A storm arose at sea and the ship was being tossed by winds
and waves. Panic-stricken, the passengers ran helter-skelter on the deck
begging God to save them. Amidst the confusion, little Monica stared coolly at
the tempestuous sea. Seeing the girl so cool and composed, a passenger barked,
“Hey kid, aren’t you afraid?” Monica replied casually, “Why worry? My daddy’s
the captain!” Today’s readings speak of winds and waves, and of Christ, our
Captain’s assurance. “Courage! It is I!” (Francis Gonsalves)
A proper understanding of the gospel story of Jesus walking
on the sea has a lot to teach us of who Jesus is. Jesus comes to us in our
trials and tribulations. He comes very calmly and quietly. He comes to us in
silence. If we practice silence long enough, we may, like Elijah, sense God in
the most surprising moments of our lives. Let me conclude with this story. Four
monks decided to meditate silently without speaking for two weeks. By nightfall
on the first day, the candle began to flicker and then went out. The first monk
said, “Oh, no! The candle is out.” The second monk said, “Aren’t we not
supposed to talk?” The third monk said, “Why must you break the silence?” The
fourth monk laughed and said, “I’m the only one who didn’t speak.” –Mother
Teresa says, “We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and
restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers,
grass- grows in silence; see how the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move
in silence…we need silence to be able to touch souls.” John Pichappilly
The impossible becomes possible…
Mark Link tells the inspiring story of a 17-year-old girl
named Joni Eareckson, who like all teenagers her age was full of vitality,
vigour and promise. Her favourite sport was horse riding, and in every
completion her performance was so very impressive that her prospects for the
future kept rising both noticeably and dramatically. One hot afternoon in July,
Joni went for a swim in Chesapeake Bay and there tragedy struck. On one
particular dive she sustained such a severe injury to her head that she was
instantly knocked unconscious and rushed to the hospital for emergency
treatment. And there the worst fears of her loved ones were confirmed. Joni
would be a quadriplegic for the rest of her life. The months ahead were an
absolute nightmare, with just no light at the end of the tunnel. The once
graceful rider, who delighted crowds with her performances, would lie strapped
to a Stryker frame. And for much of her time she would lie with her face down,
looking at nothing but the floor. That is when she had a spiritual experience.
As Joni lay strapped in her Stryker frame, she thought of Jesus nailed to the
cross. He was God yet he was totally powerless and helpless. And she adds, “I
pictured Jesus standing by my Stryker frame and saying to me, “Don’t lose heart,
Joni, for I am with you and will help you to achieve the impossible.” Even as
she lay there a curious thought crossed Joni’s mind. She could attempt painting
if she could hold a painting brush between her teeth. And that is precisely
what she did- so successfully and admirably that she is author of two
best-sellers –one being autobiographical and entitled Joni –and has played the
lead role in a movie of her own life. This inspiring story aptly demonstrates
what Jesus can do in the life of any and every individual, if we let him. As
the saying goes, “Where some see a caterpillar, others see a butterfly.” As
someone has rightly said, “We must let go, and let God.” This precisely is what
Joni did in her absolute helplessness. But with faith in the almighty power and
the never-failing help of the Lord Jesus, she was able to achieve the
impossible. J. Valladares
Launch out into the deep
The God-encounter is possible when one dives deeper, climbs
higher, ventures further and ‘burns one’s boats’ to launch out into the deep.
The conquistador, Hernan Cortes (1485- 1547), was an ambitious man and desired
to conquer Mexico for King Charles V of Spain. Frightened by unknown lands and
its many inhabitants, his sailors dreamt of turning back to their ships,
whereupon Cortes ordered them to ‘burn their boats.’ Are you ready to burn your
boats and launch out into the deep to meet Deep? Francis Gonsalves
Ready to uphold you!
Peter’s encounter with Jesus becomes a model of the Church’s
encounter with God. Life tosses us about and makes us scream, “Help!” Rather
than saving us by shortcuts, Jesus appears in life’s storms saying, “Courage,
it is I!” His invitation follows: “Come!” Are we ready –as individuals and
Church – to jump off the boat, leave the bandwagon and abandon the crowd? The
Indian state of Gujarat suffered devastating floods in July 2005. The oldest
Church in Gujarat, at Anand, was inundated like never before. This “Church in
deep waters” is symbolic of the Church called to weather today’s tempests of
godlessness, globalization, materialism, fundamentalism, and individualism.
Indeed, Christ the Captain calls us to enter depth and encounter Deep. Isn’t
that the same hand that held Peter ever ready to hold you and me? Francis
Gonsalves
From Fr. Tony Kadavil:
1): An old story about trustful Faith:
In the middle of a dark winter’s night in a small Midwest farming community,
the two-story home of a young family caught fire. Quickly, parents and children
followed their well-practiced emergency plan and made their way through the
smoke-filled home out into the front yard. There the father quickly counted
heads and realized that their 5-year-old son was not among them. Suddenly he
heard a wail and looked up to see the boy at his bedroom window, crying and
rubbing his eyes. Knowing the danger of reentering the house to rescue his son,
the father called, “Jump, Son! I’ll catch you!” Between sobs, the boy responded
to the voice he knew so well. “But I can’t see you, Daddy!” The father answered
with great assurance. “No, Son, you can’t see me, but I can see you! Jump!” At
that, the boy jumped into the smoky darkness and found himself safely cradled
in his father’s arms. Our Scripture readings for today are about trusting
– about having Faith – about being able to discern the fact that our God is
always with us, even in storms of life. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
2): Elizabeth Blackwell walked on water: (https://youtu.be/dLKDMe52O3c)
For Elizabeth Blackwell “walking on water” meant something
entirely different. Elizabeth Blackwell was born on February 3, 1821, in
Bristol, England. As a girl, she moved with her family to the United States,
where she first worked as a teacher. Elizabeth wanted to become a doctor in the
1840s. At the time, medical schools were only for men. Elizabeth Blackwell had
to fight just to get in. Finally, at one school, Geneva College of Medicine in
New York, the students voted to let her in as a joke. But the head of the
school didn’t know it was supposed to be a joke, and he let her in. When she
got there, the students made fun of her. They refused to share their notes with
her. Some professors tried to keep her out of their classes. She refused to
give up. In 1849, she graduated at the head of her class. When no hospital
would allow her to practice, she opened her own hospital. Then she opened a
medical school to train women. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Blackwell)
Elizabeth Blackwell courageously got out of the boat and walked on the roaring
waters of opposition and gender discrimination in the medical profession.
Today’s Gospel tells us how Peter the apostle tried to walk on water and failed
because of his weak Faith in Jesus. (https://youtu.be/j-Vpxb6A6XI)
(http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
3): Joni survived the storm in her life: (https://youtu.be/4fzY0uj9q6k)
Mark Link tells the inspiring story of a 17-year-old girl named Joni Eareckson,
who like all teenagers her age was full of vitality, vigor and promise. Her
favorite sport was horse-back riding, and in every completion her performance
was so very impressive that her prospects for the future kept rising both
noticeably and dramatically. One hot afternoon in July, Joni went for a swim in
Chesapeake Bay and there tragedy struck. On one particular dive, she sustained
such a severe injury to her head that she was instantly knocked unconscious and
rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment. And there the worst fears of
her loved ones were confirmed. Joni would be a quadriplegic for the rest of her
life. The months ahead were an absolute nightmare, with just no light at the
end of the tunnel. The once graceful rider, who delighted crowds with her
performances, would lie strapped to a Stryker frame. And for much of her time
she would lie with her face down, looking at nothing but the floor. That is
when she had a spiritual experience. As Joni lay strapped in her Stryker frame,
she thought of Jesus nailed to the cross. He was God yet He was totally
powerless and helpless. And she adds, “I pictured Jesus standing by my Stryker
frame and saying to me, “Don’t lose heart, Joni, for I am with you and will
help you to achieve the impossible.” Even as she lay there a curious thought
crossed Joni’s mind. She could attempt painting if she could hold a painting
brush between her teeth. And that is precisely what she did- so successfully
and admirably that she is author of two best-sellers –one being
autobiographical and entitled Joni –and has played the lead role in a movie of
her own life. This inspiring story aptly demonstrates what Jesus can do in the
life of any and every individual, if we let him. This precisely is what Joni
did in her absolute helplessness. But with Faith in the Almighty Power and the
never-failing help of the Lord Jesus, she was able to achieve the impossible.
[J. Valladares in Your Words O Lord, are Spirit, and They Are Life https://youtu.be/WiygoMpCNms)
4): “God sometimes whispers.” There is
a story told about a young man and an old preacher. The young man had lost his
job and didn’t know which way to turn. So he went to see the old preacher.
Pacing about the preacher’s study, the young man ranted about his problem.
Finally, he clenched his fist and shouted, “I’ve begged God to say
something to help me. Tell me, Preacher, why doesn’t God answer?” The
old preacher, who sat across the room, spoke something in reply – something so
hushed, it was indistinguishable. The young man stepped across the room. “What
did you say?” he asked. The preacher repeated himself, but again in a tone
as soft as a whisper. So, the young man moved closer until he was leaning on
the preacher’s chair. “Sorry,” he said. “I still didn’t hear
you.” With their heads bent together, the old preacher spoke once
more. “God sometimes whispers,” he said, “so that we will move
closer to hear Him.” This time the young man heard, and he understood. We
all want God’s voice to thunder through the air with the answer to our problem.
But God’s is the still, small voice… the gentle whisper. Perhaps there’s a
reason. Nothing draws human focus quite like a whisper. God’s whisper
means I must stop my ranting and move close to Him, until my head is bent
together with His. Then, as I listen, I will find my answer. Better still, I
find myself closer to God. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
5: Familiar story. In one of his books, Mark
Twain recalls a visit to the Holy Land and a stay in Capernaum. It was a
moonlit night, so he decided to take his wife on a romantic boat ride on the
Sea of Galilee. Twain asked a man in a rowboat how much he would charge to take
them out on the water. The man saw Twain’s white suit, white shoes and white
hat and supposed he was a rich Texan. So, he said the cost would be twenty-five
dollars. Twain walked away as he said, “Now I know why Jesus walked on water.”
6: Ministers walking on water! There’s an old
joke about three pastor friends who are on a beach together. The first, a
Catholic priest gets up from his beach towel and walks about a quarter mile out
to a raft in the ocean. The second, a Protestant minister, does the same. The
third, a rabbi, the newcomer in the group, gets up and walks toward the raft
to join his colleagues. Suddenly he finds himself underwater. The
priest turns to the minister and says, “Didn’t you tell him where the rocks are?”
7: “Have Faith my child”: For the umpteenth time
Mrs. Youngston came to her pastor to tell him, “I’m so scared! Joe says he’s
going to kill me if I continue to come to your Church.” “Yes, yes, my child,”
replied the pastor, more than a little tired of hearing this over and over. “I
will continue to pray for you, Mrs. Youngston. Have Faith – the Lord will watch
over you.” “Oh yes, He has kept me safe thus far, only…..” “Only what, my
child?” “Well, now Joe says if I keep coming to your church, he’s going to kill
YOU!” “Well, now,” said the pastor, “Perhaps it’s time for you to check out
that little parish on the other side of town.”
Priest : Well perhaps I’ll be made a Monsignor and maybe
even a Bishop!
Rabbi : And after that?
Priest : Well, it’s ridiculous to think about it. But I
suppose I could become Pope!
Rabbi : And then?
Priest : Well that’s it, Pope! There’s only God after that.
Rabbi : Well, you never know. After all one of our Jewish
boys from Nazareth, made it! (Source: Jewish Jokes “with no blasphemy
intended”)
22- Additional anecdotes:
1) Called or Not, God is Present. Above the
office door of the Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung (1875-1961), hung a stone
plaque inscribed with the words: “Called or Not, God is Present.” Jung’s
sign encapsulated in a few words what the joint testaments of Judaism and
Christianity have put forth in hundreds of thousands of words for centuries,
viz., that the Transcendent Almighty God chooses to be with humankind, to
commune with us, to love and move among us, to be near, to abide, to be present
whether called or not, in peace, as well as in panic. The real question is not,
“Is God absent from us.” Rather the real question is: “Are we absent from God?”
This Sunday’s first reading relates the experience of the prophet Elijah who
sought and realized the presence of God in the peaceful silence of Horeb
(Sinai). Peter and the disciples (Gospel) experienced the presence of God in
the person of Jesus whose power over the sea calmed their panic and fostered
their Faith. Paul, in the second reading, taken from Romans, lamented the fact
that not all of his fellow Israelites had come to know the saving presence of
God as he had, on the road to Damascus. (Patricia Datchuck Sánchez). (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
2)There seems to be no limit to our fears. In
a Peanuts cartoon strip Charlie Brown goes to Lucy for a
nickel’s worth of psychiatric help. She proceeds to pinpoint his particular
fear. “Perhaps,” she says, “you have hypengyophobia,” (the fear of
responsibility). Charlie Brown says, “No.” “Well, perhaps you have
ailurophobia,” (the fear of cats). “No.” “Well, maybe you have climacophobia,”
(the fear of staircases). ”No.” Exasperated, Lucy says, “Well, maybe you have
pantophobia,” (the fear of everything). “Yes,” says Charlie, “that’s the one!’
Sometimes we feel we are afraid of everything. We are tossed by storms of fear.
We are afraid of ourselves. We are afraid of people. We are afraid of the
future. We are afraid of our past. We are afraid of life. We are afraid of
death. Peter knows that the Lord can sustain him. Even in the midst of the
storm, when there is nothing but uncertainty, He will take care of us. But I
want you to know that Faith is a risk-taking enterprise. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
3)“I have Faith in the Lord, and He will save me.” (A
story about presumptuous Faith). A man named Smith climbed upon the roof of his
riverside house during a flood, confident that his God would save him
miraculously. When the flood waters had covered his feet a neighbor in his
canoe paddled past and shouted, “Can I give you a lift to a higher ground?”
“No, thanks,” said Smith. “I have Faith in the Lord and He will save me.” Soon
the water had risen to Smith’s waist. At this point a motor-boat pulled up and
someone invited him to get into the boat and escape. But Mr. Smith adamantly
refused the offer declaring his Faith in the saving power of his God. Later
when Smith was standing on the roof with water up to his neck somebody from a
helicopter dropped a rope and the pilot yelled at him, “Grab the rope before
the water currents push you down.” “No, thanks,” said Smith. “I have Faith in
the Lord and He will save me.” But after a while Mr. Smith lost his grip on the
roof, fought for his life for a time and finally drowned. As he arrived at the
Pearly Gates, he met God and launched a complaint about this turn of events.
“Tell me, Lord,” he said, “I had such Faith in You to save me and You let me
down. Why? It was not fair.” The Lord replied, “What did you expect Me to do? I
sent a canoe, a motor-boat and a helicopter to save you.” (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
4)“Stop!”: A woman is walking down the street when
she hears a voice shout, “Stop!” And she stops, and a piece of metal falls from
space just in front of her–perhaps debris from a satellite. If she had gone one
step farther, she would have been killed. She looks around to find the person
who saved her life and sees no one. A few days later she is about to cross a
street and she hears the same voice boom, “Stop!” And a car, out of control,
zooms by in front of her–missing her by inches. She looks around again for the
source of the strange but life-saving voice. She sees no one, but this time she
hears a voice. “Do you know who I am?” the voice asks. “No, I don’t,” she
answers. “I am your guardian angel,” says the voice. “I am here to protect you
from harm.” Instead of voicing her gratitude, the woman was indignant. “There’s
just one thing I want to know,” she said, “Where were you when I got married?”
All of us take risks. We would never have anything if we did not. No new
relationships would be formed. No new businesses would be started. No new homes
would be built. Helen Keller got it right when she said, “Life is either a
daring adventure or nothing.” Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky put it this way, “You
miss 100% of the shots you never take.” Mark Twain waxed poetic when he wrote:
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t
do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe
harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Today’s
Gospel describes how Peter takes a risk by stepping into the sea to walk upon
water. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
5) What is she/he doing but walking on water? I’ll
bet every one of us this morning can think of some remarkable water-walkers we
have known. We all have watched simple, straight-forward, hard-working men and
women, little toddlers and tormented teens, the shut-in elders and the shut-out
homeless, perform acts in their lives that defy the limitations of the world in
which they live. The chemotherapy patient who gets out of bed, puts on clean
clothes and picks up around the house, before going for treatment . . . What is
he or she doing but walking on water? The homeless woman who sleeps in a box,
gleans food from dumpsters, but still smiles a greeting and laughs at a joke .
. . What is she doing but walking on water? The single parent, overworked,
overwhelmed, over-extended in time, money, and energy, who makes it to soccer
games and school plays and checks to see that homework is done . . . What is
that harried parent doing but walking on water? The octogenarian who lives
alone, whose family has forgotten him, who counts the postal carrier and the
water-meter reader as “company,” but still is up and dressed by 8am and sits at
the table for all his meals . . . What is he doing but walking on water? There
are people here this morning who are walking on water. You may not know who
they are, and the difficulties they’re facing . . . but I can tell you as their
pastor (and I don’t know all the stories represented here this morning, but
enough to speak with conviction) . . . I’m looking out now at people who are
walking on water. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
6) “Staring at that cross, I realized that therein lies
freedom.” Alexander Solzhenitsyn was the first author to alert the
West to the horrible realities he had experienced in Stalin’s Gulags — labor
camps. Solzhenitsyn said that only once during his long imprisonment in a labor
camp in the Soviet Union did he become so discouraged that he thought about
suicide. He was outdoors, on a work detail, and he had reached a point where he
no longer cared whether he lived or died. When he had a break, he sat down, and
a stranger sat beside him, someone he had never seen before and would never see
again. For no apparent reason, this stranger took a stick and drew a cross on
the ground. Solzhenitsyn sat and stared at that cross for a long while. He
later wrote, “Staring at that cross, I realized that therein lies freedom.” At
that point – in the midst of a storm – he received new courage and the will to
live. The storm didn’t end that day, but through Jesus, Solzhenitsyn found the
strength to ride it out. I don’t know what storm of life will come your way
this week, or what storm you may be enduring at this very moment. But I know
this: even as the storm rages around you, if you will listen very carefully
with your heart, you will hear a gentle voice calling to you, “Take heart, it
is I; do not be afraid.” And in time the storm will pass. And Jesus will still
be there. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
7) Henri Nouwen’s Little River story: Once upon
a time there was a little river that said, “I can become a big river.” It
worked hard to get big, but in the process, encountered a huge rock. “I won’t
let this rock stop me,” the river said. And the little river pushed and pushed
until it finally made its way around the rock. Next the river encountered a
mountain. “I won’t let this mountain stop me,” the river said. And the little
river pushed and pushed until it finally carved a canyon through the mountain.
The river, now large and powerful, finally arrived at the edge of a vast desert. “I
won’t let this desert stop me,” the river said. But as the river pushed and
pushed its way across the desert, the hot sand began soaking up its water until
only a few puddles remained. The river was quiet. Then the river heard a voice
from above. “My child, stop pushing. It’s time to surrender. Let me lift you
up. Let me take over.” The river said, “Here I am.” The sun then lifted the
river up and turned it into a huge cloud. And the wind carried the
river across the desert and let it rain down on the hills and valleys of the
faraway fields, making them fruitful and rich. If we stay focused
on Christ, having more Faith in Him than in ourselves, obeying His
will even when it’s hard, no obstacle will be too much for us, and he will make
our lives more fruitful than we could ever imagine. (E-Priest). (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
8) General George Patton can walk on water: General
George Patton’s soldiers were in awe of him. A member of General Marshall’s
staff once asked a second lieutenant under Patton’s command if he believed that
General Patton could walk on water. The lieutenant replied, “Colonel, I know
General Patton! If he had to walk on water, he would figure out a way and
within twenty-four hours he would have me doing it as well!” Such stories are
part of our national folklore. But they’re all in fun. Nobody takes them
seriously. Because, let’s face it, people can’t walk on water. At least,
ordinary people. And that is exactly the point of this story from Matthew’s
Gospel: JESUS IS NO ORDINARY MAN, AND THE EFFECT HE CAN HAVE ON THE LIVES OF
THOSE WHO TRUST HIM IS DRAMATIC. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
9) Sarah was focused on what to do, Michelle on what to
avoid: Author Zig Ziglar in his book, Better Than Good,
tells about the 2002 Winter Olympic Games when sixteen‑year‑old Sarah Hughes
skated her way to a gold medal. Sarah stepped on the ice, says Zig, not
believing she had a chance of winning any medal, so she just skated with
reckless abandon, unconcerned about the live audience, the television audience,
or for that matter, the judges. She just gave it all she had. That sheer
abandon she exhibited expressed the total joy she was feeling at the time and
she turned in a spectacular performance, winning the gold. Michelle Kwan, on
the other hand, skated after Sarah and was expected to win the gold. She was a
true champion, beloved by skating fans the world over, and the recipient of
many medals in her career. But after Sarah Hughes’s flawless performance,
Michelle went out determined not to make any mistakes. Consequently, she fell,
and took the bronze. Zig Ziglar contends that while Sarah was focused on what
to do, Michelle was focused on what to avoid doing. And it made the difference.
That is what fear continually does to us. We fear failure, and the very act of
fearing causes us to fail. We fear the future, and because of that fear, we
sabotage opportunities that come to us. We fear sickness and pain and death,
and the weight of that worry increases the chances that illness will overtake
us. That is why Jesus’ words are so important to us, “Take heart, it is I; have
no fear.” (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
10) Focus your thoughts on God: There is a story
about the famous statesman Bismarck who came into a friend’s house and saw a
portrait of himself on display in the friend’s parlor. The picture portrayed
Bismarck as a strong and forceful man. Bismarck shook his head and asked, “Is
that supposed to be me? It can’t be.” Then he turned around to a picture his
friend had of the fearful Simon Peter sinking beneath the waves and said, “That
is I!” That is how we feel when we take our eyes off of Christ. Dr. Norman
Vincent Peale tells how he once developed laryngitis because he worried about a
speaking engagement at which he would be speaking to over a thousand people.
When he sought medical help, his doctor said, “I didn’t think I would ever have
to give this kind of advice to Norman Vincent Peale: Focus your thoughts on
God, don’t focus them on your problems…when you focus on your problems, your
nervous system tightens up so your blood doesn’t flow harmoniously. As a
result, you experience sickness. Focus your thoughts on God instead of on your
problems…” (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
11) The Denial of Death: In his
Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Denial of Death, Ernest Becker
says that so many of the fears that we grapple with – the fear of rejection,
abandonment, failure, separation, loss – are but manifestations of the one
ultimate fear, and that is the fear of death. Perhaps he is right. How do we
overcome that ultimate fear? Faith. Only through Faith will the demons of fear
that can haunt us be exorcized. I think the Gospel is telling us that when
Peter stepped out onto the lake, walked on the water, it was only when he
looked at the wind and waves that he became terrified and stopped looking at
Jesus, and that is when he started to sink, Jesus later asked him why he
doubted. Why didn’t his Faith carry him across the water to Jesus’ side? It was
fear. Fear crept in and doubt began to rise and Peter began to sink. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
12) Not a single person bullied her or taunted her. In
the book, A Second Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Bill
Sanders writes of a young neighbor named Nikki who learned to walk on the
water. When Nikki was in seventh grade, she was diagnosed with leukemia. Nikki
went through the necessary chemotherapy and the resulting loss of hair. To be
different as a seventh grader is a kind of death. Without hair, Nikki was very
different from her peers. She was a generally popular girl, but still she faced
hurdles. Kids would sneak up behind her and snatch her wig off. People would
stare and laugh. No one would sit with her in the cafeteria or in math class,
and the lockers on either side of hers had been vacated. Nikki told her
neighbor, Bill, that she could handle losing her hair. And with her faith in
God, she could handle losing her life. But the hardest part of her illness was
losing her friends. Nikki’s parents had given her permission to stay out of
school, but then Nikki changed her mind. She heard a story about a
seventh-grader in Arkansas who was bullied for bringing his Bible to school.
The boy handed his Bible to his biggest tormentor and said, “Here, see if
you’ve got enough courage to carry this around school just one day.” Those
three bullies became his three friends. Another story that affected Nikki was
of a boy from Ohio named Jimmy Masterdiro. Ohio didn’t have a state motto, so
Jimmy wrote a proposed state motto, then set up a petition to get the motto
legitimated by the state. Jimmy got enough signatures to take his petition
before the State legislature. Because of Jimmy Masterdiro, Ohio’s official
state motto is, “All things are possible with God.” Nikki set out for the
school the next Monday as usual. Her parents drove her. When she got to school,
Nikki hugged and kissed both her parents. Then she said, “Mom and Dad, guess
what I’m going to do today?” Her eyes began to tear up. “Today I’m going to
find out who my best friend is. Today I’m going to find out who my real friends
are.” Then Nikki took off her wig and set it on the car seat. “They take me for
who I am, Daddy, or they don’t take me at all. I don’t have much time left.
I’ve got to find out who they are today.” Then Nikki asked for her parents’
prayers, and she walked into the school. Not a single person bullied her or
taunted her. [Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, [(Deerfield Beach, FL:
Health Communications, Inc., 1995), pp. 24-27.] I don’t know what walking on
the water would be for you. Going back to school? Asking for that promotion?
Inviting your next-door neighbor to come to a Bible study with you? All I’m
saying is, don’t let fear defeat you. You have a Friend who comes to you in
your hour of greatest need and says, “Don’t be afraid; you can do it. Step out
of the boat and walk on the water with Me.” (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
13) Do you recognize the name Anna Taylor? No?
It’s just as well. On October 24, 1901, Anna was the first person to go over
Niagara Falls in a barrel and live. That’s too much risk-taking for most of us.
Do you know what the last words of a redneck are? “Hey, guys, watch this.” Some
risk-taking is just plain dumb. And yet some people, by their very nature, are
risk-takers. Christopher Columbus was a risk-taker. So are racecar drivers and
many celebrities. These people have a personality trait which researchers call
“novelty-seeking.” Researchers say novelty-seekers are usually outgoing,
excitable, short-tempered and eager for new experiences. They’re also likelier
to have a gene that fosters this thrill-seeking temperament. Studies by Israeli
and U.S. researchers, published in Nature Genetics, have linked
novelty-seeking behavior with a gene that affects the body’s response to the
brain chemical dopamine. Dopamine helps stimulate the feeling of euphoria. It
affects how we perceive pain, and it plays a role in the sensations produced by
some addictive drugs. The researchers found that people with the gene for the
D4 dopamine receptor were likelier to seek new experiences than people without
this receptor. How they pursue their novelty-seeking, however, will be
determined by their experiences. A novelty-seeker encouraged to be athletic,
for instance, might try bungee jumping, while someone from a cerebral
environment might become an inventor. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
14) Reach out to Jesus: Dale Carnegie relates in
his famous book, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, the resilience of a
discouraged and disheartened book salesman, John R. Antony. Antony knew his job
thoroughly, but, somehow, he never made many sales. Day by day, he was
discouraged. He became afraid to call on people. Even when he went in, often,
he would wish that his client wouldn’t be in the seat. The sales manager
threatened to stop his advances if he didn’t send in more orders. With
decreasing sales, Antony grew depressed. The only reason he did not commit
suicide was because he did not have the courage to do so. Since he had no one
else to turn towards, he turned towards God. He asked God to help him to give
him money to feed his wife and his three children. After the prayer he opened
his eyes and saw the Bible on the dresser in the hotel room. He opened the
Bible read the words of Jesus: “Take no thought for your life, what you shall
eat, or what you shall drink; But seek first the kingdom of God, and His
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Mt: 6: 25-33).” As
he read and prayed over those words of Jesus, a miracle happened. His
anxieties, worries and fears were transformed into heart-warming courage and
hope and triumphant Faith. The next morning, he got up and dressed well and
headed towards his clients with a bold and positive stride. He held his chin
high and introduced himself confidently and began his selling of the books.
From then on, he never turned back. Twenty-two years later he confessed this
truth: “That night I had become suddenly aware of my relationship with God. A
mere man alone can easily be defeated, but a man alive with the power of God
within him is invincible. I know. I saw it work in my own life.” Anthony from
his sinking state reached out to Christ and Christ lifted him up. (John Rose in
John’s Sunday Homilies; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
15) A dog walking on water: An avid duck hunter
was in the market for a new bird dog. His search ended when he found a dog that
could actually walk on water to retrieve a duck. Shocked by his find, he was
sure none of his friends would ever believe him. He decided to try to break the
news to a friend of his, a pessimist by nature, and invited him to hunt with
him and his new dog. As they waited by the shore, a flock of ducks flew by.
they fired, and a duck fell. The dog responded and jumped into the water. The
dog, however, did not sink but instead walked across the water to retrieve the
bird, never getting more than his paws wet. The friend saw everything but did
not say a single word. On the drive home the hunter asked his friend, “Did you
notice anything unusual about my new dog?” “I sure did,” responded his friend.
“He can’t swim.”
(http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
16) “It was then that I carried you.” One night
a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two
sets of footprints in the sand; one belonging to him, and the other to the
LORD. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the
footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of life there
was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it. “LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
You, You’d walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand
why, when I needed You most, You would leave me.” The LORD replied, “My
precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your
times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was
then that I carried you.” (Fr. Tommy Lane).
(http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
17) St. Tharsilla’s Secret: Have Faith and live
it: St. Tharsilla [thar-SIHL-uh] lived in Rome in the
500s. She and her sister St. Emiliana [ehm-eel-ee-YAHN-uh] were living on
their father’s estate just outside the city walls. They
dedicated themselves almost entirely to prayer and to serving the poor.
Their brother was Pope St. Gregory the Great. Quite a family –
three siblings, all of them canonized saints! They did more for the
Church and society in those violent, cataclysmic years than
any number of politicians, businessmen, or generals – and the secret to
their fruitfulness was prayer. As St. Tharsilla lay on
her deathbed in the year 550, a relative from three
generations before, who had also been a saint, Pope St Felix II, appeared to
her. He showed her a place in Heaven, saying, “Come; I will receive
you into this habitation of light…” After that, her deathbed became a place
of intense joy, not of sorrow and anxiety. Just a couple days after
that vision, Tharsilla entered into her agony, and her last words
before dying were: “Away! Away! My Savior Jesus is coming!” It was Christmas
Eve. A few days afterwards, St. Tharsilla appeared to her sister,
St. Emiliana, and called her to come and celebrate the Epiphany in Heaven. And
indeed, St Emiliana died on the eve of January 6, the feast of the
Epiphany. These two saints lived such an intimate friendship with
Jesus that not even life’s greatest suffering – the sickness
and death of a loved one, could steal their joy or interior
peace. They truly were citizens of Heaven, even while they
lived beautiful, inspiring lives here on earth. Of course,
holiness like that doesn’t happen randomly. (E-Priest). (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
18) The Paradox of Infant Baptism: This is one
reason why many non-Catholic Christian denominations condemn the
ancient, Catholic practice of infant Baptism. For them, Faith is
a personal commitment to follow Jesus Christ, and Baptism is
the symbol of that commitment. And so, for them, it makes no
sense to baptize a baby who is too young to
be able to make a personal commitment. Of course, they are forgetting that
Faith is much more than just a “personal commitment” – though
it is certainly nothing less. Faith is first and foremost a gift
of God, a gift of God’s grace. This is the
difference between Faith and self-help. Jesus saved us while
we were still sinners, and his saving love changed our hearts – not the
other way around. When we baptize babies that’s what we
are focusing on: God’s unconditional generosity in
offering us salvation not as a reward for something we did,
but purely out of love. The Gospels tell us about many parents who
asked Jesus to come and heal their sick or dying children, even
though the children couldn’t ask for themselves. Just
so, Catholic parents, through the Sacrament of Baptism,
ask God to come and give His gift of grace to their newborns,
who are too young to ask for it themselves. So the non-Catholic Christians who
criticize infant Baptism are confused about that point; they
are forgetting that friendship with Christ begins with
God’s free gift of grace. But they aren’t confused
when they criticize Catholics for being so caught up in external
rituals that we sometimes neglect our personal relationship
with Jesus Christ. Parents who have their children baptized, for
example, but then never teach their children how to pray, are only
doing half their job. And our non-Catholic brothers and
sisters are right to call us to task for it. (E-Priest). (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
19) Walking on Water: A Man Called Peter
was a best-selling biography that was later made into a movie. It narrates the life
of Peter Marshall, a Scotsman from Glasgow whose desire was to be a seaman but
whose destiny took him to the U.S. Senate as chaplain. As a lad, Peter enlisted
in the British Navy, but his career had lasted only two days when it was
discovered that he was only 14 years old. Later, when working as a machinist
and teaching Sunday School, Peter felt the call to be a minister. Persuaded by
a cousin to come across to America, Peter set out in Faith to cross the cold
waters of the North Atlantic. With little money, no friends and only a job
reference, Peter likened himself to other men of Faith who ventured into the
unknown, men like the patriarch Abraham, the explorer Columbus, and the pioneer
Brigham Young. The Lord continued to guide Peter Marshall in surprising ways
through the Presbyterian ministry, in marriage to Catherine, his parish
assignments and finally to his fame as chaplain to the U.S. Senate. Peter
Marshall died in 1949 when he was only 46, but in that short lifetime he
inspired thousands of people by his preaching, his friendliness, and above all
by his life of prayer. Another man called Peter, who ventured over water, is
the subject of today’s Gospel. God is calling many of us to walk on the water,
to move into the unknown. What kind of Faith do we have? Will we sink with
Peter or set sail with Peter Marshall? (Albert Cylwicki in His Word
Resounds; quoted by Fr. Botelho). (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
20) Hanging by an inch: There is a character in
the classic work Don Quixote named Pancho Sanchez. Pancho Sanchez hangs in fear
from the ledge of a window all night long, too frightened to let go. When
morning dawns he discovers his toes are only an inch off the ground. It’s amusing
to think of Simon Peter climbing out of the boat trying to imitate his Lord by
walking on the water. Then, like a cartoon character, he makes the mistake of
looking around. “What in the world am I doing?” he asks himself and suddenly he
begins to sink. How often that happens in life! People are charting a
successful course in their business, in their marriage, in their walk with
Christ, and then they begin to listen to their fears. “What if I fail? What if
the market fails? What if my Faith is misplaced?” and they begin slowly to
sink. (King Duncan, Barking Pigs and Determined Disciples). (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
21) Storm in a parish- Fr. Andrew Greeley’s story: One
upon a time a battered parish priest approached his Bishop. “I want to retire,”
he said. “You’re not old enough to retire.” “Yeah, but I’m worn out. My laity
are fighting one another, my young people don’t come to Church. My parish Council
has no guts. My teenagers drink too much. My staff members are in constant
conflict. A couple of women are trying to take over the parish. Men can’t stand
the tension. My collections are down. Spies are reporting me to you every week.
Grammar school kids are breaking windows and writing graffiti. I receive
anonymous hate mail every day.” The Bishop sighed loudly, that West of Ireland
sigh which suggests the advent of a serious asthmas attack. “Let me tell you
about my problems.” The two men sat in silence for a few minutes after they had
exchanged woes. “Well,” said the bishop, “congratulations on having a lively
parish. It’s still alive and kicking and Jesus is active in your parish boat
calming the sea.” So, the pastor went back to his parish resolving to walk on
the stormy parish sea with Jesus. He did not resign. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
22) A gypsy family who survived the Holocaust by Faith:
In war, the saying goes, there is no one who is right. There are only those who
are left. From the early 1940’s, there comes the true story of a gypsy family
who survived the Holocaust of World War II. The family were members of a
traveling circus that toured throughout eastern Europe. In one of the family
acts, a teenage daughter would jump from a high wire with no net below, and her
father would catch her. The account goes that one day her father left the
apartment they were staying early, leaving the daughter alone in the apartment.
Later that morning, there was a knock on the door. When she opened it, she
found a stranger who said he had a message from her father. The stranger told
her the message was as follows: Nazi troops were coming into town and she
needed to escape. But it was far too risky for the father to enter the town or
the daughter to escape in the daylight hours. Their only hope was to escape at
night. So the stranger told her that at 2 in the morning she was to walk out to
the northwest corner of the apartment building. And right at 2am, she was to
jump from the rooftop and her father would be below to catch her.
Understandably, the daughter was confused. She didn’t know the messenger. She
didn’t know whether the message he gave her was actually from her father. She
wasn’t even positive which corner of the apartment building was the northwest
corner. Well, as the day went on the Nazis did in fact enter the town and take
up positions. That night at 2am the daughter went to the rooftop. She looked
down and it was pure blackness. She whispered, “Father, are you there?” No
answer. And then she jumped…..and her father caught her! Leaps of faith are
normally less dramatic, but they are no less real. In order to act in good
Faith, the young daughter had to trust. First, she had to trust that the
stranger was really sent by her father. Second, she had to trust that the
message was her father’s message. Finally, she had to trust that she herself
would leap from the correct corner of the rooftop, and that her father would be
ready below. We find Peter making a leap of Faith. (Rev. Tom Mannebach). (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
23) Sign and Countersign: In December 1874, the
steamship Edwin, enroute to Australia from a Washington State
port, sprang a bad leak off Vancouver Island, and had to drop anchor. Some
Hesquiat Indians on the nearby shore, seeing that the ship was in distress,
jumped into their canoes, and braved high waves to come to the sailors’ aid.
However, the crew feared that the natives were hostile, so they gestured them
away. Although these Indians were not yet Christian, they had already learned
of the Christian respect for the sign of the cross. To prove that they came in
peace, they blessed themselves so that the sailors could see them. As a
countersign, the crew also made the sign of the cross. Then they let the
Hesquiats come aboard the foundering vessel. Shortly after, rescuers and
shipwrecked disembarked in the canoes and soon reached the safety of the beach.
…Jesus hastened to reassure them: “Get hold of yourselves! It is I. Do not be
afraid!” (Matthew, 14:27. Gospel of the day.) -Father Robert F. McNamara.
24) Storms confront us all the time in
Ordinary Time. Sometimes those storms are shared by large numbers of
people. That’s the reality of globalization. Today, no one is untouched by
global warming. Islands in the South Pacific find themselves underwater. The
Polar ice caps recede each year. California experiences drought, beef prices
rise and fisher folks on Cape Cod find their industry dying. A small tropical
storm off the coast of Africa becomes a Stage 5 Hurricane battering the Gulf
Coast of the United States. A tiny virus in China becomes a global pandemic.
Terrorism in Latin America floods our borders with young children. Reality
confronts us in Ordinary Time. Those storms also take highly individualized
form. Last week I lost a close friend from high school, a talented artist with
a gallery in Rockport. His wife and daughter and their families are going
through a storm today. Later in the service we will pray for others whose
personal boats are being crashed by waves. Maybe it’s illness, maybe it’s a
fractured relationship, maybe it’s economic uncertainty. Sometimes, the storms
are visible to others and sometimes they are hidden, but the storms are very
real. But today’s Gospel passage reminds us that God and Jesus are with us in
life’s toughest moments, when waves threaten to drown us. (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
Fr. Tony
From the Sermons.com
In the story of creation found in the Book of Genesis, we
read where Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit, something which
had been specifically denied them. Knowing that God is searching for them, they
attempt to hide. It is a scene perhaps reminiscent of many of our childhoods
when we had done something that we were not supposed to and we literally hid
from our searching parents. Finally God finds them, as we know that He will,
for, after all, where can we go to hide from God? God asks them why they are
hiding. Do you remember the response that Adam gave: "Because, I was
afraid?"
Sometimes we feel like we are afraid of everything. We are
afraid of ourselves. We are afraid of people. We are afraid of the future. We
are afraid of the past. We are afraid of life. We are afraid of death.
Every person, every Christian, must fight their own fears. Even Paul, the
sturdy Christian warrior, had to do so...
Your most beloved things are not always your most perfect
things. And your most beloved relationships are not always your most perfect
relationships.
Remember your "blankie?" Come on now, you all had
one. And it was in perfect shape, right? It was the rattiest, most stained,
most beat up thing anyone has ever seen. But the condition it was in mattered
not a wit at nap time, or bedtime, or cry time.
Or what about that stuffed animal? Come on, now. You all had
one. And it was in perfect shape, right? No matter how unstuffed your stuffed
animal, or how smelly and gross it was, all that mattered was that your
special, indispensable friend was within arms' length when you needed a
comforter.
Isaiah 40:1 offers the ultimate "comfort food" -
at least for those of us who have outgrown blankies and stuffed animals but
still need to have that comfort moment when we are in the midst of the world's
unending maelstrom of misery. Here it is: "Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God." Isaiah 40:1 makes it crystal clear that God is ultimately
concerned with healing, not with hurting, humanity. Jesus saw himself in his
first coming, not as a judge dispensing justice, but as a physician dispensing
healing. (Matthew 9:9-13).
In this week's epistle text that message is once again
extolled and embellished. Paul makes the point that he always makes: the point
that righteousness through human attempts at good works, through the dutiful
"actions" of keeping the law, will always result in failure. Humans
just cannot be "good enough" do-gooders to get in good with God...
We All Need This Boat
Our friend William Willimon, the Dean of the Chapel at Duke,
tells of a visit he made one afternoon to the office of a lawyer in his congregation.
It was just a drop-in. Will says he did not know the man that well - his wife
seemed to bear the church interest for the family. Listen to the story in
Will's own words:
"It was at the end of the day. I entered the outer
office of his law firm. Everyone had left. All was dark, except for a light
coming from the inner office. He called to me. Invited me to come back to his
office.
"'Didn't expect to see you here, preacher,' he said in
a voice that sounded tired. 'Come on in, I was just about to fix myself a
drink. Can I interest you in one?'
"'Sure,' I said, 'if it's caffeine free, diet.'
"'A typical day,' he said, again sounding tired.
'Misery.'
"'Oh, I'm sorry. What was miserable about it?' I asked.
"'My day began with my assisting a couple evict their
aging father from his house so they could take everything he has while he's in
the nursing home. All legal. Not particularly moral, but legal. Then, by
lunchtime I was helping a client evade his workers' insurance payments. It's
legal! This afternoon, I have been enabling a woman to ruin her husband's life
forever with the sweetest divorce you ever saw. That's my day.'
"What could I say?
"'Which,' he continued, 'helps explain why I'm in your
church on a Sunday morning.'
"'I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed,' I said, 'thinking
what on earth I have to say in a sermon which might be helpful to you on a
Sunday.'
"'It's not the sermon that I come for, preacher,' he
said, fixing his gaze upon me. 'It's the music. I go a whole week sometimes
with nothing beautiful, little good, until Sunday. Sometimes, when that choir
sings, it is for me the difference between life and death.'"
Humour: Missing the Rocks
There is a joke concerning this text that has gone around
for years about three ministers out fishing together in a small boat. One of
them, suddenly realizing that he had left his tackle box in the cabin, stepped
out of the boat, and walked on the water over to shore. Just then, the second
one said he had forgotten his faithful fishing hat on the front seat of the
car. He too stepped out of the boat and walked on the water over to shore. When
they had both returned, the third minister who had watched this remarkable
demonstration with mouth open and eyes wide, reasoned to himself "My faith
is as strong as theirs. I can do that too."
So, he stepped out of the boat and promptly sank to the
bottom. His two companions dragged him out, but once they got him in the boat,
he was determined not to be shown up. He stepped out once more, and immediately
sank again. As his friends pulled him out, he sputtered, "My faith is as
strong as yours. Why can't I walk on the water?"
The first two looked at each another and one finally said,
"We'd better tell him where those rocks are before he drowns
himself."
David E. Leininger, Mayday!
____________________________________
Do Not Be Afraid
"Do not be afraid." The scriptures make this
announcement over and over again. These are usually the first words out of
angel's mouths. Abraham, Moses, Mary, Joseph, shepherds tending their flocks,
Paul sitting in a jail cell, the women looking for Christ's body at Easter and
disciples rowing a boat in the strong wind all hear these words. In all, these
words occur almost 100 times in the scriptures. Apparently, humans are very
fearful creatures and we are in need of faith to function properly in the
world.
Todd Weir, Do Not Be Afraid
Hanging by an Inch
There is a character in the classic work Don Quixote named
Pancho Sanchez. Pancho Sanchez hangs in fear from the ledge of a window all
night long, too frightened to let go. When morning dawns he discovers his toes
are only an inch off the ground. It's amusing to think of Simon Peter climbing
out of the boat trying to imitate his Lord by walking on the water. Then, like
a cartoon character, he makes the mistake of looking around. "What in the
world am I doing?" he asked himself and suddenly he begins to sink. How
often that happens in life. People are charting a successful course in their
business, in their marriage, in their walk with Christ, and then they begin to
listen to their fears. "What if I fail? What if the market fails? What if
my faith is misplaced?" and they begin slowly to sink.
King Duncan, Barking Pigs and Determined Disciples
Unbounded Faith
This summer, I took part in a chaplaincy program at
Crouse hospital, where one of my assigned units was the neonatal intensive care
unit. There I watched babies born 1, 2, 3 months early, struggle for their
lives, struggle to eat, to breathe, to gain even an ounce. The mothers there,
whether they considered themselves religious or not, suddenly found themselves
having to rely on faith, suddenly found themselves believing in, hoping for,
depending on miracles. It was hard for an outsider, even a chaplain, to
understand the kind of faith required in this special nursery.
At first I would look at some of the tiniest babies, some of
the 1 lb. babies, and try to be realistic. To prepare myself for the grief I
might experience, I tried to expect the real possibility that the smallest
babies might not make it. I hoped for the best, but I tried to balance my hopes
with realism, with the reality confronting me, so that I wouldn't be
disappointed if a miracle didn't happen, so that I wouldn't be hurt if I did
have to confront sorrow and loss. But the mothers there would tell you that my
attitude wasn't what was needed there - they would tell you that no matter what
the odds, they had to hope for a miracle, with all their heart, with all the
faith they could muster. There was nothing practical about their faith, no
consideration for realism in what they dreamed of happening. Perhaps this was
the kind of faith Jesus was asking of Peter out on the sea that day. Unbounded
faith, unrestrained, unmeasured, uncalculated. Perhaps this is the kind of
faith Jesus is asking, demanding, expecting of us.
Beth Quick, What Did You/do We Expect?
This is a familiar story. Mark Twain refers to it in one of
his books. He recalls a visit to the Holy Land and a stay in Capernaum. It was
a moonlit night, so he decided to take his wife on a romantic boat ride on the
Sea of Galilee. Twain asked a man in a rowboat how much he would charge to take
them out on the water. The man saw Twain's white suit, white shoes and white
hat and supposed he was a rich Texan. So he said the cost would be twenty-five
dollars. Twain walked away as he said, "Now I know why Jesus
walked."
David Leininger, Stay in the Boat!, www.eSermons.com
