Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Homily

August 09, 2020 11:30 am · Sergio Muñoz Fita

Summary: In the long version of this Sunday's homily, we reflect on the symbolism in today's Gospel. In a way that little boat in the middle of the storm represents our temporary, earthly life, always agitated by winds and difficulties. The shore of the lake can be seen as an image of the glorious eternity of heaven, the shore we will reach if we do not allow the waves sink our boat. Jesus comes to us to protect us, and today he invites us not to hesitate to come to him, especially in the most difficult moments. We must set our eyes on Him. As the Apostle Paul tells us, the Lord is above all and has the power to overcome any enemy of our souls and any situation no matter how complicated it may seem. Those who doubt him, as Peter did, are those who sink into the sea. You can meditate this week on the powerful image of Christ grasping the hand of his disciple. The hand of Christ who does not let us fall apart in the trials of life. Jesus wants to help us, to care for us and to give us the grace to reach holiness. It is up to us to look at him, not take our eyes off him, to take his hand and let him enter our boat, to look for him in the silence on the mountain and find him in the quiet breeze of silent prayer, to stay in Peter's boat which is the Church and receive his grace in the Sacraments, and so be encouraged in life’s difficulties. Let us pray to God that we never stray from Him and that we do not fall into the temptation of pessimism that looks at the troubled waters of life and not on the Lord who walks on them and calms the storm before it can harm us. Our eyes, only on Jesus. Our trust, only in Jesus. Our hope and our support, only in Jesus. And He will take us to a safe harbor and will lead us, after the struggles and storms of this life, to the bright and beautiful shore of eternity.

The readings for this Sunday could not come at a better time. We need to hear them because we all find ourselves in some way in the middle of a storm. Christ comes to us today, not on water, but through his saving Word. He comes to remind us that He is always with us, that His grace is always stronger than the winds that threaten the small boats of our lives, and He comes to pull us from the water when we are sinking.

On my pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the day before I reached Lake Tiberias there had been a great storm and lightning could be seen striking the water. The next day I walked almost all day in the rain, so when we read this account of the storm, I can now better imagine the fear of the apostles on that night.

In reality, life is a boat that sails through the sea of time to the shores of eternity. This is how St. Thomas Aquinas, among others, explains the meaning of the lake and the shore in his commentary on the Gospel of Saint John. We have also seen lightening that has filled us with fear. Sometimes the difficulties we have to face make us fear the possibility of shipwreck. We are people of little faith, who doubt, just as Saint Peter did.

The Church is said to be in crisis today. Many voices are heard insisting on how difficult things are in today's world. Sometimes one has the impression that a great catastrophe is about to be unleashed upon us. In my opinion, we should spend little or no time on these considerations because all that does is cause us to take our eyes off the Lord. That was the reason Simon began to sink. He looked around at the storm and the waves instead of fixing his eyes on Jesus Christ. When that happens, the ghosts of the night scare us, the rocking of the rough sea frightens us, and the winds of doubt hit us. In today’s first reading, we hear the same answer: the Lord is neither in the wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire. God is in the breeze, in the “tiny whispering sound”, in the peace of spirit, in the calm of the soul, in the tranquility and serenity of the heart that looks only at Jesus.

Yes, here we are, in this life, in the midst of storms that we have not chosen. But the night does not last forever and the sun will rise again,

and the boat that carries Jesus will one day arrive at the port of eternal salvation, and then the struggles and fears will be left behind.

Let us not leave the Lord. Let us not be distracted from the only thing that is truly important. Let us not fear that God will abandon us, rather let us fear that we may abandon God.

No, let's not stray from Christ. If we don't know where to find him, let's remember the beginning of this Sunday's Gospel story. Jesus, after dismissing the crowds who had come to listen to him, went up the mountain to pray. In prayer, in solitude, we have Jesus only for us. A soul who prays is a soul who is like Christ, a soul who seeks Christ, a soul who is intimately united with Christ.

Dear brothers and sisters, let’s leave today's Mass, in which the Lord comes to us as he went into the boat of his disciples, with the determination to never neglect our prayer with Christ, to prefer nothing to our daily encounter with Him, to trust that God will always give us the grace to overcome evil. Let’s ask that when we feel we are about to sink, we always go to Him, crying out with Saint Peter, "Lord, save me."

He will come to our aid, he will extend his hand to us, and he will deliver us from all dangers.