Wednesday, 3 December 2014

20140810 THE REAL TEST OF FAITH IS SURMOUNTED THROUGH PRAYER

20140810 THE REAL TEST OF FAITH IS SURMOUNTED THROUGH PRAYER 


Reading 1, First Kings 19:9, 11-13

9 There he went into a cave and spent the night there. Then the word of Yahweh came to him saying, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'
11 Then he was told, 'Go out and stand on the mountain before Yahweh.' For at that moment Yahweh was going by. A mighty hurricane split the mountains and shattered the rocks before Yahweh. But Yahweh was not in the hurricane. And after the hurricane, an earthquake. But Yahweh was not in the earthquake.
12 And after the earthquake, fire. But Yahweh was not in the fire. And after the fire, a light murmuring sound.
13 And when Elijah heard this, he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then a voice came to him, which said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'


Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14

9 His saving help is near for those who fear him, his glory will dwell in our land.
10 Faithful Love and Loyalty join together, Saving Justice and Peace embrace.
11 Loyalty will spring up from the earth, and Justice will lean down from heaven.
12 Yahweh will himself give prosperity, and our soil will yield its harvest.
13 Justice will walk before him, treading out a path.


Gospel, Matthew 14:22-33

22 And at once he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he sent the crowds away.
23 After sending the crowds away he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
24 while the boat, by now some furlongs from land, was hard pressed by rough waves, for there was a head-wind.
25 In the fourth watch of the night he came towards them, walking on the sea,
26 and when the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. 'It is a ghost,' they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But at once Jesus called out to them, saying, 'Courage! It's me! Don't be afraid.'
28 It was Peter who answered. 'Lord,' he said, 'if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.'
29 Jesus said, 'Come.' Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus across the water,
30 but then noticing the wind, he took fright and began to sink. 'Lord,' he cried, 'save me!'
31 Jesus put out his hand at once and held him. 'You have so little faith,' he said, 'why did you doubt?'
32 And as they got into the boat the wind dropped.
33 The men in the boat bowed down before him and said, 'Truly, you are the Son of God.'


Reading 2, Romans 9:1-5

1 This is the truth and I am speaking in Christ, without pretence, as my conscience testifies for me in the Holy Spirit;
2 there is great sorrow and unremitting agony in my heart:
3 I could pray that I myself might be accursed and cut off from Christ, if this could benefit the brothers who are my own flesh and blood.
4 They are Israelites; it was they who were adopted as children, the glory was theirs and the covenants; to them were given the Law and the worship of God and the promises.
5 To them belong the fathers and out of them, so far as physical descent is concerned, came Christ who is above all, God, blessed for ever. Amen.
THE REAL TEST OF FAITH IS SURMOUNTED THROUGH PRAYER 
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 KGS 19:9, 11-13; ROM 9:1-5; MT 14:22-33
http://www.universalis.com/20140810/mass.htm
The liturgy today challenges us to examine the depth of our faith in Christ.  For today our faith is constantly at risk due to personal and impersonal threats.  In life, we are constantly vulnerable to broken relationships, be it infidelity, betrayal, slander or even persecution.  This was the situation of Elijah when his enemies were going after his life for slaying the false prophets. Sometimes, the trials of life come as a result of natural causes or unforeseen circumstances.  This could be a loss of job as in a retrenchment, a failure in a project or a business or a sickness.  In all these situations, our lives are in jeopardy and our security is endangered.
Faith is challenged not only in adverse circumstances but most of all when we are tested in our love for God and for others.  How many of us can be like St Paul who was willing even to sacrifice his security and life for their loved ones? Would you still continue to be faithful to God and to your spouse who has been unfaithful?  Would you still continue to help your wayward son who is involved in drugs, gambling and getting himself into all kinds of debt and trouble and trust that God somehow will give him the grace to change?
Because our faith is always under test and being challenged, it is therefore vital that we be prepared always lest the temptation of despair is too overwhelming for us.  By then, it might be too late as has happened to many people.  We must avoid falling into the same mistake of Peter who thought that he was confident enough to walk to Jesus on the waters but when he “felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink.” When confronted with stress and pressure of various kinds and of great intensity, we too tend to lose faith.  As a result, we become bitter, resentful and crippled in life.  Like the disciples, we are crippled by fear and disillusionment.
How then can we be prepared for all situations so that our faith will not fail us?  The answer is clear: pray.  To know God we must find Him at the mountain, just as Jesus and Elijah did.  Instead of looking down at the waters, as Peter did and began to lose hope, we are called to look up, to the mountain where we can find the strength of God.  Instead of looking only at our problems, we are called to focus our eyes on the power and strength of Jesus.  Prayer is the key to remaining calm and firm when we are tempted to despair.  We cannot follow Peter who prayed only when he was paralyzed by fear.  Prayer cannot be a last resort in resolving situations but it must permeate all our activities in life.
Let us be clear that prayer is not to be understood as escapism or opium to dull our minds and pains.  Rather, like Elijah, prayer must be seen as a tactical retreat and withdrawal in order that we might recollect our direction and vision.  In fact the mountain is very symbolic of what God wants for us.  When we are at the mountain we can see everything in life in perspective.  Quite often we lose hope in life because we fail to see things according to the mind and plan of God.  When people come before God in prayer, they only tell God how big their problems are but they never tell God how big He is!  Precisely because we do not think that He is Big enough to solve our problems, we become anxious and worried.  So prayer is necessary to keep our objective and vision clear.  This was true both for Elijah and Jesus.  For Elijah, he needed time to discern the direction that God was taking him, since his jealous love for Yahweh seems to have landed him in trouble.  It was also the case for Jesus whom we are told went up to the hills to pray as the people wanted to make Him a political king.  It is part of the discernment process to help us distinguish the ghosts and illusions in our lives like the apostles.
But to be able to see life from God’s perspective, we must listen to Him in the silence of our hearts.  That is why at the mountains when we are all alone, God’s voice is clearest.  Indeed, Elijah did not experience God in the mighty wind or an earthquake or a fire but in the gentle breeze.  The disciples too did not experience God in the storm but only when Jesus got into the boat and the wind had dropped.  So if we want to find God and hear His voice, then we need to be quiet and listen to His promptings and counsel when we pray and meditate.
Quite often the noise of the world and our activities drown out the voice of God speaking to us in our hearts.  We think that when we are involved in many activities, we would find God.  We think that we can only find God in spectacular situations, in big rallies and prayer meetings.  The truth is that God is found more than not in the quietness of our hearts when we are silent in contemplative prayer.
Secondly, we must pray so that we can recognize God’s presence in the storms of life.  God is always present but very often we are unable to recognize Him.  For the first reading says that, “the Lord himself went by” when Elijah stood outside the cave of the mountain but he missed seeing His presence.  Similarly, the disciples did not see Jesus in the storm.  They thought He was a ghost even though Jesus was present with them all the time.  Jesus knew that His disciples needed help.  Truly, God will never abandon us.  Even if we feel His absence because of the lack of prayer or consciousness of His presence, we must realize that He is always there in our midst.  It remains true that real faith is not simply to recognize His presence when the storms have subsided but to trust in His faithful presence even in the storms.  Hence, we must continue to persevere in the storms and wait for the calm to return.  Once the calm returns, we will be able to feel His presence again.
But it is not enough to recognize His presence. We must also feel His presence as well.  Although St Peter recognized His presence, he began to sink because he could only feel the force of the wind, not the presence of Jesus.  Similarly, Elijah needed to feel God’s presence in the breeze before he found faith.
Truly if we feel the presence of God in the storms of life and not just know and believe in faith that He is present, we would remain firm and strong, come what may.  Yes, we must pray for the gift of faith to see and hear Him in our storms saying, “Courage.  It is I.  Do not be afraid!”  So that instead of being fearful, we can surrender our lives in reverence at the divine plan of God; and in adoration for Jesus as we move from faith in Him to worship and adoration just as in the case of the disciples who “bowed down before him and said, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”
However before we can grow from faith to adoration, which is intimacy with Him, we must acknowledge our helplessness, like Peter who cried out to Jesus, “Save me, O Lord.”  Unless we recognize we need help, God will not intervene in our lives.  Without humility and a ready acknowledgement of our powerlessness, God cannot reach out to us with His grace.
Perhaps because many of us are so proud and not used to relying on God but our own strength, we suffer an inability to let go and let God take over.  For this reason, sometimes, God allows us to suffer, not to punish us but to help us recognize our position in the universe and that we are not so mighty after all.  God allows us to experience failures, frustrations and hopelessness.  These are valuable moments for they make us reach out in trust and surrender to God.  It is in our weakness that we find strength in the saving grace of God.  In our abasement, we find the power of God; in our fears we find new courage; in our helplessness, we find the miraculous intervention of God.  Truly, in many ways, storms reveal our helplessness and God’s greatness.  Storms help us to be humble and thus can be a good pedagogy for deepening our faith.
Unfortunately many of us learn too late, as we do not have a relationship with the Lord. In good times, nothing perhaps will disturb our peace; but when tragedy or misfortune strikes, our faith might not be strong enough to see us through.  If we are not prepared, we might even lose our faith.  Without doubt, we will have to go through very difficult times and purification before we come to find God and His peace again.  So whilst we are still happy and strong, let us not take our faith for granted.  We must, whilst we can, cultivate a strong faith in Him and develop a real personal relationship with Him.  In this way, we will be prepared for any situation in life and ready to carry the cross unto death when the trials come, knowing that the resurrection is within our reach.
Yes, only in prayer and most of all in a personal relationship with Jesus, can we learn to trust Him more and more with our lives.  Without a personal knowledge of Jesus, we would not be able to accept the risks, as Peter did, in walking on the waters of life.  Only a real faith can empower us to leave our relative security behind and follow Jesus with conviction through the storms and trials of life, for we know that the Lord is always waiting for us even if we cannot see Him.  Truly, a mature believer has this immoveable foundation that God is and that He cares; that He is watching us through the storms.  Only a faith of this caliber can withstand the good and bad times of life.  Indeed, a true faith is one that can truly proclaim that God is good all the time because He is God!
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH

ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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