RECOGNISING GOD IN THE SILENCE
Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch 1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:22-33 There are moments in life when we desperately want God to speak. We pray for an answer, wait for a sign, and sometimes become frustrated because heaven seems silent. Yet today’s readings remind us that God is present even when His presence is not dramatic or obvious. The first reading takes us to Mount Horeb, where Elijah is hiding in a cave. He has experienced rejection, persecution, and discouragement. God tells him, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” Then comes a powerful wind, an earthquake, and a fire. But the Lord is not in any of them. After the fire comes “a sound of sheer silence.” And that is where Elijah encounters God. How easily we expect God to come through the spectacular. We want dramatic miracles and prayer sessions, unmistakable signs, and immediate answers. But the God of the Bible often speaks in ways that require...
