Scripture Reflection, August 10: Take courage!

Scripture Readings:
I Kings 19: 9, 11-13
Psalm 85
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:22-33

I have had the privilege and joy of spending this week with twenty-nine young adults from around the country who are participating in a Catholics on Call Young Adult Conference. They are a very vital and engaged group of men and women. Each has come to the conference because he or she is considering a life of service in the Church as a priest, member of a religious community, or ecclesial lay minister. These young adults have readily shared some of their hopes and fears with one another. In our society, where such a vocation is not always encouraged and is sometimes openly discouraged, these women and men exhibit courage in their willingness to listen attentively for God’s call in their lives. They speak about the way in which some of their peers and even family members make them feel strange for thinking about a vocation to service in the Church. I admire their courage in being true to their own discernment, even as they also share their concerns and fears with us.

In the Scripture readings for this Sunday, we meet two strong individuals – the prophet Elijah and the apostle Peter. Elijah is famous for the fierce courage he exhibits in speaking truth to power. Not long before the incident we hear in this reading, Elijah has singlehandedly taken on the false prophets of Israel and defeated them with a mighty display of power. And he has openly opposed the corrupt rulers of Israel. Elijah would make Christian Bale in “Dark Knight” look like a wimp! But in this passage we see him on the run, hunted by the forces of the wicked queen. This man of steel has been reduced to a cowering, despondent loner who has taken to hiding and who cries out to God: “This is enough, O Lord! Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.”

This same blend of courage and fear is present in the gospel reading. The disciples have just participated in the event of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. In a moment of grace and power, Jesus has fed the hungry, tired crowd. Now his disciples are caught in the storm on the lake, feeling the frightening force of the waves buffeting their boat. Peter displays tremendous courage in asking to come to Jesus across the water. Though we are often critical of Peter for his faltering on the water, we might remember that none of the other disciples in the boat took such a step. In fact, I wonder if they thought that Peter was a little crazy to do so! We hear, however, that Peter begins to sink when he feels the strength of the wind. Neither the mighty prophet Elijah nor Peter, the leader of the Twelve, proves to be a person of unconditional trust in the midst of the storms in their lives. Like most biblical figures, there is a certain ambiguity about these two characters. Thank goodness there is this ambiguity. Otherwise, you and I would not be able to identify with Elijah and Peter!

Like Peter and the disciples in the boat, we are often people of “little faith.” We believe, we trust in God, yet our faith sometimes lacks the depth and courage that we would like. Our fears become obstacles in our relationship with God. At times our fears even control our decisions and our lives. The more we try to ignore, cover up, or run away from these fears the greater their impact in our lives. These fears call for recognition and acknowledgment, not denial. We usually do not grow in our faith by making giant leaps toward unconditional trust. More often, our faith is deepened and strengthened through many smaller steps of admitting our struggles, fears and doubts. We grow in our trust in God by acknowledging our fears and bringing them to the Lord honestly in prayer, all the while asking for his help.

Despite their fears and their faltering, Elijah and Peter still show us the way to a stronger, more courageous faith. In the midst of his personal ordeal Elijah takes the time to listen, to listen for the word of God that is spoken to him. He does not hear this word in the strong wind, the mighty earthquake, or the terrible fire. Rather, God’s word comes to him in the moment of profound quiet – in the tiny whispering sound. It is by discerning God’s voice in that moment of quiet that he is able to recognize the faithful presence of God and return to the mission he has been given as a prophet.

In the midst of the terrifying winds and waves, Peter, too, shows us what is necessary when we find ourselves paralyzed by fear. He cries out, “Lord, save me!” This is what every disciple must do in times of fear, of doubt, or failure. In response to Peter’s cry, Jesus reaches out his hand to catch him, to rescue him from his paralyzing fear. Peter’s courageous act is not flawlessly performed, yet he still ends up in the arms of Jesus.

In a society that prizes upward mobility and the accumulation of wealth, the young adults who are participating in Catholics on Call this week are taking a risk. They have the courage to consider a different way of life – a life of service to God’s people for the sake of the reign of God proclaimed by Jesus. Discerning such a vocation requires that they face the fears which can become obstacles to hearing God’s call in their lives. All of us grow in our faith by working through our struggles with fear and doubt, not by pretending that they do not exist. The challenge for us is to acknowledge those doubts and fears and to allow the Lord to be present to us in the midst of them. We are invited to bring them to Christ in prayer and, like Peter, to pray, “Lord, save me!” It is in those critical moments, sometimes when we are struggling the hardest to believe, that his word comes to us in the quiet and calms the storms in our lives. He says to us, as he said to the disciples in the boat, “Courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Time and time again, we discover that it is Christ’s faithful presence that strengthens our faith.

Fr. Robin Ryan, cp