1 March 2027 · Syro-Malankara Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Latin Rite · Syro-Malabar Rite · മലയാളം
“Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Matthew 14:27
The first reading finishes the story of Abraham in Gerar. Abimelech, warned by God in a dream, rises early and confronts Abraham: “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such great guilt on me and my kingdom?” Abraham's answer is honest about his fear: “I did it because I thought, There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.” He had judged a whole people without knowing them, and he was wrong: the pagan king turned out to fear God more than Abraham expected. Abimelech returns Sarah, gives gifts, and opens his land: “My land is before you; settle where it pleases you.” Then comes the turning point: “Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves.” The man who caused the harm becomes the one who prays for healing. Here is a Lenten pattern: we acknowledge the wrong we have done, and then we pray, sincerely, for the very people we have wronged.
In the Gospel, fear meets Jesus on the water. The disciples are battling the wind through the night, and when they see Jesus walking toward them on the sea they cry out, “It is a ghost!” He answers at once: “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter steps out, walks, and then looks at the wind instead of the Lord: “beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him.” St Augustine said that Peter sank because he trusted in himself, and rose because he cried out to the Lord; in himself he was weak, in Christ he was strong (in substance). Halfway through the Fast, many of us feel the wind more than at the beginning. The prayer of Peter is short enough for any moment: Lord, save me. And Paul's blessing is the answer to it: “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with all of you.”
Theme: “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
At the middle of the Fast: Abraham prays for the man he wronged, Jesus comes through the storm, and Peter learns to cry out.
“And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends; and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.” Job 42:10
“Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” James 5:16
Apply: Pray by name each day this week for one person you have wronged.
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24–26
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” John 14:27
Apply: Before sleep tonight, bless each member of your family with the words of Numbers 6.
“Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.” Psalm 69:1
“Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16
Apply: Make “Lord, save me” your prayer in every moment of fear or temptation this week.
Fear makes us misjudge others and sink in the storm; Jesus says, it is I.
The one who cries out to him is caught by his hand.
Take-home resolution: For the rest of the Fast, keep your eyes on Jesus and pray for those you have hurt.
Dear friends, Abraham had wronged King Abimelech out of fear. He said: I thought, there is no fear of God at all in this place (Genesis 20:11). But the king was more honest than Abraham expected.
What does Abraham do then? He prays for the man he wronged: Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech (Genesis 20:17). This is a good Lenten practice: to pray for those we have hurt.
In the Gospel the disciples are in the storm, and Jesus comes walking on the sea: take heart, it is I; do not be afraid (Matthew 14:27). Peter walks to him, but when he notices the strong wind he begins to sink and cries out: Lord, save me! Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him (Matthew 14:30–31).
We are in the middle of the Great Fast. If you feel the wind more than before, look at Jesus, not at the waves, and say Peter's prayer. May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways (2 Thessalonians 3:16). Amen.
Children, Peter walked on the water to Jesus! But when he looked at the big waves he got scared and started to sink. He shouted: Lord, save me! And Jesus caught his hand at once. When you are scared, you can say the same short prayer: Jesus, save me. He always hears.
Lord Jesus, you came to your disciples walking on the sea, and you said to them: take heart, it is I; do not be afraid. When we judge others out of fear, correct us; when we have hurt others, teach us to pray for them as Abraham prayed for Abimelech. When the wind is strong and we begin to sink, stretch out your hand and catch us. Lord of peace, give us your peace at all times and in all ways, in this Great Fast and always. Amen.
Two frightened men stand at the centre of today's readings. Abraham is afraid of a foreign king and misjudges him; yet God still uses Abraham's prayer to heal that king's house. Peter is afraid of the wind and begins to sink; yet the hand of Jesus is there at once. The short Epistle (2 Thessalonians 3:16–18) gives the word that both needed: “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways.” This week carries us across the middle of the Great Fast, and it begins with what to do when fear takes over.
Setting.
Abraham has come to Gerar, in the south of the land, and has said of Sarah, “She is my sister.” King Abimelech takes her into his house. In Saturday's reading God warned the king in a dream, told him that Abraham was a prophet, and said that Abraham would pray for him (20:7). Today's passage opens on the following morning. Genesis tells a similar story in 12:10–20 and again of Isaac in 26:6–11. In each, the bearer of the promise puts the promise at risk, and God protects it.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“What have you done to us?” (20:9)
The rebuke comes from the outsider, and the man of promise has no reply ready. Scripture lets a foreign king speak the truth to Abraham.
“I did it because I thought, There is no fear of God at all in this place” (20:11)
Fear made him judge a whole people without knowing them. The events of the chapter prove him wrong.
“Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother” (20:12)
Abraham offers a half-truth that protected only himself, while it left Sarah exposed. The text reports his defence without approving it. The rebuke of verse 9 stands, and the king's gifts in verse 16 are for clearing Sarah's name.
“Then Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech” (20:17)
The one who was in the wrong is the one asked to pray, and God hears him. His calling does not depend on his having behaved well this time. This is grace, and it should humble him.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism teaches that the prayer of intercession is a mark of a heart in harmony with God's mercy (CCC 2635). The Church reads such stories not to excuse sin but to see God's fidelity at work through weak servants. In the Great Fast this is a word of hope: a failure in one's own conduct is no reason to stop praying for others.
Setting.
The scene follows straight on from the feeding of the five thousand (14:13–21). Jesus had tried to go away alone after he heard of John the Baptist's death (14:13), and only now does he find the time to pray. He sends the disciples across the lake at evening, and for most of the night they struggle against the wind. Mark 6:45–52 and John 6:16–21 also tell of the walking on the water. Only Matthew tells of Peter's own walk.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”” (14:27)
The first thing he does is to speak. The wind has not yet stopped, and his voice comes before the calm.
“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” (14:28)
Peter does not ask to walk on water as a display. He asks to be told to come. It is a good way of asking.
“But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”” (14:30)
The wind was as strong as it had been before he got out of the boat. What changed is where he looked. His three words are a complete prayer, and it is answered.
“Truly you are the Son of God.” (14:33)
Those who were terrified in verse 26 now worship. They reach this confession through fear and rescue, not by avoiding them.
How the Church reads it.
Tertullian saw in the little ship a figure of the Church, tossed by the waves of persecution and temptation while the Lord seems to be away, and calmed by his coming (On Baptism 12, in substance). St Augustine says that Peter stands for all of us: by the Lord's strength he walks, by his own weakness he sinks, and then he must call out (Sermon 76, in substance). So the Church takes the scene as a picture of her own life. She is not spared the crossing, but she is not left alone in it.
Did Abraham do wrong, and does the Bible approve of it?
Yes, he did wrong, and no, the Bible does not approve. He exposed his wife to danger to protect himself, and the king's words in verse 9, “You have done things to me that ought not to be done”, stand without a reply. Scripture does not make its heroes perfect. God's faithfulness to Abraham is the point of the story, not Abraham's conduct.