Sunday’s Readings: 1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a; Psalms 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:22-33
…from your Pastor’s Desk
Where do you find God? Only in church? Only while praying? Only in times of need or distress? Only in those we expect to be holy or pious people? Too often we look to great people and to the events in our lives to find God, as if our encounters with God have to meet certain standards and criteria in order to be true. There is a tendency in some to see God only in the extraordinary, not in the humdrum and ordinary [of which we spoke last Sunday]. But to do that would be to limit the ways God reveals Himself to us.
In our readings today we are presented with two seemingly conflicting ways that God enters our world. Elijah found God in the gentle breeze, after the spectacular wind and earthquake. God was present in the soft breeze, not the storm. What beautiful, peaceful imagery. How many times have you felt that gentle touch of God on your face? The gospel presents Jesus coming to the disciples in the middle of a storm, where He brings peace. In both incidents: God came to bring peace or was the sign of peace. God brings order out of chaos – both in nature and in our personal lives.
We can sit on the shore of the ocean or a lake [or the reservoir] and find God present in the lapping of the waves. Or feel God’s strength in the warmth of the sun. Or see God’s splendor in the sunrise or sunset over the water. The creating power of God is evident in the forceful or the majestic. What God really wants is to come into our lives and create the peace and harmony that are Divine gifts to us. If we allow ourselves to be taken over by God, if we open ourselves up to Divine creative power, we will be creating space for God’s peace to dwell within us.
St Paul tells us that nothing can come between us and love of God, and if we are God’s dwelling places this is true. The world may be raging around us but we can experience that deep-seated peace which is the sign of God’s indwelling.
Peace be with you, and with your spirit.
Father Ron
