The grace we seek in today's Scriptures is to cultivate faith in Jesus that is greater than our fears.

 

Nineteenth Sunday in  OT  A  2020

 

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 – one’s parish or school; one’s business or neighborhood or family; one’s personal life as our employer tells us that our job is downsized or outsourced, or our doctor explains our test results.  Living in these days of the pandemic crisis has us all on high alert. 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. 

As you well know, Catholicism is much more than a system of beliefs; it is a way of life where are not controlled by our fears; rather we seek the inner peace and trust that are God’s precious gifts to us

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?    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 of God 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.  The Lord speaks to us in the tiny whispering sounds of our life.

The Lord also speaks to us in the stress and craziness of life as well.   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 happens loneliness or depression gets the best of you, where do you turn?

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 we wrestle with, 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 the pandemic crisis gets in the way of praying as we wish, or when we are rightly disillusioned with the issue of clergy sex abuse.

The fears and struggles of our life may 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.”  Then like Elijah and like the disciples, we will draw courage from His presence – so much courage that like Peter; we dare to venture out into the deep.

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 holding a child in your arms.   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.”

 

Have a Blessed Day.