Today’s readings give us two very different views of God. We may wonder how Elijah’s experience of a small still voice and Peter’s experience of the storm could be so different and yet be God.
John Kavanaugh gives us some insight into the readings. “Elijah, having been promised that he would find the Lord on the mountain, left the shelter of his cave. Sure enough, God showed up, but not in mighty gales or crashing rocks. The Lord was not even encountered in the earthquake or the fiery extravaganza. It was a tiny whispering voice that made Elijah cover his face in the presence of the Most High. Elijah was called in the quiet.
Peter and his companions, tossed about by waves and wind, saw the Lord as a ghost upon the water and were terrified. The voice over the tumult said: “Get hold of yourselves! It is I! Do not be afraid!” Peter heard the call to cross the raging waters. But daunted by the strength of the wind and his own frailty, he began to sink in fear. Even so, despite his going under, Peter was called to faith in the midst of turmoil.”
Life is not easy. There is a lot of tumult in our lives. The stress of everyday living is overwhelming at times. We feel helpless from the blowing winds of stress and uncertainty, and it seems as though we are sinking into total despair. Everything is crashing around us, and we look for God but can’t seem to find him.
We often think that we must be on a retreat or somewhere special. Peter felt this way at the Transfiguration. He wanted to build three booths, one for Moses, one for Elijah and one for Christ. Indeed, it was a special experience; but then they came down off the mountain to everyday life.
After the wind, the earthquake and the fire, Elijah found God in the whispering voice, and he covered his face with his mantle in the presence of God. Peter found God in the raging wind and sea when he was drowning in his fear. Jesus reached out and saved him.
Today’s Gospel reminds me of a time when I was a child and experienced a similar event. My family would go to Florida every summer. Sometimes we went fishing on a charter boat out in the Gulf. One time, a storm came up and the engine would not start because the battery was dead. It took some time for the crew to take the battery from the fish finder and install it in the engine compartment. The waves got high and without power the boat turned sideways so it was rocking violently from side to side. Spray was blowing over the side of the boat.
My grandfather was squatting in the doorway and said he had to look up to see the light outside the door on the opposite side of the boat and then look down on the light. I was sitting on a bench inside the cabin next to my mother and laid my head on her lap.
The waves were big, and the boat was really rocking. I was scared but found comfort in my mother’s lap. Peter was scared too. I understand how Peter felt when he saw how powerful the wind and the waves were all around him.
After the batteries were changed, the boat headed for port and the ride smoothed out and the waves didn’t matter any longer. I fell asleep in my mother’s lap. Peter cried out to Jesus for help and Jesus reached out and saved him. When Jesus entered the boat, the waves and the wind stopped.
When Peter walked on the water, he was in the depths of despair; he knew that he was going to drown in the sea. When Peter asked Jesus for help, Jesus immediately reached out and saved him.
We often think that Jesus is not in the storms of life, that he has totally abandoned us. We feel that we are all alone without anyone who cares. Peter found Jesus in the storm, and Jesus saved him from drowning in the sea of fear and despair.
Jesus is there for us just like he was for Peter when we are in the depths of despair and have nowhere to turn or go.
In Psalm 90, the Psalmist wrote a description of our life: “Seventy is the sum of our years, or eighty, if we are strong; Most of them are toil and sorrow; they pass quickly, and we are gone.”
Most of our years are full of sorrow and tears. We worry about our children who have left the church. We worry about how we will live with so many businesses cutting back or closing. What if we lose our job and are unable to support our family? We worry about sickness, especially if a family member or close friend has a terminal illness.
Elijah waited through all the tempest and horrors of the windstorm, the earthquake and the fire for God to appear. We must wait too. Calm our nerves and anxieties. That’s not easy when we are suffering or full of pain.
The verse from the Alleluia states: “I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for his word.” Elijah waited for the Lord on the mountain and found him in the small whispering voice. Peter waited for the Lord and found him in the storm when the Lord rescued him.
It’s easy to be a Christian when we experience the highlights of our spiritual lives. Peter was typical of us when he experienced the Transfiguration on the mountain. But when they came down off the mountain and Jesus begins his travel to Jerusalem and his crucifixion it all changes. In a very short time, Peter went from the ecstasy of the Transfiguration to denying that he even knew Jesus.
Sound like your life? It sounds like all our lives. Even with the pain, suffering and tears in the storms of life, Jesus is there to immediately rescue us just like he did for Peter.
When we like Peter say “Lord, save me” Jesus will immediately reach out and grasp our hand to lead us to safety.
We only need to ask: “Lord save me.”
