Today’s Scripture readings invite us to pray over the ways
we encounter the Lord in our lives --
the ways we become in touch with God’s presence. There is much to be learned from the first
disciples on the Sea of Galilee and the prophet Elijah in the first Scripture
reading.
As we engage today’s Gospel of the disciples on the Sea of
Galilee, we’re in the midst of an angry sea, in a boat that seems fragile and
there are howling winds and enormous waves that threaten to capsize the
disciples.
At some point in time, the storminess on the Sea of Galilee
may describe anyone’s life – as our
employer tells us that our job is downsized or outsourced, or our doctor
explains our test results. This storminess
has been the life of the community of the Church many times since Jesus walked
on water, and it is what today’s Gospel account is all about.
When we focus on the power of the winds and the depths of
the waves and how wet and cold we are, then we panic and grasp and clutch
and…sink. When we give our life over to
Jesus, when we trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior, we save our life.
This message is straightforward and easy to understand but
so hard to live out when we are gripped by our fears. The grace we seek from today’s Scriptures
is to cultivate faith in Jesus that is greater than our fears. The words of Jesus that are spoken to us
again and again are: “It is I; do not be
afraid.” We aren’t being asked to walk
on water, but to act like we believe that God’s love for us is more powerful
than chaos, evil and apathy. The Gospel
challenges us to take on the storms of our day with a love and hope that will
risk going overboard as did Peter. The
headwinds are fierce, but the force of God’s Spirit is greater still.
In the Gospel account of the storm of Sea of Galilee, the
evangelist Matthew tells us that Jesus came to the disciples during the fourth
watch of the night. That is 3:00 am.
If you are awake at 3:00 am, often it is a sign of something
wrong. If you are unable to sleep
tossing and turning, if you are waiting for someone to come home at 3:00 am, if
the phone rings or there’s a knock on the door, if people are out on the
streets at 3:00 am, it often is not a very good sign.
For some people, it’s 3:00 am emotionally. Whatever problems we experience, whatever
hurt or guilt or grief, it’s always worse in the middle of the night. In the life of the Church, we may think it is
3:00 am if the numbers in our parish community are dwindling.
When in your life do you experience the turbulence of the
sea and your fears and anxiety get the best of you? Are there times when you panic there is too
much to do and not enough time to do it?
As a parent or grandparent, what happens when you do not approve of the
choices your children are making? As a
teen or young adult, what happens when your heart is broken from a relationship
that falls apart? How is it for you when
you are disillusioned by those in authority – in the government, in the Church,
or in your place of business? Personally
when loneliness or depression gets the best of you, where do you turn? Too often we let the storm drown out the
summons of the merciful love of Jesus.
Despite the fears and struggles of our life that make it
seem like it is 3:00 am, no matter what time it is, exactly when it seems that
things couldn’t get any worse, Jesus comes to us walking on the sea of our
sadness and discontent. With love and
assurance, Jesus says: “Take
courage. It is I. Do not be afraid.” Like the disciples, we will draw courage from
His presence – so much courage that like Peter, we dare to venture out into the
deep. Plain and simple, the Gospel challenges
to have a deep trust in Jesus. Grace
conquers fear.
There is a remarkable similarity between the situation
Elijah found himself in today’s first Scripture reading and the disciples’
predicament in today’s Gospel. The similarity
is to be found in that the disciples and the prophet were invited to encounter
the Lord in times of great fear.
Elijah had incurred the wrath of Jezebel, wife of Ahab, the
King of Israel, and, as a result, the prophet had to flee into the desert and
to the mountaintop. There, he began to
despair. Although he felt alone and
helpless, he was soon to learn that the God for whom he had fearlessly
prophesied had not abandoned him. God
was near, providing food for the journey and an experience of God’s presence in
his life.
The Lord said to Elijah:
“Go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord; the Lord will be
passing by.” As Elijah waited, the Lord was not to be found
in the wind, or the earthquake or the fire.
Elijah was puzzled because he had expected to experience God in the
dramatic elements of life. Early in his
ministry, he raised a widow’s son from the dead. But then after the fire, there
was a tiny whispering sound, this is where Elijah experienced God’s presence. Elijah
allowed God to speak to him in the silence of his heart.
And so
we ask the question, where do we experience the Lord in our lives? What is our tiny whispering sound? Where is our sheer silence that speaks of
God’s presence in our life? God is to be
found in the small gestures, in the gentle breezes of life, in the sound of
sheer silence. You never know how deeply
a small gesture touches someone. Elijah was able to tune out the noise of the
world to hear the voice of God from within.
Do you not find it true that the more faithfully you listen to the voice
of God within you, the better you will be able to recognize the presence in the people of your life. Yes, we need to be able to pray without
words. Be still and know that I am God,
says the psalmist.
After encountering God in silence, the prophet then was
empowered to speak aloud the message of God’s truth to all who would listen.
Like Elijah, the disciples of Jesus found themselves in
peril, as wind and waves tossed them about.
Their anxiety increased when they did not recognize Jesus and thought
that it was a ghost that was approaching.
Jesus insisted they have courage.
He said: “Do not be afraid.”
There is a take-home message from the experience Elijah and
the experience disciples on the Sea of Galilee. As we pray over today’s Scripture readings,
the grace that was given to the prophet Elijah was to recognize God in the
“tiny whisperings sounds” in life – in the silence and the gentle breezes. May we seek the awareness of discovering
God’s presence in the ordinary events of our day, even in the quiet moments of
the day. As the disciples did on the Sea
of Galilee, may we also recognize God’s
presence in the storminess of our life.
The Lord is speaking to us: “Take
courage. It is I. Do not be afraid.” We are called to leave security behind. To follow Christ, we must venture out into
the full fury of life’s storms and leave our fantasies of security behind. We know we can do this because the same Jesus
who summoned Peter to leave the boat remains with us today, challenging us to
do the same.
Have a blessed day.
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