19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

1 Kings 19:9, 11-13 /Ps 859, 10. 11-12

Rom9:1-5

Mt 14:22-33

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            When the Lord told the prophet Elijah to go to the mountain because he would pass by, the prophet expected a miraculous event. But the mighty God did not appear in a mighty wind or a great ball of fire not even on an earthquake. Instead Elijah felt the presence of God in a gentle breeze. The message is simply this – God is not found only in big things and great events but in the day-to-day ordinary moments of life and in the silence of our hearts. That is why the Church continuously invites us to spend moments of silence, moments of prayer.

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          The Gospel episode would bring us a second lesson and that is the lesson of faith.

When Peter stopped trusting in Jesus and paid attention to the wind and the waves, he started to sink. And this applies to us, too.  When we concentrate more on our problems and forget to lift them up to God, we too sink in frustration and despair. The secret of overcoming our difficulties is to trust in the Lord at all times.

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            Being a follower of Christ does not mean that you will be exempted from the storms of life.

If we find ourselves in danger of being swallowed by the storms of life, maybe it is because we have turned away from him or we have focused so much on the difficulties of the situation and like the disciples, troubled believing that will keep his words.

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          Ito ay isang pagpapa-alala sa ating lahat,lalo na ngayong maraming pagsubok ang ating nararanasan. The Lord continues to invite us : Come, it is I….do not be afraid. If we accept the invitation, we are assured that we will experience what Peter did experience. We will experience the hands of Jesus reaching out to us in Love.

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         Prayer is keeping the eyes of our heart focused on Christ, so that his grace can bring us safely through life’s storms. As long as our prayer life is strong, waves of temptation, discouragement, and sin can surge and billow all around us, but Christ will keep us safe.

In this mass let us pray that we may always be convinced that God is always near us both in good and bad times.

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