Homily for the Ninth Sunday of Matthew
(9th Sunday of Pentecost)
By St. John of Kronstadt
(9th Sunday of Pentecost)
By St. John of Kronstadt
What was the Gospel read today about? Did you listen to it with attention, did you understand it, did you keep it in your memory, did you put it on your heart, did you apply it to yourself? And all this should be done. What was the Gospel about? About the Savior's prayer in solitude; about His walking on the sea as on dry land; about the fear of His disciples at the sight of a man walking on water; how the Savior encouraged them; about Peter's request to come to Him on the water and about the permission of the Lord; about Peter's lack of faith and fright; about the drowning; about the salvation of the drowning man by the life-giving Right Hand; about the Lord's reproach to Peter for lack of faith; about the calming of the wind; about the confession by the disciples of Jesus Christ as the Son of God (Matt. 14:22-34). Here is the whole Gospel: and everything is clear and understandable!
Now it is necessary to apply from it, what is possible and necessary, to each of ourselves. After all, the Gospel was written for our edification, consolation and salvation. And the first thing that you need to apply to yourself is prayer. The Lord, according to His humanity, often prayed in solitude, at night. We must pray without fail, at all times. "Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation" (Matt. 26:41), says the Lord. We have many sins; there are many spiritual and bodily needs; there are many temptations. That is why one must pray unceasingly, of course inwardly, as much as possible. And on feasts it is done openly in the temple.
Further, it is edifying and comforting in this Gospel that Jesus Christ, seeing the calamitous voyage of the disciples, whose boat was beaten violently by the waves in the middle of the sea, went to their aid and, as the Creator and Lord of the sea, walked along the waves of the sea as if on dry land. Seeing a man walking on the sea, which seemed impossible to them, they considered Him to be a ghost and cried out in fear. But the Lord, who came to their aid, reassured them, saying that it was He and that they had nothing to fear. And upon us, brethren, who sail in the sea of life, the contrary winds of temptations and various passions often rush – and we, like the apostles, often suffer in poverty. Let us not forget in the hours of temptation and trouble that the Savior is near us (Phil. 4:5) and is ready to save us, if only we would cry out to Him for salvation with faith and sincere repentance for sins. We are often frightened by the ghosts that the evil one presents to us. We are often confused by the machinations of the crafty adversary. But let us cry out to the Lord with all our hearts: and all the ghosts will be scattered, and the contrary winds will be stilled. This is always the case with believers, and so it will be.
The boldness of the Apostle Peter is remarkable. Encouraged by the words of the Lord, he asks permission to go to Him on the water, as if forgetting for a while the difference between himself – a man – and the God-man. The Lord, however, does not reject boldness and says: "Come." And a wondrous miracle! An almighty command sustains Peter as he walks on the water: he walks on the water, marveling at himself. But Peter's boldness did not last long: seeing a strong wind, he was frightened and, beginning to drown, cried out: "Lord, save me!" Jesus immediately stretched out His hand, supported him, and said to him, "You of little faith! Why did you doubt?" Do not be amazed at Peter's lack of faith: at that time he was not yet renewed by the life-giving, fiery breath of the Holy Spirit, and therefore he showed human infirmities. For this, after the descent of the Holy Spirit, Saint Peter was above all doubt and had the faith of God by which he raised the dead. And we will take care of our own faith. Peter had just begun to drown and immediately cried out for salvation: "Lord, save me!" And many of us are completely drowning in sins, and we do not come to the Savior and do not say: "Lord, save me."
And how close is the Savior to all of us? Only look to Him, brethren, with the eyes of your heart with faith, with the hope that here He is right before you, and He will save you, if only you really want salvation – He will save you, He will certainly save you; you will see for yourself how He will save, you will see, of course, with the eyes of your heart. Here, brothers or sisters, learn from the Apostle Peter, with the same faith and hope as he did, to call out to the Savior in troubles, sorrows, and sins: "Lord, save me," and you will certainly be saved. After all, the Savior is there to save us sinners. And when He saves you, then you also will say: "Yes, truly you are the Son of God," and worship Him with love. Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.