Homily for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Aug. 13, 2023. Readings: 1 Kings 19:9-13, Gospel of St. Matthew 14:22-33. Theme: In Silence & In Storms
Have no fear…Do not be afraid! Did you know that those words form the most common phrase in the entire Bible? The God who created us, the God who became one of us, knows that fear, born out of a sense of powerlessness over things we simply cannot control lies in the deepest recesses of our hearts. In today’s readings God reminds us that in times of experiencing powerlessness, we can reach out to Him for courage and strength.
In our first reading we hear about the great prophet Elijah, who lived 900 years before Christ. But we need to know why Elijah was seeking refuge in that cave on Mount Horeb in the first place. You see, he had been on a prophetic crusade of preaching against the idolatrous deeds of the Israelite King Ahab and his evil wife Jezebel. They were worshiping false idols and turning the people away from the One True God of Israel. Elijah’s ministry got his name put on the royal death list and so he fled into the wilderness. He hid in a cave and began to pray that the Lord would take his life before Jezebel’s men could do so. This is where we enter his story.
Elijah sank into a deep depression and asked God to let him die. God took pity on His prophet and gave him the strength and encouragement he needed through an intimate encounter with the Divine Presence. It was in the quiet stillness, a biblical symbol of prayer and meditation, that God made himself known to Elijah and came to his rescue. Because he sensed the special presence of God, Elijah immediately humbled himself by hiding his face in his cloak. And that is where today's story ends…but what happened afterwards? God refreshed and reconfirmed Elijah as his prophet. Through his encounter with the gentle Presence of God in the cave, Elijah was renewed from the inside out and got up to conclude his mission.
The story of Elijah encourages me to make time every day to find a place of silence so that I can open myself up to conscious contact with God by prayer and meditation. Personally, I think of prayer as speaking with God and meditation as listening to Him speaking back. This “me-and-God time” must have the highest priority in our daily schedule. For it to be most beneficial, we must find a place of solitude and quiet, a “cave” so to speak that can be our refuge in the midst of our busy day. This can be any place that allows us to be undistracted by all of our devices and duties, as well as by others while we pray. Without this time alone with the Lord we become vulnerable and more easily give into the fear and discouragement.
And let's look next at our Gospel reading. The storm can symbolize for us our personal issues as well as the turmoil and confusion going on all around us in our church and society today. We are so easily tossed about by the various experiences and circumstances of life. These are so often caused by the choices of others in our lives and as such surround us with winds and waves that we cannot control. We feel powerless and so fears naturally arise. But we must take courage and realize that though we may be powerless in such situations, we are not helpless. We have the anchor of Christ our Hope and our Strength, Who is only a whisper and a prayer away.
Like those disciples in the boat, we may have to look hard to see Him in the midst of our fears but He is, indeed, there. And once we catch sight of Him we must call out to Christ with the faith of Peter. As long as he kept his eyes on Jesus he was fine, but whenever he concentrated on the storm around him, he began to sink and his fear turned into panic. And so, like Peter, we have to keep our focus on Jesus, not on our fears or the troubles around us, and take that first step out of the boat in trust.
And you know, I think that’s a good image for us to keep in mind as we approach the Lord to receive Him in Holy Communion. When we are standing in the Communion line we carry with us all the issues, turmoil and fears of our lives. Let’s bring these things to Jesus and reach out our hands in faith to Him in the Eucharist. And then as we receive the Sacred Host of His Body and Blood, let’s say to Him with trust what St. Peter cried out in his own predicament, “Lord, save me!” And then we can be confident that Jesus will pull us safely to His side as He did for Peter and in time the winds will die down, the waves will stop crashing around us, and the storms in our lives will soon enough calm down and be still.
No comments:
Post a Comment