Homily for 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
What are the storms in your life right now? Where are you battling, like the disciples in their
little boat, to make progress in the midst of a heavy sea? I think for all of us, our answer will
vary, and it’s unlikely that there will be many of us whose journey through life is as smooth
as glass. For some the rough seas we face may be to do with our family life, with the
pressures of bringing up children, or with the pressures of having parents. For others it be
the stress of work or study or exams. It may be financial worries or concerns about our
health, or it might something we’ve done, a person we find it very to get on with, an
addiction that we or someone we love is struggling with, or a dilemma that we face. It may
simply be that we read the papers or watch the news and see so much in the world that
scares us – or it may be things in our own little worlds that can buffet us a little bit and make
it hard for us to make headway. Yes, we all have areas of rough sea in waters of our lives.
In today’s Gospel the disciples are struggling with their boat on the Sea of Galilee. By the
looks of it they’d been struggling all night. It says they got into the boat in the evening, and
it wasn’t until the ‘fourth watch’, at the end of the night, that things begin to change. So,
where was Jesus? Well, Matthew says he’d gone up into the hills by himself to pray – and
while the disciples battled with the heavy sea, Jesus was up there, alone with his Father.
Sometimes in the storms and rough seas that we face, it can seem as if Jesus is equally far
away, perhaps even to the point of not being interested. But then what happens? In the
fourth watch of the night, Jesus walks over to them across the lake. Jesus reaches out to
them in the middle of the storm and reassures them and says ‘Come’.
What has got to do with us? What does this say about the presence and power of Christ in
the situations and dilemmas in which we find ourselves today? Is Christ present with us
then, or is he simply unconcerned, too busy praying to do anything to help? Well, I think a
hint of what the answer might be is in Jesus’ final words. ‘Men of little faith’, he said, ‘why
did you doubt?’ In those words Jesus seems to be indicating that the disciples didn’t need to
be afraid in the first place. Jesus seems to be saying that just because he was not visible to
them in the middle the storm, it doesn’t mean to say that he was not present with them. In
fact there are many times in the bible when Jesus appears to leave the disciples alone, but
in fact they are never alone, for he sends them out to act in his name, to carry his spirit, to
be his presence in the world.
So where is Jesus for us in the heavy seas of our own life? Does the fact that we cannot see
him mean that he is no longer present with us and certainly not interested? No. Does Jesus
withdraw his presence from us because he doesn’t like storms and doesn’t approve of some
of the situations in which we find ourselves? I don’t think so. Does Jesus let it all go wrong
and then charge in like the fire brigade when everything gets desperate? Well, Jesus is
certainly there in our moments of desperation – but what I think this Gospel is trying to say
is that Jesus is present with us throughout the storms and rough patches of our lives – all
the time. Jesus doesn’t sent us out into the sea of life, without already filling us with his
Spirit. In the midst of whatever life throws at us, we remain children of God, and filled with
Jesus’ Spirit, we are his presence and action in our world. Wherever the followers of Christ
happen to be, whether it’s in Iraq or in Worple Road, in hospital or in Sainsbury’s, on holiday
or at school, in our kitchens or in our bathrooms, in prison or out in the countryside, Christ is
present through us and in us and with us. We are never alone. Yes, there will be times when
we doubt that presence, when we need that extra reassurance, and at those moments Jesus
reaches out to us and says ‘come to me’, ‘do not be afraid’, and ‘why did you doubt?’