August 3, 2021 Tuesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Lectionary: 408)
Reading I Nm 12:1-13
Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses on the pretext
of the marriage he had contracted with a Cushite woman.
They complained, “Is it through Moses alone that the LORD speaks?
Does he not speak through us also?”
And the LORD heard this.
Now, Moses himself was by far the meekest man on the face of the earth.
So at once the LORD said to Moses and Aaron and Miriam,
“Come out, you three, to the meeting tent.”
And the three of them went.
Then the LORD came down in the column of cloud,
and standing at the entrance of the tent,
called Aaron and Miriam.
When both came forward, he said,
“Now listen to the words of the LORD:
Should there be a prophet among you,
in visions will I reveal myself to him,
in dreams will I speak to him;
not so with my servant Moses!
Throughout my house he bears my trust:
face to face I speak to him;
plainly and not in riddles.
The presence of the LORD he beholds.
Why, then, did you not fear to speak against my servant Moses?”
So angry was the LORD against them that when he departed,
and the cloud withdrew from the tent,
there was Miriam, a snow-white leper!
When Aaron turned and saw her a leper, he said to Moses,
“Ah, my lord! Please do not charge us with the sin
that we have foolishly committed!
Let her not thus be like the stillborn babe
that comes forth from its mother’s womb
with its flesh half consumed.”
Then Moses cried to the LORD, “Please, not this! Pray, heal her!”
Responsorial Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 6cd-7, 12-13
R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense;
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned;
and done what is evil in your sight.”
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
That you may be justified in your sentence,
vindicated when you condemn.
Indeed, in guilt was I born,
and in sin my mother conceived me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not off from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Alleluia Jn 1:49b
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Rabbi, you are the Son of God;
you are the King of Israel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mt 14:22-36
Jesus made the disciples get into a boat
and precede him to the other side of the sea,
while he dismissed the crowds.
After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
When it was evening he was there alone.
Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them, walking on the sea.
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.
“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.
At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter said to him in reply,
“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.”
Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,
and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
After they got into the boat, the wind died down.
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
“Truly, you are the Son of God.”
After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret.
When the men of that place recognized him,
they sent word to all the surrounding country.
People brought to him all those who were sick
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak,
and as many as touched it were healed.
I don’t like to talk about discomfort, mainly because I’ve lived a very comfortable and content life.
I’ve never broken a bone or been in an accident, I’ve lived in the same city my whole life, I’m the first of my family to graduate college, and I got scholarships to do so. I acknowledge that good things tend to fall in my lap, but this is not the case for the rest of my family.
Over three years ago, my brother was in a life-threatening accident. He almost lost his foot and although he didn’t, his mental health and livelihood suffered as a result of it. Several months later, he was in another accident. When he returned home after a month in the hospital, his character was almost unrecognizable. I will never understand why this happened to him, and at times, I wish it had happened to me instead, the one with the “easy” life. I wish I could have taken away my brother’s suffering, yet I had to sit and watch the long, exhausting, and uncomfortable journey of his healing and recovery.
The pain our family endured watching the deterioration of my brother’s mental state felt too burdensome to give to God.
I approached suffering with such embarrassment that I settled with letting fear take the victory.
For years, the wallpaper on my phone was an image of Christ looking down through the lens of what looks like water. Submerged in the water is His reaching hand. His eyes are kind, not condemning nor scolding. This was the image I saw on my phone screen while my family and I waited in my brother’s hospital room. I was confronted with my own heavy doubt that my brother would never fully recover. But my brother still had a heartbeat, and God still had a purpose for this situation. He only desired for me to trust in that.
The greatest token of hope I have taken from today’s Gospel is that even in moments of such little faith, Christ does not hesitate to extend His hand to me and pick me up.
I used to read this passage, thinking, “how embarrassing.” Peter, one of Jesus’ chosen Apostles, fell while walking on water because of his doubt. But, I think the point is not that he fell; it was the way his hope was redeemed by the One who pulled him out of his doubt. Peter’s plea for help is actually his most courageous moment: “Lord, save me.”
I’m learning the power in even my weakest of pleas because Jesus desires to hear my voice,
even when that voice is desperately crying out to Him to restore my hope and save me from my doubt.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not off from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maddy Bass is a simple gal with a big childlike heart. As a full-time Communication Studies student at the University of San Diego, with a passion for social and restorative justice, she strives to be a bearer of the Good News in the digital age. She is always on the hunt for stories worth sharing, underrated coffee shops, thrift store deals, and opportunities to be intentional. Find out more about her here.