HOMILY FOR THE 19TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A. (4)

HOMILY FOR THE 19TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A.

THEME: URGENT CARE FROM GOD.

BY: Fr Andrew Ekpenyong.

1. Urgent Care. On Friday, 11th August 2023, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) activated Emergency Support Function 4 (ESF4) to assist with the catastrophic wildfires burning in Hawaii. Nationally, over 11,000 firefighters are battling 88 wildfires in 12 states, right now. Whether in the time of Elijah as we heard in the 1st reading (1 Kgs 19:9, 11-13) or in our world today, strong winds, earthquakes, and fires can be disastrous for humans. In addition to these natural disasters, we all have to deal with various forms of political, social, economic, and even relationship strong winds, earthquakes, and fires, at this time. And sure enough, dear sisters and brothers, in these urgent or emergency situations, God still assures us of His abiding love and care through a still small voice, a whispering sound. God provides urgent care as needed. God’s graces are always and everywhere available to us. But in moments of urgent need, God provides extra grace or special grace. Yes, our moments of urgent needs are also moments of special grace. We have beautiful and uplifting moments of special grace in all three Scripture readings today; moments of special grace for Elijah in the first reading; for Paul in the 2nd reading (Rom 9:1-5); for Peter and other disciples in the Gospel reading (Mt 14:22-33); and lastly, for you and me even now at this Holy Mass.

2. Special Grace for Elijah. Elijah was fleeing for his life because Jezebel sought to kill him and so his urgent need was safety. God turned his urgent need for safety into a special grace, a theophany as described in today’s first reading. In fact, before the encounter, Elijah had given up: 1 Kgs 19:3,4 “Elijah was afraid and fled for his life…. and went a day’s journey into the wilderness, until he came to a solitary broom tree and sat beneath it. He prayed for death: “Enough, Lord! Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” But even the moment of grace required cooperation from Elijah. An angel fed him, but he had little appetite, so the angel showed up a second time and instructed: “Surge, comede: grandis enim tibi restat via”; “Get up and eat or the journey will be too much for you!” (1 Kgs:19:7). That long journey was the 40-day journey to Mt Horeb, the Mountain of God, where the theophany in today’s 1st reading took place, to strengthen Elijah’s faith and restore his prophetic zeal. It worked. After the strong wind, the earthquake and the fire, Elijah heard the Lord’s voice in a tiny whispering wind, signifying calm and safety.

3. Special Grace for Paul. St Paul in today’s 2nd reading recounts his own urgent need: “… I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart”. Why? His own fellow Israelites in the flesh did not all become Christians as Paul would have expected. In anguish, Paul recounts their privileges: “They are Israelites; theirs the adoption… the covenants, the giving of the law…; theirs the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Christ….”. Paul’s constant sorrow became moments of grace when God made him realize his key role as an apostle to the gentiles, giving him deeper insights into God’s plan of salvation for Jews, Gentiles and all peoples, as we will learn in next week’s 2nd reading (Rm 11:13-15;29-32).

4. Special Graces for Peter/other disciples and for you and me. The urgent needs of the disciples were both material and spiritual. Following the miraculous feeding of thousands our Lord sent them on a boat on the Sea of Galilee, a lake that is 700 feet below the Mediterranean Sea level. He himself spent most of the night in prayer on a mountain range near the lake, about 4,000 feet above sea level. Till today, the lake is very susceptible to sudden and extremely violent storms owing to the peculiar topography with cold air rushing down from the mountains surrounding the lake and colliding with the warm, moist air rising off its surface. While their boat was being tossed by the waves, the disciples caught sight of a figure walking on the water, defying gravity. Our Lord turned their fears into special graces. You heard the details that followed. For the first time, they worshipped him. “Those who were in the boat worshipped Him” (Mt 14:33). Yes, God permits the strong winds, earthquakes and fires in our lives and follows these with the still small voice reassuring us that He is greater than everything that frightens us. Our urgent needs and troubles increase our disposition to listen to God as Elijah did. They dispose us to perform the most important human activity, namely, worshipping God, as Peter and the other disciples did. We are doing it right now at this Holy Mass. May this worship increase our faith and hope, so that we can face future strong winds, earthquakes, and fires, without fear, knowing that God’s abiding care will lead us to His eternal Kingdom of justice, love, and peace, Amen. God.

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