REFLECTION FOR THE 19TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A

 

THE LORD ALWAYS SHOWS UP

Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch

Readings: 1Kings 19:9a. 11-13a, Romans 9:1-5, Matthew 14:22-33

 

The gospel reading of this Sunday continues from that of last Sunday. After Jesus had fed the crowds, his disciples got into the boat and left but Jesus stayed back to dismiss the crowds. What an awesome gesture! He stayed back to give them his parting words and probably to ensure that no child got missing in the crowds, an experience he himself had witnessed as a child, at twelve (Luke 2:41:51). Then, in the fourth watch of the night, he suddenly came to his disciples, walking on the sea. At that point, the disciples were having a hard time: the boat was being beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them and the disciples were extremely frightened (Matt. 14:24). They were terrified by the wind but even more by the sight of the one walking on the sea. But the words of Jesus: “Take heart, it is I; have no fear” not only calmed the turbulent sea but also dissipated all their fears (Matt. 14:27).

The image of Jesus we find in that encounter is that of one who always shows up and manifests his presence in the difficult moments of our lives. In the times of utter hopelessness, Jesus always steps in to help our helplessness. When we are at the lowest ebb of our life, the Lord comes to lift us up and to lighten our mood. When storms rage around us and the boat of our life is being tossed by the waves of hardships, setbacks and tribulations, and we become terrified like the disciples, the Lord is always close to us to ensure that we are not carried away by the tide.

This same picture of Jesus as one who intervenes is what we find of God in the situation of the prophet Elijah in the first reading (1Kings 19:9-13). Elijah called out the prophets of Baal, engaged them in a contest, mocked and ridiculed them publicly, showed their gods as frauds and had the pagan prophets slaughtered (1Kings 18:17-40). Queen Jezebel did not take this humiliation lightly. She considered the action of Elijah “a hate speech” and as such, declared him an outlaw, and sent soldiers to fetch him for a possible execution (1Kings 19:1-2). On hearing this plot, Elijah was gravely scared and fled for his life. He became a runaway criminal and a fugitive from justice, hiding in the cave and gradually losing faith in God (1Kings 19:3-11). Like Queen Jezebel, most of our today’s leaders feel threatened and challenged by the slightest truth. Little wonder we have very many people who are currently experiencing the same fate as Elijah. Those who are being pursued and intimidated simply because they stand for the truth, defend the truth and speak the truth. As days go by in our country, the number of prisoners of conscience keeps adding.

However, in Elijah’s distress, God showed up. One thing that is common in the divine manifestations in the first and the gospel readings is that in the difficult moments of our lives, God always comes to help us. However, in most cases, he comes not in a usual or familiar manner. He often comes surprisingly and unrecognizably like in the gospel reading where the disciples thought Jesus was a ghost (Matt 14:26). He came calmly and quietly. In the case of Elijah, he expected to find God in catastrophic events: storm, earthquake, wind and fire, but he rather found God in the eerie silence. Dear friend, God is in the quiet and it is in the silence that God is known- in the time we spend apart in silent prayer and in meditation.

In a culture like ours, so loud and noisy, God is always manifesting his presence and showing up in our lives but in most cases, we are not at home or are questioning like Peter. As Mother Teresa said, “We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness.” From time to time, we need to put away the cell phones, turn off the television, turn down the volume of our inner voice and go into our inner selves in order to encounter God. Let us always remember that when we quiet ourselves, we will find God closer to us than our own breathing. The Lord is always close to us and his presence calms the raging storms in and around us.

Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, you are our anchor and our hope. When the tempest of any kind rages around us, make yourself manifest in our lives for your presence is our source of strength and consolation. Amen.