Homily – Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

There has long been spiritual advice encouraging us to seek and embrace the presence of God in quiet prayer rather than in extraordinary and spectacular phenomena.  These words of wisdom probably resonate with the story of the Prophet Elijah in this week’s first reading from the First Book of Kings.  Elijah, after winning the contest against several hundred priests of the false god Baal, was hunted down by Queen Jezebel’s soldiers, who sought to kill him.  During his flight, Elijah became completely exhausted and wanted to give up.  In those desperate moments, he prayed that he might die: “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.”  After this distressed exclamation, he fell asleep, but the angel of the Lord came, woke him, and gave him food to sustain him: “a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water.”  Strengthened by this nourishment and encouraged by the angel, he continued his journey for forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.

On this mountain, Elijah spent the night in a cave.  He was then instructed to go out and stand at the entrance of the cave to encounter God.  In this encounter, we discover that God did not reveal himself through extraordinary or spectacular natural phenomena but rather in the simplicity of a gentle breeze: “There came a mighty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the rocks before the Lord.  But the Lord was not in the wind.  After the wind came an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire.  But the Lord was not in the fire.  And after the fire there came the sound of a gentle breeze. And when Elijah heard this, he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.  Then there came a voice to him” (1 Kings 19:11–13).

The story of the Prophet Elijah encourages its readers to seek and encounter God in the gentleness and simplicity of solitude rather than in loud noises or spectacular phenomena.  At times, spending time in quiet prayer can become a precious opportunity to converse with God, to listen to him, to be nourished by his presence, and to strengthen our relationship with him.

The Gospel according to Matthew for this week, on the other hand, seems to offer a different perspective.  While one can certainly encounter God in solitude, one can also experience his presence, his touch, and his saving help in the stormiest moments of life.

The Gospel presents us with the image of the disciples battling against a violent sea.  In those chaotic moments of struggle, they failed to recognize the presence of Jesus when he came to them.  Mistaking him for a ghost, they could not recognize him until Jesus reassured them that it was he, their Lord and Master.  The episode then presents a profound and moving moment of divine and human encounter.  Peter gathered the courage to ask whether he could step out of the boat and come to Jesus on the water, and Jesus invited him to do so.  Peter stepped out, but he began to sink as he became frightened by “the force of the wind.”  As he was sinking, he cried out, “Lord! Save me!” Then comes one of the most beautiful images in Scripture: the divine hand reaching out to grasp a human hand in a moment of fear and doubt amid the powerful forces of the storm.

It is, indeed, not only in the quiet moments of prayer that we encounter God; it is also in the messy and chaotic moments of life’s storms that we experience the strength of his divine touch, if only we have the courage to cry out, “Lord! Save me.”

by Fr Sang Ho