The theme of our reflection today is “courage and faith before the Lord.” We take it from the words of Jesus to his disciples when he came to them walking on water amidst the turbulence at sea and said, “Courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”
In the first reading, Elijah went to the mountain of God, and when he was prompted to go out of the mountain cave to meet the Lord, the Lord went by, and there was the experience of a mighty wind, earthquake, and fire. After those strong elemental forces ceased, he came out of the cave to meet the Lord.
In the second reading, St Paul expressed his deep desire for the salvation of the people of Israel, who were privileged as God’s adopted children of the covenant. He would be glad to see them saved even if the price would be for him to be cut off from Christ.
In the gospel, Jesus is seen walking on the sea while there is turbulence, and the disciples in the boat are battling with it. They were terrified when they saw Him because they felt He was a ghost. He urged them to take courage and asked Peter to walk on the water with him, who agreed to walk a distance but started sinking when he got afraid. Jesus saved him, and the turbulence ceased as soon as they stepped on the boat.
Here are some salient points for meditation:
The disciples found themselves battling hopelessly with the wind at sea despite their sailing experience. Also, Elijah found himself on the run for his dear life despite being a prophet full of the power of God to call down fire from heaven.
Peter jumping into the sea to walk to Jesus was like a leap of faith in discipleship.
Let us think about the reality of intimidating temptations that may make us flounder in faith and how we can survive them by looking up to Jesus and calling on him in prayer.