Trust what God says (19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A) Jesus assures us today in the gospel passage not to be afraid. The event of Christ walking on the sea is recorded by Matthew (Mt. 14:22-33), Mark (Mk. 6:45-52), John (Jn. 6:15-21). After the feeding of the 5000, Jesus sends his disciples ahead to the other side of the sea of Capernaum (Jn. 6:17), and stays back to dismiss the crowd. He later on comes to his disciples, who were still in the boat, by walking on the sea. The disciples see Jesus and are afraid they are being attacked by an evil spirit. Jesus assures them “TAKE HEART, IT IS I; HAVE NO FEAR.” Still doubting, Peter asks to walk with him on the water. Jesus grants his requests, but because he did not really believe, he starts sinking. (Matthew alone tells us this part of the story, John and Mark do not). What is the message? Christ assures us to trust in him, and believe he can do it for us. See what he tells his disciples “HAVE NO FEAR”, this is real, and he means every word. In the book of the prophet Isaiah 54: 4, God assures us “Do not fear, you will not be put to shame again, do not worry, you will not be disgraced again; for you will forget the shame of your youth and no longer remember the dishonour of your widowhood.” God does not lie, he tells us each day of our lives: “Be strong, stand firm, have no fear, do not be afraid of them, for Yahweh your God is going with you; he will not fail you or desert you.” (Deut 31:6). There is nothing that pierces God’s heart like distrust in him and what he can do. With God all is possible (Mt. 19: 26). All who trust and obey his commandments are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. (Ps. 1:3) Whatever God says, he will do it, all we need do is trust and obey. He says the barren shall be fruitful (Gal. 4: 27) and that is it. He says: “Fear not; for now you will have another son.” AMEN (Gen. 35:17). To the hopeless, jobless, distressed, frustrated God says: “Look, I am doing something new…Yes, I am making a road in the desert and rivers in wastelands.” (Is. 43:19). “You will be called a new name which Yahwehs mouth will reveal” (Is. 48:6). To doubt God is a sin and to fear he will not act is detestable in his eyes. Peter doubted, and tested God, still doubting he sunk, and Jesus referred to him as one of little faith. I do not know your difficulty; you may have failed the G.C.E, you may have been looking for a job for years with little hope of getting one, you may have been taking a particular exam for years to get into a professional school, and so on. God has just one word for you today. MY SON/DAUGHTER TRUST IN ME. What he says he will do, he will do it. Just trust him and he will act in ways we can never imagine or ever understand. Amen
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 19:52:00 +0000