“Lord, help me; I’m drowning!”
(Mt. 14:30)
Someone Bigger than Ourselves to Call Upon
August 7, 2011, 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time
I Kings 19: 9, 11-13 Romans 9:1-5 Matthew 14:22-33
The Lord God in a tiny whisper
At the mountain of God, Horeb, Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter. Then the Lord God said to him, “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord God who will be passing by.”A very strong wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the Lord God, but He was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord God was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was fire, but Lord God was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whisper, and the Lord God was in it. When Elijah heard it, he hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.
The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
Glory to you, Lord.
Glory to you, Lord.
The Lord Jesus in a roaring storm
After He had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, while He dismissed the crowd. Then He went up into the hills to be alone and pray. When evening came, He was there alone, while the boat, by now far out on the lake, and was being tossed about by strong winds and huge waves. About four o’clock in the morning Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake! The disciples were terrified for they thought they were seeing a ghost! But Jesus immediately said to them: “Fear not! It is I!” Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Jesus said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he felt the strong wind and the rolling waves beneath him, he became terrified. Beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, help me; I’m drowning!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why do you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the winds stopped roaring, the waves stopped rolling, and a wonderful calm settled on everything. The others in the boat were awestruck and exclaimed: “Truly, you are the Son of God.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Introduction
Time to be alone and pray
When Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been beheaded, He was sad and went off into the hills where He could be alone and pray. (Mt 14:13) But the crowds came running after Him and disturbed His solitude and prayer. They begged Him to heal their sick, and at sunset He had five thousand hungry people to deal with. After such an exhausting day, He dismissed the crowds and told the disciples to get into a boat and precede Him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. After sending them off, Jesus went again into the hills to be alone and pray. (Mt. 14:23) In our gregarious society we remind ourselves that Jesus wasn’t afraid to be alone. In our very busy lives we remind ourselves that He was never too busy to pray.
I. The Lord God in a tiny whisper
The first reading from Kings speaks of the Lord God’s presence in a tiny whisper. The Lord God commands Elijah to go outside and stand on the mountain, and there he will experience the Lord God passing by. A thundering earthquake shatters the silence, but the Lord God is not in the earthquake. Then a roaring fire sweeps through the place, but the Lord God is not in the fire. A howling wind blows up, but the Lord God is not in the wind. Finally a tiny whisper could be heard, and the Lord God is in the tiny whisper.
A tiny whisper: a widow
One day Jesus and the apostles were in the Temple near the treasury. The apostles were watching the rich and famous tossing in their big donations. But the eye of Jesus alighted upon a poor widow dropping two copper coins, worth about a penny into the treasury. That’s all she had to live on. Jesus called over to the others saying, "Come here and feast your eyes on this poor widow who gave more than all the others put together." (Mk 12:41-44) No thundering earthquake, no roaring fire, no howling wind in the Temple that day. Just the tiny whisper of a little lady putting her two copper coins into the Temple treasury. But the Lord was in that tiny whisper, and it has gone down in history as the Widow’s Mighty Mite.
Another tiny whisper: a robin
One spring, a robin nested on the elbow of a downspout outside my kitchen window. I watched her go through all her appointed rounds. In conformity with an unalterable blueprint, she built her nest. In blind obedience to a law written within her, she brought her eggs to term. With unwavering fidelity, she kept uninterrupted vigil over her chicks, sheltering them against a late winter snow. With easy know-how, she fed her chicks out of the scarcity of early spring. I stood in awe of her built-in `appointed rounds’ and her standards of excellence. Then one day, led by an eternal ordinance that governs all growth and love, she let go of her chicks. They flew away. The nest was empty, and I felt lonely but also very grateful for the miracle she worked for me. No thundering earthquake, no roaring fire, no howling wind on the elbow of a downspout outside my kitchen window. Just the tiny whisper of a robin going quietly on her `appointed rounds.’ But the Lord, creator of animals big and small, was in it all.
The little widow casting her copper coins into the treasury and the little robin birthing her chicks are fine whispers. As fine whispers, they require fine-tuning to hear them. But our culture, which likes what’s loud and which cultivates what’s rich and famous, finds it hard to be tuned-in to poor widows and nesting robins.
II. The Lord Jesus in a roaring storm
The first reading speaks of the Lord God being present in a tiny whisper. In contrast, the gospel speaks of the Lord Jesus being present in a roaring storm. As night fell and the disciples were rowing to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, a fierce storm blew up, and rolling waves were tossing them up and down. From His hillside retreat Jesus could see (even though it was night) that the disciples were straining at their oars on the lake, and were in deep trouble. So He walked out on the waters to come to the aid of his tempest-tossed friends. Not only does Jesus, but Peter also, walks on water: “Peter, seeing Jesus walking on the water, got out of the boat and started walking on the water toward Him.” (Mt 14:29) When both finally climb into the boat, the winds die down and the waves stop rolling. The waters turn smooth as glass, and a wonderful calm settles on everything.
Another storm calmed
Jesus calmed a roaring storm on a previous occasion. He and His disciples were again on the same Sea of Galilee, and Jesus was in the back of the boat sleeping. Suddenly a fierce storm arose. The frightened disciples woke Jesus and pleaded, “Save us, Lord! We’re going to drown!” Jesus scolded the disciples with the selfsame words with which He would later scold Peter, “Oh you of little faith, why do you doubt?” Then He commanded the winds and the waves to calm down, and a wonderful peace settled on everything. The same note of awe, struck in today’s gospel event (“Truly, you are the Son of God!”), was also struck on that occasion: “Everyone was filled with awe, and asked, `What kind of a man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!’” (Mt 8:23-27) The storms set to music
Water-walking or Storm-calming?
The way we title an event shapes the way we see it. Some title Jesus’ feeding 5000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fishes”The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes.” Others see the event a little differently, and prefer to title it “The Division (the sharing) of the Loaves and Fishes.”Some title this event “Water-walking Jesus.” In Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx one of the two main characters, Jack Twist, is drunk, and he’s singing an old Pentecostal hymn: Water-walking Jesus:
“I know I shall meet you on that final day.
Water-walking Jesus, take me away.”
“Water-walking Jesus” smacks of thaumaturgy – wonder-working. It draws more attention to the spectacular than to anything else. Others prefer to title the event “Storm-calming Jesus.” That turns attention to Him who calms the storms of those who plead with Him in their tempest-tossed lives.
We are all tempest-tossed
We are all tempest-tossed, and our storms can be just as frightening and devastating as the storms on the Sea of Galilee which terrified the disciples. The storm might be the bad news that we or a loved one is diagnosed with cancer. Or the storm might be the hard economic times of these days, keeping us awake at night, worrying about how to make ends meet. Or the storm might be a valued relationship turned sour or abusive. Or our storm might be some very terrible and irreparable mistake we’ve made. All of us, even the most blessed, are tempest-tossed. And the gospel is about finding the Lord in our tempests, and calling out to Him as Peter did: “Lord, help me; I’m sinking!”
Conclusion
Someone bigger than ourselves to call upon
Life is filled with tiny whispers, in which the Lord God can be found. And blessed are we who are finely-tuned to them. Blessed are we who, like Jesus, are finely-tuned to the tiny whispers of poor widows dropping their meager coins into the treasury. Blessed are we who are finely-tuned to the tiny whispers of mother robins feeding their chicks out of the scarcity of early spring. The Lord God is in those tiny whispers.
Life is also filled with loud storms, in which the Lord Jesus can be found. When the winds howl fiercely and the waves heave menacingly (as sooner or later they will surely do) blessed are we who have Someone bigger than ourselves to call upon.
