August 7 , 2005 Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Proper 14 Commentary by Nathan Mattox

See also: [2008] [2002]

I Kings 19:9-18
Romans 10:5-15
Matthew 14:22-33

Romans 10: 5-15

The Romans passage lends itself well to a process theology interpretation, and I find that the Message translation by Eugene Peterson is the best wording of the scripture to help a congregation grasp the Process perspective. In it Peterson finds Paul saying, “It's the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. ⁹Say the welcoming word to God--"Jesus is my Master"--embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. ¹⁰With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me!"“

What is the significance of actually saying something out loud instead of just thinking it to ourselves? I remember reading a book when I was a teenager called the Celestine Prophecy. I haven’t read the book in a while, and have since grown a little weary of “New Age” philosophy, but I do remember something in the book about the significance of speaking aloud. By speaking something, we give a thought real vibration in the universe. The thought is actually out there somewhere, bouncing through the air on sound-waves. It may dissipate, but the effect of the spoken word creates a real effect in the universe. The Genesis story of God “speaking” the world into existence gives at least some mythic credibility to this idea. Confessing with our mouth that “Jesus is my master” makes the idea perhaps more real to our actual lives.

Matthew 14: 22-33

The Gospel passage is also about voicing something out loud. Peter sees Jesus and asks him to call him out of the boat. It is as if Peter locates the seat of Jesus’ supernatural power in his voice. Peter jumps out of the boat and starts walking toward that voice-- That unique voice that has power over the sea, over disease, over the hierarchical structure of everyday life in Palestine . As long as Peter takes Jesus’ invitation as the central focus of his entire being, he is able to do it—he walks out on the stormy sea just like his master. Then he loses his focus—He takes his focus off of that invitation echoing in his head and instead looks at his feet floating on top of the water. Sinking, he cries, “Master, Save me!” Jesus plunges his hand into the water and catches Peter right before his head goes under.

I see this as an illustration of the central tenant of Process theology—the invitation of God in the form of an initial aim in the experience of each individual. As long as we are able to discern that initial aim and choose it consistently, we will live into God’s vision for the future. This means that we may find ourselves doing things that we never expected we could. Peter opens himself to Jesus’ invitation to walk out on the water—in fact when he opens himself to the extent that he calls out to Jesus—“If it’s really you, call to me to come out on the water!” In this action, Peter is aligning his will with the invitation of God. He perceives the Divine Aim because he asks for the Divine Aim. “Call to me so that I may come to you.” What a powerful prayer, indeed!

Perhaps “speaking aloud” our innermost thoughts and desires is a way for us to harmonize those things with the Divine aim. Paul speaks about “saying the welcoming word to God—‘Jesus is my master.’” In this act, we put our trust in God’s Divine aim on the line. We clearly and forthrightly proclaim what it is we think God is doing in the world by tying God’s action to the actions of Jesus of Nazareth.

1 Kings 19: 9-18

Here, Elijah is hiding in a cave after he has disrupted the lives of the wayward people of God with his biting prophecy. He is in despair because he has been threatened by Jezebel for massacring the priests of Baal, and fears for his life. As he is on the run, he is twice assisted by an angel who gives him food, and then makes a 40 day and night journey into the desert to Mt. Horeb to hide in a cave.

In the cave, the Word of the Lord awakens Elijah --“why are you here Elijah?” Elijah recounts his difficulties convincing the people of Israel to worship only God, and his despair that he is the only prophet left alive.

Margaret Guenther writes in the June 7, 1995 issue of The Christian Century,

“On Yahweh's command, Elijah left the shelter of the cave, withstood wind, earthquake and fire, then embraced the silence. Such openness to God is a tedious ascent, a courageous turning inward and a surrender."

This scripture allows us to open the door on the other side of communication with God. In contrast with the New Testament witness of “speaking aloud” our devotion to God, this passage is about listening to God’s voice in the silence. Guenther’s article is a fantastic critique on the American culture’s tendency to “wrap ourselves in noise like a blanket.” How difficult it is to perceive the Divine Aim in the midst of so much turbulence! Elijah observes wind, earthquake, and fire--all occurrences that would understandably bear the voice of God to the Israelite people--but the text says that Elijah perceives not the Word of God in them. Then after all this, Elijah hears the sound of the sheer silence, and the silence opens up in Elijah’s mind with the Word of God. Here, in the silence, Elijah finally finds instruction.

How might we who believe in the persuasive power of God’s initial aim sometimes mistake what we expect to perceive for the authentic “Word of God?” The influence of Process theology has given me the faith in a God of boundless creativity--a God whom I meet with anticipation instead of expectation.

Nathan Mattox is a 2005 M.Div graduate of Claremont School of Theology. He is now serving an appointment in the United Methodist Church in Waldron, Arkansas. While attending seminary, Nathan was the program coordinator for the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life at Occidental College in Los Angeles . He is a member of the National Council of Churches Ecological Justice Fellowship and is also involved in the National Religious Partnership for the Environment. He is a new father to a 4-month old son and a husband for 5 years, and is every day discovering new aspects of God in these relationships.  

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