Homily for 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A (The All-Weather Lifeguard)

COMMENTARIES FROM THE HEART (By Fr. Anthony Agnes)

19^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A (13.08.2023)

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

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 84(85):9-14

Second Reading: Romans 9:1-5

Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33

Theme: “The All-Weather Lifeguard”

Today, we have a beautiful Gospel, Jesus walking on water. It is recorded in all our four Gospels which shows how important it was to the early Christians. It is important for us also because the waters (the sea) was seen as the greatest enemy of man. Thus, Jesus walking on the water means your God can walk on whatever is your greatest enemy and the greatest fear of your life. He is truly the Lord over every fear in life. The gospel begins with Jesus asking the disciples to get into the boat. It is always Jesus who takes the initiative, he begins every phase of our lives. Whatever state of life that you are in now, whatever condition that you find yourself in now, know that Jesus is in there, he is with you.

We hear Jesus went up to the mountain to pray. He went up to pray for his disciples who were alone on the sea. Though he was physically away from them, he never left them; he was spiritually accompanying them, watching over them from the mountain. Jesus from heaven still accompanies his new disciples in the boat i.e. the  Church. This means we are never alone even when we do not physically feel the presence of God in our lives. He is always there watching over us in our little boats of life and praying for us. Jesus will never leave you alone in your boat to face your challenges.

Then the storms came. We all have storms of life. We might have already experienced some in the past, others are even happening now, and some others will come to us in the future. The easy and safe way, we think, is to pray that these storms never come to us but that is not the prayer God wants to hear. God wants to hear us pray for his presence in our storms. The disciples had their storm, we will also have our storms because they are part of the Christian life. There is no serious Christian without a storm; they are our crosses.  The message is that do not worry when storms and fears hit your boat of life. Always remember that your storms and fears do not have the final word, Jesus has the final say. Your storm shall pass.

Jesus decided to go to the disciples in the fourth watch of the night. This is the darkest time of the night meaning Jesus went to them when they needed him most, when the storms were too much for them. When your own challenges, your storms and fears become too much for you to handle, know that Jesus has already seen your situation. He will walk over those difficulties and come to your rescue. Like he said to his disciples, his encouraging words for you today are still the same: “Do not be afraid”. Are you experiencing some difficult storms? Jesus is on his way to you. Have courage.

When Jesus invited Peter to walk over to him on the water, he was inviting him to walk on his fears and worries. Like Peter, Jesus wants us  also to walk on  our storms, fears and worries. Yes, you can also walk on our storms. It is not by your might or power but because Jesus says so “come”. All we have to do is to keep our focus on Jesus. When we focus too much on the size or capacity of our problems, like Peter will begin to sink, they will overcome us. Let us rather look to Jesus by trusting in his words and we will see something new in our lives.

Like Peter, we pray for the grace to be able to call out to Jesus for help because we cannot do it on our own. When your plans and projects begin to fail, your future is insecure and all the solid grounds around you seem disappearing, then the moment has come for you to raise your hands to Jesus and cry out “Lord, help me!” Jesus will hold you by his hand; you will never sink in life. Remember, your lifeguard can walk on water; no matter how far the waters of life have taken you, he will come over to your rescue.

Praise be Jesus Christ!

My Prayer: Dear Lord, you are my lifeguard. Today I invite you to step into the waters of my life and keep me from sinking. In your name I pray. Amen!

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