Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, Tone 8; The Dormition of Saint Anna, Mother of the Most Holy God-bearer (Theotokos); Holy Women Olympiada and Eupraxia (5th c.)
1 Corinthians 3:9-17; Galatians 4:22-31; Matthew 14:22-34; Luke 8:16-21
Polyeleos Feast.
Read Matthew 14:22-34
“And in the fourth watch of the night he (Jesus) came to them, walking on the sea.”
“So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.”
We would like to go through a little lesson in counting time as Jesus did. There are four Hours and four Watches in one day. The First Hour corresponds roughly to 6:00 am, the Third Hour is approximately 9:00 am, the Sixth Hour is 12:00 noon and the Ninth Hour is 3:00 pm. Then there are the 4 Watches of the night: the First Watch corresponds more or less to 6:00 pm, the Second Watch is roughly 9:00 pm, the Third Watch is 12:00 midnight and the Fourth Watch would be around 3:00 am.
In some monasteries, these 4 Hours and 4 Watches correspond to liturgical times of prayer. Now when Peter began to walk towards Jesus upon the raging sea, it was the Fourth Watch of the night, that is, close to 3:00 am. It would have been very dark and yet Peter was still willing to walk on the sea towards Jesus. It points to the courage of that fearless apostle, Peter.