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Homily for Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

READ: (1 Kgs 19: 9a, 11-13a; Rom 9: 1-5; Matt 14:22-33)

REFLECT: Faith is the path that leads us to rely on God’s power and strength…

Dear friends, today we are in the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The entire liturgy of the word invites us to have faith in God for prosperity of life on earth. As someone has very beautifully said, “Don’t tell your God how big your storm is, but tell your storm how big your God is.” Yes, we all of us go through storms of life. Sometimes we are able to face the storms of life but not for a long time. Sometimes we drown because we don’t know how to face or due to fear. But what makes us strong in the phase of storms and struggles of life is our faith in God and faith in oneself. More than oneself, faith in God makes us strong and enables us to be free from storms and struggles of life. Most of us begin to treat faith in terms of commercial relationship in giving and receiving. Let us remind ourselves that faith is not to be viewed in terms of commercial relationship, because faith is a free gift and it has to be expressed and experienced in freedom and not fear, love and not force, gratitude and not out of grudges. So based on the readings of the day I would like to share with your three points of reflection as how faith is important and what faith in God can do with us. 

1. Faith in God favors us: 

Favor of God would mean that God enters into the stormy seas of our lives and makes us calm and come to him closely. The one who finds favor with God will find a worthwhile difference in life and inspire others to have the same faith-experience. But at times, our faith can be shattered or wavered. It all depends on the situation we expose to. We read in 1 Kings Chapters 17-18 that prophet Elijah was depicted in power and strength, but here (1 Kgs 19) in today’s first reading, Elijah is portrayed as weak and feeble, the one who flees for safety of his life.  We know in the book of First Kings that Elijah had challenged every enemy, the mighty Ahab or the four hundred fifty Baal prophets and the faithless Israel or simply the superstitious mother with her dying child. Elijah had performed mighty works through prayer. He brought food to the starving widow of Zarephath, rain to end the drought, fire to consume the sacrifice, and in kindly reassurance life and healing to the sick boy. It is altogether different in 1 Kgs 19:1-18. Here he who was strong has become weak. He fears before his new enemy, Jezebel. Instead of performing another mighty work, he flees into the desert, abandoning life itself. 

Perhaps, Elijah experiences desperation and a heavy threat for his life. Just like any of us who only look for God in extraordinary things or supernatural things from God, Elijah thought to himself that God would reveal himself to him in mighty or great works. Something ordinary happens and Elijah realizes that God’s ways are different and to the one who has faith in God, God favors and supports always. That’s what we read in the first reading from First book of Kings that Elijah does not find God in the mighty wind or earthquake or fire but in the sound of a lower whisper or gentle breeze. Yes, that’s the power of God and wisdom of God. God does not deal with us the way we want or think but the way that befits him as God. Whatever it may be, God assures of our safety when we put our trust and confidence in God. 

Today what makes us all fail from experiencing the power and wisdom of God is our unsteady mind and petty mindset. We try to place God in a pot or vessel of our little concept or knowledge about Go. It is like a pot, it could contain only it could store and so we fail to see and experience the greatness of God and the grandeur of God. Most of the times we expect great miracles to happen to nurture our faith in God; we expect that God should reveal as we want or wish in places, things and times we feel. But God makes us realize that it is not our expectation but God’s self-expression. God reveals as he is and as he wants or wishes to be. Let us experience God in great and little things we might involve. Whether it is great or little, if we trust in God and have faith in Him, God makes all things great and wonderful. God would certainly free us from dangers that we face or harm that we may have to experience. For such an experience of God’s favor over us, we need to nourish faith stronger and never waver or be shaken up with events and things that frighten us in life.  

2.              Realize the missionary nature in faith:

We all of us know that St. Paul was a Jew, and also as the apostle of the Gentiles (11:13), and he experienced by his own people hardship, rejection and trouble and turmoil in life because he professed and practiced Christ values. Yet, St. Paul has been very positive and sincere as a  follower of Christ, without any resentment against the Jewish people, who have caused him trouble or charged him with infidelity (2 Cor 2:17; 12:19). Today’s second reading manifests how St. Paul loved God and the people of Israel. St. Paul makes us know that God had chosen Israel to be the stage on which he would perform the salvation of humanity through Christ Jesus, God’s anointed agent of salvation. Perhaps, St. Paul declares that Israel’s unbelief and rejection was a heavy burden for him. It shows the true love for Jewish people. But the fact was that he loved Christ even more and nothing could compensate for his love for Christ. His deep grief results from the unbelief of the Jews that he says, “I could wish myself to be accursed or cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my fellow-countrymen according to the flesh.” 

Having experienced and shared deep sorrow and sadness, St. Paul makes known to us the advantages of the people of Israel and their privileges that God has given them. The list of advantages is as follows; firstly, they are Israelites. We all of us know that the Israelites are the descendants of Jacob, who, until God blessed him, would not let him go, and whose name was changed to Israel (Gen. 32: 22-28). Secondly, the Israelites are adopted as God’s Children. It is indeed a privilege to be called as God’s firstborn (Exo 4:22), his own possession (Exo 19:5), his son (Hos 11:1), his people, his chosen (Isa 43:20).  Therefore the call of being adopted as God’s children and separating them from all the nations to God’s very own from the world was certainly a high honor. Thirdly, the glory is the manifestation of God’s presence with the people of Israel in the form of a cloud, pillar of fire etc. Fourthly, the Israelites were God- fearing people and they rejoiced in the covenant and laws that God gave them through kings and prophets. 

Fifthly, the worship and promises of God remind us how the people of Israel were elevated high from all other nations and given the privilege of worshipping God, paying homage to God alone. The promise of God refers to those that God made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and to the Jewish people as a whole.  The promise was made to Abraham that his descendents would be as many as stars in heaven (Gen 26: 4) and I shall be your God and you shall be my people (Gen 17: 7).  Finally, St. Paul affirms that from such a patriarchal and ancestral descendent and race was Christ born according to the purpose of God. 

Certainly, if we have been in place of St. Paul’s, we would have been frustrated and distressed or cursed and rejected or reacted and responded harshly to such people who have not valued God’s blessings the privileges that God offered them. But St. Paul proves himself an authentic follower of Christ, a wonderful and joyful missionary who is ready to undergo sufferings for Christ and for his mission and so he was so passionate about bringing back the lost sheep of Israel back to the fold of God through Jesus Christ. Today, it is our duty as a Christian to bring back the people who are astray due to various misconceptions of the teachings of the Catholic Church and misunderstanding concerning our belief system and values. As Church is missionary by nature, so also we Christians by virtue of having Jesus as our founder and having received baptism in Jesus’ name, we are missionaries too. This missionary dynamism has to be manifested in faith not by abandoning others or harassing others but by bandaging the wounds of our brothers and sister, bringing them back to the fold of Christ. 

Today we are called to become a joyful missionary to keep the faith active and alive. In order to keep the faith alive, we need to practice the faith that God has manifested in and through Jesus Christ, Jesus to his apostles and apostles to us today. Our missionary journey as Christ’s disciples can be faith-oriented and can become faithful, when we accept Christ and his values in our lives. Let us realize as we follow Christ the true missionary that we may endure everything in order to make our faith alive and strong. Let us not get disgusted with people those who go astray from the faith rather make earnest efforts to bring them back to the sheepfold of Christ. 

3.              Walk with Faith in Christ: 

We have often times heard the bible verse from 2 Cor 5: 7 “For we walk by faith and not by sight.” Yes, we are called to fix our eyes on the eternal than temporal. Walking by faith underscores the importance of accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour of the world. When we look at the Gospel reading of the day, the Evangelist Matthew follows (Mk 6: 45-52) in placing the narrative immediately after the feeding of the five thousand. It is not included in Luke, though there is a parallel in (John 6: 16-21). Only Matthew records Peter’s unsuccessful attempt to walk on the water and he alone ends the narrative with the confession “Truly you are the Son of God!” This confession becomes a clue to the understanding of the account in Matthew’s Gospel and reminds us who Jesus truly is the Son of God and our acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Saviour would strengthen us to walk by faith and not by sight. Perhaps, as Jesus walked on the water, the disciples failed to realize Jesus and his power. They were frightened and mistook Jesus as a ghost. But Jesus makes them realize, gives them courage and confidence, instills in them the faith to believe in Jesus and his works. 

Yes, the fear of the disciples could have been because they were threatened by insecurity. They have not seen such powers displayed as someone walking over the water although Jesus had done many miracles in the presence of the disciples during his ministry. Jesus’ walk over the water manifests the divine supreme power over the nature and his power over us as God’s children.  Thus Jesus utters the words, “Be of good courage. It is I! Do not be afraid.” Perhaps the words of Jesus are not empty or meaningless. Jesus’ words manifest that there needs no fear when Jesus is near or present with us. So if in such circumstances of personal need in our lives we need to respond in faith. There is a possibility for each one of us to submerge in water when suspicion and doubt arise like Peter. But let us believe, just as Peter cried out “Lord, save me,” and so Jesus saved him, so also Jesus would save us when we cry out in fear, suspicion and doubt. Jesus is immediately there to deliver us when we believe in him and in his power.

Perhaps, Peter’s attempt to follow Jesus occurs only in Matthew. It is here that Peter is indicated how slow in faith he was and was made strong by Jesus. We find such incidents where Peter was specifically reproached for his lack of faith, (Matt 6:30; 8:26; 16:8; 17:20). It just shows the vulnerability of the disciple who doubt, who think of the natural human perspectives and fail to realize and rely on the supernatural power of God. Today, every follower of Jesus in fact experiences a combination of faith and doubt. But what makes our experience strong and solid is our faith in Jesus. Doubt only deviates our focus and drives us away from God and his love that God has for us. So let us keep aside all our fears and doubt, walk with Jesus by faith and not by sight. Sight only sees what is at the surface level but faith goes deeper beyond the ordinary. For such an act of faith we need cling to God and take courage to walk with Jesus in ways and means he taught us. It is a life of love, endurance and trust in God.

Let me conclude the reflection with the words of Pope Francis: “The devil puts doubts in us, and then life happens along with its tragedies: ‘Why does God allow this?’ But a faith without doubts cannot advance. The thought of being abandoned by God is an experience of faith which many saints have experienced, along with many people today who feel abandoned by God, but do not lose faith. They take care to watch over the gift: ‘Right now I feel nothing, but I guard the gift of faith. The Christian who has never gone through these states of mind lacks something, because it means that they have settled for less. Crises of faith are not failures against faith. On the contrary, they reveal the need and desire to enter more fully into the depths of the mystery of God. A faith without these trials leads me to doubt that it is true faith.”

Yes, doubts do not drown us or downplay importance of Christian living rather doubts give us scope to nurture our faith in God and makes us realize how weak we are in the faith that we profess. That’s what the entire liturgy of the word focuses. In the first reading prophet Elijah experiences a lack of faith and runs away for fear of life. In the second reading, St. Paul becomes sorrowful of the state of Jewish people, who lack faith in Jesus, failing to realize their calling and adoption as God’s children. In the Gospel, Peter drowns in the water as he doubts and lacks faith in Jesus. But all three of them become strong in faith as they experience the power and strength of God. So let us not become weary or worried about suspicions and doubts in life rather regard it as a stepping stone to grow and nurture faith in Christ. 

RESPOND: 

Do we believe that faith in God favours us always?

Do we realize the missionary nature in faith and nurture faith with oneself and others? 

Do we walk by faith and not by sight to experience God’s healing power and divine touch in our lives? 

Let us believe that faith in God favours us, realize the missionary dynamism of Christ in us, and walk by faith and not by sight. So that faith becomes a path that enables us to rely on God’s power and strength. Amen. 

God bless us all! Live Jesus!

Fr. Ramesh George MSFS

rameshvkmsfs@gmail.com

9500930968