CALMING THE STORM
There is a strong need of calming down the storms of life around us daily. Indeed, there are a lot of ravaging storms through waves and winds of life. These storms are internal and external and rob us of our inner peace and tranquillity.
In life, we learn how to survive or cope or calm these storms in and out of us. The hardest truth of all time is that we cannot weather the storms of life without Christ. He is our storm-breaker to create the peace and calmness we need through changing life situations and conditions.
Therefore, the masters of the coping mechanism we adapt to face life, be it therapies, indulgences in substances, alcohol, etc. They are temporary solutions to a deep underlying problem of human nature. Hence, we can only survive or weather the storm through God’s intervention.
OUR THEME
The readings of this 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time of the year Cycle A, speak a lot not only on the revelation or manifestation of God in our salvation history but also concretely to our daily lives’ events and more so to our present-day situations and contexts of the pandemic; the crisis of faith; the emotional crisis of uneasiness, panic, and nervousness; the social crisis of distancing and no human contacts, as well as the economic crisis of uncertainty for the future.
God is a God of encounter! He meets us in every event of our lives-great and insignificant happenings of life. Yet, his ever-abiding presence is felt more in the small and insignificant moments.
The readings of this Sunday tell about God’s peaceful and blissful manifestations and interventions in broken, restive and hopeless human moments.
FIRST READING: 1 KINGS 19:9, 11-13
The first reading from 1 Kings 19:9, 11-13 was a personal theophanic encounter of God with the prophet Elijah after the terrific and dramatic manifestation of God to Israelites at Mount Carmel against the forces of corruption and falsehood- Baal and his prophets. Elijah was afraid of what Jezebel the wife of King Ahaz will do to him after presenting the True God to the people, and exposing, shaming, and killing the false prophets of Baal who sought refuge at Mount Sinai.
There in a peaceful, calm, and comforting way, God manifested Himself to Elijah. Besides this theophanic appearance in a gentle breeze was a correctional impression of God who “answered by fire” mentality. The God who answered the prophet by fire at the contest of Mount Carmel was no longer manifesting Himself in the extraordinary phenomena of furious wild wind, earthquake, or ravaging fire but in soft, gentle, calming whispering and breezily sound of sheer silence.
The biggest lesson for us is that the Christian mentality of today that seeks God in terrific, dramatic, and extraordinary phenomena of life, misses out on the gentle, soft, and silent ways God reaches out to us too. The “answereth” God by the fire of Elijah is also the soft whispering God of Elijah.
Our theophany may be in the simple, ordinary, uneventful or undramatic experience of our daily lives: rising and setting of the sun, greenfield, plants or the flowering plants and trees, the humming forests, creepy flowing springs or river, the clasping ocean sound, wave and still blue-ness or greenish of the sea or ocean, tweeting sounds of insects, birds and animals domestic and wild, laughter and smile of children, young and adult, the quietness of our morning wake etc.
Hence, the first reading debunks the claim that the God of Elijah answered only by fire, and maybe fire storms and thunders, a God of great and big things. After the fiercer contest with fake prophets of Baal who polluted Israel with fake Prophecies, where Elijah called down fire from heaven. God demonstrate to him his ever-abiding presence in the tiny whispering sound of a gentle breeze and not in the hurricane, earthquake or fire as the contest may suggest of the Almighty God. A big lesson of faith: God’s infinite power and mighty are in the small, insignificant things and moments of life.
SECOND READING: ROMANS 9:1-5
In Paul´s Letter to Romans 9:1-5, we see Paul grieved at the Jews’ refusal to accept Jesus. Even when to them was the accreditation of theophany: the filial adoption, the worship, the glory, the promises, the laws, the prophets, the patriarchs, the history, the tradition, and the Christ Jesus: Lord, Messiah, and Saviour of the world. Though he was sad over their refusal or rejection, he was determined to do anything and everything possible to win them for Christ, even his separation from Christ or even death.
Lightly, St. Paul in anguish and deep sorrow reminds the people and nation of Israel of the great and privileged blessings that were never tapped to their advantage. They are the people of the heirs, the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; theirs the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is overall. Yet, they remain like a cursed nation with a lot of bitterness and horrible history. Rom. 9:1-5
THE GOSPEL: MATTHEW 14:23-33
In the Gospel of Matthew 14:23-33, we continue with the humanity of Christ to connect with/to the people. He had compassion on them, taught, healed, and fed them as well as empathetically took time to send them forth to their respective destinations. Demonstrating God and man who cares.
Jesus in the Gospel demonstrates to the people and his disciples that He is not a provident God but a God of Encounter who meets us in our daring and terrifying moments. He fed the people and showed them the longing and tenderness of biding their welfare. While his disciples moved on he met them in the raging storm walking and calming the storm as well as saving the faithless, quaking and drowning Peter with his gentle and admirable presence.
However, after the theophanic revelation of a provident God to the people, far into the troubled sea he revealed his profound divinity to his apostles and disciples by walking towards them calmly on the troubled sea. In their double troubles of the tempestuous storm and seeing ghost-like appearance walking towards them in their panic, fearful and terrifying state or condition, Jesus called to them, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”
1. The phrase “it is I”, etymologically in Greek is “ego eimi”, which means “I am”. The statement “I am” is equal to the identity of a person. This reminds us of the theophanic revelation of God to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus chapter 3, where Yahweh identified Himself as “I AM WHO I AM”. Hence, Jesus using the same words “I am” to his disciples implies a revelation of his Godhead to them and the supreme power of God above natural and human disasters of our daily life.
2. “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid”, is a profound invitation to faith, trust, and reliance on God of creation, nature and history. The surety, security, and guarantee of our being and existence.
3. Peter´s drama as it is in his erratic and forwarding personality has a lot of lessons for us to ponder:
I. Fear can make us bring out the best or worse in us.
In the Gospel of Matthew 14:23-33, we continue with the humanity of Christ to connect with/to the people. He had compassion on them, taught, healed, and fed them as well as empathetically took the time to send them forth to their respective destinations. Demonstrating God and man who cares.
III. The Christianity of impressiveness, pleasing, and imitating others are superficial and stumble in crisis mode because it has no depth of faith.
IV. Peter´s loss or lack of focus on Christ who beckoned to him to come or walk towards him led to panic, fear, terror, or horror of life, seeing the immensity of life´s pressure around him.
V. The same thing happens to us when we are more conscious of life´s pressures, tensions and crises than on God who is always present with us and reveals Himself in little and great moments of our lives.
4. It is only with the presence of God is our peace, tranquillity, calmness and security of life. Hence, without the reality and presence of God, our lives are hellish and continuous torment with all life´s cares, worries, pressures, and crises: health, economic, emotional, political, socio-cultural, or ecclesiastical. Christ is our peace of mind and our solid rock in life´s tempest.
FIVE LESSONS WE CAN LEARN FROM PETER WALKING ON WATER: THE MEANING OF MATTHEW 14:22-36
1: Like Peter, we should first ask God what His will is before we act Seek God’s will first. Peter didn’t recklessly jump out of the boat without thinking. Instead, Peter first asks Jesus to affirm that it is truly him (“Lord, if it’s you…”).
2: Obey God when He calls, even when things seem impossible you will do many things. When Peter walks on water, it is symbolism for our unique journeys with God.
3: With every step you take, don’t lose sight of Jesus Peter was only able to walk on water when he kept his eyes fixed on Jesus (Matthew 14:29).
4: Don’t let fear distract you from God Storm in our heads Peter only started to sink when he turned away from Jesus to look at the roaring wind (Matthew 14:30). For us, these winds can symbolize anything that is happening around us that might make us feel afraid, worried, or distracted.
5: God will rescue you when you stumble Peter Walks on water. Desperate, Peter called out to Jesus to save him from drowning (Matthew 14:30). Jesus responded immediately – even though Peter’s own doubt caused him to sink (Matthew 14:31).
ENCOURAGEMENT
Troubles are bound to happen in our daily lives, like God said they would (John 16:33). However, let Jesus take the wheel. Whatever the situation, Jesus promises us that we will always find peace in Him (Matthew 11:28-30). We don’t need to be troubled or afraid (John 14:27). Instead, God wants us to stay calm and focus on Him, no matter what.
In short, like with Peter, fear makes us sink. But when we trust in God’s unfailing love for us, He will help us stay afloat (1 John 4:18).
OUR PRAYER
Lord Jesus Christ, like the fearful and panicking Peter that let the stormy wind get hold of him, there are moments of life when we sink in fear due to no faith. Help us with your grace to have profound faith, trust, and confidence in your ever-abiding presence with and in us amidst all our crises and moments of pain, suffering, panic, terror, and horror until death. Amen
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