1st Reading: 1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a.
2nd Reading: Romans 9: 1-5
Gospel: Matthew 14: 22-33
Isn’t it true that when we hear or read scripture passages we find ourselves in the stories? I know I do. Some passages bring back memories of when I was a young boy or when I was in my teens. In fact, scripture touches every part of my life, as I am sure it does yours. Whether in good times or bad scripture stories touch our lives through our experiences in life. After all, scripture is the story of life and the struggles in being faithful to God.
In our first reading we hear dramatic details of heavy wind, earthquake and fire. Sounds like how Moses experienced the appearances of God. Yet it is not in those dramatic events that Elijah encounters God. Instead, God comes to Elijah unexpectantly in “a tiny whispering sound”. Without Elijah’s openness to the Lord’s coming in the whisper, he would not have recognized the Lord and received his new commission. This is what today is about, not losing focus on God through Jesus Christ, the one who saves.
In our times we also face other trials, other conditions that takes our focus away from God replacing our confidence in him with fear. We live in a world that finds lives torn apart from war, lives torn apart through natural disasters, lives torn apart through terrorist attacks on innocent people, lives torn apart through social injustices because of the lack of respect for the human dignity of all people, whether in the womb or those coming to the end of human life through sickness or old age, and much more.
Through all the situations of human life some wonder where is God in all this? The answers we hear are many and varied.
Some are complexing to us who believe! We hear; “It’s God’s will.” “There is no god”. Some ask “If God is such a good god, why does he allow such things to happen?” “How”, some ask, “can you believe in a God that allows such things to happen ?” What should we believe?
We have to go back to the beginning of things where, in Genesis, we find God creating order out of chaos, to create an ordered and purposeful universe. God gives us the dignity and task of joining with Him in bringing creation to completion. How dos He do this? He places us on earth.
He puts his faith in us to work with him in overcoming all that would smother life, charging us to be his stewards over the world. So, instead of questioning God maybe the ones who lost focus (faith) and even we need to ask ourselves’ “How well have we cooperated with God?” How well have we kept ourselves open to hearing his call? Have we kept our focus on God through Jesus Christ? Sometimes we fail at this, don’t we?
This brings us to Peter in our gospel passage, Peter, who is the rock upon which Jesus built his Church, losing focus (Faith) in Jesus Christ which causes him to start sinking in the water. Peter was walking on the world’s stormy waters. Peter relied on God’s presence in Christ-he was walking toward Jesus keeping his eyes fixed on him.
Then, disaster struck. Peter allowed fear to take hold of his heart. Fear made him move his attention, his focus, away from Christ and he became fixated on the stormy winds. At that moment, that split second he was not open to hear the Lord. Peter begins to sink but the Lord stretches out his hand to lift Peter up from possible drowning.
All of us need to know and pay attention to our fears. We need to remember that fear controls our choices more than any other force in our lives. Think of the decisions each one us has made, the actions 3 we have taken, that were based more on fear than of confidence, choices that were based more on fear than on love.
Who uses our fears against us? Do you know? That is right, the devil. Fear is one of the greatest weapons the devil uses.
Keep in mind that I am not talking about questions. With Jesus, it is fear that is the opposite of faith, not doubt. Questions are gifts that bring us to discoveries of truth. People who question have faith that there is an answer. What does fear bring? It brings despair, the opposite of faith. There are no questions. No questions, no truth.
Confidence is a word that I mentioned just a little bit ago. It is a word that we need to grasp onto today. We cannot have confidence when we are isolated and all alone (in Fear)! Peter had confidence and then he lost it. What happened? He started to sink because of his fear. He also had fear when he denied three times that he knew Jesus. Jesus was there for him but his decision, based on the fear of being persecuted, led him to make bad decisions. Can you see what I mean? Has this happened to us sometime in our lives? You bet.
Where there is confidence there is always someone else involved. That’s the point of today’s readings. One can find confidence, even in the worst of storms, even in the most chaotic of earthquakes and even in a quiet wind, as long as we keep our focus on God through Jesus.
We can go through the worst that life has to throw at us only if we keep our focus on God. No prayer? No confidence. No coming to mass every Sunday? No confidence. Not sharing in the life of the Church- in the body of Christ? No confidence. No receiving of the gifts and graces through the sacraments- Guess what? No confidence. Soon you will take your eyes off of Jesus, and just like Peter, you’ll begin to sink.
If we head Jesus, we will look at ourselves like St. Paul in our second reading. He would suffer as Jesus suffered for the sake of others in gaining their faith, so that they could experience the life in Christ.
Not easy to do but take a good look at what Jesus went through for you and me! This puts it all into context, doesn’t it?
I mentioned the word confidence, con-fidere, which means to believe with. So, where is God in all this? He is here. He is here in his Christ, his only Son, Jesus. Do we have faith? If so, we will have the confidence and the strength that comes with Christ’s presence in our lives. With His body and blood in the Eucharist to feed and nourish us, we will be able to face anything life throws at us. We will walk on the waters of life, towards Jesus, until we are home in his arms in heaven.
As I said at the beginning, we can relate to the stories in scripture because these stories are our stories.. Can you hear God’s voice now?