When in trouble, who do you call?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A (My first Mass as Pastor)

St. Gerard’s Catholic Church

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

August 7, 2011

Sisters and brothers, today is somewhat special to me. It is special because it is my first Sunday Mass here in St. Gerard as your servant-pastor. And today’s gospel seems to have been addressed to me in particular. In today’s gospel taken from Matthew 14:22-33, Jesus seems to be saying that being his disciple does not exempt anyone from the storms of life.

Life is good. Life too has its challenges. As we already know, no one goes through life without any storm. The storms of life are part and parcel of human life. Jesus never promised us a storm free life. He himself had his own share of troubles.

Today’s gospel says that after the feeding of the crowd Jesus asked his disciples to start boarding a boat, while he dismissed the crowds. The disciples having boarded a boat, started going home ahead of him. The crowd too started leaving, for it was getting late. As soon as the last person had left, and Jesus finding himself all alone, he decided it is time to pray. He went up to a mountain to pray. Sometimes it is good to pray alone. Now, Jesus does not necessarily need to pray. He is God. He does not need to pray to get anything done. But he still went up to the mountain to pray. To pray for what? Prayer is not always asking and demanding for something. It’s a place we find God. In prayer, we deepen our relationship with God. We hear God speak to us.

Now, as Jesus was praying, his disciples were sailing across the lake. They were going home after a day of hard work and weary. As they sailed, a big storm came down on them, and they started struggling with and against the winds and the waves. As they struggled, little progress was being made to overcome the dangerous storm. As night wore on, Jesus started walking on the sea towards them.

The disciples of Jesus were his closest friends. They were his most trusted friends. They were obedient to Jesus- following him about and learning from him. Still, being close to the Lord of life did not exempt them from the storm which suddenly came down on them. But guess what? In the hour of the disciples’ need, Jesus came to them. He was there to save them from an impending danger. When the wind was contrary and life was a struggle, Jesus was there to rescue. When the need arose, the sweet Jesus was there to help and to save. No wonder Isaiah 35: 4 says, “Say to those who are fearful and broken hearted, be strong, and do not fear or loose your faith, your God will surely come, he will come with might to destroy your enemies. He will come to save you.”

In life, the wind is often contrary. In life, the storm is always painful. In life, we will always experience the storms of life. The storms of life are those times when we are up against the wind of life. Now, those times when life is a desperate struggle with ourselves, with our situations and circumstance, with our temptations, with our sorrows, and with our decisions, we don’t need to struggle alone. In such moments, Jesus will come with his hand stretched out to save, and with his gentle and soothing voice bidding us to take heart and fear not.

Now, as Jesus walked on the sea towards his disciples, his presence worsened the situation for them. First, they were battling with a dangerous storm. As if that was not enough, a “ghost” was walking on the sea towards them. The gospel says, “When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost’ they said, and they cried out in fear.” I do not blame the disciples for expressing fear and shock. They have never seen anybody walk on any sea; and Jesus did not tell them he would catch up with them by walking on the sea. So, fearful of the sight of a “ghost”, and then the raging storm, the disciples shouted out in fear. At that very moment, Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

When you are gripped by fear of anything, remember the words of Jesus in today’s gospel, “Take courage; do not be afraid.” On hearing those words of the Lord, Peter reacted with a request “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” His request was granted immediately “Come.”

Sisters and brothers, as Peter stepped out of the boat, he was steadily and comfortably walking on the sea. He did not sink in. He did not sink for two reasons: one, he acted on the words of the Lord. Two, he fixed and kept his eyes on Jesus. And with that, he did not sink. Then he got distracted. Instead of keeping his eyes on Jesus, he looked away. He stared on the storm and became frightened. The storm in his eyes became bigger than his Lord. With his eyes and gaze away from Jesus, he started sinking. That’s what fear does to us. FEAR is False Evidence Against Reality. Fear magnifies a problem and makes it bigger than God. Fear distracts us and makes us loose focus. As long as Peter kept his eyes fixed on Jesus, he was walking on the sea. As long as he kept his eyes stared at Jesus, he was walking on the water which was becoming a problem for him and his fellow disciples. He was marching and trampling on his problem by foot. That’s what happens to any believer who keeps his or her eyes on Jesus. Problems will come, but problems will not crush us as long as we keep our eyes fixed on our Redeemer.

As soon as Peter looked away from Jesus, he started sinking. When we turn away from the Lord, we too can begin to sink. When we keep our eyes away from Jesus, life will become a sinking sand. Remember the song, “On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.” No matter what difficulty we face, no matter the storm that come our way, no matter how dangerous the wind of life may be, as long as we act on the words of the Lord and keep our eyes fixed on him, those problems and storms will pass us by. We will pass through them, but we will never sink. They will never sink us. Looking away from Jesus is looking away from life. For a moment, Peter looked away, and almost drowned. But again, he acted on the word of the Lord which says in Psalm 50:15, “Call upon me in the day of your trouble, and I will delver you and you will honor me.” Peter cried out to the Lord for help “Lord, save me.” And immediately Jesus reached out to him and grabbed him by his hand and saved him. But he did not let Peter go free without any rebuke. Because he doubted, Jesus said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 

The Word of the Lord in Psalm 34:6 says, “In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles.” Did Jesus not say in the gospel of Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” In his desperation, Peter called out, and he was saved. In his great moment of need, he called out, “Lord save me.” Another word for Lord is Master. So, for Peter to call Jesus Lord, Master means he considered himself a follower, a disciple and a servant. A disciple is the one who learns from the master. For Peter to call Jesus Master means he considered himself a disciple, and Jesus the Master and Lord. It means he had surrendered himself to his lordship. He had accepted Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior. Hence, in dire need and trouble, he called out to him, “Lord, save me.”

In that short prayer and cry for help, Peter declared his unyielding surrender to the lordship of Jesus. In that prayer for help, he also called out the meaning of the name of Jesus. The name Jesus in Hebrew is Yeshua; and in Greek is Iesous which means “God saves” or “God is salvation.” In serious troubled time, Peter called out Jesus and was saved. In our time of trouble, who do we call? Who do we call to essentially save us?