Thoughts about more than every day
On 16 July 1969, three American astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin, were strapped in their capsule at the head of a mighty Saturn rocket, and were blasted into space at the beginning of their eight-day mission to land the first human beings on the surface of the moon. This historic event took place as the culmination of years of research, development and planning. They were engaged in something no other human being had done before, and yet they were just part of a huge team of scientists and engineers that worked together to achieve their goal. Nevertheless, each of the astronauts had to make a huge act of faith that this whole operation would work out. Their lives depended on it.
Today in the Gospel we find Peter being invited by Jesus to do something no other human being had done before or after, to walk on the waters of a stormy lake. Here there was no lengthy preparation; no team of collaborators: just Jesus and a crew of frightened disciples. Nevertheless, Peter had to put his faith in Jesus. He had heard the wonderful teaching of Jesus. He had witnessed many miracles of healing and casting out demons. Recently he had witnessed how Jesus had fed more than five thousand people with only five loaves and two fish. But now the act of faith was personal. For him it was a matter of life or death. So long as he kept his gaze on Jesus he was safe. Once he looked around and saw the stormy waters and heard the sound of the wind, his faith weakened and he began to sink. Fortunately, Jesus was there to take him by the hand and bring him safely into the boat, enabling all the disciples to declare their new-found faith, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”
In our first reading, we find the prophet Elijah hiding from his enemies, Ahab and Jezebel, who want to kill him. He is on his own. He is disillusioned with the life and work of a prophet. He is angry with God for putting him in this situation. Maybe he wants to see God act with power, but God reveals himself not in the wind or the earthquake or the fire. God is revealed in the whisper of a gentle breeze.
Every day we all make little acts of faith in the wonders of modern technology. Most of the time they are not a matter of life or death, but it is a source of wonder how we can talk to each other and see each other in real time wherever we might be in the world. We take for granted that all the wonders of modern science and medicine will work their miracles for us and we are aggrieved when something goes wrong. However, we are so used to what we human beings can do through our own ingenuity that we lose sight of the bigger picture, of the God who holds all things in being, the God who is the source of all our knowledge and skill.
We, like Elijah, can ask ourselves, where is God in the turbulence of our times? We can lose sight of the daily miracles in life all around us. We want God to speak up loud and clear so that everyone can see and believe. But, as with Elijah, so with us. God does not speak in extraordinary ways, in storms and earthquakes and fire. We find God when we quietly listen and look beneath the surface of our lives. We find Jesus, who invites us to step out of the security of our little boat into the rough waters of everyday life. He invites us to keep our gaze on him, to listen to him and not be afraid of the turmoil raging around us.
So today let’s listen to Jesus, who tells us to have courage and not to be afraid, who invites us to come to him through all the storms of our life. Let’s keep our eyes fixed on him, our ears attuned to his voice. We surely will recognise his presence in the daily miracles of our life: the little acts of love that we receive and are able to give. As we try to close our ears to the violence all around us, we listen for that still small voice of calm, who assures us of his presence, “Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid!”
Today in the Gospel we find Peter being invited by Jesus to do something no other human being had done before or after, to walk on the waters of a stormy lake. Here there was no lengthy preparation; no team of collaborators: just Jesus and a crew of frightened disciples. Nevertheless, Peter had to put his faith in Jesus. He had heard the wonderful teaching of Jesus. He had witnessed many miracles of healing and casting out demons. Recently he had witnessed how Jesus had fed more than five thousand people with only five loaves and two fish. But now the act of faith was personal. For him it was a matter of life or death. So long as he kept his gaze on Jesus he was safe. Once he looked around and saw the stormy waters and heard the sound of the wind, his faith weakened and he began to sink. Fortunately, Jesus was there to take him by the hand and bring him safely into the boat, enabling all the disciples to declare their new-found faith, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”
In our first reading, we find the prophet Elijah hiding from his enemies, Ahab and Jezebel, who want to kill him. He is on his own. He is disillusioned with the life and work of a prophet. He is angry with God for putting him in this situation. Maybe he wants to see God act with power, but God reveals himself not in the wind or the earthquake or the fire. God is revealed in the whisper of a gentle breeze.
Every day we all make little acts of faith in the wonders of modern technology. Most of the time they are not a matter of life or death, but it is a source of wonder how we can talk to each other and see each other in real time wherever we might be in the world. We take for granted that all the wonders of modern science and medicine will work their miracles for us and we are aggrieved when something goes wrong. However, we are so used to what we human beings can do through our own ingenuity that we lose sight of the bigger picture, of the God who holds all things in being, the God who is the source of all our knowledge and skill.
We, like Elijah, can ask ourselves, where is God in the turbulence of our times? We can lose sight of the daily miracles in life all around us. We want God to speak up loud and clear so that everyone can see and believe. But, as with Elijah, so with us. God does not speak in extraordinary ways, in storms and earthquakes and fire. We find God when we quietly listen and look beneath the surface of our lives. We find Jesus, who invites us to step out of the security of our little boat into the rough waters of everyday life. He invites us to keep our gaze on him, to listen to him and not be afraid of the turmoil raging around us.
So today let’s listen to Jesus, who tells us to have courage and not to be afraid, who invites us to come to him through all the storms of our life. Let’s keep our eyes fixed on him, our ears attuned to his voice. We surely will recognise his presence in the daily miracles of our life: the little acts of love that we receive and are able to give. As we try to close our ears to the violence all around us, we listen for that still small voice of calm, who assures us of his presence, “Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid!”
