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 19^TH SUNDAY, YEAR A: REFLECTION BY FR. JULIAN EKEH

THEME: WALKING TOWARDS GOD

(Matthew 14:22-33)

It has been the will of God to walk with man from the time of creation.  That explains why, in Genesis, we hear of the visit of God to interact and unite with Adam and Eve.  But man chose the forbidden fruit. He failed to walk towards God, stopped walking with God, and started walking with the enemy of God, away from God, towards the creature instead of the creator.  What a mistake.

 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WALK TOWARDS GOD?

Walking towards God presupposes a lot of walking away. As we saw in the Gospel today, Jesus made the apostles to leave the scene of the feeding of the 5000. Walking towards the Lord involves walking towards the spiritual, the eternal while leaving the material, the temporal behind. It is responding more to spiritual hunger and satisfaction of the desires of the soul.

Walking towards Jesus has to do with moving into the boat, that is the Church and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead you.

Walking with Jesus is a divine encounter in solitude. It is walking away from the crowd. It is singling oneself out and being bonded to Christ. It is a listening in private prayers. It is a response to the summons of God.

 

LET US LEARN TO WALK WITH THE LORD

We enter into Christ through Baptism, the gate to salvation. As infants, we are guarded and guided by the teachings and directions of Christ to become mature individual Christians. We do not just live as just a body of believers.  We try to discover ourselves, our place among the many Christians out there. We learn to speak to God. We learn to approach God. We begin to admire things of the spirit, and we start plunging ourselves into the wonders and mysteries of the things of the Spirit. We learn to keep an eye on God and on the Holy. We try to keep away from the mundane, the depraved and the corrupt. We endeavour to tell God, "Saviour teach me day by day." We try to get from the Lord, the ways out of the very many evil forces surrounding us and the ranging tempests here and there.

In the Gospel of today, we saw the interested Peter, who represented each and every one of us, the children of God, on how we ought to relate with God in a personal way, how we should learn to follow the Lord, what it means to walk with Lord.

 

LESSON FROM PETER, THE WALKING CHILD

The effort to follow Christ, to walk towards Him in a personal way, is not an easy one.

Jesus had instructed the disciples to enter the boat. Then, the boat began to be tossed about by the wind blowing against it.

Are you surprised when you feel tossed about by problems even when you're a member of the Church? Does it trouble you that even after your efforts not to move over to the rebels, not to practice one ungodly act or the other, etc, forces still hit you here and there?

Jesus wants you to walk towards Him.

Jesus wants us to look up and see Him walking towards us, walking indeed on the things we fear most. Think of those things making you fear walking towards God, doing the will of God, praying the way you should, raising a Christian family, building a holy, noble relationship, etc. Look up and see Christ offering you a way out, a support, the spiritual side of the story.

 

To learn walking towards Christ, work on your fears and limitations.

Little children are often hindered from walking by the natural tendency and inclination to lie down or sit down. To be able to walk, they must be inspired to rise. Rise up from sitting in dormancy of enjoying the crowd coverage. Move from the 5000 into the 12 and from the 12 into the YOU, the single.

Little children are moved to walk by their desire to get grip of what is before them. They are drawn by the spectacle of the beauty before them. They stand, move the first leg, then the other, and again, they continue. Somewhere along the line, the claps and hailing by people around, the noise of those calling him little child, or whispering "he will fall, or fellow children running up and down touches him and makes him remember that he is not qualified to walk pulls him down. He cries and someone, holds them up, urges them on, and encourages them not to be of little faith but to continue till all is perfected.

This is indeed what we witnessed when Jesus summoned Peter today. Peter walked on. He walked on the forces and waves that were against him.  At a time, he started sinking and called out to Christ to save him. Jesus did and took him into the boat.

Dear Child of God. Make an effort to learn from God. Make an effort to advance in virtues. Endeavour to follow the instructions of Christ. Cry out for help when you start going down. Give God your helpless hand. He will offer you his helping hand. His grace will see you through. 

May God bless His word in our hearts.

LET US PRAY

Behold us, Lord, as we are walking towards you in private and communal prayers, in meditation and devotion, in weakness and fears. We need Your grace in the journey of life. We need Your abiding presence in times of trials and temptations. Deliver us from the many forces trying to make us lose focus on You our Lord and God. Help us to walk steadfastly in the light of Your word through Christ our Lord.  Amen

Happy Sunday (19th Week, Ordinary Time, Yr A)

Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh