It is decidedly a paradox.
God is not in the storm in the story of Elijah who
arrives on the mountain in his flight from danger (1Kings19. 9 ff). God is
in the storm in Matthew’s account (Mt.14.22-33) where he and Peter meet in the
waves – Peter, courageous one moment, afraid and sinking in the next.
God is always where needed, but the way God is present
varies. The gentle God of Elijah is the same as the God of Peter in the storm,
although it does not seem so.
In a whisper in the mountain silence, God bids Elijah to go
back to the place from which he had fled. Peter and Jesus get into the boat,
rejoin the others as the storm abates.
We know about storms. Today’s newspaper reports that this
will be an especially active hurricane season. We know national devastation from
floods induced by downpours, and formidable tornadoes. Our own impossible, personal
situations may not be dramatic, but when we’re caught between a rock and a hard
place, we are invited by the Gospel to call out to Jesus “help me.” And He in
turn will stretch out his hand to rescue us.
A week before my mother, Celia, died, I recall being
indescribably weary. The accumulation of Celia’s arduous illness interwoven
with my two distinct, simultaneous cancers and a broken leg had pretty much
leveled me.
As I got on the elevator at the nursing home that day, I
leaned my forehead against the wall and prayed “Dear God, I can’t do this alone
today.” A little while later, along came
my mother’s brother, Adam, my uncle who had come only three other times in 11 months.
I recognized him in that moment for who he was: the outstretched hand of Jesus.
The boat tossed about in the storm has been an image of the
church from earliest times. We can also apply the image to other societal
situations. We can note that we are in danger of missing the boat – not
recognizing what Jesus is calling us to be and do. Our boat is in danger of
being overcrowded, as the boats bearing refugees have been overcrowded.
The complicated issues we face as a church, as a nation, as a
world are fraught with the same kinds of danger facing floundering Peter. With
our mind’s eye, as we sweep across the public ministry of Jesus, we find that
he had a way of being alert and active at the very place he was needed most. His
last promise in Matthew, before his ascension was “I will be with you always.” (Mt.28-20).
We take Jesus seriously, for as God says in Psalm 81 “You called in distress
and I saved you.”
The great truth of these stories is that in every time of
storm and stress, Jesus, the Holy One, our Brother, will always meet us in the
midst of the storm, or speak in the tiniest whisper and offer us whatever we
need: peace, staying power, calm and an unfolding future. Whether in a tiny
wisp of wind or in a stormy sea, our God comes to us.
~ Sister Joan Sobala
