18th Week in Ordinary Time
08th August 2023 (Tuesday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 2
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Numbers 12:1-13
In those days: Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed. When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, like snow. And Aaron turned towards Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned. Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.” And Moses cried to the Lord, “O God, please heal her – please.”
Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 6cd-7, 12-13 (R. see 3a)
R/. Have mercy, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!
R/. Alleluia
Gospel : Matthew 14:22-36
[After the crowd ate and were satisfied,] Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognised him, they sent word around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Highlight: Walk focused!
Guidlines: In the sea of life often strong winds blow against us and fear grips us with the danger of sinking. But as long as God is with us, He will not allow us to sink but lift us up from drowning{alertSuccess}
1. In the gospel, Matthew 14. 22-36, the disciples of Jesus in a boat are hit by strong winds. Jesus was not with them. In our life also, many times our lifeboat is assaulted by the winds of problems and afflictions. The sail becomes difficult.
2. We need to check and see whether we too left Jesus behind and went ahead without him. We may be so preoccupied with the winds that we may not even recognize Jesus and mistake him as a ghost, like the disciples.
3. Or, we may be like Aaron and Miriam who were blinded by jealousy and self-pride and did not recognize the presence of God in Moses and speak ill of him. At times, we may be like Peter who walks on the waters with focus and trust in Jesus.
4. But this may be only for a while. Sooner or later, we may shift our attention from him onto the winds. We will also begin to sink. As long as we are focused on Jesus, no winds can frighten us or drown us. They may be strong and make our moving difficult and tedious. But they cannot stop our march ahead. We will be able to walk on the waters.
5. However, as humans we are, we too will experience moments of drowning and sinking. But there is nothing to be panicky about. We need to constantly tune our ears to the assuring words of Jesus, “It is I, take heart, do not be afraid!” We can also cry out to him, “Lord, save me!” We need to deepen our focus and trust in the Lord
6. This is possible only in a deep personal encounter, intimacy and communion with God. Moses was such a man who enjoyed this personal oneness with God. It is this that clothes him with meekness and magnanimity even amidst mounting slanders and defiance.
7. Like Miriam and Aaron, we may feel great and proud about our blessings and gifts and act jealously and self-righteously. Let us learn to be humble to realize that we are so fragile as to sink any moment.
Practice: Like Peter, we must confide in the invitation of Jesus to go to him in the waters. We must be ready to get out of our boats of securities and things of clinging and throw ourselves into the waters{alertSuccess}