1 Kgs. 19:9a, 11-13a; Ps 85:9-14; Rom. 9:1-5; Mt. 14:22-33
The Lord came to Elijah in “a tiny whispering sound”. We live in a time with great focus on “climate change” and preserving the environment. For centuries people have been waiting for the final coming of the Lord and the “end times” also called Eschatology “the study of the last things to come”. When major tragedies of events happen in the world many question “could this be the end times?” Today we hear of records being broken for high temperatures, major fires from Canada, the melting icebergs, record flooding in some areas while others have major droughts and again many ask “could this be the end times?” Elijah the great prophet teaches us today that the Lord is not in the crushing wind, or the earthquake, or the fire but in the tiny whispering sound.
The Lord speaks to us in the silence but we must be very still to hear his whispering in our hearts. There is a retreat center not far from us along the King Ranch area called Leb Shomea where the rule of the center is “silence”. You arrive in silence and you leave in silence and you determine how long you wish to stay. The goal is captured in the Greek word “Prautes” meaning “with a still heart”. If we really desire to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord then we must find time to be still and silent to hear his tiny whispering sound speak to us and enlighten us to his presence already with us. The Lord comes to those who wait upon the Lord having prepared themselves for his coming. Are we prepared today that he would come to us this day and reveal to us his love, his mercy, his presence through the Holy Spirit? Have we prepared to receive him body, blood, soul and divinity in the Eucharist, with prayer, sacrifice, charity, and love?
The end times comes every day, sometimes suddenly and unexpected to the individual who takes his last breath of mortal life and passes on to his day of judgment. The end times has come to every civilization that has existed in the past most having only a few centuries of history before collapsing. The end of an age has come from prehistoric, to ice age, Bronze age, Middle Ages and so on all coming to an end and passing on to a “new world order”. For the world it is about the existence of the planet and the people who inhabit it. For God it is about the Kingdom of God that has come to those who call upon the Lord to receive it. When we pray “thy Kingdom come” we pray not for the end times to come but for the present kingdom of God that is with us. We pray to be in his kingdom this day guided by the Holy Spirit, received by the Father and brothers in Christ Jesus.
We pray to let thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. It does not come in the thunder of the world but in the silence of the heart as a whispering sound. We pray “let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation” this day from every evil and temptation we face. Save us from the snares of the devil, save us from sin of the flesh, and save us from the pride of the heart. The Lord saves us in the whispering sound of his truth that speaks to our hearts, in his justice looking down from heaven that convicts us when we stray from the truth, and in the blessings that increase when we walk before him in the “way of his steps”. God has given us his footsteps to follow. It is in his word, in his sacrifice on the cross, in his food we receive in the Eucharist, and in his mercy and kindness we experience from his love. That is why we say “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” because it is here, if only we open our hearts and listen for his voice in the whispering sound.
In the gospel today, Jesus goes up on the mountain to pray by himself, seeking silence to listen to his own heart and be in union with the Father. The disciples however are “a few miles offshore” on a boat when Jesus appears to them walking on the sea towards them. These are grown men yet they cry out in fear like little children. Jesus reassures them to “take courage, it is I; do not be afraid”. Peter’s courage is short lived at first asking to go to Jesus on the water and then as soon as he does fear and doubt take over and he begins to sink calling out “Lord, save me!” When the Lord call on us, he desires us to get out of our comfort zone, to walk in faith with courage called to make a leap of faith. Most people are like the disciples who would not even think of trying to walk on water. Peter dared to ask and was granted this blessing but like the seed that fell on rock soil his faith soon died and he sank into the water. The Lord said to Peter as he says to us “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
This reading came to my mind a few years ago when I was at a conference. One of the conference evening activities included the opportunity to do the “fire walk”. They laid out burning wood creating a path of about ten yards and people who wanted to experience the fire walk were invited to participate. The instructor first gave us the demonstration and slowly some chose to walk on fire and others not. This reminded me of Peter who climbed out of the boat and discovered he could walk on water. As I saw other people do it, I realized fear was the only thing stopping me and so I decided that even though I did not know how it was possible, my eyes saw that it was possible and so I did it. What is God calling us to step out of the boat and onto the water for him? What is the fire that makes us fearful and avoid becoming even a stronger person of faith?
I just read a short book by Mathew Kelly called “Everybody Evangelizes About Something”. When we become excited about something we almost can’t keep it to ourselves. If we get excited about something new, we bought, we tell others how we are enjoying it. This is not only free marketing but a form of evangelizing a product. If we are excited about a sports team, we love talking about it and promoting the team. The question then is why do we fear evangelizing about our faith in God, as Catholic Christians? Letting others know our identity as a Catholic Christian is an open invitation to dialogue about our faith. Perhaps the next time someone asks, “what do you do?” instead of answering with what work you do consider first responding with “I practice my Catholic faith in order to serve God first. I try to do it in everything I do”. How is that for a segway to evangelization.
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