St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Peter was a prominent figure in Matthew’s community, and only in Matthew’s Gospel does Jesus call Simon Peter the "rock" on which He will build His Church. Likewise, only Matthew records Peter asking, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?"

 

In that culture, the number seven symbolized fullness and completion. Forgiving someone seven times represented the utmost extent of mercy. Yet Jesus responds, "I say to you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times," underscoring that our willingness to forgive should know no bounds.

 

Jesus recognizes that human nature inclines us to place limits on forgiveness. Nevertheless, He urges us to look to God’s infinite mercy as our model.

 

In today’s parable, Jesus highlights God's boundless forgiveness. He sets a high standard, calling us to mirror God’s mercy in our willingness to forgive others. As Matthew’s Gospel teaches, "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

 

A cherished tradition teaches that whenever two Jewish people sit together to discuss the Torah, God's presence is with them. Jesus makes a related but distinct assertion: wherever two or three are gathered in His name, He is among them. Matthew has already revealed Jesus as Emmanuel, "God-with-us," emphasizing that He embodies God's presence. Whenever His followers gather in His name with reverence, He is present as Emmanuel, "God-with-us."

Whenever we gather in the Lord's name to pray—whether during the Eucharist or in any other form of prayer—the Lord is always with us. We are not merely entering His presence at such times; we are already within it. Our task is to become aware of the One who is present among us. This is why attention, or conscious awareness, lies at the heart of all prayer, whether offered privately or in community.

People’s questions frequently reveal their true priorities. In today’s Gospel, the disciples ask Jesus, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Their question exposes a preoccupation with status and ranking.

 

In response, Jesus called a child over and placed the child among them. He explained that only by becoming like this child could they even enter the kingdom of heaven, much less aspire to greatness within it.

 

Jesus urged His disciples to adopt a childlike attitude—marked by humble trust in a loving parent. Such trust depends on God for everything and is unconcerned with status or comparison.

 

According to Jesus, true greatness belongs to those who depend on God just as children depend on adults for their needs. His reply to the disciples’ question recalls the first beatitude from Matthew’s Gospel: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

 

In 258, Saint Lawrence, the chief deacon of the Diocese of Rome, offered the wealth of the Church to those who had nothing of their own. A deacon's responsibility is to proclaim the Word of God, look after the material goods of the Church, and care for the poor. As the chief deacon of a diocese as large as Rome, Lawrence held a great deal of responsibility, overseeing the Church's resources and ensuring they were used to help those in need.

He was called to act upon all these roles one day when Pope Sixtus II was put under civil arrest. Soon after, the pope was martyred, and Lawrence knew that he would be one of the next Christians the Empire would come after. So, Lawrence sought out the poor, the widows, and the orphans of Rome and gave them all the money he held, even selling the sacred vessels of the Church.

The Prefect of Rome called Lawrence before him and demanded that he produce the treasure of the Church. Lawrence then gathered together the blind and the lame, the leprous, the widows, and orphans, and lined them up before the Prefect's villa. When the Prefect arrived, Lawrence said, "Here is the treasure of the Church." The Prefect not only did not understand Lawrence's words, but he also did not understand Lawrence spending his life in the service of such people. It's unlikely, in fact, that the Prefect cared one way or the other since four days after the death of the Pope, Lawrence was martyred as well, on August 10th.

Saint Lawrence understood that the true wealth of the Church lies in the manner in which our lives touch the lives of others. In our lives as Christians, one of the most important challenges we face is to realize to what extent - both for good and evil - our lives are connected to the lives of others.

Many years ago, Roger Bannister was a track star at Oxford University. He was such a good runner that his coach believed he could break the four-minute mile, an accomplishment no one had attained up to that point in recorded sports history. Roger wasn’t so sure, but because his coach believed in him, he, too, began to believe in himself.

 

On May 8, 1954, Roger woke up, looked out the window, and saw that it was cold and windy. Roger telephoned his parents, who were planning to drive up that day for the meet. He told them to stay home; it was a bad day, and he wouldn’t run fast. They came anyway, as did a small crowd.

 

The runners lined up, the gun went off, and three minutes, fifty-nine seconds later, Roger crossed the finish line, making him the first person to break the four-minute mile. Nineteen days later, an Australian runner named John Landy did the same. A few months later. Both Bannister and Landy were entered in a race in Canada.

 

Landy led the race all the way right into the final straightaway. But then he glanced over his shoulder to see how far behind Bannister was. That brief loss of momentum was all Bannister needed. He shot past Landy to win the race.

 

In our Gospel reading today, Jesus called out to Peter to come to Him across the water. Because Peter believed in Jesus, he stepped out of the boat onto the water. Peter found himself doing the impossible because he believed in Jesus. If Jesus believed Peter could walk on water, then Peter believed it as well.

 

As Peter walked across the water, he suddenly grew alarmed. For a brief moment, he took his eyes off Jesus and looked down at the turbulent water. That was his mistake. He doubted, and he began to sink. It was the same mistake the runner made.

 

Our stories contain an important, practical message for all of us. It’s a two-fold message. First is the importance of faith in our lives. We are a lot like Peter in today’s Gospel. Jesus has called us to be His followers. Trying to follow Him often feels like trying to walk on water. It sometimes feels impossible, but Jesus believes we can do it. So, like Peter, we should believe we can do it.

 

Second is the importance of keeping our eyes on the goal. As Peter walked toward Jesus, he suddenly became alarmed at the high winds and the waves. He briefly took his eyes off Jesus. He began to focus on the impossibility of what he was doing. We, too, can be overcome by the difficulty of following Jesus in a world and society that constantly tugs at us and gives us reasons why we cannot do this. We must stay focused on Jesus.

 

So, what do we do when our focus shifts and we begin to falter and sink? Like Peter, we cry out to Jesus for help. We ask Jesus to free us from the spiritual sinking that mirrors Peter's physical sinking in our Gospel. When we turn to Jesus in prayer, He will be reaching His hand out to us too. We must be careful, however, to reach in the right direction, which often is not in the direction in which we want to be pulled.

 

We pray for the grace to always focus on Jesus and believe in the gifts God gives us. We pray for the grace to cry for help when we falter, and we pray for the grace to reach for the hand of Jesus to pull us up so that we may share in the glory He promised.

When Jesus chides His disciples, it's not for their lack of faith but for their having too little faith. Their attempt to heal a sick child fell short, and Jesus attributed this to their faith not being as strong as it could be. This is a struggle we all face. Our faith, while present, often isn't as strong as it could be, and we don't always trust the Lord as much as we should.

In response, Jesus offers encouraging words: even if our faith is as small as a mustard seed, we can move mountains. He desires that His disciples—and all of us—not just have faith, but grow in it. We can echo the prayer of the father of the sick child, as described in Mark's version of the story: "I do believe; help my unbelief!"

Jesus often spoke in paradoxes, and one of the most striking is when he said, "Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." In essence, this means that if we focus solely on ourselves, our needs, and our desires, we will lose our true selves. However, if we look beyond ourselves to the Lord and to the needs of those around us, we will discover our true identity.

Jesus also conveyed this fundamental paradox in a different way when he said, "Give, and gifts will be given to you." This implies that it is through giving that we actually receive.

Our own experiences may have shown us that when we turn our attention to others and recognize the Lord present in them, we encounter the joy and life of the Lord. This, in turn, reflects the joy and life of the kingdom of heaven.

Peter, James, and John had the remarkable opportunity to go with Jesus to the mountaintop, where He underwent a transformation before their eyes. It must have been an incredible sight: Jesus conversing with Moses and Elijah right in front of them! They were filled with amazement and wonder at what was taking place.

Jesus is present with each of us too. When we least expect it, He blesses us with great experiences of His grace to support us on our journey with Him. This grace is not just something to admire; it is a call to respond to His invitation to love. Jesus invited these three Apostles to deepen their love and trust in Him, and He offers us the same invitation.

The Apostles were so amazed that they found themselves at a loss for words. Nevertheless, Peter felt the urge to say something, even though he was not entirely sure about what to say.

On our spiritual journeys, we often struggle with the temptation to speak excessively. In our Gospel reading, we hear the Father proclaiming: "This is my beloved Son… listen to Him." God encourages us to carefully heed Jesus' words rather than feeling compelled to speak. Oftentimes, He seeks a response through our actions rather than our words.

When the pagan woman desperately cried out for help, Jesus initially responded with silence. Despite this, she persisted in her request, and Jesus seemed to dismiss it roughly. However, she was undeterred and cleverly turned His words about feeding the children rather than dogs, meant to stand for the people of Israel rather than pagans, to her advantage.

Her persistent, faithful pleading was rewarded, and Jesus granted her request. It appears that Jesus believed it was not yet time to bring the Gospel to pagans. Still, her unwavering faith seemingly influenced His timetable.

At one point, Jesus spoke about a faith that can move mountains. This woman's faith certainly moved Jesus. Her story encourages us to remain faithful, even when it is challenging, and inspires us to keep seeking the Lord, even when He seems silent and distant.

Once again, we witness an encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees. The Pharisees approached Jesus, criticizing His disciples for not strictly following the rituals of cleanliness they considered vital to religious faithfulness. While the Pharisees practiced many rituals in pursuit of purity, their motivations often lacked true sincerity.

 

The Pharisees equated the outward appearance of doing God's will with truly fulfilling it. They prioritized human-made rules, rationalizations, and the illusion of purity over cultivating a genuinely good and pure heart.

 

However, Jesus saw things differently. He understood that God looks beyond outward actions, seeing into our hearts and knowing our true intentions.

 

Let us pray for the grace to seek true purity of heart, aligning both our actions and attitudes more closely with God's will.