The Power Of His Presence

13-08-2017 HOMILY FOR NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A.

SCRIPTURAL READING:

1. 1 Kgs. 19:9a-11-13.

Ps. 85:8ab.9-10-11.12-13 (R.7);

1. 2 Rom. 9:1-5; Accl; Ps.130:5.
2. Gospel Matt.14:22-33.

Preamble:

Dear friends please repeat these words after me;

Stay with me Lord Jesus, as I give you my mind, may your word never depart from me.

Stay with me Lord Jesus, as I give you my ears, help me listen and obey your voice.

Stay with me Lord Jesus, as I give you my heart, help me welcome you always.

Holy Spirit, rekindle in me the fire of your love. Amen.

THEME: THE POWER OF HIS PRESENCE

The power of God’s presence can turn things around in split second, can save, can uphold and defend, can heal, and bring about restoration. The power of God’s presence calms every storm in life, restores confidence and hope. The power of his presence can save and liberate. We only need to look forward to this powerful presence of the Lord with utmost faith.

Sometime ago, I informed us that in whatever situation we are confronted with in life, the two most important people in such a situation, is you and God. If let go of God in that situation, you are sure to sink into the storm and the waters of this life. If you let go of your identity in any storm, you are bound to leave a miserable life.

True satisfaction in life comes when one truly understands that God and I are in the boat sailing across the turbulent waters of life. If we are able to scream out as peter did and the Lord bade him come as we read in today’s gospel passage, and if we are not to sink into the waters of life, we must keep our focus constantly on the Lord. For in him do our trust and conviction come. Romans 8:1 says-“hence, now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

The power of his presence can never be felt when we struggle and not allow him to do the work. The first reading tells us that the prophet Elijah discovered the Lord’s presence in a still small voice-silence. Silence evokes a lot of power. Silence in the face of opposition, persecution, evil attacks, disappointments, tension, feud, and a host of other experiences we go through in life does not mean weakness but an act of might where one surrenders perfectly to the will of God, it is a decision to step back and allow the Lord to do the Job. It is might appear that the Lord might delay but he is sure to come in the most dreaded moments of our lives and calms the storm.

The narration we just read from the Gospel of Matthew is a clear testimony of what is said to us today. The Gospel narration is not a fiction as some rationalists would think; it was a historical event which really and truly occurred on the Sea of Galilee. It is narration that tells us about the evident power of the Lord over nature and the likes. If Jesus could raise the dead couldn’t he have walked on the waters of Galilee?

What was at work in Christ was Grace which filled Christ’s soul and which overflowed also into his body at his resurrection and this was at work when he walked on the waters (Sea) of Galilee. The power by which he rose and the power by which he walked on water are one and the same: His soul enjoyed the beatific vision from the first moment of his conception.

Dear friends every detail of the story contains a wealth of points for a spiritual interpretation of the gospel narration before us so as to direct our attention on the most solid and spiritually enriching aspects of the narration.

1. The disciples: signify the faithful of the church militant.
2. The boat: the church herself, during her earthly sojourn.
3. The sea and the water: the world.
4. The mountain: heaven.
5. The evening: the centuries which have passed.
6. The waves and the wind: persecutions and trials.
7. The fourth watch of the night: (literally, this is the last portion of the night during the longest nights of the year i.e. during winter) Christ will come again at the end of time.

The church militant (the boat) has been established by Christ and filled with the elect (the disciples) who have been chosen and sent forth into the world (the boat sets out upon the sea) while Christ has ascended into heaven (gone up the mountain to pray). However, over the passing centuries since our Lord’s earthly life (when it was evening) the church has suffered and will continue to suffer many trials and persecutions (the waves and the wind). She will not be destroyed, however, but will remain faithful to the end (the fourth watch of the night) when Christ will come (the walking on water) to judge the living and the dead (the calming of the storm).

Dear friends, from the gospel narration, there are lessons we can learn.

1. First on the list is that Christ presence is assured by personal preparation. He got alone for prayer. So much had happened that Jesus was just drained and exhausted. The tempter had confronted him once again, offering the easy way to secure the loyalty of the people. The people were ready to acclaim him King, but he knew that human proclamation was only the way of the devil. He knew that it would only end in his ruin so he had to excuse himself. He kept his focus before him and that focus was to was to secure salvation for men through death and the resurrection so there was a great need to be alone with God who had sent him on a great mission.

Friends, there are times when long sessions of prayer are needed-no matter the circumstances. If Christ sensed the need, how much more should we.

Christ had to pray in order to (a.) to be renewed and strengthened. He was physically exhausted. (B.) he needed to recover a clear perspective of his mission. He was mentally exhausted; his mind was so tired, it was probably like ours after intensive thought and labour. (C.) he needed to be recharged with God’s power and with the singleness of heart to do God’s will. So much power had gone out of him-he was spiritually drained.

Lessons from the first point include:

1. He prayed on top of a mountain: the believer who stands on top of mountain, thinking and viewing the awesomeness of the country below, sees the massiveness of God, his Power, majesty and glory. The believer gains a new perspective of God and man. Stands at a vantage position to see every matter through the lenses of the Lord.
2. Christ prayed in the evening: the evening is a tender and warm time, a time when a person who has worked ever so hard is very much aware of being drained and needing renewal. It is a time when a review of the day and a look ahead to tomorrow can take place. Christ prayed all alone; he needed to share with God face to face.
3. He prayed “until the fourth watch 3-6am,” that is seven or more hours.
4. He prayed in a storm: a storm arose at some point, apparently long before 3am or the disciples would have already crossed the lake. The importance of prayer to Christ is striking seen in the fact that he prayed for so many hours in the midst of a storm.

Matt. 7:7-“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

1 Chr. 16:11- Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.

1 Thess. 5:17-pray continually.

1. Christ’s presence banishes and conquers fear: the disciples were battling with the storm. They did exactly what Christ asked them to do and the storm still came.

Jesus went to the disciples. He walked on the sea. However, he did not go to them immediately. Why? A.) because he needed to teach them to trust him and to obey his command no matter what happened to them. They were doing what he had told them to do, so they could trust his care and his will. (B.) because he needed to teach them to go about conquering the storms of life by using their own skill and strength. They needed to learn to use all the gifts they had in struggling against the storms of life. He would step in only after they had done all they could. Once their own strength and skill had been exhausted, the praise for salvation would go to God and his delivering power, not to man.

When they saw him, they were afraid and it is a ghost but he reassured them of his presence. His sudden presence on the water was a great encouragement to the disciples, yet they were not quite sure it was him and so peter called out-Lord if it is you bid me come to you. The Lord told him-come!

Peter jumped into the waters and also started walking on the water but soon began to observe the wave and fear seized him and he began to sink. But he cried out immediately, Lord save me and the Lord reached out to save him with the following words-O You of little faith, why did you doubt?

This is a lesson for each one of us today!

1. Why must we take off our eyes from the Lord? what maybe the reasons for such?
2. Do we think that the Lord is too slow to meet our needs?
3. Do we fix our gaze on Jesus or on the problem?
4. Fixing our gaze on Jesus does it make any difference or it doesn’t?
5. Do we think that the Lord’s presence is the answer to the storms of life?
6. If we handle issues my way-where does it lead me? Does it give me peace and calm or more troubles?

In all these questions, let us reflect on this word further-the Lords presence is stronger than any storm and is the answer to any situation no matter difficult and challenging it may appear. I pray today that the Lord’s presence may banish every seed of evil, uproot every seed that was not planted by him in your life and give you peace in the name of Jesus. Amen!