XIX Sunday in OT:[A]: 1 Kg 19:9, 11-13; Rom 9:1-5; Matt 14:22-33

XIX Sunday in OT:[A]: 1 Kg 19:9, 11-13; Rom 9:1-5; Matt 14:22-33

Introduction:  There is never any need for fear and anxiety, for God is always close to us. He is there stretching out his comforting and saving hand so that we may not sink in our storms of life.  Today's three readings share one common theme, “Lord save me”.

Exegesis:  During the First Reading from the First Book of Kings, [1 Kings 19:9, 11-13] we heard that Elijah had gone to a cave at Horeb/Sinai, the mount of God, where he stayed for 40 days. Why was Elijah at the cave? He was hiding there because Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, had sent a messenger to inform him of her intent to kill him.  During the Second Reading, [Rom. 9:1-5] we heard how Saint Paul was saddened by Israel's unbelief and rejection of the Lord. Expressing the great love that he had for his own countrymen, Saint Paul was willing to undergo the worst possible fate, being cut off from Christ, if such could possibly save those that he loved.

During the reading from the Gospel of Matthew, [Mt. 14:22-33] we heard that when St. Peter started walking on the water towards Jesus, he became frightened and began to sink. Consequently, he called out to Jesus, "Lord, save me!" [Mt. 14:30] At that moment, Jesus must have been amused at the ever changeable Peter. He reproaches Peter's lack of faith, takes him by his hand and saves him. In Peter’s walk on the water and desperate grasp of Jesus' hand, we are presented here a stunning image of how important it is to reach out in faith to Jesus. Again, “Lord, save me!” is the cry, a cry echoed by Christians all down the ages who have felt that the world was ready to crush them.

When they got into the boat, the wind died down and there was calm. Experiencing calmness in the presence of Jesus, in the midst of storm makes the disciples to recognize the presence of God in Jesus and they profess their faith in Jesus saying - “Truly, you are the Son of God.” In the dark of that stormy night, the person of Jesus is revealed as the cosmic Lord, able to subdue the forces of chaos represented by the raging sea. Here Jesus manifests his divine identity by calming the stormy waters just as in the beginning God brought order out of Chaos of the raging waters.

Joke: 1) A lawyer's dog, running around town unleashed, heads for a butcher shop and steals a roast. The butcher goes to the lawyer's office and asks, "If a dog running unleashed steals a piece of meat from my store, do I have a right to demand payment for the meat from the dog's owner?" The lawyer answers, "Absolutely." "Then you owe me $8.50. Your dog was loose and stole a roast from me today." The lawyer, without a word, writes the butcher a check for $8.50. The butcher, with a feeling of satisfaction, leaves. Three days later, the butcher finds a bill from the lawyer for $100-- for consultation.

Practical Applications: 1) Approach Jesus with strong faith for he calms our storms in life. No matter what may be happening in and around us, his peace is there for us to share. We live in this stormy world - there are many difficulties & problems, anxieties & worries, sufferings & pains, failures & losses and so on – they threaten us and make us frightened. In the midst of them we cry for help. God does come to our help as He came to help Elijah during his stormy life; Jesus too comes to save us as he approached his disciples walking on the sea and calmed the storm. Let us approach Jesus with strong faith in his ability and availability to calm the storms in the life of the Church and in our lives.

2) We often fail to recognize God when He comes, because often-time He comes as we do not expect. We need to conform to God, rather than God conform to us. Today let us ask then for the gift of faith that we may be able to recognize Him in the ordinary situations of our lives. There are those who would refuse to believe that God is present in the murderer sitting on death row, in those who are marginalized by our society: the inefficient, the addict, the person living with AIDS, the illegal alien, the handicapped. It is in situations like these that we have to get out of the boat, surprise others and show them the reflection of God in such people.  And we humbly pray to Him saying, “Lord, let us see your Kindness, and grant us your salvation.” 

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Introduction

Message: In the midst of trials and tribulations, the Lord extends his hands to us and saves us.  He calms our frightened hearts through his quiet presence.  May our faith in the Lord draw God’s chosen people to the new covenant in Christ.

Saints and Events in this Week: 11 – Eleventh – Monday – Saint Clare, virgin; 12 – Twelfth – Tuesday – Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, religious; 13 – Thirteenth – Wednesday – Saints Pontian, Pope, and Hippolytus, priest, martyrs; 14 – Fourteenth – Thursday – Saint Maximilian Kolbe, priest, martyr; 15 – Fifteenth – Friday – The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Holy Day of Obligation; 16 – Sixteenth – Saturday – Saint Stephen of Hungary;