18th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily of the Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A: 2011

There is a woman known as holy, kind and calm through all the chaos of

life. Another woman heard about her fame. She wants to meet the holy woman to learn her way.

She asked the holy woman: do you have a great faith?

The holy woman replied: oh, no, I am not a person with a great faith, but

I put my little faith in my great God.

From the first reading, we have learned how Prophet Elijah met God on

mount Horeb. A strong and heavy wind could not scare him. Then the

earthquake and the fire could not scare him either. He stayed put and

waited the Lord to pass by. We can wonder: why Elijah was not afraid of

natural disasters? Where was his strength and courage? His strength and

courage came from his faith in God. From the beginning of his mission,

Elijah put his life in God’s hands. He did whatever God wanted him to do.

He went to wherever God wanted him to go.

I remember those first years in seminary. With heavy loads of reading and

writing assignments, I was scared. I thought of giving up and went home.

However, at the same time, I reflected on the previous year, I asked myself:

how could I complete the last year with the same work loads and challenges?

The answer is: God. God is with me. He is the One who carried me through

my struggles. With that thought, I had my confidence again and continued

my study.

Through Peter, St. Mathew gives us a similar lesson about faith. St. Peter

had a privilege of walking on the water with Jesus. He was supposed to be

safe and in no trouble when he walked to Jesus on the water. However, St.

Peter started to sink when he lost his focus on Jesus. He paid attention

to the wind, and the water around him. As a fisher man, he tried to

overcome dangers by himself, but he could not. When he recognized that he

was in danger, he cried out: Lord, save me!

Dear friends, all the readings today teach us to keep our faith in Jesus

Christ. Having faith in Jesus does not means that we will not have any

problem or trouble, but we believe that Jesus is here for us.

The problem of Peter is also our problem. When our life is peaceful,

successful and happy, we feel God is on our side. When our life goes south

with a lot of problems and crisis, we think God is not with us, and we

begin to sink and be lost. No, we have to believe in what Jesus said to

his disciples: take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.

Psalm 23:4 said: Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of

death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

Dear friends, every time we come to the Eucharist, our faith should be

renewed because we have Jesus in us. He wants to walk with us through our

crisis and our storms. We have to recognize his presence as Prophet Elijah

had recognized God presence in a tiny whispering sound.

May the peace of Jesus Christ be with you wherever you go. Amen.