Today, the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, we hear in the First Reading (Old Testament) from the Book of I Kings that the Prophet Elijah hears God’s voice as a whisper. He has just experienced the glory and power and might of God’s creation, expects to find God in this power, and yet instead, Elijah hears God’s voice in the quiet.
Our lives are like the earthquakes, the winds and the fires described in Kings. We are living “helter-skelter” lives, burning our candles at both ends (and sometimes in the middle!), living stressed. We are always in a hurry, and rushing where? We don't seem to find the time to stop and listen to God. Not many of us know how to get out of the rat race—those storms of our incessant whirlpool lives that we call the daily grind.
Tragically, many of us are perfectly content (even proud!) with living this “out of control” way! We continue this pace even though we are in danger of becoming disconnected from God and the things of God. Many of us inhabit lives that are going in a million different directions at once, with no clear destination, and certainly not a heavenly one. (Remember a couple of weeks ago? Where your treasure is, your heart shall be…)
Psalm 46:10 charts out the path to a rewarding life “Be still and know that I am the Lord.” The problem with us is that we are not still long enough to know that God really is the Lord of all our existence—not just in our church activity—but in our marriage and family, our business and friends, our money and health, and anything else we wish to add to that list. We are not our own─we are made by God, for God.
In the Gospel today Jesus walks on the water and calls Peter to Him to do the same. Peter’s faith falters and he begins to sink in the waves, and he cries: “Lord, save me!” Jesus does for Peter as He always does for us; He stretches out His hand to hold us up. He stills the storm and He tells us to take courage and to ‘Be Not Afraid.’ First though, it is important to be still, to be able to hear the whisper of God’s voice in our hearts. As usual, it’s all about our priorities, our choices.
Keep singing!
Elizabeth Dyc
Our lives are like the earthquakes, the winds and the fires described in Kings. We are living “helter-skelter” lives, burning our candles at both ends (and sometimes in the middle!), living stressed. We are always in a hurry, and rushing where? We don't seem to find the time to stop and listen to God. Not many of us know how to get out of the rat race—those storms of our incessant whirlpool lives that we call the daily grind.
Tragically, many of us are perfectly content (even proud!) with living this “out of control” way! We continue this pace even though we are in danger of becoming disconnected from God and the things of God. Many of us inhabit lives that are going in a million different directions at once, with no clear destination, and certainly not a heavenly one. (Remember a couple of weeks ago? Where your treasure is, your heart shall be…)
Psalm 46:10 charts out the path to a rewarding life “Be still and know that I am the Lord.” The problem with us is that we are not still long enough to know that God really is the Lord of all our existence—not just in our church activity—but in our marriage and family, our business and friends, our money and health, and anything else we wish to add to that list. We are not our own─we are made by God, for God.
In the Gospel today Jesus walks on the water and calls Peter to Him to do the same. Peter’s faith falters and he begins to sink in the waves, and he cries: “Lord, save me!” Jesus does for Peter as He always does for us; He stretches out His hand to hold us up. He stills the storm and He tells us to take courage and to ‘Be Not Afraid.’ First though, it is important to be still, to be able to hear the whisper of God’s voice in our hearts. As usual, it’s all about our priorities, our choices.
Keep singing!
Elizabeth Dyc
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