19th
Sunday in Ordinary Time-A
I
Reading: 1Kings 19:9.11-13:
Stand on the mountain before the Lord.
II
Reading: Romans 9:1-5: I would willingly be
condemned if it could help my brothers.
Gospel:
Matthew 14:22-36: Tell me to come to
you across the water.
The Messiah’s
Power to Calm a Storm: The Power of His Presence
The Lord’s presence
makes all the difference in the world. Jesus assured the disciples that he was
no ghost. The passage ends with the disciples’ recognition of the divine
Sonship of Jesus. Faith means to put our trust in the power of God and in His
goodness.
1. Christ presence is
assured by personal preparation (v.22-23)
a. He sent the
disciples away
b. He dismissed the
crowd
c. He got alone to pray
1) On a mountain
2) In the evening
3) All alone
4) In a storm
2. Christ’s presence
conquers fear ( v.24-27)
a. A storm arose
b. Jesus went to them:
He walked on the see
c. The disciples
feared, thinking they saw a ghost
d. Jesus gave
assurance-His presence
3. Christ’s presence
stirs the hope of being saved (v.28-31)
a. Peter’s hope was
stirred: He could be saved by Christ presence
b. Jesus’ command: come
c. Peter’s faith
faltered
1)
Glanced at storm
2) Begin to sink
3) Cried: Lord, save
d. Jesus saved, but
rebuked faltering faith
4. Christ’s presence
conquers nature (v.32)
5. Christ’s presence
stirs confession and worship (v.33)
Thought: The Lord’s presence is the answer to the storms of life-to
all distressed spirits (1Pet 1:5; 2Tim 5:18).
Elijah, Peter
and Paul put their trust in God; they never repented of having done so.
The enemy of
faith is self-reliance. We must be grateful to God for allowing trials to come
to us; they help us get convinced of our powerlessness. Our trust in Christ
grow day after day. Only Jesus Christ can steer the boat of our existence to
the place where we go: heaven and we shall have eternal life.
Thought: A
person must open his or her heart immediately when Jesus comes.
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