s return to catching fish instead of the work Jesus planned for him? Over breakfast is a good time to listen and talk to God about interruptions.
Our readings are about being interrupted. For Jesus, doing the Father’s will allows for interruptions. Peter is interrupted from his self assurance by the churning sea, and later interrupted from his burden of guilt…Elijah is so like Peter today, drowning in fear. God interrupts Elijah’s fear of failure and his surrender to despair; God renews Elija’s vocation and courage. Come up the mountain, I will speak intimately with you, my friend. (Then, you have to go back to work. Two kings need anointing).
Interruptions may be the moments that call forth our faith. Today is the feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, OCD (Edith Stein). What words of love did God say to her when her life was interrupted? This Jewish woman, a convert, contemplative Carmelite nun and martyr was given five minutes to leave her convent and be put on a train for the trip to the ‘east’, to Auschwitz. She put out into the deep at Jesus invitation. Paul today says he would be willing to be cut off from Christ for his beloved Jewish people; Edith was cut off from life along with her beloved Jewish family still keeping faith in Christ. Her interruption was an act of faith in Jesus, her beloved. May we, too, find faith in our interruptions.
