Encountering God

Welcome to my blog and peace be with you.

Today is Sunday, the day on which Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus. Jesus is truly risen and on Sundays Christians bear witness to this truth. Sunday is a day of celebration.

Sunday 9 August 2020

Encountering God

 

 Ps 73: 20, 19, 22, 23

Look to your covenant, O Lord,

and forget not the life of your poor ones for ever.

Arise, O God, and defend your cause,

and forget not the cries of those who seek you.

 

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Prayer

Almighty ever-living God,

whom, taught by the Holy Spirit,

we dare to call our Father,

bring, we pray, to perfection in our hearts

the spirit of adoption as your sons and daughters,

that we may merit to enter into the inheritance

which you have promised.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

 

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First reading

1 Kings 19:9,11-13

The Lord was not in the wind, or the earthquake, or the fire

When Elijah reached Horeb, the mountain of God, he went into the cave and spent the night in it. Then he was told, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ Then the Lord himself went by. There came a mighty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there came the sound of a gentle breeze. And when Elijah heard this, he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. THE WORD OF THE LORD

 Prayerful reflection

The great Elijah is fleeing for his life from the murderous wrath of the queen Jezebel. She is determined to have his blood. He was instrumental in the people executing her 450 prophets of Baal.  He walks for forty days to the holy mountain of Sinai (also called Horeb). It is the mountain of encounter with God. There Moses had encountered God in thunder and lightning. How would Elijah? Mighty winds that shatter rocks are terrifying, just so are earthquakes and blazing fires. Elijah is already afraid, God does not want to make him petrified to the point of dying with fear. The situation of the Hebrews had been different. Now he speaks to him the silence of a gentle breeze. In the silence he receives the courage to return to Israel and his mission despite Jezebel. In the Gospel, Peter and the disciples will also encounter God as he walks on the water. Peter as he sinks into the sea through his lack of faith and the disciples when they realise Jesus is God who tramples on the waves. How do you encounter God?

Psalm

Psalm 84(85):9-14

Let us see, O Lord, your mercy, and give us your saving help.

I will hear what the Lord God has to say,

a voice that speaks of peace.

His help is near for those who fear him

and his glory will dwell in our land.

Let us see, O Lord, your mercy, and give us your saving help.

Mercy and faithfulness have met;

justice and peace have embraced.

Faithfulness shall spring from the earth

and justice look down from heaven.

Let us see, O Lord, your mercy, and give us your saving help.

The Lord will make us prosper

and our earth shall yield its fruit.

Justice shall march before him

and peace shall follow his steps.

Let us see, O Lord, your mercy, and give us your saving help.

 

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Second reading

Romans 9:1-5 ·

I would willingly be condemned if it could help my brothers

What I want to say now is no pretence; I say it in union with Christ – it is the truth – my conscience in union with the Holy Spirit assures me of it too. What I want to say is this: my sorrow is so great, my mental anguish so endless, I would willingly be condemned and be cut off from Christ if it could help my brothers of Israel, my own flesh and blood. They were adopted as sons, they were given the glory and the covenants; the Law and the ritual were drawn up for them, and the promises were made to them. They are descended from the patriarchs and from their flesh and blood came Christ who is above all, God for ever blessed! Amen. THE WORD OF THE LORD

Prayerful reflection

Paul was a Jew through and through. He loved his race and was proud of his race. Since he had come to know Jesus as Saviour and Son of God, he longed for all his fellow Jews to accept Jesus too. The fact that they had rejected him, caused him immense pain throughout his life. Nonetheless the Jews are still the chosen people. God never goes back on his Word. Furthermore, the salvation of the world has come to us through the Jews.

 

 

Ps129:5

Alleluia, alleluia!

My soul is waiting for the Lord,

I count on his word.

Alleluia!

 

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Gospel

Matthew 14:22-33

Jesus walks on the water

Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he would send the crowds away. After sending the crowds away he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, while the boat, by now far out on the lake, was battling with a heavy sea, for there was a head-wind. In the fourth watch of the night he went towards them, walking on the lake, and when the disciples saw him walking on the lake they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost’ they said, and cried out in fear. But at once Jesus called out to them, saying, ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.’ It was Peter who answered. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.’ ‘Come’ said Jesus. Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus across the water, but as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink. ‘Lord! Save me!’ he cried. Jesus put out his hand at once and held him. ‘Man of little faith,’ he said ‘why did you doubt?’ And as they got into the boat the wind dropped. The men in the boat bowed down before him and said, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God.’ THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD

Prayerful reflection

Jesus comes walking on the waters. In the O.T. Yahweh God is the One who walks on the waters, ‘he tramples down the waves of the ocean’ Job 9:8. In so many psalms, God alone is the Lord of the sea. Now Jesus walks on the waters of the storm. When they see him, the disciples are afraid and call out thinking they are seeing a ghost. Jesus proclaims, ‘it is I’. This is a translation of the Greek ‘I am’ – the word used by God at the Burning Bush when Moses asked for his name. Peter then says, ‘if it is really you, then tell me to come to you on the waters.’ When Jesus tells him to come, Peter with great courage steps on the water and walks! His eyes are on Jesus. But then he looks at the waves and around at the wind. This means he has taken his eyes off Jesus. As a result, he now begins to sink. He then calls out ‘Lord, save me.’ Jesus immediately stetches out his hand and pulls him out of the waters. Here Peter encounters Jesus as God in the weakness of his doubt. The other apostles when he gets into the boat.

 

Ps 147: 12, 14

O Jerusalem, glorify the Lord,

who gives you your fill of finest wheat.

Prayer

May the communion in your Sacrament

that we have consumed, save us, O Lord,

and confirm us in the light of your truth.

Through Christ our Lord.