The gospel for Trinity 10 in Year A is Matthew 14.22–33, Jesus walking on the sea to the terrified disciples. The episode has parallels in Mark and John, but only Matthew includes the further account of Peter stepping out of the boat to meet Jesus—and this raises import issues of interpretation.
Should we focus on Peter, and whether he is a good or bad example, why he left the boat, and what his response tells us? Or does his role in the narrative ironically challenge our reading—so that what really matters is what we learn about Jesus, and in our interpretation we should keep our eyes fixed firmly on him?
We mentioned the change in culture and rule from the west of the Jordan river to the east, on the north side of Galilee. Until AD 39, the north west side was ruled by Herod Antipas (who also ruled Perea, where he imprisoned John the Baptist). The north east side was ruled by his half brother Philip, both sons of Herod the Great. The west side was mostly Jewish (despite the title ‘Galilee of the gentiles’) but the eastern side was much more Greek, and Jews were a minority here and in the adjacent territory of the Decapolis (the ‘ten cities’).
The quotation ‘Love God and do as you will’ is indeed from Augustine, Homily 7 of his Tractates on the First Epistle of John (In Epistolam Joannis ad Parthos), specifically in his commentary on 1 John 4:4–12: ‘Dilige, et quod vis fac.’
The Grove booklet we highlighted is Whole Church Curriculum by Karen Saunders and can be found here. The print copy is delivered post-free in the UK, or you can buy it as an ebook.
Written commentary on this passage can be found here.
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