Unless you return to square one and start over like children...!

1 At about the same time, the disciples came to Jesus asking, "Who gets the highest rank in God's kingdom?" 2 For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, 3 and said, "I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. 4 Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God's kingdom. 5 What's more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it's the same as receiving me. 10" Watch that you don't treat a single one of these childlike believers arrogantly. You realize, don't you, that their personal angels are constantly in touch with my Father in heaven?

Food for thought

Here is a very revealing question, followed by a very revealing answer. The disciples asked who was the greatest. Jesus showed them the smallest. The wanted to know who was the most important. Jesus showed them the least important. No wonder Jesus said, "Unless you turn." He was warning them that they were going in completely the wrong direction, away from the Kingdom of Heaven and not towards it.

Jesus took a child and said that those who are en route to heaven are like children. What did he mean? Why children? Because, like the disciples in the gospel reading, many of us have lost the child within; the more we grow the less children we become. 

Jesus called us to become as little children that we might enter into the fullness of life which he called the kingdom of Heaven. Yet, so often our self-imposed limitations of age, appropriateness of behaviour, business of living, the shoulds and the shouldn’ts, the cans and cannots, the images we hold of ourselves are robbing us of our childhood.

When did you last swing on a swing? When did you last do something “outrageous” that pushed you beyond your present adult boundaries and showed to the people around you that you are fully alive? When did the childlike spirit within you run free in joy and excitement? 

Unfortunately, as we grow older, many of us aren't growing towards the Kingdom of heaven, but away from it; the more we grow up, the further away from heaven we get. 

We have to make a U-Turn: "I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in." We do well to turn and accept and embrace the child within, for as Jesus taught us today, receiving this child within is like receiving Christ himself. And the more childlike (not the more childish) we become, the more heaven bound we are. Happy the childlike because they behold the face of the Father in heaven, and are beheld by the Father in heaven. 

Go down to work and you’ll earn a living!

Matthew 17:22-27

As they were regrouping in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed to some people who want nothing to do with God. They will murder him—and three days later he will be raised alive.” The disciples felt terrible.

When they arrived at Capernaum, the tax men came to Peter and asked, “Does your teacher pay taxes?” Peter said, “Of course.” But as soon as they were in the house, Jesus confronted him. “Simon, what do you think? When a king levies taxes, who pays—his children or his subjects?” He answered, “His subjects.” Jesus said, “Then the children get off free, right? But so we don’t upset them needlessly, go down to the lake, cast a hook, and pull in the first fish that bites. Open its mouth and you’ll find a coin. Take it and give it to the tax men. It will be enough for both of us.”

Food for thought!

It is Monday again. We must go to work. And Jesus is teaching us something important about work. In the today's gospel, Jesus didn't make any miracle as such; he instead told Peter the obvious: "Get back to your profession of fishing for a day. You'll get plenty of money in the fish's mouths to pay your dues! A day at the fishing will soon produce all you need." And this was in order not to "upset them needlessly". What's this, if not another way of saying, "Yes, even Christians, must pay our just and lawful taxes. How? Well, through just work.  

Jesus is saying, "Use your profession, use your talent, use your mind, use your knowledge, use your experience to earn a living. That is the normal way to earn a living; the way to help yourself and your people." So the typist will find money in the keys of her typewriter. The motor mechanic will find food for himself and his wife and family in the engine of the motor car. The teacher will find money to pay his way in the blackboard and the chalk and the books. The clerk will find enough to support himself and his dear ones in the ledger and in the account sheets. The shopkeepers will find their living from behind the counter. Jesus was not telling Peter literally to get coins in fish's mouths. He was telling him and you and me that in the day's work we can get what we need for a living.

He was telling him that we all have what it takes to pay our bills, we have what it takes to make a living, to be successful. God gave everybody talents enough to make us be somebody in life. So, this gospel is about us all, not just Peter. Use what God gave you to make a difference in life. Use what you know to get to where you want to be.

He was telling Peter that being my disciple is no excuse for work. That having been to church on Sunday is no excuse for staying at home on Monday. Everybody must go out on Monday to earn a living. Work is normal for everybody, including followers of Jesus. We must all work, even when we work for Jesus.

2 Thessalonians 3:10

"For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat."

Genesis 3:19 

"By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground."

1 Thessalonians 4:11

"Aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands."

Proverbs 13:4

"No matter how much a lazy person may want something, he will never get it. A hard worker will get everything he wants."

Matthew 14:22-33

Matthew 14:22-33

Then Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people away. After sending the people away, he went up a hill by himself to pray. When evening came, Jesus was there alone; and by this time the boat was far out in the lake, tossed about by the waves, because the wind was blowing against it.

Between three and six o'clock in the morning Jesus came to the disciples, walking on the water. When they saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. “It's a ghost!” they said, and screamed with fear. Jesus spoke to them at once. “Courage!” he said. “It is I. Don't be afraid!”

Then Peter spoke up. “Lord, if it is really you, order me to come out on the water to you.” 

“Come!” answered Jesus. So Peter got out of the boat and started walking on the water to Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he was afraid and started to sink down in the water. “Save me, Lord!” he cried. At once Jesus reached out and grabbed hold of him and said, “What little faith you have! Why did you doubt?” They both got into the boat, and the wind died down. Then the disciples in the boat worshiped Jesus. “Truly you are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

Food for Thought

Visitors to the Holy Land like to take a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee, the sea on which Jesus walked. A certain tourist wanted such a ride and the boatman told him the fare was fifty dollars. “Fifty dollars!” exclaimed the tourist, “No wonder Jesus walked!” The gospel story of Jesus walking on the sea has a lot to teach us about who Jesus is, about each and all of us. 

About Jesus: The miracle story of Jesus walking on the sea shows that Jesus is Lord and has authority over all forces natural and supernatural. The Jews, like many of us, believed that the sea was the domain of supernatural demonic forces. A rough and stormy sea was regarded as the work of these hostile spirits. By walking on the raging waves and calming the stormy sea Jesus is showing himself to be one who has power and total control over these hostile spiritual forces. 

Do you know of Christians, active in their faith, but who still practice sorcery, witchcraft, potions and curses? Today's gospel brings us the good news that these powers of darkness stand no chance at all when Jesus is present and active in our lives and affairs.

About each and all of us: The disciples of Jesus were being tossed about by the waves, just as we do from time to time. In the midst of our crises Jesus comes to restore peace and harmony in us. But he comes in a form and manner in which he is easily mistaken for the enemy. He comes in a way that makes many well-meaning Christians cry out in fear “It is a ghost! It is an evil spirit! It is my dead relative tormenting me! (Matthew 14:26). But if we listen carefully we shall hear through the storm his soft, gentle voice whispering in the wind, “Courage!” he said. “It is I. Don't be afraid!” This is what today's First Reading is all about.

1 Kings 19:9,11-13

When Elijah reached Horeb, the mountain of the Lord, he went into the cave and spent the night in it. Then he was told, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ Then the Lord himself went by. There came a mighty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there came the sound of a gentle breeze. And when Elijah heard this, he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

Let not panic. Especially if and when we are doing the Lord's job. If we are busy going about the duty he has assigned us, just as the disciples were busy rowing their boat to the other side of the shore as Jesus had instructed them, then Jesus himself will make himself present to us.  

The story of Jesus walking on the water, especially the involvement of Peter in the story, is a lesson for me and you, who are sometimes tempted to take our eyes off Jesus and to fix them on the threatening circumstances around us. Peter walked on water, as long as he had his eyes fixed on Jesus. “But when he noticed the strong wind, he was afraid and started to sink down in the water.” While Peter kept his eye fixed on Jesus, and his mind focussed on Jesus’ word, he walked upon the water all right; but when he took notice of the danger he was in, and focussed instead on the waves, then he became afraid and began to sink. “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

All of us are in one of three places: we're either coming from a storm; we're in the middle of one storm; are heading into a storm. Be it as it may, all storms are good and have some good in them. The storms of life have the potential to reveal the Savior to us in a way we may have never considered before. In today's gospel, the disciples came to know Jesus as “Truly you are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

Howard Rutledge came to appreciate his time as a POW (prisoner of war) in Vietnam. He wrote: During those long periods of enforced reflection, it became so much easier to separate the important from the trivial, the worth-while from the waste . . . My hunger for spiritual food soon outdid my hunger for a steak . . . I wanted to know about the part of me that will never die . . . I wanted to talk about God and Christ and the church . . . It took prison to show me how empty life is without God.

Why couldn’t we throw it out?

Matthew 17:14-20

At the bottom of the mountain, they were met by a crowd of waiting people. As they approached, a man came out of the crowd and fell to his knees begging, “Master, have mercy on my son. He goes out of his mind and suffers terribly, falling into seizures. Frequently he is pitched into the fire, other times into the river. I brought him to your disciples, but they could do nothing for him.”

Jesus said, “What a generation! No sense of God! No focus to your lives! How many times do I have to go over these things? How much longer do I have to put up with this? Bring the boy here.” He ordered the afflicting demon out—and it was out, gone. From that moment on the boy was well.

When the disciples had Jesus off to themselves, they asked, “Why couldn’t we throw it out?”

“Because you’re not yet taking God seriously,” said Jesus. “The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle.”

Food for thought!

The apostles came up and said to Jesus, “Why couldn’t we throw it out?”

Jesus' response is that we don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. It is about having faith or not. In other words, we don't need more faith; we just need faith! And as St. Paul tells us: "Faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17). 

We have got all the faith we need. Have you ever seen a mustard seed? That’s all the faith we need . . . according to Jesus. So, let's take a step of faith and take God's Word for it. We have all the faith that’s necessary, if our faith is grounded in the Word of God. Faith detached from the Word of God is not faith at all. 

As we get to know Jesus, in an intimate way, by knowing how He thinks and what He promises, we will begin to experience an inner strength that produces confidence and ultimately faith. So more faith, more Word of God! Through our Daily Word, God is developing a faith in us that we weren’t expecting. It’s persevering faith. It’s a faith that does not give up “until. . .” This kind of faith doesn’t give up quickly, and holds fast, even if things get worse instead of better—even if an answer to our prayer seems more and more impossible. This is the faith that moves mountains.

Indeed, many of us have faith but we don't put it to use. Faith is a tremendous force we have but rarely use. If we approach a thing saying, "It can't be done," it will not; if we approach it saying, "It must be done," it will. Facing each task with the determination to do the job to the very best of our ability can bring something positive to the actual doing and a solid feeling of accomplishment after the job is completed. It means even that which looks completely impossible becomes possible, if it is approached with faith. 

God gets us through stuff!

Matthew 16:24-28

Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?

“Don’t be in such a hurry to go into business for yourself. Before you know it the Son of Man will arrive with all the splendor of his Father, accompanied by an army of angels. You’ll get everything you have coming to you, a personal gift. This isn’t pie in the sky by and by. Some of you standing here are going to see it take place, see the Son of Man in kingdom glory.”

Food for thought!

Jesus is straight. Life is not a joke; every kind of life has a price tag; there's no cheap, easy, feel good kind of life. Jesus is honest; very honest. He did not come to rescue us from the way life is; He came to strengthen us to face life the way life is. He did not come to do away with problems and sufferings and pain; he came to lead us through all of those things.

«Through» is a favorite word of God’s: When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up—the flames will not consume you. (Isa. 43: 2) As Max Lucado says, «God gets us through stuff». Through the Red Sea onto dry ground (Ex. 14: 22), through the wilderness (Deut. 29: 5), through the valley of the shadow of death (Ps. 23: 4), and through the deep sea (Ps. 77: 19). 

What would have happened to those patients of Ebola in West Africa if doctors, nurses, and medical personnel had not been prepared to risk their lives? What would have happened if everyone had wished for nothing but to remain comfortably at home? What would happen if every woman refused to be mother or refused to take the risk of bearing a child?

The very essence of life is in risking life and spending life, not in saving it and hoarding it. True, it is the way of weariness, of exhaustion, of giving to the uttermost; it is better to burn out than to rust out, to risk than hide from risk, to give than to get, for that is the way life is.

"Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?"

Jesus, who do you say I am?

Matthew 16:13-23

When Jesus arrived in the villages of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “What are people saying about who the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some think he is John the Baptizer, some say Elijah, some Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” He pressed them, “And how about you? Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter said, “You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus came back, “God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out. “And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.” He swore the disciples to secrecy. He made them promise they would tell no one that he was the Messiah. Then Jesus made it clear to his disciples that it was now necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, submit to an ordeal of suffering at the hands of the religious leaders, be killed, and then on the third day be raised up alive. Peter took him in hand, protesting, “Impossible, Master! That can never be!” But Jesus didn’t swerve. “Peter, get out of my way. Satan, get lost. You have no idea how God works.”

Food for thought!

Who do you say I am? Jesus asked them. This is a question we rarely ask and almost never answer. But Jesus dared to ask: "Who do you say I am?" May be we could as well dare to ask who do our people say we are? Let us not only ask the question; let us dare to hear what they say about us. I am sure that what they will tell us is not always the truth. Like in the case of Jesus, they called him many names and things: Some think he is John the Baptizer, some say Elijah, some Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. We are not what people say we are; we are what Jesus says we are. 

The question about us and ourselves is the question about Jesus. You can't talk about yourself and not talk about Jesus, and cannot talk about Jesus and not talk about yourself. Do you notice that when Peter said who Jesus is, Jesus told Peter who Peter was? "You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God" said Peter to Jesus, and Jesus said to Peter: "And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock." 

It means, NO ONE KNOWS WHO WE ARE, EXCEPT JESUS. All the others call us many things, many names; I am many things for many people, you're many things to many people. If you asked your friends who you're, like Jesus did, you would here all kinds of answers, good and not so good; it is all guesswork because no one can tell you who you are except the Lord. We are all mysterious and sealed people, closed books, that only Jesus has the key to unseal and open.

Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One sitting on the throne. The scroll had writing on both sides. It was sealed with seven seals. 2 I saw a mighty angel calling out in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll. No one could even look inside it. 4 I cried and cried because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, «Do not cry! The Lion of the tribe of Judah has won the battle. He is the Root of David. He is able to break the seven seals and open the scroll.» (Rev. 5:1-4)

This means that Jesus is the key that opens us. Peter never knew himself nor his career until Jesus told him in all details. And Jesus never told Peter who he is until Peter knew who Jesus is. So, you too, to know yourself, you will have to know who Jesus is. The more you know Jesus the better you know yourself, the less you know Jesus the less you know yourself. Did you notice that Jesus never told the others who they are? It is because they never told Jesus who he is for them.

Today, we let us dare to ask Jesus, WHO DO YOU SAY I AM? To him be glory and honour and praise, for ever and ever.  

Be your best first at home!

Matthew 17:1-9

Jesus took Peter and the brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain. His appearance changed from the inside out, right before their eyes. Sunlight poured from his face. His clothes were filled with light. Then they realized that Moses and Elijah were also there in deep conversation with him. Peter broke in, “Master, this is a great moment! What would you think if I built three memorials here on the mountain—one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah?” While he was going on like this, babbling, a light-radiant cloud enveloped them, and sounding from deep in the cloud a voice: “This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of my delight. Listen to him.” When the disciples heard it, they fell flat on their faces, scared to death. But Jesus came over and touched them. “Don’t be afraid.” When they opened their eyes and looked around all they saw was Jesus, only Jesus.

Coming down the mountain, Jesus swore them to secrecy. “Don’t breathe a word of what you’ve seen. After the Son of Man is raised from the dead, you are free to talk.”

Food for thought!

On the day of Transfiguration, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves. And He was transfigured before them. In other words, Jesus changed forms on the mountain. The glory that was concealed within Him was revealed to the three disciples. 

Jesus had twelve disciples, so why just these three? Why did Jesus choose to show his glory to a few and not to the many? Jesus showed his glory not before a crowd, not even before the twelve disciples, but before only three people. Jesus showed his best before just three of his twelve disciples. 

As you know already, many of us are at our best away from home; we show our true colours at our place of work, at the church, at where there's a gathering, and never at home, never before the spouse and children and neighbours. Jesus showed his glory to three people.

Some people are very good as professionals, they're very good people at work, but at home, they shout at and harass, and sometimes beat their spouses and children. If you smile all the time at your place of work, if you are good at your place of work, be good also at home. Your Peter and John and James are your spouse and children; show your glory first to them before you show it to the rest of us. Have you ever noticed the kind of clothes you use at home and at work? They are different.

We normally say, charity begins at home. I go further: love also begins at home; forgiveness begins at home; our glory also begins at home. But does not end there. It only begins at home but does not end at home.

Ask yourself: when and where do you show your glory? When and where are you at your best? When you're with the twelve or when you're with the three? When you're at work, or when you're at home? When and where do people say that it is good to be in your company? At home or at work? WHO SEES YOUR GLORY?

The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart!

Matthew 15:1-2,10-14

Pharisees and religion scholars came to Jesus all the way from Jerusalem, criticizing, “Why do your disciples play fast and loose with the rules?” He then called the crowd together and said, “Listen, and take this to heart. It’s not what you swallow that pollutes your life, but what you vomit up.” Later his disciples came and told him, “Did you know how upset the Pharisees were when they heard what you said?” Jesus shrugged it off. “Every tree that wasn’t planted by my Father in heaven will be pulled up by its roots. Forget them. They are blind men leading blind men. When a blind man leads a blind man, they both end up in the ditch.”

Food for thought!

“Listen, and take this to heart. It’s not what you swallow that pollutes your life, but what you vomit up.” 

Although it may not seem so now, this passage, when it was first spoken, was like a bomb shell; it was the most revolutionary thing Jesus had ever said. Jesus  was always arguing with the so called religious experts about different aspects of the religious traditions, rules and laws. He  showed how secondary are religious ceremonies; He  showed how rigid adherence to the religious traditions, rules and laws can actually mean disobedience to the law of God. But here he says something more startling yet. He declares that nothing that goes into a man can possibly defile him, for it is received only into his body which rids itself of it in the normal, physical way.

In effect Jesus was saying that things cannot be either unclean or clean in any real religious sense of the term. Only persons can be really defiled; and what defiles a person is his own actions, which are the product of his own heart.  Jesus is saying that the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart.

With one sweeping pronouncement Jesus declared that uncleanness has nothing to do with what a man takes into his body but everything to do with what comes out of his heart. All the things Jesus mentioned begin and happen in the human heart. Every outward act of sin is preceded by an inward act of choice; therefore the evil thought from which the evil action comes is in the heart like obscenities, lusts, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, depravity, deceptive dealings, carousing, mean looks, slander, arrogance, foolishness-- all these are vomit from the heart. 

Driven into a storm!

Matthew 14:22-36

As soon as the meal was finished, he insisted that the disciples get in the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the people. With the crowd dispersed, he climbed the mountain so he could be by himself and pray. He stayed there alone, late into the night.

Meanwhile, the boat was far out to sea when the wind came up against them and they were battered by the waves. At about four o’clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them walking on the water. They were scared out of their wits. “A ghost!” they said, crying out in terror.

But Jesus was quick to comfort them. “Courage, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.”

Peter, suddenly bold, said, “Master, if it’s really you, call me to come to you on the water.”

He said, “Come ahead.”

Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!”

Jesus didn’t hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, “Faint-heart, what got into you?”

The two of them climbed into the boat, and the wind died down. The disciples in the boat, having watched the whole thing, worshiped Jesus, saying, “This is it! You are God’s Son for sure!”

On return, they beached the boat at Gennesaret. When the people got wind that he was back, they sent out word through the neighborhood and rounded up all the sick, who asked for permission to touch the edge of his coat. And whoever touched him was healed.

Food for thought!

This is not a story of what Jesus once did in a storm in the past; it is what he always does for his people, when the wind is contrary and are in danger of being overwhelmed by the storms of life. It is a story about Jesus and his struggling people. And in order to teach us this great lesson, Jesus  purposely sent his disciples into the storm. The gospel says, "As soon as the meal was finished, he insisted that the disciples get in the boat and go on ahead to the other side." Jesus insisted that the disciples go into the direction of the storm. Yes, sometimes he sends us intentionally into life's storms. 

God led the Israelites to the Red Sea— He’s led you to yours. God allowed Daniel to be thrown into a den of lions to be devoured— He’s done the same with you . He gave David the opportunity to defeat a giant— He’s giving you the chance as well. He permitted Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego to step into a fiery furnace, but He met them there. He’ll meet you in your furnace of affliction. He gave Peter the opportunity to walk on water— He’s calling you upon it too. But, you’ll have to trust Him. That’s what He’s after . . . your trust in Him. "Anyone who trusts in him will not be put to shame." (Romans 10: 11)

Trusting Jesus is our choice. Trusting God is not a decision you make once. It’s a choice that must be made hundreds upon hundreds of times a day. The decision will sometimes be small, at other times, life changing. Either way, the choice comes down to whether or not you believe that Jesus is trustworthy. Peter had a chance to trust Jesus. While the other disciples stayed in the boat, Peter took a risk — He chose to trust, even through his doubts.

So, if you ever find yourself in a similar situation like of the disciples, pushed into a storm, and no matter how hard you try, no matter what you do, it seems that you cannot make any headway, just remember that sometimes the Lord drives into storms. 

Notice how Jesus came to them that night. The gospel says that Jesus came to them about four o'clock in the morning, that is, during the darkest hours of the night. You may be walking in darkness right now and wondering where Jesus is. You may be facing some of the darkest days of your life right now. Let me remind you that our God is ever with us, (Heb. 13:5). "I’ll be with you as you, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age." (Mt 28:20).

Jesus may not keep you from going into the storm, but he will encourage and comfort you in the midst of the storm! "Courage, it's me. Don't be afraid." What I am trying to tell you is this: Do not fear the storms of Life! They have been designed by the Lord as a means of bringing him closer to you. He planned them and they are for your good - Rom. 8:28 So, instead of pushing you away from the Lord, your problems ought to bring you closer to Jesus. Let's be like Peter. The more he sunk into the waters the more he cried to Jesus. 

The storms of life also serve to remind us of our need to focus on Jesus. Like Peter, there are times when we get our eyes off the Lord. "But when Peter looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink." After this bitter experience, Peter got the message clear. That is why he now advises us: (2Peter 1:19) "You'll do well to keep focusing on Jesus. He is the one light you have in a dark time as you wait for daybreak and the rising of the Morning Star in your hearts."

As we pray to God, let us play our part!

Matthew 14:13-21

When Jesus got the news, he slipped away by boat to an out-of-the-way place by himself. But unsuccessfully—someone saw him and the word got around. Soon a lot of people from the nearby villages walked around the lake to where he was. When he saw them coming, he was overcome with pity and healed their sick.

Toward evening the disciples approached him. “We’re out in the country and it’s getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper.” But Jesus said, “There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper.” “All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish,” they said.

Jesus said, “Bring them here.” Then he had the people sit on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The disciples then gave the food to the congregation. They all ate their fill. They gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. About five thousand were fed.

Food for thought !

This is a very special miracle. So special that it is the only miracle of Jesus which is related in all four gospels. It is special also in that it shows the TWO ingredients of every miracle. There’s God, and there’s man; there’s praying to God, and there’s playing our part. The two ALWAYS go together.

When the disciples were asked to give the people something to eat, they insisted that “All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish,” they said. Notice that they are saying, "All WE have". They can only think of themselves; not of God.

This is how many of us deal with difficulties; we think of everything and everybody except God. We look at problems through our eyes and our efforts and our wages, etc., just like the disciples did: "All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish." With such false start we cannot end with correct solutions; we are like the disciples: “We’re out in the country and it’s getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper.” This is the human solution!

After listening to their human solution, Jesus taught them and us a lifetime lesson. For a miracle to happen, two things must concurrently occur: praying to God, and playing our part. Prayer alone is not enough; playing our part is not enough. We must pray to God, yes, but also, we must play our part. This is what Jesus did: Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them (he prayed to God). Why didn't Jesus just go on and produce bread from thin air to feed the crowd? Because God needs our “five loaves and two fish.” 

In other words, God requires us to play our part in order to resolve our problems.  That's why Jesus demanded that the disciples "Bring them here". He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The disciples then gave the food to the congregation. They all ate their fill. All this means that prayer and good wishes are not always enough. No wonder wish-you-well cards have become so popular. Like the disciples we wish people well but have no intention of taking positive action to help the situation.

Sometimes when we pray, God’s answer to us is, “But you can do that yourselves; There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper." So, whenever we have those humanly speaking impossible situations, whenever we seek a miracle from God, we must do two things: pray to God, and play our part. As you play your part pray, and as you pray, play your part. If you pray for a job, go around and look for one. If you pray for healing, go to the hospital and seek for medicine.