Today’s readings bring into sharp focus the challenges that God’s chosen people face in trying to carry out the mission entrusted to them by God. Today we see a prophet’s depression in Elijah, a disciple’s grief in Paul and an apostle’s fear in Peter.
In the first reading (1 Kings 19:9, 11-13), we see a prophet who is depressed after an attack on his life by the evil queen, Jezebel. Elijah is so depressed that he wishes himself dead. His depression even clouds his vision and his perception of a faithful God. This clouding is revealed in the answer he gives when God asks what he is doing on the mountain. Elijah does not answer God’s question at all, but in a verse not included in our Lectionary reading, complains by saying “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; 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 life is going to be all rosy. Perhaps Elijah felt that he should not have to go through these difficulties after doing the will of God. After all, did he not just have a victory over the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel?
Like Elijah, many of us become depressed, fatigued, and afraid because of imminent failures in our lives. We easily forget about the successes that God has enabled us to accomplish. Sometimes, it is when we are at the verge of success that we begin to lose faith in God. But God is present, and we are assured that the storm is now over.
To prove to Elijah that the storm is indeed over, God tells Elijah to “Go and stand on the mountain before the Lord” (1 Kings 19:11). Then there was a great wind, and then an earthquake, and then a fire. But God was not to be found in them. Finally, there was “a sound of sheer silence” (1 Kings 19:12). It was in this silence that Elijah found God.
We cannot find God when all we do is to complain and worry. But we will find Him in our silence. As St. Teresa of Calcutta said, “It was when I discovered my true self that I found God.”
What happened to Elijah happens to us, especially when we pay 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 take God not seriously enough! God intervened in Elijah’s depression and reminded him that his vision of life, his understanding of events, and his view of God were terribly distorted. Elijah did not understand that God was present even in his seemingly hopeless situation. So also, is God present in our daily struggles, anxieties, and fears. What you make out of adversity determines your destiny.
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 our unbelief.
Paul’s willingness to sacrifice his own salvation for his brothers and sisters stems from his grief for a people who have refused to accept salvation. Whereas Elijah wished that God would take his life, Paul wishes to sacrifice his salvation for his people. How many of us would do this? This tells us the different reactions we give to adversity. It reveals our uniqueness. And God understands it all.
In the Gospel reading (Matthew 14:22-33), Jesus demonstrates to us that he is closer to us in our troubled state than we can think or imagine. Jesus demonstrates to every Christian that He has not come to promise us a problem free Christianity, but He does promise 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,” that God will “prosper” us. 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 will care for us. This calls for rejoicing in the heart of every Christian.
In conclusion, how timely is today’s Gospel for us all. The boat is the Church that Jesus has launched on a voyage through time. It is often beaten by waves, for the winds are against it. We are tempted again and again to cry out in fear. Our faith does not rest on the wisdom, on the competence, or on the intelligence of our leaders. It rests on Jesus Christ, on his presence in the Church. He assures us that the storm is now over. The voice of Jesus is there, ringing through the storms, “Take heart, it is I, have no fear.”
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!