The Sánchez Archives NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Year A

By
Patricia Datchuck Sánchez

Present in Peace and in Panic

1 KINGS 19:9, 11-13
ROMANS 9:1-5
MATTHEW 14:22-33

Above the office door of the Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung (1875-1961), hung a stone plaque inscribed with the words: Called or Not, God is Present. Jung’s sign encapsulated in a few words what the joint testaments of Judaism and Christianity have put forth in hundreds of thousands of words for centuries, viz., that the transcendent almighty God chooses to be with humankind, to commune with us, to love and move among us, to be near, to abide, to be present whether called or not, in peace, as well as in panic.

Although other motives (e.g. the covenant, the love of God, the Word, the law) have been suggested as being the most important or central ideas in Holy Scripture, this author suggests that the concept of the presence of God is central to all others and the basis in which all the others find their root. Ordinarily the presence of God is conceived of as a noun, but perhaps other parts of speech approach this mystery more nearly. To think of God as a verb is more consonant with the dynamic divine presence, ever communing, ever revealing, ever abiding, ever calling, ever drawing near. Or, if God is to be consigned to a part of speech, perhaps the proposition with is most appropriate: God is WITH us!

Even a cursory reading of scripture will reveal that many of the hundreds of human experiences of God were underscored by the assurance of God’s presence. “I am with you”, God encouraged Abraham (Genesis 17:7), Isaac (26:24) and Jacob (28:15). “I am with you,” said God, when commissioning Moses for his work (Exodus 3:12). “I am with you” was the promise which was reinstated with every covenant renewal (Exodus 34:9-10) and repeated to every ambassador of God, e.g. to Joshua (Exodus 1:5), to the judges (Judges 6:16), to Samuel (1 Samuel 3:19), to David (2 Samuel 7:9), and the kings (2 Kings 18:7), to the prophets (Jeremiah 1:8, 19).

God’s presence was promised to all who would live in faithfulness (Pss 16:8, 23:4, 119:167) and who would call upon the divine name in their struggles (Ps. 34:18-23). All that is necessary to enjoy God’s presence is a heart that seeks God, humbly and contrite (Isaiah 57:15), and a willingness to lend ourselves to the service of the unfortunate (Isaiah 58:9). Given these requisites, the faithful are promised life forever in the presence of God (Wisdom 3:9; 6:19).

Ultimately, the constant presence of God took a name, Emmanuel (Isaiah 7:14), and became flesh in the person and mission of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:21-23), Jesus in turn, made the promise of his presence the legacy of the church which survived him and continues his work (Matthew 28:20).

Scripture is also replete with many diverse signs through which God’s presence was manifested. Thunder, wind and storm (Exodus 20:18) were natural phenomena believed to attend a theophany (or manifestation of God’s presence) as did the great, mobile cloud, pillar of fire and ark of the covenant in the desert (Exodus 13:21-19:5).

As Israel evolved from a nomadic into an agrarian and sedentary society, the divine presence was associated with the institution of the temple, albeit with the understanding that no earthly edifice could contain the powerful and dynamic presence of God (1 Kings 8:27, Isaiah 66:1). As Xavier Leon-Dufour explained, God can be found in the temple (or in any sacred edifice) “to the extent that one calls upon his name in truth” (1 Kings 8:29ff, 41ff; Ps 145:18); that is to say, to the extent that one will there search out his presence through the true worship of a faithful heart“ (Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Geoffrey Chapman, London: 1973).

This Sunday’s first reading relates the experience of the prophet Elijah who sought and realized the presence of God in the peaceful silence of Horeb (Sinai). Peter and the disciples (gospel) experienced the presence of God in the person of Jesus whose power over the sea calmed their panic and fostered their faith. Paul, in the second reading from Romans, lamented the fact that not all of his fellow Israelites had come to know the saving presence of God as he had, on the road to Damascus.

Today, this assembly has gathered in the presence of God in order to be nourished and formed as witnesses of that presence. There is cause for celebration because “called or not, God is present,” in peace as well as in panic.

1 KINGS 19:9, 11-13

What did Elijah hear as he stood on the mountain? What did he see? From his reaction to his experience it would appear that Elijah realized that he was in the presence of the Lord; he hid his face in his cloak (vs. 13). This was the standard response of someone who had become aware of God’s presence. Recall Moses’ reaction before the burning bush (Exodus 3:6) and that of Peter, James and John before the transfigured Jesus (Matthew 17:6 and parallels).

The scriptural author has preserved the paradox of the prophet’s experience by his description of a “tiny whispering sound” (vs. 12). Other translations of this text have offered similar renderings. For example, the NRSV (New Revised Standard Version) reads “a sound of sheer silence,” while the REB (Revised English Bible) says “a faint murmuring sound,” and the NJB (New Jerusalem Bible) has “a light murmuring sound.” Like the often quoted query, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” from Oriental mysticism, the Hebrew term qol demamah daqqah defies definition and sustains the mystery; the transcendent, almighty, uncontainable God drew near to Elijah and allowed him to know the sacred presence!

Elijah had come to Mt. Horeb (the name given to Mt. Sinai by the Eloist and Deuteronomic sources of the Pentateuch) after a journey of forty days and nights. Like Israel, whose history he was recapitulating, Elijah was fed and sustained by God for his journey (1 Kings 19:6-8 = Exodus 16). Like Moses who mediated the divine presence for Israel, Elijah experienced God on the mountain (1 Kings 19:14ff = Exodus 34:6ff) and was commissioned by God to bear the word to his people. Like Moses who had fled Egypt for fear of Pharaoh (Exodus 2:15) Elijah had fled Israel because Jezebel had threatened him with death (1 Kings 19:2-3). Elijah had actually lost hope in his people and decided to relinquish his prophetic ministry but God had other plans for him.

When Elijah put his complaints before God (viz., (1) the people have broken the covenant and torn down the altars; (2) they have put God’s prophets to the sword; (3) there was no one left to serve God but Elijah), his argument was answered point for point. In the verses immediately following this reading (vv. 13-19) Yahweh made it clear that the plan for Israel’s salvation would indeed proceed. God’s saving presence would not be thwarted. Elisha would succeed Elijah as prophet and the covenant would be renewed with the thousands in Israel who were still faithful to God and would listen to the prophets. As Peter Ellis has noted, “That the Lord was not in the mighty wind, the earthquake or the fire, but rather in the gentle whisper of the breeze was a lesson for the fiery prophet. God, in his own way, without great fanfare, will work his will for Israel” (“1-2 Kings”, The Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs: 1968).

Some scholars have suggested that the “tiny whispering sound” which Elijah experienced could be thought of as the voice or prick of moral conscience but the scriptural text does not support this idea. What Elijah heard and what each believer is challenged to attend to is the sound of utter silence. Only when that silence is acknowledged and accepted as such does the human heart become capable of hearing God who speaks and teaches and remains an active, revealing presence among us.

ROMANS 9:1-5

In chapter eight of his correspondence with the Roman Christians, Paul’s joy was palpable as he celebrated the blessings afforded believers in Christ. In chapters nine through eleven, the apostle’s sadness is equally obvious as he regrets the fact that so many of his fellow Israelites have not yet begun to share in those blessings.

Romans 9-11 appears to be a unit of text unto itself in which Paul addresses the issue of Jewish rejection of Christ as contrasted with the gentiles’ attitude of acceptance. Because these three chapters can be lifted from their present context without any breach of logical sequence, it has been suggested (C.H. Dodd) that they represent a sermon previously delivered by Paul and then randomly included in his letter to the Roman church. Others believe that Romans 9-11 is an excursus or digression in which Paul picked up the threads of an earlier argument (3:1-18) in order to elaborate further (David E. Aune, “Romans As A Logos Protreptikos”, The Romans Debate, Karl P. Donfried, Ed., Hendrickson Pub., Peabody: 1991).

Harvey Cox (“Rabbi Yeshua Ben Yoseph: Reflections on Jesus’ Jewishness and the Interfaith Dialogue”, Jesus’ Jewishness, James H. Charlesworth, Ed., Crossroad Press, New York: 1991) has said that Paul’s attitude toward his fellow Jews as expressed in Romans 9-11 should not be understood as the critical reproofs of an outsider who has now left his religious community to become the member of another one. They are rather the words of an insider, who like the earlier prophets, chides his fellow Jews because he is an insider. Paul is not sniping from a position apart from Judaism but he speaks here like Isaiah and Amos and Jeremiah who lovingly taught their own people.

Today’s pericope begins with a solemn oath (vs. 1). Paul claimed to speak the truth in Christ according to his conscience as informed by the Holy Spirit. His “grief” and “constant pain” (vs. 2) that his Jewish brothers and sisters did not acknowledge Christ was so profound that he expressed a willingness to forego what he had come to know of salvation for their sake. Paul’s wish (vs. 3) was reminiscent of the prayer of Moses who implored God’s forgiveness for Israel after the sin of the golden calf and offered that his own name be blotted from the book of life (Exodus 32:32).

In his final verses of this reading Paul listed the unique advantages or special blessings which Israel had enjoyed throughout its history and which, he insinuated, should have prepared them for recognizing God’s presence in Jesus. The name Israelite (vs. 4) was the special name bestowed by God himself on the chosen people (Genesis 32:28); the term adoption referred to God’s begetting of the people as heirs (Exodus 4:22, Hosea 11:1). Glory signified the majestic presence of God which Israel had been privy to enjoy. The various covenants, (with Abraham, Sinai, David) attested to God’s continuing personal overtures to Israel; God would be their God and they the chosen people in an ever renewable relationship. With the gift of the law or the terms of the covenant, God made known the divine will for Israel. Worship, or the liturgy of Israel celebrated their life in God, while the promise made to the patriarchs (Genesis 12:2; 21:12) and to David (2 Samuel 7:11-16) assured their continued growth and prosperity in God’s sight. Israel’s final advantage though not yet acknowledged by all, was the Messiah through whom and in whom all of the other special blessings were culminated.

Having made his case and disclosed his sentiments, Paul concluded this initial statement with a doxology praising God for all his gifts. Eugene Maly believes that there is good manuscript evidence for reading this doxology as addressed to Christ (Romans, Michael Glazier Inc., Wilmington: 1987). If this is the case (and J. Fitzmyer agrees that it is), this passage carries even greater theological weight.

MATTHEW 14:22-33

Modern Israelis call the locus of today’s gospel narrative by the name, Kinneret, because the Sea is shaped like a harp (kinnor in Hebrew). In biblical times, however, the Sea of Galilee had several names (Chinnereth, in Deuteronomy 3:17; Tiberias, in John 6:1; Gennesaret, in Luke 5:1 and 1 Maccabees 11:67).

Bordered by hills on the east and west, the Sea of Galilee is 682 feet below sea level, thirteen miles long, eight miles wide and approximately 150 feet at its maximum depth. Due to the height of the surrounding hills (ca 1200-1500 ft.), temperature shifts can occur quite abruptly. During the summer months, the sun beats relentlessly upon the area. When cold air currents from the west blow across the superheated basin, sudden and violent storms erupt. Aware of this danger, native fishermen, even today, usually keep their boats moored at the shore from noon until nine o’clock p.m.

Notice that Matthew tells readers of today’s gospel that the disciples were at sea by Jesus’ own insistence (vs. 22) and that it was the fourth watch of the night or between three and six a.m. (vs. 25). A sudden storm over the lake at that time was not unusual. What is unusual, however is the manner in which the storm was calmed.

Jesus’ power over the stormy sea was revealed earlier in Matthew’s gospel (8:23-27); there Jesus caused his disciples to marvel, “What sort of man is this?” But in this gospel pericope, Jesus is portrayed as walking on the sea (vs. 25) a power which previously had been attributed only to God himself (Job 9:8, 38:16, Psalm 77:17-20, Sirach 24:5, Isaiah 43:16). This insinuation of Jesus’ divine power was underscored by the manner in which he identified himself to the disciples. “It is I” (vs. 27) or EGO EIMI was suggestive of the divine name as revealed to Moses (Exodus 3:14). The reverence paid to Jesus and the title, Son of God (vs. 33), bear further witness to the theophanic quality of the moment; God’s power and presence were indeed being manifested in Jesus.

Notice that this event appears in the evangelist’s fourth book (Matthew 13:54-18:35) which has been called the ecclesiastical book or Book of the church. Therein, Matthew included, in both narrative and discourse, lessons from Jesus’ ministry which he accommodated and applied to his post-resurrection community of the eighties C.E. What lesson did this event teach to Matthew’s church and what does it mean for the church of today? If the disciples in the boat (bark of Peter) are understood as the community of the church, then the stormy sea at night could represent the difficulties amid which the church is called to live a life committed to Jesus and the gospel. Jesus’ walking toward the disciples on the sea, his reassuring and his saving of Peter represents his constant awareness of the needs of his church and his abiding presence.

There is a lesson also in Jesus’ comments regarding the disciples’ faith. Little faith (vs. 31) is that which is stymied by fear and doubt. As John P. Meier (Matthew, Michael Glazier Inc., Wilmington: 1980) has noted, “For Matthew, the disciple in this life is always caught been faith and doubt (cf. 28:17!) and so must always struggle against his little faith. The rebuke of Jesus extends to every disciple who at first braves difficulties and then collapses.”

Today, this gospel assures all who have little, but growing faith, that the presence of Jesus with his church, in the sacraments, in the Word, in the least of his brethren and in the gathered community is a constant on which we can rely, in times of peace as well as in panic.

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