Sunday, August 9, 2020

NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

“If you sit in the boat of life, you need a solid anchor
​that can hold you in times of any storm. Jesus, Our Savior, is that anchor”
~ Fr. Emmanuel Asamoah-Bekoe

One of the mysteries in life is the storms we must battle before reaching the shores of our destinations. Every human being obviously has one or more storms that they must confront. It can be a medical condition, relationship uncertainties, job/career instabilities, financial struggles, family issues, or even personality characters. This generates fear and panic, sorrow and anguish, bitterness and anxieties, anger and hatred, hopelessness and faithlessness, etc. in us in varied ways. It is so because in such unfortunate circumstances you just do not know what to do, who to go to, where to go, or how to handle them. Due to this, many have resorted to suicide, drug abuse, giving up in life, to bad company or in some other cases some individuals have developed psychological conditions, depressions, frustrations, anxieties, etc.

But as Christians we have God the father and His son Jesus Christ to respond to every storm in our lives that scares us. If you sit in the boat of life you need a solid anchor that can hold you in times of any storm. Jesus, our Savior, is that anchor.

Our first reading presents how God revealed Himself to Elijah through the tiny whispering sound on the mountain top. This happened because he was sent to rescue the Israelites from idol worshiping and immorality, they had plunged themselves into, under the influence of the pagan queen Jezebel. But to succeed he had to fight and defeat 450 pagan priests of Baal on Mount Carmel. His life was in danger. However, due to his trusting faith and reliance upon God, God appeared in that cosmic sign to help and protect him; thereby vindicating him from his enemies.

As Christians we should see ourselves as the “Elijahs” of our time and age who have been chosen and sent to rescue our generation which has grown indifferent to religion and have resorted to material comfort, immorality, worldly vanities, abuse of human liberty and human rights. But like Elijah we need to develop a persevering trust and faith in God and avail ourselves to experience His presence and listen carefully to Him.

Apostle Paul in our second reading explodes with a passionate disappointment against the Jews for failing to present Jesus as the Messiah to the world. He exhorts that God made it so, so that people like himself could preach the good news outside Judaism to evangelize the Gentiles. The consequence of this is to make salvation to the whole world and to reconcile the Jews and the Gentiles. If we are Christians today, we must always say “Thank you” to God and to our fathers in the faith who have laid a good foundation for us. Therefore, we must also see it as imperative/obligation to suffer to help others to come to the faith as we walk the talk of our faith.

In conclusion, our gospel gives us the episode of Peter’s attempt to walk on the sea to Jesus only to be frightened by the storm leading to his near sinking until Jesus rescued him. Initially, Peter had the faith and the confidence, but the heavy storm scared him to lose his focus. However, His trust and hope in the competence of Jesus as he acclaimed, “Lord, save me,” manifested the Divine authority and power of Jesus over every situation including nature; which is affirmed by the others as they reiterated, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”

As Christians we have Jesus to rescue us when the storms of life intimidate and threaten us to lose focus. We must cry unto him for help. He is ready to assist. If you have Christ as your anchor there is no room for fear. Just invite Him into your life, the storms will be calm. Faith, trust and reliance upon Him can do the miracle and your life will never be the same!

Stay Healthy… PRAY…Keep the faith…Enjoy the last bit of the Sun and the heat…

Let Christ Be Your Anchor…
​
Fr. Emmanuel
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