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ISAIAH 55: 1-3
PSALM 144: 8-9, 15-18
ROMANS 8: 35, 37-39
MATTHEW 14: 13-21

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We all know that life is never smooth sailing. There are many storms in our lives.

It may be because of a loss of a love one or a job. It may be because of a broken or strained relationship. It may be because of a serious illness. What has been our experience in those times?

It would usually be one of sadness, or anger or frustration or fear or confusion. It is never a good feeling. It might create in us a determination to work things out.

Where was God for you when this happened?

There are many Christians who are being persecuted and lives being threatened in many parts of the world. I wonder if they have asked, “Where is God?”

There is conflict in the Ukraine, the Middle East, and many other countries. All sides may be praying to God for help. I wonder whose side God will take.

In the first reading, the prophet Elijah was facing a crisis in his mission. He was fleeing from Queen Jezebel who threatened to kill him. On the mountain of God, Elijah did not encounter God in the spectacular or powerful wind, earthquake or fire but in the gentle breeze.

Sometimes in the midst of the storms in our lives we have a certain expectation that God will do what we expect. Our expectations are sometimes of the spectacular. We then struggle to understand where God is or what God’s will is for us when things don’t go as we expect.

In the Gospel reading, the disciples are caught in a storm. In their struggles, Jesus appears to them. Peter wondering if it is Jesus is ready to walk towards Jesus on water. But soon the storm gets the better of him and he starts to sink.

How often we can be so enthusiastic in proclaiming our faith when all is well but start to doubt when the storms of life come our way. Faith is not something we can ever take for granted but must be nurtured always.

Our Gospel reading has a great lesson for us here. In the first part of the reading, we find Jesus going up by himself to pray. Here, is the Son of God taking time to pray. And if he who is God prays, what more each of us.

And we find that when Jesus holds out his hand to Peter that he is safe. And we find that when Jesus is with the disciples, that the storm stops.

Prayer is an essential part of our faith journey for it is when we spend time in daily prayer to God, letting God into our lives or sit with us in our boat, that we will come to know His love and will for us in the midst of storms of our lives. He……..is with us.

Peter started to sink simply because he took his eyes off Jesus. Prayer is about having our focus on Christ.

It does not mean that troubles will disappear, but Jesus will give us the strength to carry our cross for we will know that he walks besides us. When we let God into our lives, the Holy Spirit fills us with the wisdom to always seek the way and the life of God that seeks reconciliation and not brokenness and hatred.

And so may we never take our faith for granted but always seek to grow in faith through prayer that in times of crisis, our experience may be one of God’s gentleness calming the storms of our lives.

ISAIAH 55: 1-3
PSALM 144: 8-9, 15-18
ROMANS 8: 35, 37-39
MATTHEW 14: 13-21

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There is so much suffering in the world from conflict and famine. What is our response to this? Is it just a sense of pity for the suffering? Is it to leave it to governments to solve the problem? Or are we wanting to reach out to them?

Often people may say, “But what can we do? We don’t have enough to give to them all anyway.” In this time of rising cost, people may also feel that they don’t have enough for their families anyway.

Sometimes when we look at how Jesus teaches his disciples and us about Christian discipleship, life itself is a great lesson, not found in books. In today’s Gospel, Jesus takes his disciples to a place where they can be by themselves. He probably wants to instruct them in private as he often did. But the people follow him. And here the situation presents a lesson for the disciples.

The disciples tell Jesus to send the people away so that they can feed themselves. Jesus instead tells them to feed the people. But the disciples tell Jesus that they have too little.
Jesus takes the little that they have, blesses it and goes on to feed thousands.

It is easy to blame others for the suffering or to lay the responsibility on others, like governments to do something about it. But Jesus calls on each of us, like he did the disciples to do something ourselves.

When we say that we have so little, let us remember that we are blessed with much more than those who have less. What we take as important in having in life, those who are starving cannot even imagine. They do not even have the basics of life.

Sometimes the challenge is that we can become so consumed by a consumer mentality, that what is not important becomes necessary.
The more we want, the less we are willing to give in charity.

Jesus calls each of us to response not just for the sake of the suffering but also for our own good. It is in our generosity, we create a compassionate and just society.
It is in giving that we grow in faith, hope and love.

It is not about giving everything but giving out of love. As Jesus is with the hungry crowd, Jesus is found today most, in the poor and suffering. It is there that a prayer that is open to God will lead us to, for it is there that God is most visible as Jesus was 2000 years ago, for it is there that we meet the cross of salvation.

1 KINGS 3: 5, 7-12
PSALM 118: 57, 72, 76-77, 127-130 R. v. 97
ROMANS 8: 28-30
MATTHEW 13: 44-52

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In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us what the Kingdom of God is like. Nothing in this world is like the kingdom; Jesus can only compare the kingdom with what we treasure in this world: the kingdom is like that, but much, much more.

Jesus’ parable today can be compared with another treasure people seek: marriage. Marrying the one you love is like finding a treasure; finding the love of your heart, you give up everything to be with the person always. The Kingdom of God is not a place but a relationship with God where the fullness of love and happiness is found.

So if the kingdom is so wonderful, why do people not seek it?

Maybe it is simply because people feel that like marriage, having faith in God makes too many demands on us; its hard work. It will call for a life-long commitment and the greatest of sacrifices. But where there is love, these are not demands on the person, but are a natural consequence of love.

Real happiness is found in letting go of the self, the ego, that we can seek the happiness of the other whom we love. It is about finding our happiness in the happiness of the other. Or we can say in other words that by dying in Christ we find a new and greater love through him.

We see this in the first reading in what Solomon asked of God; not something for himself but for the good of the people. St Paul in the second reading speaks of offering our very selves to God. And whatever we offer to God, it cannot compare with the gift of God’s love for us.

In one of the apparitions of Our Lady, she said to the visionaries, “If only people knew how much God loves them!”

Today’s Gospel is inviting us to seek God’s love, our true and only treasure that matters, by living in wherever Love calls us to.

May we not see faith as a burden to bear but find the happiness that faith in God brings?