Mt 14:22-36 Walking On Water

Mt 14:22-36  Walking On Water
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When the disciples saw Jesus 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.”

These past few days I’ve been on vacation in New York and have had the opportunity to watch some of the Olympics.  I love the sportsmanship, competition and of course, the victories.  What I don’t enjoy are the commentators.  They can be very annoying, especially when they give their opinions.  I’ve noticed a pattern in their comments:  that if a team is winning it’s because they are very confident in themselves, and if they are losing it’s because they’ve lost all their confidence.  God forbid they are losing because they didn’t work as hard as the other team.  God forbid it’s because they never expected a challenge. 

I don’t know about you, but I remember busting my behind in College to get good grades.  I didn’t bust it because I was confident in myself; I busted it because I lacked confidence in myself.  Thank God!    I also remember some students waiting till the last minute to study for a test because they thought it would be easy.  I began to see a pattern:  those who thought the test would be easy scored low; those who thought it would be difficult, scored high.

Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on water.  His problems began when he had far more confidence in the power of the storms (and wind) than in the power of the Son of God.  There are two correct ways to read this Gospel:  either Peter sank because he had more confidence in himself than in God or because he had more confidence in what others were saying and doing and less confidence in what God says and does.

It’s bad enough if we only listen to ourselves.  It’s worse when we only listen to what others have to say.  What we need is balance and order:  first God and everything else will fall into place.  We need to place much more confidence in God, our Creator and redeemer; the One who has proven, time and time again, the love He has for us.

I love myself because the Lord first loved me.  I believe in myself, because I believe in God.  I trust in myself, because I first trust in the Lord.  If I can do some good, it’s because the Lord taught me what is good. 

In 2007, over 90,000 young girls and boys underwent plastic surgery.  They did it not to correct any life threatening problem or an objective defect.  They did it because they were being bullied by classmates.  Just recently, one young lady has been appearing on TV over and over again, giving free advertisement to an organization that does such deeds.  Her mother defended her daughter’s decision because she was being bullied in school.  Kids would often make fun of her ears, calling her “Dumbo”.  When a reporter asked the young girl how she looked (after her surgery), she said she had no regrets:  “I look beautiful, this is exactly what I wanted, I love it.”   

I thought she wanted the bullying to stop. 

Hm…I have a feeling this young girl will learn a very hard lesson.  In our world full of sinners (bullies), the only way to stop a sinner is not by believing them, appeasing them or seeking their approval, but by converting them by showing them who you will believe. 

I fear for this young girl.  Her classmates may stop calling her “Dumbo”, but what will stop them from calling her “Plastic face”?  And then…what will she do?  What will her mother do?

In my opinion, this was a great victory for the bullies; and a tremendous defeat for common sense.

My fear is that this is the beginning of a new market.  Already so many of our elementary school kids get their teeth whitened, false nails fastened, and hair colored.  Why?  Because someone in their class did it first.  Actually, some parent, in their class, allowed it first.   Slowly, but gradually, these common procedures will expand to different areas of the body and become less expensive, more attractive and a nightmare for good parents and children and a victory for business and overly confident parents that see what bullies see:  “imagined defects” in their children. 

The day will come when a child is bullied for not having had plastic surgery!   Children will demand to have the “perfect” ears, “perfect” nose, “perfect” skin tone, “perfect” chin, “perfect” chest, etc…

I am not exaggerating; this is our pagan history.  A new emerging market is just waiting to win acceptance and it will.  A new business, based on a false sense of compassion, will emerge from all this publicity, forcing younger and young girls and boys to submit to the driving winds of false “perfection” and a false sense of confidence.

The “cover girl” for this organization has another thing coming if she thought that the bullying would come to an end.  Bullies will come to an end, when we come to our senses and faith.

I could wear contacts.  I refuse to do so.  I consider wearing glasses as a great way to showcase something no one likes to show:  my weaknesses and failings.

This is what we need to see.  This is what the Lord wants us to see.  This is the beginning step towards walking on water. 

Mark 12:18-27 The Big Bang of Mistakes

Mark 12:18-27  The Big Bang of Mistakes

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Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and put this question to him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, ‘If someone’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.’  Now there were seven brothers…” 

Hypothetical scenarios are a great tool for discerning the wisdom of an argument.  However, Hyper-theatrical scenarios (exaggerated or highly improbable situations presented in order to create a show), are a lousy tool for discerning the wisdom of an argument. 

In today’s Gospel, the Sadducees pose a hyper-theatrical scenario to Jesus.  The Lord puts an end to the discussion (and “show”) with one decisive and embarrassing blow.

Did you ever take math in College?  If you did, did you ever experience what is often referred to as a “stupid” mistake?  I did and on multiple occasions.  If you don’t know, a “stupid mistake” in math is something like this:  You work long and hard, diligently and deliberately, through a huge mathematical problem.  You show all your work in excruciating detail and employ all the latest mathematical techniques you know.  Then, when you get your quiz or test back, you’re stunned to see that you got a 90 rather than a 100 because you made one stupid mistake in addition at the very beginning of your masterpiece.  Argh!!!!!

The Sadducees made one stupid mistake at the very beginning of their hyper-theatrical argument.  In their emotionally driven craze to outwit Jesus, they forgot something.  They forgot that God is the God of the living.  And if He is the God of the living, then it must mean that no one really dies.  I wonder how many hours they spent formulating their scenario to present to Jesus.  I wonder how many people were involved.  

It’s no wonder the Lord told them, “You are greatly misled.” 

It’s bad enough to be greatly misled.  It’s even worse to mislead others.  That’s what so many of our politicians, friends and neighbors have been doing for years.  They’ve been misleading folks in a big way.  Of course it didn't start that way, but a little bit of illogic eventually creates a big bang of confusion. 

I would hate to think that there are people out there that agree with me simply because they know me or that they agree with my point of view.  I would prefer that people agreed with me because my arguments were logical and that they stood on solid ground.  God is solid.  The Church is the Rock.  The Church lives by faith and logic.  If God is the God of the living, then anything contrary to life is wrong, period.  If a man is designed to be with a woman, then any other type of design is flawed, period.  You might not agree with me, but don't tell me I don't make sense.

When a relativist comes up to me and matter-of-factly tells me, “There is no truth.”  I let them matter-of-factly know they just contradicted themselves:  If there is no truth, then how can you know the truth that there is no truth? Even more interesting is the male Pacifist who is also an abortionist that comes up to me and says, “War is wrong because it kills innocent people.”  If he is against war, then he better think of another reason why he is against it.  He is just as inconsistent as the female Naturalist who prefers organic foods to chemical ones but uses artificial contraceptives rather than natural family planning. 

Of course everyone can feel however they want.  But feelings come and go unlike the truth that lasts forever.     

I wish our Catholic Middle Schools and High Schools would offer one semester of Logic.  I can tell you right now it would give our schools and students an incredible advantage over all the kids and schools in Dallas.  Kids that think logically would save our parents, teachers and society a lot of hard ache and headaches.  It might even put an end to the talk shows where talking about our problems is cheap and solving them is elusive.  Finally!!!  Finally!!! We could have conversations that went beyond feelings, emotions and sentiments.  Finally!!!  Finally!!!  We could have issues that were no longer emotionally charged but rather candidly honest.  Finally!!!  Finally!!!  We could know the objective God of love and truth, rather than the subjective god of feelings and desires.    

The Sadducees resorted to some roundabout sentimental scenario to justify their position.  The Lord struck a fatal blow when he said, “If there is no resurrection, then God would not be the God of the living but of the dead.   

God is the God of the living, not of the dead.  Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead not because we feel him but because He did.  “When we take our “feelings” off the throne, God can come in and give us gifts, both of faith and even of feelings, that we could never give ourselves.  But He does it in His time schedule, not ours.  He’s a lover, not a train.” (Peter Kreeft)

Let’s solve our problems by thinking through them and not by accepting our way to them.