19th Sunday-A: Fear Not

 

Summary:

 

A. Fear not! Fear Not!

1.     First, we must confront our fears.

2.     Second, we must understand that too much doubt can sink us.

3.     Third, we must remember that regardless of what happens, God will be with us.

 

B. Three Mysteries!

1.     The mystery of the prophet Elijah who met the Lord on the mountain of Sinai;

2.     The mystery of the election of Israel of whom Jesus was born according to the flesh;

3.     The mystery of the apostle Peter who walked on the water and whom Jesus saved by taking by the hand.

 

Dear sisters and brothers, "courage! It is I! Do not be afraid." Whenever fear comes and knocks at our door, we need to bear in mind these splendid words of Jesus. Countless thousands in every generation have proved that when Christ comes, the storm becomes a calm, the tumult becomes a peace, what cannot be done is done, the unbearable be­comes bearable. What about us? (Pause)

 

                              

Stories for Reflection:

 

1) During World War II, in London there was a blitz bombing at night. The people stayed each night in underground protection. But one Christian lady just stayed at home and slept through all the bombing. When asked about it, she said, "Well, my God neither slumbers nor sleeps, and there's no need for both of us to stay awake!"

 

2) Priests walking on water!

3) Trust in the Father in the Midst of the Storm One night a house caught fire and a young boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, "Jump! I'll catch you." He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: "Jump! I will catch you." But the boy protested, "Daddy, I can't see you." The father replied, "But I can see you and that's all that matters."

 

Message:

 

In today's reading Jesus appears out of the night, "walking toward them on the sea."  It is a symbol of his triumph over chaos and evil.  The scene is full of symbolic association.  Peter, the chief disciple, ventures into this dangerous element, and makes his way while he keeps his attention on the Lord, but he sinks once he thinks about danger.  With him it was an experiment: "if it is you…."  'If' is an expression of doubt, not of faith. 

 

"Sinking times are praying times….Short prayers are long enough….There were but three words in the petition which Peter gasped out ("Lord, save me!"), but they were sufficient for his purpose….Not length but strength…. A sense of need is a mighty teacher of brevity…. If our prayers had less of the tail feathers of pride and more wing they would be all the better…. Verbiage is to devotion as chaff to wheat.  Precious things lie in small compass, and all that is real prayer in many a long address might have been uttered in a petition as short as that of Peter."

 

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 have to 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.

 

3) When we reflect on our faith, we often under­stand it in terms of our belief in the teachings of Christ. We normally include in it also what­ever the Church teaches us in his name. But faith in Christ means certainly much more than these things. On the day of our Baptism, the Spirit gave us the light to understand Jesus' teachings, and added to that light, a trust in his power and goodness, and a convic­tion of his closeness to us. This trust and con­viction prompts us to abandon ourselves into Jesus' hands, come what may, in life. Faith means precisely this: an abandoning of ourselves into the hands of the Risen Lord; it means to put our trust in his power and in his goodness.

           

"Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid!" What a tremendous power and encouragement these words of Jesus contain...! The trouble is that we do not stop to listen to them in the midst of our worries. And yet Jesus always "walks towards us" whenever we are in trouble; he is never far from us.

 

Let us not misunderstand the Gospel; it is not that all trouble cease once Jesus is with us; what Jesus calms down first of all is the storm within our own heart, helping us to accept God's plans with joy. Then our progress towards heaven "the place we are making for" becomes a fast progress. We shall be there in 'no time' and that should give us further courage in the struggle, and in­crease our trust in Jesus."

 

On my part when I am in trouble, during times of trial, do I become so engrossed in my wor­ries so as to forget Jesus, who has the power to save me from any situation? Whenever I face difficult situations, do I get too much preoccu­pied, anxiously looking around for human help, rather than making a fervent prayer, "Lord, save me!”

 

Augustine on Miracles


"Miracles are not a contradiction of nature. They are only in contradiction to what we know of nature."


St. Augustine

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Do you hear the Voice in the night calling you to “Come?” Will you risk stepping out of the boat or remain in the boat gripped with fear? I encourage you to fix your eyes on Jesus and step out in faith. With your eyes fixed on him, He will give you the power to walk on water through your fearsome storm too.


Prayer:

 

Jesus,
Truly You are the Son of God. I bow down and worship You in because You have revealed Your glory to me during the storms of my soul. Gigantic waves of sin and suffering buffet me. Howling gusts of doubt and distress threaten to disturb my peace. My distorted night vision is terrifying. Fear of the unknown and unseen cripples me.


Through the dismal darkness of a restless night, I long to hear Your voice calling me to “Come.” I want boldness and courage to be like Peter. While the other eleven sat in the boat paralyzed by panic, Peter recognized Your voice and took a giant leap forward. With my eyes fixed on You, I too will step out of my comfort zone to accomplish the impossible.


Please give me faith to focus on You, forgetting the fierce waves and ferocious wind. Forgive me for all the times I’ve fearfully stayed in the boat and missed divine endeavors. I’m sorry for the times I was skeptical of Your power, presence and provision. Even in my faithlessness, please graciously reach out and save me!

 

Lord, I just want to know Your voice, and obey Your call. In difficult situations and challenging circumstances, please keep Your mighty hand on me. Gazing on the glow of Your face, I’ll confidently walk by faith and experience the exuberance of Your power. Those who sit worried and watching will wonder at what they’ve witnessed. Mesmerized by the miracle, they, too, will believe that You truly are the Son of God. Together, we’ll bow down and worship You for the great things You have done in the name of Jesus. Amen.