8/13/2023

The readings for this week speak of God's saving presence for his people and the need for trusting faith in a loving and providing God who always keeps us company. The first reading tells us of how Elijah the prophet experienced great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. In the second reading, Paul laments that, because the Jews had lost their faith in Yahweh and His prophets, they rejected their promised Messiah, Jesus. The gospel episode explains how Peter lost his trusting faith in Jesus for a few seconds and consequently failed in his attempt to walk on water.

How do we keep our focus on Jesus in the storms of life?

1) Storms reveal to us the true source of our strength. It is the presence of Jesus which gives us peace even in the wildest storms of life: storms of sorrow, storms of doubt, tension and uncertainty, storms of anxiety and worries, storms of anger and despair, storms of temptations. Storms reveal our inability to save ourselves and point us to the infinite ability of God to save us. When Jesus shows up in our life’s storms, we find that we gain strength to do the seemingly impossible. For example, when Jesus shows up, he makes marriages out of mistakes, he invigorates, restores, and empowers us to reach the unreachable, to cross the un-crossable. Storms let us know that without him, we can do nothing, without him we are doomed to fail. Yet, when Jesus shows up, we gain the strength to join Paul, saying, “In Christ I can do all things.” But this demands a personal relationship with God, with Jesus, enhanced through prayer, meditative study of scripture and active sacramental life.
2) Don’t put limits to God’s presence: There are those who would limit God’s presence for their own comfort or security or to keep themselves in power. In years past there were those who would deny God’s presence in slaves. There have been those who would ignore God’s presence in their enemies. There are those who would refuse to believe that God is present in the murderer sitting on death row, in those who are marginalized by our society: the gay person, the addict, the person living with AIDS, the illegal alien, the handicapped. It is in situations like these that we must get out of the boat, surprise the others, and show them the reflection of God in such people. Let us always look for the ways to be surprised by our God and the opportunities to wake one another up to the beauty, the power, and the nearness of our loving, providing and protecting God.

Let us, keep our eyes on Jesus all the time for our strength especially during the storms in our lives. This week we also celebrate the Feast of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Tuesday 15th of August, which is a Holy Day of obligation. She is also the source of our strength during the storm of our lives through her intercession and aid.

Love and Peace, Fr.Karl