Sunday Reflections - NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR A

 LIGHT FOR THE LIVING

NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR A

1 Kings 19:9, 11–13; Romans 9:1–5; Matthew 14:22–33

My beloved in Christ,

In a riverside community in Bonny, Rivers State, there once lived a fisherman called Nwokedi, a man who believed that if God wanted to speak to him, God must first make enough noise for the whole village to hear.

Whenever the church bell rang, Nwokedi would say,

“That one is ordinary. If God wants to speak to me, let thunder strike!”

Whenever the priest preached about helping the poor, Nwokedi would nod his head seriously and say,

“God knows I am a good man. When I become rich, I will help everybody.”

The only problem was that Nwokedi had been making this promise for twenty years, and nobody had yet seen the day when he became rich.

One morning, an old fisherman called Papa Tamuno came to his house.

“My son,” he said, “please give me something to eat. I have not eaten since yesterday.”

Nwokedi looked at him.

“Papa, I am waiting for God to bless me first. When He gives me plenty, I will help you.”

Papa Tamuno smiled.

“Perhaps God has already blessed you with food so that you can help me.”

Nwokedi laughed.

“Papa, you mean God will come to my house Himself?”

The old man replied,

“You may be surprised how often God comes to your house wearing somebody else’s clothes.”

Nwokedi did not understand.

A few days later, a storm struck Bonny.

The sea became rough, fishing boats were tossed about, and everyone became frightened.

Nwokedi found himself trapped in his canoe.

In the middle of the storm, another fisherman risked his own life, reached him and pulled him into safety.

When Nwokedi finally reached land, trembling from fear, he hugged the fisherman.

“Brother, you have saved my life!”

The fisherman laughed.

“And you thought God would always come with thunder?”

Nwokedi suddenly remembered Papa Tamuno’s words.

“God may come wearing somebody else’s clothes.”

That evening, Nwokedi went to Papa Tamuno’s house carrying food.

The old man looked at him and smiled.

“So, God has finally visited you?”

Nwokedi laughed.

“No, Papa. I have finally discovered that God has been visiting me every day, but I was waiting for Him to wear a white garment and arrive with thunder!”

The whole compound burst into laughter.

God Does Not Always Come with Thunder

My beloved, today’s First Reading takes us to the prophet Elijah.

Elijah had experienced extraordinary manifestations of God’s power. Yet when God wanted to reveal Himself to him on Mount Horeb, something remarkable happened.

There was a great wind.

Then an earthquake.

Then a fire.

But Scripture tells us that the Lord was not in these manifestations.

Finally came:

“A sound of sheer silence.” (1 Kings 19:12)

And Elijah recognized the presence of God.

This is a profound spiritual lesson.

We sometimes expect God only in miracles, spectacular events, dramatic signs, powerful preaching and extraordinary experiences.

But God also speaks through silence.

He speaks through ordinary events.

He speaks through a friend.

He speaks through a child.

He speaks through a parent.

He speaks through a stranger.

He speaks through the hungry person standing before us.

He speaks through the sick person lying in a hospital bed.

He speaks through the prisoner behind bars.

He speaks through the poor person asking for assistance.

The problem is not always that God is silent.

Sometimes we are simply looking in the wrong direction.

God Comes to Us Through One Another

My beloved, this is where today’s message becomes particularly challenging.

God has endowed every human being with gifts.

One person has the gift of teaching.

Another has medical knowledge.

Another has engineering ability.

Another has legal wisdom.

Another has administrative capacity.

Another has the gift of encouragement.

Another has financial resources.

Another has physical strength.

Another has the gift of compassion.

Another can cook.

Another can build.

Another can defend.

Another can organize.

Another can forgive.

Another can simply sit beside a suffering person and say,

“I am here with you.”

These gifts are not merely decorations.

They are instruments through which God’s providence reaches other people.

Therefore, when we serve one another with genuine love, God is encountered through that service.

Saint Peter tells us:

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” (1 Peter 4:10)

The gift comes from God.

The person receives it.

The neighbour benefits from it.

And through that neighbour, God’s goodness becomes visible.

“I Was Hungry and You Gave Me Food”

Jesus makes this theology unmistakably clear in the Gospel according to Saint Matthew.

He says:

“I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” (Matthew 25:35–36)

The righteous are surprised.

They ask:

“Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?” (Matthew 25:37)

Then comes one of the most profound statements in the Gospel:

“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:40)

There it is!

When you feed the hungry, you have served Christ.

When you clothe the naked, you have served Christ.

When you visit the sick, you have visited Christ.

When you visit the prisoner, you have visited Christ.

When you welcome the stranger, you have welcomed Christ.

Christ so closely identifies Himself with the needy that our treatment of them becomes a measure of our treatment of Him.

This is not merely a sentimental idea.

It is a profound Christian doctrine of charity and human dignity.

“I Was Sick and You Visited Me”

Consider the person lying helplessly in a hospital.

Perhaps he cannot repay you.

Perhaps she does not have money.

Perhaps nobody will praise you for visiting.

You may simply sit beside the bed for thirty minutes.

You may hold the person’s hand.

You may buy medicine.

You may bring food.

You may clean the room.

You may simply say,

“Do not worry. I am here.”

The world may call that a small thing.

Heaven does not.

Christ says:

“I was sick and you visited me.” (Matthew 25:36)

You may think you visited a patient.

Christ says you visited Me.

“I Was in Prison and You Came to Me”

The same applies to the prisoner.

Society may have condemned him.

The court may have sentenced him.

His family may have abandoned him.

But his human dignity has not disappeared.

When we visit a prisoner, offer lawful assistance, provide food, encourage repentance and help him return to a responsible life, we do not endorse his wrongdoing.

We recognize his humanity.

And Christ says:

“I was in prison and you came to me.” (Matthew 25:36)

This is why Christian charity must never be reduced to giving money.

Sometimes the greatest gift is presence.

Sometimes it is forgiveness.

Sometimes it is knowledge.

Sometimes it is advocacy.

Sometimes it is defending somebody who cannot defend himself.

Sometimes it is simply refusing to abandon someone.

Do You Recognize Christ in Your Neighbour?

My beloved, imagine that tomorrow morning Christ Himself comes to your house.

You would probably wash the compound.

You would bring out your best chair.

You would prepare your best food.

You would probably even warn your children:

“Nobody should make noise! Jesus is coming!”

But what if He comes wearing the clothes of the hungry man next door?

What if He comes as the unemployed graduate asking for help?

What if He comes as the widow who needs assistance?

What if He comes as the sick neighbour?

What if He comes as the prisoner?

What if He comes as the frightened child?

Would you recognize Him?

That is the examination Christ gives us in Matthew 25.

Peter and the Storm

The Gospel takes us from compassion to another dimension of faith.

The disciples are in a boat.

The wind is against them.

The waves are rising.

Fear takes over.

Then Jesus comes walking on the sea.

Peter says:

“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” (Matthew 14:28)

Jesus says:

“Come.” (Matthew 14:29)

Peter steps out of the boat.

For a moment, he walks on the water.

But then he looks at the storm instead of Christ.

Fear takes control.

He begins to sink.

“Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:30)

Immediately Jesus stretches out His hand and catches him.

My beloved, there is a lesson here for every storm in our lives.

Sometimes the storm is poverty.

Sometimes it is unemployment.

Sometimes it is family trouble.

Sometimes it is sickness.

Sometimes it is persecution.

Sometimes it is betrayal.

Sometimes it is failure.

Sometimes the storm is inside our own heart.

Christ does not promise that there will never be storms.

He promises that He will be with us in the storm.

“It Is I; Do Not Be Afraid”

Jesus says to the frightened disciples:

“Take heart, it is I; have no fear.” (Matthew 14:27)

Peter’s problem was not that he stepped out of the boat.

His problem was that he allowed the storm to become bigger in his eyes than the Lord who commanded him to come.

How often do we do the same?

We look at the problem.

We look at the bank account.

We look at the diagnosis.

We look at the opposition.

We look at the enemy.

We look at the waves.

And we forget to look at Christ.

Faith does not mean that there is no storm.

Faith means that Christ is greater than the storm.

The Faith of Saint Paul

Saint Paul gives us another dimension of today’s message.

His heart is filled with deep concern for his people.

He says:

“I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.” (Romans 9:2)

Paul’s faith did not make him indifferent to the suffering of others.

Quite the opposite.

His love for others became deeper because of his relationship with God.

This is important.

True faith should make us more compassionate, not less.

If our relationship with God makes us arrogant, cruel, selfish or indifferent to suffering, something is wrong with our understanding of faith.

The person who truly encounters God should increasingly become an instrument of God’s love.

Light for the Living Today

My beloved, return with me to Bonny.

Nwokedi spent years waiting for God to speak to him through thunder.

But God was already speaking through people.

The hungry man was an opportunity for generosity.

The fisherman who rescued him became an instrument of God’s protection.

The storm became an opportunity for faith.

The ordinary events of life became places of divine encounter.

And this is the lesson for us.

Do not search for God only in extraordinary places.

Look around you.

God may be standing beside you.

He may be sitting beside you.

He may be knocking at your door.

He may be calling you on the telephone.

He may be asking you for food.

He may be asking you for forgiveness.

He may be asking you to use your professional knowledge to help someone.

He may be asking you to visit someone in hospital.

He may be asking you to visit a prisoner.

He may be asking you to defend someone who has no voice.

He may be asking you to teach someone.

He may be asking you to give someone a job opportunity.

He may simply be asking you to listen.

And perhaps, when you finally ask,

“Lord, where are You?”

He will answer:

“I have been standing beside you all along.”

Sunday Reflection

My beloved,

God is encountered not necessarily in extraordinary events, but in ordinary events, as Elijah did.

He can also bring calm to the storms, waves, and challenges of life, and make you walk through them without coming to any harm, just as Peter did at Jesus’ invitation.

You must have trust and faith in God.

May God bless you and calm all the storms in your life.

Happy Sunday.

Rev. Fr. Chinedu Ibearugbulem, C.S.Sp.