(1 Kings 19, 9.11-13; Romans 9,1-5; Matt 14, 22-33, 19th Sunday of Year A)
We are going to reflect on the word of God this Sunday under three headings. The first is: The Prayer of Jesus: After sending the crowd away he (Jesus) went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone... After the miracle of the multiplication of bread and fish, Jesus carefully avoided assuming the air of triumphalism and importance. Rather, he saw the need of spending sometime in prayerful solitude and silence with God, the Father, completely away from people. He stayed long in prayer until the evening, even far into the night, almost the whole night. In order to perceive God and be in solitude with him, Prophet Elijah traveled mount Horeb and climbed into the cave there. There, however, he did not encounter God in the noisy natural phenomena like the wind, earthquake and fire, but in the silence and peace of a gentle breeze.
We Christians of nowadays, especially in Nigeria are, therefore, expected to learn from the example of Christ and Elijah, the value and fundamental importance of prayer in our life. We are also to keep in mind the importance of silence and recollection, a
Another theme from today’s reading worth reflecting upon is: The Boat of the disciples of Jesus. This boat in which the apostles were on board was tossed about by the waves of the sea. It is the image of the Church, which from its beginning has been seriously battered and wounded by one persecution or the other, persecutions that were and are instigated by evil and negative powers. However, this boat, the Church will continue her journey across the world and will continue being the beacon of light, sign and call for salvation for all humanity. But she cannot be so, if Christ were not with her, for it is the presence of Christ that is her guarantee for security. The reassuring words of Jesus: have courage, it is I, do not be afraid, continues to re-echo and repeat itself. The boat of the disciples of Jesus (the Church) will never sink as long as Christ is with her and Christ had promised that He would be with her until the end of time. If, at times, we are despairingly worried about the situation of the Church today in the world, it is probably because we do not strongly believe that Christ is really present in the Church, and we think that we are alone in the boat/church being tossed about by the wind. It could also be that we do not fully believe that Jesus is truly the Son of God.
The third theme worthy of meditation from today’s readings is Jesus’ address to Peter: Man of little faith, why are you doubting?In the gospel story of today, Peter represents every one of us well. In his usual impulsive manner, Peter said to Jesus: Lord, if it is you, command that I walk on the water. Jesus did as he wished. But as the wind beat on him, he became afraid, and actually his trust in Jesus began to wane. Consequently he started to sink into the water. What happened to Peter usually repeats itself in us. Often when we are tested, we begin to doubt God, doubt also his existence, his goodness, and as we do so, we begin to lose faith in him, and fall away from Him. On the other hand, Peter also teaches us a way out of every difficult situation, no matter how difficult they seem to be, even when they seem, humanly impossible .Peter shouted: Lord, save me! And at once, Jesus took him by the hand and pulled him up and said to him: Man of little faith, why did you doubt? What does this say to us? It is eloquent in indicating that prayer is our salvation, especially when the prayer is like the cry of the soul that reposes full confidence and trust in God. It is good to note that Peter who doubted Christ, and later denied him, was the same person whom Jesus eventually chose to be the fundamental stone of his Church and who had the duty of confirming and supporting the faith of his fellow apostles. This tells us that the Church should not depend on the bravery/skill/strength of those who govern and lead her, but rather, on the presence of Christ and the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Peter, as we know, continues his mission as the Vicar of Christ and the universal Pastor through the person of the Supreme Pontiff (the Pope) down the century. The Pope himself is certainly a human person and as such has his limitations and could have even some human defects, just as Peter had. But the Lord is with him, and has assured him of special assistance for the good of the Church and by extension also for us. While there are some, even within the Church, who think that they know better than the Pope and do nothing but cast aspersion on him and condemn his teaching and work, we should rather show our affection and devotion to him, and avow our unconditional obedience and renew our prayerful support to him. Let us pray in this Sunday Eucharistic celebration for a deep and lively faith in God the Father and in Jesus Christ and also for the favour of prayerful recollection by which we would be able to perceive the presence and manifestation of God in our lives, in the Church, the ministers of the Church and especially the Pope and his immediate collaborators, the Bishops.
+John I. Okoye
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