YEAR C: HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
HOMILY THEME: The Gift of Faith and Trust.
BY: Fr. Evaristus Abu
HOMILY: “…they all saw him, and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; have no fear.’” * (Mark 6:50)*
Back then in school, nothing gave us more joy than opening the question paper on the day of the exam only to find that the questions are far easier and cheaper than we expected. As humans, we have an insatiable desire for learning but unfortunately, we don’t like to learn the hard way. We like everything made simple. It may interest you to know that when God wants to teach us a lesson, He never uses the easy way.
Looking at what happened in today’s Gospel passage, one would wonder: how come Jesus did not simply command the waves to be still when He noticed that the winds were against the disciples and they were frightened to death? Why did Jesus have to walk on that very water that was terribly troubled? The answer is simple: Jesus wanted to teach His disciples a lesson.
When we face real troubles and difficulties in life, when things do not go as we planned, when we are tossed from all sides by the waves of disappointments, falsehood, failures, betrayals, setbacks etc., when we are scared to the point of having sleepless nights, there is one prayer that we pray: “God, take away my troubles” in other words, we say: “God, calm the seas, make things easier.” Most times, God does not answer this prayer. Instead, He comes to us walking on water because He wants to teach us a lesson.
What is this lesson? The need to have faith and trust in God; knowing that no matter how bad our situation seems, it is never beyond the power and control of God. That night, Jesus made the disciples understand that even when they were tossed by the waves and scared, He was greater than all the forces in this world combined. When our prayers are not answered and we do not see an end in sight to our problems, we only need to trust that God can see us and believe that God is walking on top of our troubling situation.
Dear friends, if things do not get rough and tough for you at times, you would not know how great the God you serve is. Tough times come our way at times to teach us to trust more in God. As a little child, I was scared of going out in the night because I thought there was a man standing in the farmyard wearing a white cloth. One hot afternoon, I noticed the farmer dressing a piece of wood in white and I laughed at myself for being scared all those nights. If you really know what God is capable of doing, you would laugh at yourself for holding your fears.
See what St. John tells us in our first reading today: “In this is love perfected with us, that we may have confidence…. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love.” (1 John 4:17-18). If you truly believe that God loves you and He wants the very best in life for you, why are you still afraid? Never forget these words: “Take heart, it is I; have no fear.”
Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, into your hands I commend all that frighten me and threaten my peace of mind. I cast all my burdens upon you knowing that even on top of troubled waters, you still walk gallantly. Amen
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Wednesday after the Epiphany of Jesus. Bible Study: 1st John 4:11-18, Psalm 72 and Mark 6:45-52).
