I read about a man who suffered an apparent heart attack while shopping. Paramedics rushed him to the hospital where he had emergency bypass. When he awakened from surgery, a hospital staff person appeared at his bedside and asked how he would like to pay. "Do you have health insurance?" she asked. "No." "Perhaps family or relatives might help you with payments.” The patient said, "I only have a spinster aunt and she is a nun." The staffer noted, "Nuns are not spinsters. They're married to God." The patient replied, "OK. Send the bill to my uncle." Now that's a novel interpretation of affordable health care.
The word of God describes the 9th century before Jesus (the 800s). Here the main character is Elijah who did “wonderful things for God and his people.” He was a rainmaker who ended a scorching drought, saving many lives. He preached fidelity to God's covenant. For denouncing royal wrongdoings, Queen Jezebel ran Elijah out of town, so to speak. The once mighty Elijah now hides in a cave, trying to determine where to go next. He cries out, “Where is God now?” He is depressed. He looks but doesn't find God in extraordinary phenomena: in a tornado, an earthquake and a fire. Instead, he finds God in an ordinary “tiny, whispering sound.” Elijah, ready to give up on life, found God where he least expected to find him. That discovery re-energizes Elijah.
Perhaps we've asked a similar question ourselves: “Where is God now?” The sudden death of a spouse or child? An unexpected divorce. A life-threatening sickness. A job promotion that went to someone else; a vacation that turned into two rainy weeks. A business deal that went wrong. In such challenges, it's easy to wonder where God is in this, and forget Jesus's words, “Do not be afraid, I am always with you.”
Paul in his letter to the Christian community at Rome grieves that his fellow Jews did not see in Jesus the fulfillment of their hopes. If only he could bridge Judaism and Christianity! Paul waxes eloquently about what God has done for the Hebrews. He entered into a covenant with them centuries before and promised a Messiah whom his fellow Jews did not recognize when he did come in Jesus. Yes, for Paul, Jesus is the fulfillment and foundation of all our hopes. He is the face of God among us.
In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus has had an extraordinary day,feeding 5000+ people. He then went off to converse with his heavenly Father in prayer, while his disciples set sail only to be awakened in the middle of the night by a raging storm on the sea of Galilee. Suddenly, what they at first think is a ghost turns out to be Jesus. “It is I; do not be afraid,” Jesus says. Jesus bids Peter: Come. Peter, fearful he may drown, cries out: Lord, save me. In this crisis Peter lost trust in Jesus. Back in the boat with Jesus, the disciples calm down, acknowledging that Jesus is truly the Son of God. The Gospel invites us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus; and if we do, our faith will conquer our fears.
Two Gospel phrases caught my “eye” and I simply would paraphrase them into, “Help me, Lord!” and “Do not be afraid; God is with me.”
One of the most common prayers in the Bible is “HELP.” It's a simple prayer we can pray every day, in any situation. For example, help me, Lord, in broken relationships. Perhaps we’re struggling with a relationship: in our workplace, community, marriage or with a close friend. However bad our situation may seem, we always can make psalm 88 our prayer, “I cry to you for help, O Lord.”
Help us, Lord, in our struggles with sin. Do we ever find ourselves trapped in addictions or bad habits, sins that we want to break free from. St. Paul wrote centuries ago, “What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want but I do what I hate.” (Romans 7:15)
Paul goes on to say he needs God's help. He cries out, “Who will deliver me from this mortal body?” (Romans 7:24). And then answers, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” John Newton, the 18th century British sailor, preacher and author of “Amazing Grace” put it well, “I’m not what I want to be. I’m not what I ought to be. I’m not what I one day will be. But thank God I’m not what I once was.” Yes, the Spirit of God dwelling within us will help us live the kind of life we know God wants us to live.
The second paraphrase is: do not be afraid; God is with us.“God with us” (Emmanuel) is one of the titles the New Testament uses for Jesus. (Matthew 1:23) That the God who created the universe should be with us is an extraordinary promise. To experience “God with us” is life-changing. Realizing the awesome indwelling of God energizes us. God through the death/resurrection of Jesus by the power of the Spirit has re-established our relationship or friendship with God as at the beginning of creation when, as the author of Genesis says, God created us in the divine image.
God actually dwells in us. St. Paul asked, “do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (I Cor 3: 16) In the life-giving waters of baptism, God has gifted us with his life and Spirit. We possess the gifts of the Spirit within ourselves to guide us: wisdom (to recognize what truly matters in life), intelligence (to discern what’s true), and courage, empathy or compassion, good judgment, and wonder and awe (to worship the great God of this universe).
God is amazing. “Eye has not seen, and ear has not heard.... what God has prepared for those who love him,” (I Cor 2:.9) “At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face.” (I Cor 13: 12)
God is with us. In difficult times, listen to God’s promises over our feelings and emotions. The psalmist says that God will be with us in our troubles. (Ps 91) But God doesn't promise a trouble-free life. Rather, he promises that he will be with us in our troubles.
God's also with us in our successes. Have you ever been disappointed when someone else was given the privilege of doing something that you wanted to do? Rather than be disappointed, bless the efforts of others; pray for them that they keep following the Lord in all they do. Remember, life may not be easy, but Jesus promised that if we stay close to him we will bear much fruit. (John 15).
Today, we might ponder those phrases in the Gospel: “Lord, save me” and “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Help me, Lord. And may I always remember not to be afraid. For You, God, are always with me, in my struggles and my successes.
