May the good Lord, strengthen your faith so as to enable you
Nowadays we hear unusual and strange stories of what happen in the
Church: we hear of some ordained priests abdicating their vocation to the
priesthood; groups of the clergy and lay faithful questioning the authority
of the leaders of the Church, even that of the supreme Pontiff, the Pope
and rejecting their directives; killings in the Church during the
celebration of the Holy Mass, et cetera. There are surreptitiously
manifesting themselves within the community of the faithful time bombs like
religious indifference, frantic pursuits of idols of power, violence and
pleasure. What does one make of the commercialization of not only religion
but our Christianity and the undue emphasis of material gain as essence and
end of our worship of God. Do we really care and nurture our faith in, and
relationship with God? Where and how do we listen to God, in solitude and
silence or amidst noise and all sorts of distraction? What is happening in
the Church today is a sign of the malaise within the society. What are we to
do in the face of the above mentioned situations? Flee? Give up hope? No!
Let us turn to the word of God to find what helps it proffers as indication
of solutions.
It is a time like this that we need faith in Jesus. Even though we do
not recognise him, he is there in the midst of our chaos. Having the power
of God, he is the definitive champion of all chaos, and so he is able to
ally our fears and calm the sea. In so many ways he has already shown us
the love he has for us, so why do we doubt? Why do we hesitate? Perhaps, it
is because we are so used to depending upon ourselves. In this regard the
gospel underscores a very important point. It is not enough to acknowledge
Jesus or even to step into danger for his sake. We are able to do this only
if we have faith in the power that comes from him. If we rely solely on our
own devices, we are liable to sink even deeper into chaos.
The readings of today further challenges us. We as Christians have
received the gift of faith at Baptism and thanks to God we have preserved
it so far. But some of our brothers and sisters are not as fortunate as we
are and in one or the other they have lost their faith or practice in an
incorrect way. What is my attitude to them? Does it burn in my heart as was
Paul’s sentiment for his people to find ways to help them out. Paul was
willing to offer himself in exchange for God’s graciousness towards his
people. What sacrifices am I ready to make in order to bring my erring
brother or sister back to the fold?
recognize his presence in your life this Sunday and all through your life.
Happy Sunday! + John I. Okoye
DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(1 Kings 19,9.11-13; Romans 9,1-5; Matt 14, 22-33, 19th Sunday of Year A)
Nowadays we hear unusual and strange stories of what happen in the
Church: we hear of some ordained priests abdicating their vocation to the
priesthood; groups of the clergy and lay faithful questioning the authority
of the leaders of the Church, even that of the supreme Pontiff, the Pope
and rejecting their directives; killings in the Church during the
celebration of the Holy Mass, et cetera. There are surreptitiously
manifesting themselves within the community of the faithful time bombs like
religious indifference, frantic pursuits of idols of power, violence and
pleasure. What does one make of the commercialization of not only religion
but our Christianity and the undue emphasis of material gain as essence and
end of our worship of God. Do we really care and nurture our faith in, and
relationship with God? Where and how do we listen to God, in solitude and
silence or amidst noise and all sorts of distraction? What is happening in
the Church today is a sign of the malaise within the society. What are we to
do in the face of the above mentioned situations? Flee? Give up hope? No!
Let us turn to the word of God to find what helps it proffers as indication
of solutions.
In the first reading of today, prophet Elijah felt isolated and
defenceless. He was comfortless and was fearful of the cruelty and powers
of the wicked Queen Jezebel who was persecuting him. It seemed to him that
he was the only one still faithful to God in all Israel. He felt very
depressed and he retreated into a cave, but God called him from this place
of shelter and darkness to stand before the Lord, out in the open. In this
way, Elijah received the revelation of God’s presence. He witnessed the
wind and earthquake, and a fire associated with them, but he did not
experience God within these natural marvels. It was only when he heard a
tiny whispering voice that he was gripped by the revelation that God was
present. He no longer feel alone now; he was then able to understand that
in Israel there were still so many people still faithful to God and was
convinced that wickedness of Queen Jezebel and of people like her will
eventually be vanquished.
defenceless. He was comfortless and was fearful of the cruelty and powers
of the wicked Queen Jezebel who was persecuting him. It seemed to him that
he was the only one still faithful to God in all Israel. He felt very
depressed and he retreated into a cave, but God called him from this place
of shelter and darkness to stand before the Lord, out in the open. In this
way, Elijah received the revelation of God’s presence. He witnessed the
wind and earthquake, and a fire associated with them, but he did not
experience God within these natural marvels. It was only when he heard a
tiny whispering voice that he was gripped by the revelation that God was
present. He no longer feel alone now; he was then able to understand that
in Israel there were still so many people still faithful to God and was
convinced that wickedness of Queen Jezebel and of people like her will
eventually be vanquished.
The case of heart distress of Elijah is similar to that of Paul in the
second reading. He also had great distress and suffering in his heart. This
was because a great number of his fellow Israelites rejected Christ when
Jesus was with them and at the time Paul was writing, a good number of them
were fighting the Church and persecuting members of the Church, just as his
people persecuted Jesus. The apostle suffered much on account of this and
expressed his sadness in his letter to the Romans. He became more sad when
he contemplated the opportunity at his disposal to make his co-citizens
believe in Jesus Christ, which slipped off his hand without any effect.
Although Paul turned from proclaiming the gospel to the Jewish people and
devoted himself to the conversion of the Gentiles, he never ceased loving
the people from whom he came. It is this very love that caused him such
anguish because his people, to whom God promised and sent the Messiah
before any other nation, have not accepted Jesus as the Messiah. Just think
of it: the greatest boast of this people was that the Christ, the anointed
one of God, was to come from their line. This boast is directly linked to
Paul’s anguish of heart, for the people do not realize Christ’s true
identity. But Paul does. He acknowledged Christ’s sovereignty over all. All
these delusion and disappointment from his people notwithstanding, Paul
did not cease to love them. The depth of Paul’s love for his people can be
seen in the radical solution he proposes. He was willing to be considered
cursed (anathema) and cut off from Christ for their sake.
The gospel narrative of this Sunday consists of four related episodes.
Jesus sends his disciples across the water while he goes up the mountain to
pray (vv22-24); Jesus walks on the water (vv 25-27); Peter attempts to walk
on the water (vv.29-31); the disciples in the boat declare the identity of
Jesus (vv.32-33). All the theophanic (from the noun theophany which means a
visible manifestation of God) elements of the story come together at
its end. Jesus walks over chaotic waters in the manner of a conqueror. When
the disciples of Jesus see him walking on the sea and taking him for a
ghost, they cry out and Jesus response is the typical response to the fear
of an experience of the divine: Do not be afraid! To this he adds the
theophanic exclamation; It is I; I am (ego eimi!). Jesus saves Peter from
the unruly waters. Although the text does not say he calmed the wind, but
it does subside when he gets into the boat. Finally, those in the boat pay
him homage, identifying him as the Son of God. The entire event is a
manifestation of the extraordinary power that resides in Jesus. In the
gospel episode, we see a good and more realistic picture of the Church at
its beginning and which shows somehow the state of the Church in almost all
epochs. The people of God always lived in situations fraught with problems,
from hostile forces from within and from outside. What happened in the
Church at her beginning and in the course of her history is perhaps rearing
its head in our country and even within our Christian and especially
Catholic communities. The Church from her beginning has ever depended on
Christ. Relying on her power alone she will not be able to arrive at the
end of her pilgrimage to God. Jesus, who rose from the dead, is within her
and among her faithful. He is there to assist her. He is there with her
till the end of time. The faith of the Church is also that of Peter that
was put into serious test; but Jesus does not cease to put out his hand
to save her.
second reading. He also had great distress and suffering in his heart. This
was because a great number of his fellow Israelites rejected Christ when
Jesus was with them and at the time Paul was writing, a good number of them
were fighting the Church and persecuting members of the Church, just as his
people persecuted Jesus. The apostle suffered much on account of this and
expressed his sadness in his letter to the Romans. He became more sad when
he contemplated the opportunity at his disposal to make his co-citizens
believe in Jesus Christ, which slipped off his hand without any effect.
Although Paul turned from proclaiming the gospel to the Jewish people and
devoted himself to the conversion of the Gentiles, he never ceased loving
the people from whom he came. It is this very love that caused him such
anguish because his people, to whom God promised and sent the Messiah
before any other nation, have not accepted Jesus as the Messiah. Just think
of it: the greatest boast of this people was that the Christ, the anointed
one of God, was to come from their line. This boast is directly linked to
Paul’s anguish of heart, for the people do not realize Christ’s true
identity. But Paul does. He acknowledged Christ’s sovereignty over all. All
these delusion and disappointment from his people notwithstanding, Paul
did not cease to love them. The depth of Paul’s love for his people can be
seen in the radical solution he proposes. He was willing to be considered
cursed (anathema) and cut off from Christ for their sake.
The gospel narrative of this Sunday consists of four related episodes.
Jesus sends his disciples across the water while he goes up the mountain to
pray (vv22-24); Jesus walks on the water (vv 25-27); Peter attempts to walk
on the water (vv.29-31); the disciples in the boat declare the identity of
Jesus (vv.32-33). All the theophanic (from the noun theophany which means a
visible manifestation of God) elements of the story come together at
its end. Jesus walks over chaotic waters in the manner of a conqueror. When
the disciples of Jesus see him walking on the sea and taking him for a
ghost, they cry out and Jesus response is the typical response to the fear
of an experience of the divine: Do not be afraid! To this he adds the
theophanic exclamation; It is I; I am (ego eimi!). Jesus saves Peter from
the unruly waters. Although the text does not say he calmed the wind, but
it does subside when he gets into the boat. Finally, those in the boat pay
him homage, identifying him as the Son of God. The entire event is a
manifestation of the extraordinary power that resides in Jesus. In the
gospel episode, we see a good and more realistic picture of the Church at
its beginning and which shows somehow the state of the Church in almost all
epochs. The people of God always lived in situations fraught with problems,
from hostile forces from within and from outside. What happened in the
Church at her beginning and in the course of her history is perhaps rearing
its head in our country and even within our Christian and especially
Catholic communities. The Church from her beginning has ever depended on
Christ. Relying on her power alone she will not be able to arrive at the
end of her pilgrimage to God. Jesus, who rose from the dead, is within her
and among her faithful. He is there to assist her. He is there with her
till the end of time. The faith of the Church is also that of Peter that
was put into serious test; but Jesus does not cease to put out his hand
to save her.
It is a time like this that we need faith in Jesus. Even though we do
not recognise him, he is there in the midst of our chaos. Having the power
of God, he is the definitive champion of all chaos, and so he is able to
ally our fears and calm the sea. In so many ways he has already shown us
the love he has for us, so why do we doubt? Why do we hesitate? Perhaps, it
is because we are so used to depending upon ourselves. In this regard the
gospel underscores a very important point. It is not enough to acknowledge
Jesus or even to step into danger for his sake. We are able to do this only
if we have faith in the power that comes from him. If we rely solely on our
own devices, we are liable to sink even deeper into chaos.
The readings of today further challenges us. We as Christians have
received the gift of faith at Baptism and thanks to God we have preserved
it so far. But some of our brothers and sisters are not as fortunate as we
are and in one or the other they have lost their faith or practice in an
incorrect way. What is my attitude to them? Does it burn in my heart as was
Paul’s sentiment for his people to find ways to help them out. Paul was
willing to offer himself in exchange for God’s graciousness towards his
people. What sacrifices am I ready to make in order to bring my erring
brother or sister back to the fold?
Finally, a true experience of God is both transformative
and effusive. We can have such experience of God only in prayer, in silence
and solitude following the example of Jesus in the gospel reading and
Elijah in the first reading. It behoves us, especially in this our present
age of noise to carve out for ourselves a portion of time every day when we can
commune with God alone. It is at such moments that, guided by the
Holy Spirit, we will be able to strengthen our faith relationship with
Jesus. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye
and effusive. We can have such experience of God only in prayer, in silence
and solitude following the example of Jesus in the gospel reading and
Elijah in the first reading. It behoves us, especially in this our present
age of noise to carve out for ourselves a portion of time every day when we can
commune with God alone. It is at such moments that, guided by the
Holy Spirit, we will be able to strengthen our faith relationship with
Jesus. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye
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