After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. 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." Peter said to him in reply, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, "Truly, you are the Son of God.”
Homily
In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus going up on the mountain alone to pray. He had just finished a very long day teaching, healing and feeding the five thousand. And if that weren’t enough, earlier that day he had received news of the execution of John the Baptist. But as much as he wanted to be alone to reflect, pray and mourn the loss of his cousin, he knew that the Kingdom of God always comes first. Still, although he delayed his prayer time out of compassion for the crowd, he didn’t skip it, even as exhausted as he was.
He orders the disciples to cross over to the other side of the lake while he dismisses the crowd. Then, around sunset, he climbs up the mountain to pray, and we don’t see or hear from him again until about three in the morning. Do you think it’s a little strange that throughout the Gospels Jesus frequently goes off to pray alone? Jesus is truly God, so why would he have to dedicate large chunks of his time to pray? The answer is simple: Because although he is truly God, he is also truly human—the Word Made Flesh. This shows us that human beings are not meant to go it alone. As the Church clearly teaches, we were created to live in communion with God, in whom we find our true happiness. And no one can have communion with God without a life of prayer. Today Jesus teaches us to keep first things first, namely, if he who is the Son of God needed time alone to pray, only an arrogant fool would dare to say otherwise.
This same lesson is shown in today’s first reading from the First Book of Kings. Elijah has just had a run-in with the pagan prophets who have allied themselves with the evil Queen Jezebel. But he triumphs over them, which made Jezebel so furious that she vowed to kill him. This prompted Elijah to escape to the mountain to pray. He did this for two reasons.
First, he needs to renew his physical strength, because he’s exhausted by his efforts to protect the faith of Israel against the evil Queen. He’s tired, discouraged and at the point of giving up. So what does he do when these feelings start to overwhelm him? He goes off to a sacred place to pray.
Second, he needs to find direction, because he doesn’t know what to do next. He’s unclear about what God is asking of him. So what does he do when these feelings start to overwhelm him? He goes off to a sacred place to pray—Mount Horeb, where Moses received the Ten Commandments. It was a sacred place, just as every Catholic Church is a sacred place, because the Mass is celebrated here and because the Holy Eucharist is reserved in the Tabernacle here. Like Elijah, when we need to renew our strength and find direction, we need to pray. When we climb the mountain of prayer with living faith, we find new strength and direction.
What can we do to keep our prayer life in tip-top shape? It’s not really that complicated. We just need to follow the example of Jesus and Elijah by making time throughout our busy, hectic day to go up to the sacred mountain of prayer; to momentarily leave behind the hustle and bustle of life in order to be alone with God. Here are three ways to accomplish this.
First, every Catholic should go on a yearly retreat, even if it’s only for a weekend. If you can spare a week—even better! A retreat is a great way to slow down and reconnect with God. And don’t forget to leave behind as many electronic devices as possible!
Secondly, consciously schedule set times throughout the day for prayer. We can easily find ten minutes to do so many mundane things. So why can’t we do the same thing for our prayer life? And don’t forget, Jesus is always waiting for you in the Tabernacle.
Finally, remember, you are given a privileged moment of intimate, personal contact with our Lord every Sunday at Holy Communion. This is when we are given those precious moments of silence to speak heart-to-heart with the One Who loves us and gives Himself to us under the appearance of Bread and Wine.
The sacred space of this church is like Mount Horeb; it’s set aside for personal encounters with God. So make the most of this great gift, because we were created to live in communion with God, in Whom we find our true happiness.