Homily Notes 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, “A Tiger by the Tail”
Many stories have been told about boats, storms, the sea and survival. We think of stories like Titanic, Mutiny on the Bounty, Moby Dick, The Perfect Storm. The stories are about facing fears. Virtue is revealed. Weakness is seen.
We read of several boat stories in the Gospels. We remember the story of the miraculous catch of fish. We also remember the story of the calming of the storm. A ship is a place of safety. When anyone leaves a ship in open water it is a dangerous thing. One time in a water safety class I was told that the worst thing you could do when a rowboat becomes swamped is to leave where the boat is because a rowboat will continue to float just under the surface of the water for a long time.
If we think of this in terms of the gospel story we would have to say that the poorest choice any of the apostles could have made was to leave the boat they were during a storm. The fishing boat was a place of refuge. Granted the vessel was going to bob around in the wind and waves, but it was just as likely that it was going to stay afloat as sink.
When Peter left the boat, it was either an act of trust or an act of bravado. We could debate a long time about Peter’s motivation. Certainly, the other apostles in the boat preferred to hang on for dear life. Peter learned something about himself. He learned something about faith. He found out something about the church itself which is symbolized as a ship. Most boat stories cause reflection.
One recent story about an adventure on a boat is especially fascinating. In the 2012 a movie came out called the “Life of Pi.” In the movie, an Indian boy name Pi has an epic adventure. As the story begins he and his family leave India because they are have fallen on hard times. Pi’s father decides to start over in Canada. He loads his family on a ship to traveling to North America. On this ship there are also exotic animals.
During the journey, there is a great storm. People and animals are tossed around in the water. Pi is thrown into the water. He manages to crawl into a small life boat. He makes it through the storm. But the next morning he has an unpleasant discovery. Stowed away in the boat with him is a Bengal Tiger. The tiger is afraid of the boy and the sea. The boy is afraid of the tiger and the sea. Somehow, they face their fears. An uneasy alliance develops as they float through the Pacific. At times, they find themselves tossed from the boat. At other times, they are living on the boat together. As difficult is as it is to coexist, they float for thousands of miles until they reach the coast of South America.
The journey is not only a physical one, but it is an emotional as well as a spiritual one. For the boy and the tiger come to trust each other. In a certain sense, they become friends. The boy becomes a man as he survives this great ordeal. The tiger learns to trust the boy. The boat is their prison, but is also the place they retreat to time after time to survive. After 227 days, they make it to shore. Both boy and tiger are transformed.
We can be hard on St. Peter as he jumps out of the boat to walk toward Jesus on the water. But in a sense, he has the right idea. If we are to be the Christians we are asked to be we can’t just stay in the safety of our boat. Many times, it seems like Christians feel like our churches are places of sanctuary. We take care of each other. We can get caught up in a maintenance program. We can have a sense that we are to hang on for dear life as the traumas of life assail us. War, racism, economic uncertainty, crime are all around us. But is the church supposed to be a place where we retreat and stay? Or is it to be a launching pad from which we carry the good news of Jesus to the world. We need a place of safety, in the midst of a frightening world, but we as followers of Christ we are to take risks.
A few years ago, we had a new translation of the Mass. Many things about this new English translation are troublesome. But perhaps the whole translation is saved by the last words that are said before we leave church. We have two wonderful lines that we can use. One is, “Go proclaim the Gospel of the Lord.” The other is, “Go in peace and Glorify the Lord with your lives.” Even in the old Latin Mass it was said, “Ite Misa est.” Go the Mass is ended. The implication was don’t just go. Go out into the world and convert it. Never lose heart. At times, it will feel like you are walking on water, one step from drowning. But keep let’s keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. We need not sink. Jesus says, “Do not be afraid.”
Please remember, these are notes for the homily. Grammar may not be perfect.