Lord, if it is you…
How do we know the Lord is near?
What happens when we open ourselves to the presence of God?
The prophet Elijah had reason to fear Queen Jezebel, wife of King Ahaz, who becomes angry when her own prophets are unable to call down fire on dry wood while Elijah, praying that God work through him, sees water-drenched wood ignite without difficulty. Fleeing Jezebel, Elijah takes shelter in a cave at the mountain of God, Horeb. One can imagine Elijah, wound up tightly because fear has overridden his faith, waiting for the Lord to be passing by. How does he encounter God? Not in the spectacular ways you’d imagine – the strong and heavy wind or the earthquake or the fire – but in the calm and stillness that follow.
A strong wind also plagues the disciples whom Jesus has get into a boat and precede him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. But it is not the waves tossing about the boat that frighten them, but rather the experience of Jesus coming toward them walking on the sea. Peter is not convinced the figure is Jesus: Lord, if it is you, he says, command me to come to you on the water. If ?!? Ultimately, Peter’s focus is not on Jesus but on everything else around him: when Peter saw how strong the wind was, he became frightened, Matthew tells us. Fear has taken hold of Peter, and that fear will build upon itself. Jesus is, by contrast, the calm in the storm, stretching out his hand to catch Peter; the presence of God is revealed in the deep quiet within. What should be driving the disciples here is not fear, but their faith and trust in Jesus who saves.
As Paul reminds the Romans, God’s plan is that all will come to faith, but Paul has great sorrow and constant anguish in his heart because the Jewish people have not accepted Jesus as the Messiah. Theirs is the adoption, the glory, the covenant, Paul says, but they have to be open to God’s presence with the calm quiet of faith.
Our spiritual tradition always calls us back to calm; if you’re not calm, you can’t hear God. The psalmist knows this and can readily say, in Psalm 85, I will hear what God proclaims! Open to the presence of God, the psalmist celebrates all the ways he knows the Lord will come: when he sees signs of peace and kindness and truth and justice. May we too remain open to God’s presence among us, ready to see his kindness and salvation!
This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
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