“O YOU OF LITTLE FAITH, WHY DID YOU DOUBT?” MATTHEW 14:31
INTRODUCTION
Peter and the other disciples were in the boat when they saw Jesus walking on water. They were terrified even though they had seen many miraculous things He had done. They thought it was a ghost and we know how superstitious fishermen are. Peter cries out, if it is you Lord, tell me to come on the water. Jesus says, “Come!” Jesus confirms for Peter; He, indeed is the Lord!
Peter began to fear outside the boat and cries out, “Lord Save Me!” Jesus reaches out and takes him by the hand. “You of little faith why did you doubt?” I begin this blog with this Scripture story because it contains many of the points I want to call attention to.
There are different kinds of “faith” There is an everyday kind where you believe when you get out of bed you won’t fall down, your breakfast won’t make you sick, and you will safely drive to work. and you won’t catch Covid 19 today.
There is another kind of FAITH that is related to a heavenly Father that wants a relationship with us and provide for our physical and spiritual well-being. I will be talking about the Theological virtue of FAITH in today’s blog. Faith is a gift of the Father. We need to pray for it. We can lose it altogether or it can become weak and leads to falling and stumbling, and sometimes even separation from our Father in heaven.
The Disciples became afraid seeing Jesus walking on water and lost sight of who Jesus was, who He said He was, and the many proofs He was who He says He is.
Peter plays the game of testing God, okay Lord I am testing you if you are Lord tell me to come to you. It is sort of what Satan did in temptations of Jesus in desert. “If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread.” Maybe we play that game too, God if you do this, I will believe, Hmmm, how does that work out for us?
BACKGROUND
WHAT THE CHURCH TEACHES
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
CCC 814 Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us… By faith “man freely commits his entire self to God.”…
CCC 1816 The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it, and spread it: “All must be prepared to confess Christ before men and to follow him amidst the persecutions which the Church never lacks.
CCC 154-155 Faith is human. Believing is possible only by grace and the interior helps of the Holy Spirit….”In faith, the human intellect and will co-operate with divine grace: Believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will moved by God through grace.
CCC 160 Faith is an act of freedom. To be human, man’s response to God by faith must be free and… therefore nobody is to be forced to embrace the faith against his will. The act of faith is of its very nature a free act. God calls men to serve him in spirit and in truth… but not coerced…”
SCRIPTURE
THE POWER OF FAITH
Mark 9:23– And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can! All things are possible for one who believes.”
Matthew 21:21– And Jesus answered, “Truly, I say to you, if you have FAITH and do not doubt and say to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen..” ‘
Matthew 8:10 A Roman centurion, a pagan and Gentile, approached Jesus and told him his servant was paralyzed at home in great pain and Jesus agreed to come heal him.
The Centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed…Jesus responded; “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.’” Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour [his] servant was healed.
Matthew 15:22 One more story of incredible faith outside the chosen people, A Canaanite woman, a pagan also, begged Jesus to cure her demon-possessed daughter. At first Jesus rebuffs her, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel but the woman persisted in her faith in Jesus. Jesus was moved by that faith and said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.
SEE WHAT GREAT FAITH THIS WOMAN WHO PERSEVERES
COMMENTARY
In the letter to the Hebrews, chapter 11, we find this definition of faith given by St. Paul, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Faith is a gift from God, animated by the Holy Spirit, who creates in our hearts a desire for God. God never ceases to draw us to Himself. Although we can forget God or reject God, God never ceases to call everyone to seek Him and to find eternal life.
The Holy Spirit animates our minds and hearts so that we may recognize Jesus for who He is. “For no one can say Jesus is Lord except the Holy Spirit and who He has revealed him.”
I Cor. 12:13
There are many ways to know or approach God. Beginning with Creation, its beauty, and order, we can come to the knowledge of an intelligent First Cause. The world and the human person both attest to the fact that they are not their own origins. Our holy Mother the Church holds and teaches us that God is the first principle and last end of all things and can be known with certainty from the created world by the natural light of human reason. The human person’s faculties, mind, intellect, and memory, welcome the revelation of a personal God.
Faith is a dialogue of love with God. In His revelation, God says, “I love you.” In Faith we say, “We gratefully accept your love and return it to you, Father.” I Corinthians 3:11 It is not so much about our love for God that is so very crucial in the beginning but an acknowledgement and an acceptance of God’s love for us.
By the gift of faith, the Holy Spirit enables us to enter into relationship with God. After death we call that relationship, eternal life. But right now, this life in Jesus begins through the “obedience of faith.” With his whole being man gives his assent to God the revealer.
This obedience of faith can most perfectly be seen in the exemplar of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. By faith Mary welcomes the tidings and promise brought by the angel Gabriel, believing that “with God nothing will be impossible.” Mary is the Mother of God and our Mother too. Mary will always lead us to her son, Jesus.
CONCLUSION
Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to man. We must pray steadfastly for this gift. Faith is a priceless gift, a pearl of great price. To love, grow, and persevere in our Faith, we must nourish it with the Word of God and practice it through works of charity. We must persevere in faith until we enter eternal life.
We must pray never to lose FAITH and ask the Holy Spirit for His guidance and protection against onslaughts and attacks by a faithless world. Paul said to his disciple, Timothy, “By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made a shipwreck of their Faith.” I Tim.1:18-19
Faith makes us taste in advance the light of the beatific vision. “Then we shall see God, face to face, as He is.”
I Cor. 13:12 The Theological virtue of Faith right now, is the beginning of eternal life. Pray that the Holy Spirit inspires our minds and hearts and strengthens our wills to say YES to God as Mother Mary did.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, you have in your love given us your precious gift of faith. May all you wished to reveal to us be opened in our hearts. Send your Spirit to protect and guide this most precious gift. Thank you for loving us and revealing that love in your only-begotten Son, Jesus, through the inspiration of the Most Holy Spirit. Amen.