Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
1Kgs19,9-13; Rm9,1-5; Mt14,22-33
Interruptions and distractions
Reality check: How many open tabs do you have in your browser right now? How often, on average, do you check you mobile phone even if you are not expecting a call or a message? The average American checks their phone every
six and a half minutes. By nature we like to be interrupted and distracted. We seem to want to constantly distract ourselves, entertain ourselves and diffuse our attention across many different things at the same time. We like action and crave for excitement. However we know that life cannot be always like that. In relationships, there are moments of great excitement and high emotion; but there are also moments of silence, dryness and monotony. Yet, even these can be some of the most intense moments because I am trying to love the other person when there isn't much to love! It is a love which is more demanding and therefore more precious and more fruitful.
Moments of stillness
We must learn to sit with ourselves during moments of stillness. Many people say that they do not pray because they do not feel anything. You do not need to feel anything. Just stay there, in silence, with an open heart. But remain there.
Sadness, despair and failure
This is what Elijah does in the First Reading. Let us recall what he was about. Elijah was fleeing his persecutors and was so sad that he was asking God to take his life. That is where he starts his long journey to the mountain that we read about today. Sad and mired in despair as we sometimes are after a some big failure in our life, Elijah craved for a sign of the presence of God for some consolation, just as we would normally do: "O Lord, are you really there? Give me a sign that you are not leaving me alone!"
The voice of silence
Like Elijah we might look for God in great happenings, in shows of power and might. In our life, we might look out for big miracles or sensational revelations. In our society, we might expect the Church to glorious and triumphant as it once was. But then Elijah realises that God is present not in any of the great natural phenomena but in that "whispering sound." Scholars tell us that the actual translation must not be "whispering sound" but "
silent voice." [The word used is
DeMaMaH, of which there is only one other occurrence in
Job 4,16, again meaning silence.] That silence in some way mirrors the low period in his life. Even there, God is present and active.
God permeates all
It is the realisation that God fills everything, even the deepest silence and the widest void. There Elijah covers his face because he catches a glimpse of God. He realises that even in the midst of his anguish is God. But to do so he had to let go of all other preconceived ideas of where God is and how he acts. Elijah had to surrender to God. It is as though Elijah is saying, "No longer would it be me who tells you how I want you to be my God, but you will show me your power in whatever way you want."
The rough seas and strong winds
I can think of many people who have made this surrender to God their way of life, although I may not even know their name.
These people do not make it to the headlines and they often go unnoticed. However they are some of the people I admire most. Like the apostles in the boat tossed about in the rough sea, we are all in the same situation, we all face strong winds, if not because of economic hardship, perhaps because of marital problems or disagreement among family members or if not because of addiction problems, perhaps because of a stigma of some sort.
Ready to risk
Yet, these people, like Peter, catch a glimpse of Jesus on the horizon, even though everybody else might be ridiculing them, telling them that they are believing in imaginary beings. Like Peter, they know that the boat of life cannot fare through rough seas without Jesus. Like Peter, they are so much in love with Jesus and their faith small, perhaps only the size of a mustard seed, yet enough to take risks, real risks to approach Jesus. They approach Jesus by trying to imitate him more, by seeking to overcome evil with good actions, hatred with love and forgiveness. Recall how the sea in the Hebrew Scriptures always meant something negative, evil, death destruction. And here we have Jesus who overcomes all that, he walks over it with. These people approach Jesus by walking on the rough seas and in doing so invite him into their boat - indeed our boat - of life, beleaguered by the strong waves and fierce winds.
Jesus restores us
And when these people find themselves alone, in moments of doubt and discouragement, which everyone even the bravest man or woman experiences from time to time, Jesus stretches out his hand, restoring their faith, "Why did you doubt?" And yet, it is often thanks to people like these that Jesus is brought again into the boat of our lives and that we recognise him again and pay him homage.
Surrender!
Surrendering to God is not about being passive and accepting everything without questioning. Rather, surrendering to God is about allowing God to act as God in my life, even in ways that I may not fully comprehend. The next time that you feel the urge to overcome the uneventful and perhaps negative moments of your life with something dramatic or forceful, try and become aware of the presence of God even in the silence of your life. The next time that you feel the waves hitting against your boat and you feel that you are not going to make it, venture out into the sea, reach out for Jesus and invite him back into your boat. The storm may not go away but you can be sure that you are not alone and that you have brought Jesus closer even to those sharing your boat.
Comments
Post a Comment