{"id":1258,"date":"2017-08-07T11:21:29","date_gmt":"2017-08-07T11:21:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/batkol.info\/?p=1258"},"modified":"2017-08-07T11:21:29","modified_gmt":"2017-08-07T11:21:29","slug":"1258","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/2017\/08\/07\/1258\/","title":{"rendered":"Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A (13 August 2017)<\/p>\n

1 Kgs 19:9, 11-13
Ps. 85
Rom. 9:1-5\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Mt. 14:22-33
Theme: \u00a0\u00a0Why did you doubt?<\/p>\n

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Download<\/a><\/p>\n

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Faith, in Hebrew, is emunah. \u00a0According to Green, \u201cEmunah in the Bible has the sense of affirmation and trust, a commitment of the entire self to the truth as told, seen or witnessed.\u201d [Green, 125] \u00a0In today\u2019s Gospel, we read about Peter\u2019s faith in Jesus. \u00a0He already had it even before he stepped into the water, otherwise, he would not be doing so. \u00a0His statement seemed just rhetorical, \u201cIf it is you, Lord, command me to come into the water.\u201d \u00a0He already knew it was Jesus. \u00a0Peter sank because he lost his focus. He accommodated his fears and became self-focused. \u00a0In a sense, he did not devote his entire self to the truth about Jesus. \u00a0The disciples, in Matthew\u2019s Gospel, were constantly rebuked for their little faith. Even up to the end of the Gospel after Jesus\u2019 resurrection, some still doubted. [Matthew 28:17]<\/p>\n

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The story of Elijah, also, has shown tremendous faith that has gone into doubt. \u00a0Prior to the section that we are reading today, Elijah challenged 450 prophets of Jezebel. \u00a0Both the prophets and Elijah were to set up an altar and call on their gods. \u00a0Whoever responded would be the most powerful and the true God! \u00a0The prophets of Jezebel strained and cried to their god, but to no avail. \u00a0Then, when it was Elijah\u2019s turn, the whole sacrifice was consumed by fire along with the surrounding elements. \u00a0But the story did not end there. \u00a0When Jezebel found out that her prophets were slain, she threatened Elijah. \u00a0Fearing for his life, he went into hiding in a cave in Horeb, where he was instructed to anoint kings and his replacement. \u00a0Did Elijah lose his faith and doubt? \u00a0Surely, the one who showed power must be able to save him also from Jezebel.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0Jesus told us that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we could move mountains. \u00a0But most often, our faith diminishes when we are tried the most. \u00a0Indeed, how do we keep our faith in the most difficult circumstances?<\/p>\n

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\u00a0But we can rest assured that God also reaches out to us. \u00a0In the case of Peter, when he became fearful of the winds and sank, Jesus caught him. \u00a0When they returned to the boat together, the storm subsided, peace descended on them, and they recognized God\u2019s presence. \u00a0God, too, revealed God-self to Elijah in sheer silence and Elijah was able to perceive God\u2019s presence. \u00a0Perhaps, faith is indeed a mutual experience.<\/p>\n

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For Reflection and Discussion: \u00a0Can you recall an experience in your life when your faith was deeply challenged? \u00a0How did you respond? \u00a0How perceive God\u2019s presence?<\/p>\n

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Bibliography: \u00a0\u00a0Green, These Are the Words: \u00a0A Vocabulary of Jewish Spiritual Life (Vermont, 1999)<\/p>\n

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This week\u2019s Sunday Gospel Commentary was prepared by<\/p>\n

Sr. Petite Lao, RNDM – Bat Kol Alumna 2010, 2014<\/p>\n

Delesan Kailawan, Kulaman, Sultan Kudarat, Mindanao, Philippines<\/p>\n

petitelao@gmail.com<\/p>\n

[Copyright \u00a9 2017]<\/p>\n

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PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol. \u00a0Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome<\/p>\n

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Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem<\/p>\n

1983-2017<\/p>\n

\u201cChristians Studying the Bible \u00a0within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A (13 August 2017) 1 Kgs 19:9, 11-13Ps. 85Rom. 9:1-5\u00a0 \u00a0 Mt. 14:22-33Theme: \u00a0\u00a0Why did you doubt? \u00a0 Download \u00a0 Faith, in Hebrew, is emunah. \u00a0According to Green, \u201cEmunah in the Bible has the sense of affirmation and trust, a commitment of the entire self to the truth…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":1255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1258"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}