Homily: Thirteenth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

Thirteenth Tuesday of Ordinary Time (Mt. 8:22-27) “Crossing to the Kingdom.

The Gospel story we read today at Mass sounds awfully familiar. This is because we read this story a couple of Sundays ago. We read the Markan version of the story.

This repetition reminds us that the synoptic Gospel writers borrowed material from one another. Mark was the first Gospel written. Matthew copied his Gospel and added his own material. Luke then used material from both Mark and Matthew and added new material that he had collected.

To the modern reader who is concerned about plagiarism, all this is a little disconcerting. To ancient writers who worked independently and copied texts repeatedly this is not shocking. It is how writing was done at the time Jesus lived and for centuries before and after.

Some Gospel stories are only mentioned in one Gospel. We can think of the story of the Magi coming to visit Jesus. This is mentioned only in the Gospel of Matthew.

What does it mean when a Gospel story is repeated in all three synoptic Gospels? It might mean that the story is more likely to be historical because it comes from several different Christian traditions. It also can mean that the story is considered important. Jesus obviously was a miracle worker. He did extraordinary things that could not be explained.

The story of the calming of the sea reminds us that faith unfolds in our life. We must travel through storms and chaos to reach the point where we live in the Kingdom of Jesus. Life is a journey, at times a rough journey, but Jesus travels with us. We can lean on him when things seem hopeless.

Reflection Questions:

1.    Am I surprised that the Gospel writers borrowed from each other? Can we hold the Gospel writers to our standards?

2.   Do I have chaos in my life? What is that chaos?

 Dear Parishioners,

             Remember that on July 4th we will be having Mass at 8 a.m. Come and pray for our country. We are all disturbed by the divisions that seem to be tearing our union apart. This will be a difficult election cycle. What an important time to pray for calmness and healing!

            The 8 a.m. time should allow all of us to go to Mass and then to travel to parades, picnics and other activities. We will ask Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception patroness of our country to pray for us.

            Fr. Mark