19th Sunday Week in Ordinary Time
1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a; Rom 9: 1-5; Mt 14: 22-33
Dc. Larry Brockman
Terrified! The disciples were stuck in the middle of the Lake, some 3 miles from shore working for hours against the wind, and tossed by the waves. They were afraid their ship would be wrecked. And this had gone on for hours- because relief didn’t come until the fourth watch- some 8 or 9 hours after they left Jesus. They were experienced with boats; they knew what they were doing. They trusted their own skills but they had worked themselves into a panic. They were terrified!
Just like the prophet Elijah in the first reading was. Elijah had faithfully proclaimed the word of the Lord as it came to him; he had followed the directions of the Lord. He had challenged the prophets of Baal in a standoff. And it had resulted in a total humiliation of the prophets of Baal. Baal was the god of Jezebel, who was married to the Israeli King. When her god had been humiliated along with his prophets, Jezebel had ordered her husband’s soldiers to find and kill Elijah. But Elijah ran for his life, escaped, and was hiding in a cave. He too, was terrified because he didn’t know what to do. He had done as the Lord bid him; and here he was in dire straits.
Does either of these situations seem familiar? Have any of you felt helpless against the forces of nature, almost in a panic as the Apostles were? Perhaps abandoned, stranded, overcome by a hurricane or tornado, or down with an illness. Have any of you been in a situation where it seemed like the whole world was against you? Perhaps you were let go at work; you were let down by somebody; or you were persecuted for some reason. Indeed, all of us have had moments like the Apostles and Elijah. Life is like that for everyone.
These are humbling experiences of life that all of us have. And we learn a couple of things from these kinds of incidents. First, we learn we are not in control, and second, we learn that we can’t do it all by ourselves.
I suppose that in many of these incidents, we are just living life using the talents that God gave us. We think we are in control and we think we can do it ourselves. But the facts are that neither of these things is true- we are not in control and we cannot act alone. We find that out fast enough when things build up against us. We need Faith, Faith in the Lord always, faith that whatever happens, the Lord means the best for us.
Peter expressed that Faith well by recognizing Jesus on the water. That’s why he jumped in the water, and walked after him. But when Peter wavered in his faith because of the ever present storm then he began to sink and needed Jesus to save him. All of us, too, have Faith, but we can sometimes waver because the circumstances keep knocking on our door relentlessly. And yet, it is only Faith that can and will sustain us.
There is also something really fascinating about how the incident ends. The storm disappears when Jesus gets in the boat. Yes, indeed, when we really have God besides us, then the storm disappears. We need God besides us at critical times.
That’s what makes Elijah’s situation a little different. Notice that Elijah recognized the need for God right from the beginning and so he was waiting for the word of the Lord. But the Lord was not in the storm or the fire or the earthquake. Rather, the Lord was in the tiny whispering sound.
That is likely the way it will be for us. If we have faith, and we are sincerely trusting in the Lord, we will probably not find the answer to our prayers in the storm or earthquake or fire that is going on around us. Rather, we will find it in silence. We have to stop whatever it is that we are doing as important as that may seem to be at the moment. We have to stop and listen for the voice of God.
It is called prayer, and we have got to make time for it. We need to pray even when we think we are in control because we need Jesus there right beside us all the time to keep the storm under control. And we need to find the time to pray even when we are busy because it is the highest priority we should have.
Jesus had a tough day on the day that this miracle was performed. He and his disciples buried Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist in the morning. Then, they attempted to get away so Jesus could pray and reflect on his loss. But the crowds followed him, and he ministered to them instead, working the miracle of the loaves and fish. After that, he sent the Apostles on in the boat. Why? Because as late as it was, he still needed to go up the mountain and pray. Then, after that prayer, he walked back to the shore, and some 3 miles out onto the water to his friend’s boat. The human side of Jesus needed to pray; he needed the time with God. How much more do we in our humanity need God in the moment of need.
So when the going gets really tough, then it is time to pray.
Listen for the tiny whispering sound.
Tags: Prayer, Tiny whispering Voice; We are not in control; We can't do it alone