Never Doubt...

~~~ Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~~~

~~~1 Kings 19:9A, 11-13A ~~~ 

~~~Psalm 85 ~~~ Romans 9:1-5 ~~~ Matthew 14:22-33 ~~~

...the LORD said to him (Elijah),

"Go outside and stand on the mountain...

the LORD will be passing by."

Elijah trusted in the Lord, but he was frustrated 

because everywhere he looked the Lord was not there.

Elijah looked for the Lord in the strong 

and heavy wind crushing rocks, but he was not there.

Next the ground began to violently shake 

in an earthquake, but he was not there.

Soon Elijah sees a raging fire nearby,

but he was not there either as he had been for Moses.

Finally it was a tiny whisper that caused Elijah

to come to the entrance of the cave...

this was indeed the Lord, quietly passing by.

The Lord instructed Elijah to stand on the mountain.

Promising there he would see the Lord.

How many times we long to see the Lord, 

but we give up just before he arrives.

When the disciples saw him walking 

on the sea they were terrified. 

"It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear. 

Even though Peter was afraid he quickly hops 

out of the boat heading toward Jesus.

Peter does not hesitate

 until it hits him that he was doing the impossible...

he was literally walking on liquid...water...the sea.

No one can walk on top of water 

unless...it is Jesus who calls you to "Come".

Jesus always invites us to "Come"

toward him. He will never send us away.

He will never scold us for wanting to be with him...

to be in his presence.

There is safety in his presence.

We must approach Jesus with confidence in our hearts.

Never doubt...Jesus 

invites you to be with him.

Never question...Jesus 

completely supports you.

The more often we 

get out of the boat... 

and walk towards Jesus

the deeper and stronger 

our trust in the Lord will become.

I will hear what God proclaims;

the LORD — for he proclaims peace.

Fear is squelched by trusting

 in the peace of the Lord.

~~~Profound Peace~~~

No Storm Too Great

~~~ Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~~~

~~~ 1 Kings19:9A, 11-13A ~~~ Psalm 85 ~~~ Romans 9:1-5 ~~~ 

~~~ Matthew 14:22-33 ~~~ 

....After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. 

God sent Elijah to the mountain top to wait for the Lord to pass by,
but every time he thought it was the Lord he was wrong.
The Lord was not in the wind, the earthquake or the fire;
the Lord was in a soft whisper.
The unexpected unobtrusive; this is the manner
 in which the Lord chose to reveal himself. 

This is recounted for the Book of Kings.

Jumping into the gospel of Matthew we find the Lord, Jesus,
coming on the waves of a turbulent storm...
fierce winds were blowing...the boat was being tossed about.

In the distance Jesus was calmly walking
 toward the boat of fearful apostles.

Jesus was the calm among the violent winds
 and waves of the storm.

Jesus must also be the calm for us
when we find ourselves caught in the inevitable storms of life.

We may not be able to completely avoid the turbulence if life,
but we can always cry out to the Lord to save us.

Today every news report is a wake up call
to keep our focus on the Lord.
The waves can be crashing around us but the
Lord is coming out to meet us.

Peter may have acted impulsively
when he jumped into the stormy waters,
but he had his gaze fixed on Jesus.
He called out to Jesus to save him he did not give up.

Do you think Jesus would have let him drown?

I think probably not, but the conclusion would have still been the same.

Jesus would have scolded him for his lack of faith.

There is no storm too great for Jesus to come out to meet us.
There is no storm too severe for us to call out to God to save us.

He is most likely the only one who can brave
the terrible storms to reach us.

Jesus is the source of all calm and peace
 that we long for when tossed about in a storm.

We are Blessed...
for when we call out to him
 he is already on the way to our side.

Peace, do not be afraid.

Where is Your Heart?

~~~ Jeremiah 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22 ~~~ Psalm 102 ~~~ 

~~~ Matthew 14:22-36 or Matthew 15:1-2, 10-14 ~~~

It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles the man;

but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.

What you are eating is not putting words in your mouth.

The words you speak originate from deep within 

before they tumble off the tip of your tongue.

Spicy foods does not make you speak in such a manner.

Chocolate cake will not make you speak words of love and kindness.

It would be amazing if the foods you ate could

 help you manage the words you spoke in the future.

...this people honors me with their lips, 

but the hearts are far from me.

Matthew 15:8

This addresses the more serious problem.

Where is your heart?

While this verse is not included in today's Gospel

 I believe it is pertinent to connect the readings together. 

When the apostles were caught in the storm at sea

 their words were saturated with fear.

“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.

The apostles had not yet aligned their hearts with their lips.

They had doubts because Jesus was not in the boat

with them at that very moment.

Peter came close to drowning; he proclaimed faith in Jesus,

but his heart did not completely believe.

Peter knew who Jesus was and he 

still functioned under the shadow of doubt.

Peter got out of the boat because Jesus called for him to come.

Just as Peter had asked.

Peter heard Jesus...Peter saw Jesus...Peter began 

walking on the water toward Jesus.

The weight of Peter's doubt allowed him to sink into the waves.

His heart was not faith-filled enough to keep him buoyant. 

We must get our hearts not just our lips connected to Jesus.

Peter began to feel that what he was doing was impossible and so is was...

he began to sink deeper into the sea.

We know that Jesus would have never let Peter drown.

He does wait, however until Peter cries out to Jesus...

 “Lord, save me!”

Where are you on the Faith continuum of one to five?

One meaning you have great difficulty believing

 and five meaning you believe all things are possible with God? 

Where would you be in order to call out to the Lord to save you?

Peter was near drowning. His life was in peril.

Sometimes God waits nearby for us to call out to him,

but he is never too far away to rescue.

Blessed to be saved.

~~~Peace~~~

Amidst Crashing Waves

~~~ 1 John 4:11-18 ~~~ Psalm 72 ~~~ Mark 6:45-52 ~~~

 

Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

 

We have a God who breaks the rules of science

and defies the laws of nature.

His own rules and laws, I might add.

 

What other 'human' could keep a basket bread a fish

filled to the brim while continually giving from its contents?

 

What other 'human' would even attempt to believe

a liquid surface could support their weight?

 

Jesus did all of these and more.

He had to make an indelible impression.

He needed to get the attention of those who came to him.

He had to render them breathless.

And this he did many times during his public ministry.

 

It is because of these actions and words that we still believe today;

that we still cherish these accounts and hold them dear to our hearts.

It is the very essence of these stories that restores our faith

in stormy times.

These stories keep us believing in trust and hope.

Trusting that our God is watching over us from the mountain top;

and that he will come down to save us.

Hoping that our God will come to us especially

when the waters are churning all around us.

 

Today Jesus has us to carry on his phenomenal feats through

our faith...it is our faith that keeps his actions alive today.

It is in our hour of darkness when we grasp hold of these

beautiful stories...it causes us to have courage.

 

“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!”

 

 

Jesus will come to us even in our times of doubt.

The frightened disciples needed the reassurance of his voice

before they were able to trust.

 

Lord, intimes of doubt give us the grace to trust that you are with us.