Homily for the Ninth Sunday of Matthew
The Prayer of Christ and His Walking on the Sea
By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou
(Delivered on August 10, 2014)
The Prayer of Christ and His Walking on the Sea
By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou
(Delivered on August 10, 2014)
After the miracle of the multiplication of the five loaves, which we saw last Sunday, Christ compelled His Disciples, because they obviously did not want to be separated from Him, to get into the ship and cross over, while He went up the mountain to pray. The Evangelist Matthew writes: "And having dismissed the crowds, He went up the mountain by Himself to pray" and affirms that when evening fell, He was there alone (Matthew 8:23).
Of course, according to the teaching of the Fathers of the Church, Christ was always united, as God, with His Father, since He was one with Him and the Holy Spirit, and He did not need isolation for prayer, as we do. With this act, however, He wanted to teach His Disciples that they should find an opportunity to be quiet and pray alone. The sacred Theophylact observes: "He does all things on our behalf, since He has no need to pray."
However, in Christ His divinity was always united with His humanity, without being separated from it, without the two natures undergoing any change. There was always within His body the Light of divinity, and sometimes He allowed it to be revealed, as it happened on Mount Tabor, where the Disciples who were present saw His whole body illuminated. Even here, during His prayer, if any of His Disciples were present, they would have seen Christ praying in the Light, and this event would be another Transfiguration. After all, even on Mount Tabor, where He was transfigured, this happened during His prayer (Luke 8:29).
However, at that time when Christ was on the mountain, His Disciples were in the Lake of Gennesaret, which was also called the Sea because of its size, and the ship was shaken by the wind and the waves. In the nighttime, therefore, during the fourth watch of the night, approximately between 3-6 o'clock after midnight, the Disciples saw someone walking on the waves. Because they thought it was a ghost, they were afraid and shouted. Immediately, Christ said to them: "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid" (Matthew 8:27). Then He corrected the lack of faith of the Apostle Peter, who was drowning because of his lack of faith, as He also ordered the wind and the stormy sea to stop.
The Disciples saw someone walking on the waves, in the darkness of the night and considered him a ghost. They did not recognize Christ by His body, "they did not know Him by His appearance", because of the night and the fear, but they saw some form. It seems that at that time Christ allowed some rays of His divinity to emanate from His body, so during the night the Disciples thought that He was a ghost. However, the words "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid", conveyed to the Disciples a strong energy, a true light, which banished fear and imparted unwavering faith to them. And His presence with the words ἐγώ εἰμι ("I am" or "It is I") was as if He was saying to them: "I am the light of the world", "I am He who is", "I am the life". This filled the Disciples with hope and courage, but it also pacified the entire creation. Christ, the Light of the world, calms, pacifies, empowers man, who is in darkness and in great danger.
We have such a God, Who bestows on us the divine Light, prays for us, strengthens us in all the difficulties in our life, no matter how great they are. This God urges us to pray, so that through prayer we receive His divine Light and have courage and strength, have faith and then we will see Him coming to us as Light, life and peace, even in the darkest and most troubled moments of our lives.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
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