Proper 14 :: I Kings 19: 9–18; Psalm 105: 1–6, 16–22,
45b; Romans 10: 5–15; 14: 22–33
This is the homily
by Fr. Gene Tucker that was given at St. John’s, in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania on
Sunday, August 13, 2017.
“THE
WAYS OF THE LORD”
(Homily texts: I Kings 19: 9–18 & Matthew 14: 22–33)
The
Old Testament reading chosen for this morning and our Gospel reading, appointed
for this day, have much in common: Both the prophet Elijah and the disciple
Peter find themselves in danger. Both have much to fear, given their respective
situations.
Considering
both individuals’ circumstances, we can learn much about the ways of the Lord,
and about our connection to Him.
We
begin with Elijah.
As
the text opens, we find Elijah hiding in a cave, somewhere hear Mt. Horeb, which
is another name for Mt. Sinai, the place where Moses received the Law from the
Lord. Elijah has fled to this very southernmost place in the Sinai peninsula to
escape the wrath (and the danger) of King Ahab, for – not long before – Elijah
had defeated the prophets of the Canaanite god Baal, bringing down God’s fire
on an altar which had been soaked with water. The prophets of Baal were
defeated, and Elijah saw to their elimination. Of course, this action angered
King Ahab’s, wife, Jezebel, who was a Phoenician princess.
Peter
also faces danger as he leaps into the sea, walking on the surface of the
water. Walking - that is – until he takes his eyes off of the Lord and begins
to notice the surging waves of the sea
billowing around him. So Peter’s life is in danger, as is Elijah’s.
But
both men had plenty of evidence of God’s power.
In
Elijah’s case, Elijah had stopped the rain from falling, causing a drought over
the whole land. And then there was that faceoff with the
prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. Recall with me what happened there: The
prophets of Baal begin their dance around their altar, calling down their god
to light the sacrifice with fire. But despite all of their efforts, there was
no fire. Elijah taunts them, asking if their god is on vacation, or perhaps he
is sleeping. He says, “Cry aloud, for he is a god!” Moreover, Elijah had
raised the widow of Zerephath’s son back to life again.
So
Elijah had witnessed and had seen God’s power in action.
Likewise,
Peter had witnessed God’s power, at work in the person of Jesus. He had seen
miraculous healings. He had seen the raising of the daughter of the ruler of
the synagogue.
So
Peter also knew God’s power.
But
both men find themselves between the past evidence of God’s power and the
current reality of danger.
Isn’t
that often the case with us?
Don’t
we find ourselves confronting an uncertain and perhaps dangerous future, even
as we have experienced something of God’s power at some point in the past?
Perhaps
we can learn some lessons from of these prominent figures in the Bible about
God’s power and about our relationship to God, from whom comes the power to
save.
Elijah’s
predicament provides us with a valuable illustration of God’s power, for that
power is manifested in dramatic signs:
In a mighty wind that breaks in pieces the rocks, in an earthquake, and
in fire.
But
notice that God’s power is known, finally, in the sound of sheer silence. Some
translations use different terminology to describe the Hebrew: The English
Standard Version says the sound of a “low whisper”, while the Authorized (King
James) Version says a “still, small voice”. The New International Version
describes the sound as a “gentle whisper”, while the New Revised Standard
Version comes closest to the Hebrew, describing the sound as the sound of
“sheer silence”.
So,
perhaps we are on a solid foundation to be able to say that, at times, God’s
power is known in dramatic and powerful ways. But at other times, His ways are
quiet, almost beyond our normal ability to know. Those ways are ways of quiet
power. They require us to set aside the noise and the bustle of the world in
order to discern God’s moving.
But
sometimes God has to reach out and reconnect with us. Surely, that is an
element in the Elijah incident before us this morning….Elijah isn’t in the
wilderness near Mt. Horeb for the purpose of having a “pity party”. Elijah’s
life, remember, is in grave danger. And, as he sinks into despair over the
uncertainty he faces, God breaks in and asks, “What are you doing here,
Elijah”?
In a
similar way, Jesus reaches out His hand to Peter as Peter begins to sink into
the waters of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus finds Peter in the midst of Peter’s
uncertainty and the threat of drowning.
So
the lesson we might draw from Peter’s brash move to get out of the boat and to
walk toward Jesus on the water is that we are never to lose our focus on the
Lord. If we lose focus, if we lose sight of God’s power and presence, then God will
have to make the move toward us to find us. But how much better off would we be
if we never lost sight and connection with the Lord in the first place?
As
the waters of life threaten to engulf us, may we remember God’s faithfulness
and God’s saving acts in the past chapters of our lives, so that we might
maintain our constant focus on the Lord. Sometimes, God’s power is seen in
dramatic and powerful ways, but at other times God calls us to search and find
His ways in the stillness of quiet presence. Searching for the Lord when He
seems to be absent challenges us to seek and find the One who said that He
would never leave us, nor forsake us.
AMEN.
