1 Kings 18 – 19 and Matthew 14, 22-33 display a show of bravado by Elijah and Peter, respectively. Elijah killed Queen Jezebel’s 450 Baal-worshipping prophets after fire consumed Elijah’s sacrificial offering, not theirs. Peter asked Jesus to command him to come to Jesus on the water. “Come”, said Jesus. Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.
When Jezebel swore to do the same to Elijah, what Elijah did
to her prophets, Elijah decamped to Mt Horeb (Sinai) when he sensed an imminent
threat to his life, “And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the
strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.”
1 Kings 19,8
Seemingly, a Jezebel-like threat infected Peter. He turned
his gaze from holiness (Jesus) to evil (the turbulent sea) and began to sink. “Lord,
save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and
said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” After they got
into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him
homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”
At Mt Horeb, God did not appear to Elijah in the destructive
fire (that consumed the sacrifice earlier) or in the rock-crushing wind, or
earth-fracturing earthquake, but in a “still, small voice”.
In contrast to Elijah, Moses was meek and humble. The last
time Moses got violent was when he killed an Egyptian to save a fellow Jew (Ex
2,13). Moses, too, like Elijah, decamped from the site of violence and took
shelter in the land of Median as a humble shepherd (15) to encounter God in the
fire on Mt Horeb (Ex 3,1-2).
God eschews violence. He cuts us a long rope. He hopes that
His people will come back to him. Sometimes 40 years (to shed all the
rebellious Israelites before allowing entry into the Promised Land); other
times centuries pass, yes, centuries before God acts, as in the Book of
Habakkuk: “O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear?” (Hab
1,2). This is familiar ground for us. We can easily relate to the cry of the
Prophet Habakkuk.
Habakkuk was active around 612 BC, the most turbulent time
for Judah, on the threshold of an imminent attack by the Babylonians. Surprise!
Surprise! The Babylonians are God’s instrument of judgment - to wreak havoc on
Judah for their spiritual and moral failings. This followed the death of King
Josiah – a righteous king.
The Book of Habakkuk is a dialogue between God and the
Prophet Habakkuk. The prophet is dismayed by the harsh punishment that awaits
his people. He enquires of God, why so? And God answers Habakkuk, clearing his
confusion. Habakkuk trusts and accepts God’s sovereignty and justice,
concluding the book with a prayer of faith and hope.
Fast-forward 400 years. In Peter’s case, on the stormy
waters, help was immediate. Peter was impetuous (“Get behind me, Satan” rebuke
from Jesus), but not disobedient or sinful even in his denial of Jesus. He
lapsed often, but Peter was a forgivable quantity in Jesus’ eyes. As repeat
sinners, we too must pray to be a ‘forgivable quantity’ in Jesus’ eyes.
Jesus reprimanded his apostles, presumably Peter too (again),
“O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long
will I endure you? Bring the boy here to me.” The boy suffered from epilepsy. Jesus
rebuked him and the demon came out of him, and from that hour the boy was
cured. Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said, “Why could we
not drive it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. Amen, I say
to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this
mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be
impossible for you.” (Mt 17, 14-20)
Fr. Paul Parekkattil VC, Director, Divine Retreat
Centre, Colombo, in a homily on this passage on 8 Aug 2026 | DRCC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEIl4A7JSSI&t=4877s
elucidated on our capacity to make things happen through intercessory prayer. I
am paraphrasing his homily below with minor edits:
When Jesus came down from Mount Tabor, there was commotion
afoot, which Jesus resolved to the Father’s satisfaction by healing his child.
That which the disciples could not do. What were the disciples doing when the
father brought the child to them? They were arguing who is the greatest among
them.
Now this man who brought the son with the convulsions to the
apostles, what was the father’s thinking? They are the disciples of Jesus.
They will have the same authority over evil spirits, the same faculty of
exorcism and the same charism of healing.
Fr Paul points us to two different types of faith in this
episode of the Gospel:
1.
Faith as the fruit of the Holy Spirit
2.
Faith as a charism of the Holy Spirit
The faith of the epileptic child’s father is the ‘Faith as
fruit of the Holy Spirit’, the belief that the disciples or Jesus have the
power to heal, and power over the evil spirit to exorcise. ‘Faith as a Charism
of the Holy Spirit’ (1 Cor 12, 8-10) is the Faith needed to work miracles. When
I command in the name of Jesus, I can cast out demons; sickness will be healed;
people will be liberated, for I have been given the authority to do so by Jesus.
The disciples of Jesus were given the ‘Faith as a charism of
the Holy Spirit’ when they were sent two-by-two ahead of Jesus for a missionary
journey. But, in this instant, they did not feel they had the power to heal the
epileptic child. Probably true of many of us. After an immersive retreat, we feel
we could do the same, but over time we become lukewarm, and the charism becomes
dormant, but not entirely lost. What is
once given by God is given for keeps.
We need to be persistent in asking Jesus for ‘Faith as the
fruit of the Holy Spirit’ needed for our own salvation. And ‘Faith as a charism
of the Holy Spirit’ needed to work miracles for others and pray for others.
Even for the gift of intercession, we need faith. Faith that my prayer will be
heard in the heavens and accepted by God. Elijah, Moses, and Peter were subject
to fear and often backslid. So will we, but we must rebound and lay claim to
our rightful inheritance in Christ – our claim to Faith as a Fruit of the Holy
Spirit and Faith as a Charism of the Holy Spirit
-
Mathew Anthony
A Companion Reflection from the Venerable Pius XII
Venerable
Pius XII Victorious in the storm Our
hope—just like our faith, of which it is the substance and
reality—resides in heaven, and there on high it remains fixed; yet here
below, it sustains our life. If, in the name of Christ and His Cross, the
choirs of angels in heaven (…) sing before the throne of God:
"glory, honor, salvation, and blessing," here below, the Church
of the faithful—still pilgrims on their journey—places all its hope in
the Cross. "O Cross, our salvation, our only hope!" (Hymn of
the Passion) The
ocean of humanity is in turmoil; nations, like the waves, rise up and
crash against one another under the pressure of the winds of social and
political passions; the shores and beaches of peace are battered and
shaken by the unleashed surges. (…) Who shall command the winds and the
storms? Who shall silence their whistling and their rage? (…) Do
not fear, my brothers. Upon the waves and the storms, walking in the
shadow of the tabernacles, is the Lord of heaven and earth; no, He will
not pass by our storm-tossed boat with indifference; He will come to us
and say: "Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid." (Mt 14:27)
Did He not promise that He would be with us until the end of time? (…) Do
we not believe in Him? Do we, perhaps, not know Him? Ah, may He never
have to say of us—after having spent so much time in our midst—this
reproach: "I have been with you all this time, and still you do not
know Me?" (Jn 14:9) We
are lost amidst the storm that roils the ocean of society and nations;
yet in the Cross of Christ—which stands firm amidst the upheavals of the
world—reside our confidence and our hopes. She is the anchor that, amidst
the raging waves, provides security to the boat of the Church and of our
soul—which strives toward the haven of supreme and invisible goods; she
is the anchor firmly fixed to God and to His infallible promises.
Pope from 1939 to 1958
Radio address to Lourdes Pope Pius XI April 28, 1935 closing the year of
Redemption
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