13/08/2017
Homily for 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A 1Kings 19:9a, 11-13a/ Psalm 85/ Romans 9:1-5/Matt 14:22-33 THEME: The storm is over now
The readings of today brings to sharp focus the challenges that God’s chosen instrument face in their bid to carry out the mission entrusted to them by God. We see a prophet’s depression in Elijah; an Apostle’s grief in Paul and a disciple’s fear in Peter.
In the first reading, we see a prophet who is depressed as a result of an attack on his life by Jezebel. Elijah was depressed so much so that he wished himself dead. His depression even clouded his vision and perception of a faithful God. This is realised in the answer he gave God when God asked what he was doing on the mountain. The answer Elijah gave leaves much to be desired. In fact, he did not answer the question but complained by saying “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of host; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and they are seeking my life to take it away” (1Kings 19:10).
The fact that we are chosen instruments of God’s grace or sons and daughters of God does not mean that it is going to be all rosy. Perhaps, Elijah felt that he should not go through these difficulties after doing the will of God. He was, therefore, depressed to realise that a woman was seeking her life after his victory over the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel. Like Elijah, many of us are depressed, fatigued, and afraid because of imminent failures in life. We easily forget about the successes that God has enabled us to accomplish. Sometimes, when we are at the verge of success that is when we begin to lose faith in God. We are assured of the fact that the storm is over now.
To prove to Elijah that the storm is indeed over, God told Elijah “Go and stand on the mountain before the Lord” (1Kings 19:11). There was a great wind, and then an earthquake, then a fire but God was not found in them. There was “a sound of sheer silence” (1Kings 19:12). It was in this silence that Elijah found God. This is to tell us that we cannot find God when all we do is to complain and complain. We will find Him in our silence. So Blessed Teresa of Blessed memory is right when she says “It was when I discovered my true self that I found God. Our self- discovery must aid us rise above the storms in our lives.
What happened to Elijah happens to us, especially when we pay much more attention to negative events than to all the good things that are happening around us. It happens when we are very hard on ourselves, and take ourselves too seriously, and God not seriously enough! God intervened in Elijah's state and reminded him that his vision of life, his understanding of events, and his view of God were terribly distorted. Elijah did not know that God was present even in his seemingly hopeless situation. So is God present in our daily struggles, anxieties and fears.
Today's second reading (Romans 9:1-5) presents us with Paul, a man who had an unbelievable willingness to be sacrificed for his people. He was willing to be accursed, separated from Christ, if it would save his people. He was willing to swap his salvation for their doom if it would lead to their salvation. Paul felt the deepest emotion, love, and concern for his own people. Paul addresses himself to the essential question of how the divine plan could be frustrated by Israel's unbelief.
Paul’s decision to sacrifice his own salvation for his brothers and sisters stems from his grief for a people who have all the channel’s to be saved but have just refused to acknowledge it. Whereas Elijah wished that God takes his life, Paul wishes to sacrifice his salvation for his people. How many of us will do this?
In the Gospel reading, Jesus demonstrates to us that he is even closer to us in our troubled state than we can think about or imagine. Jesus demonstrates to every Christian that He has not come to promise us a problem free Christianity but He promises us a safe landing. St. Paul is right when he says that “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is about to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).
Many Christians have the mistaken idea that obedience to God’s will produces “smooth sailing.” This is not true. “In the world you shall have tribulations,” Jesus promised (John 16:33). When we find ourselves in the storm because we have obeyed the Lord, we must remember that He brought us here and he can care for us. this calls for rejoicing in the heart of every Christian.
In conclusion, how timely is today’ Gospel for us all. The boat is the Church which Jesus has launched on a voyage through time. It is often beaten by waves, for the wind is against it. We are tempted again and again to cry out for fear. But the voice of Jesus is there, ringing through the storms “Take heart, it is l, have no fear.” Our faith does not rest on the wisdom, the competence and the intelligence of our leaders. It rests on Jesus Christ; on his presence in the Church. He assures us that the storm is over now. What is the storm in your life? He is waiting for u
Pax te cum
From Rev. Fr. Aaron Agorsor
