Expect the Unexpected

Each of the readings this Sunday discloses how encounters with God and what is asked of us often manifest quite differently than what we expect. In 1 Kings, the prophet Elijah sojourns in the wilderness while heading toward Horeb, the mountain where both Israel and Moses met God. He is not seeking a similar encounter, however, but is fleeing to this wilderness in fear, as Queen Jezebel has vowed to have him killed. Hiding here, the possibility of a divine encounter like those of Israel and Moses builds Elijah’s expectations. Yet, the characteristic manifestations that Elijah might anticipate are not what he experiences. God is not in the powerful wind, the earthquake, or even the fire. Instead, Elijah only experiences a “whispering sound” (the NRSV translation reads “the sound of silence”). The prophet covers his face and goes and stands at the entrance of the cave expecting, perhaps, something more or something familiar. The story continues beyond the text read today with only God’s question to him. “What are you doing here Elijah?” (1 Kgs 19:13). Fear has sent Elijah to the wilderness in search of a God who might justify his flight before a threat. Instead, he only experiences a divine voice questioning his presence in the wilderness. Compelled by fear, one cannot be a prophet hiding in this remote place.  

Paul’s letter to the Romans does not report such an unexpected or bewildering encounter with God. For him, Christ, the one through whom God reconciled the whole world, was the one who changed Paul’s life forever. Yet, Paul is anguished, not so much about what he has done but about what he has been unable to do. Despite his commitment to Christ, he has not been successful winning over his Jewish brothers and sisters who, he believes, remain cut off from this reconciliation.

The Gospel passage from Matthew follows last week’s account, with Jesus now dismissing the crowd that he fed and directing his disciples to cross the lake in a boat while he goes off to pray.   As darkness falls, the wind holds back the boat, with waves tossing it about just a few miles offshore. At “the fourth watch,” roughly 3 a.m. to 6 a.m., the disciples see a figure in the darkness approaching them, walking on the water. Thinking it is a ghost, they are terrified and cry out in fear. Jesus quells their fright by immediately speaking to them, urging them to take courage and not be afraid. Peter, who had never encountered Jesus like this, needs to confirm the experience with evidence. At the Lord’s invitation, Peter began walking on the water toward Jesus, but almost immediately he began to fear and sink. Wanting to believe this was Jesus, Peter cried out, “Lord save me.” Jesus caught him and asked him why he had doubted.    

Like the previous texts this Sunday, the Gospel reading suggests that our relationship with our God does not always unfold according to a familiar plan or enable us to encounter God as we expect. Initially, the disciples and Peter fail to recognize Jesus, thinking he is a ghost. Hearing the Lord’s voice begins to quell their fears. Yet, this is a very different experience of Jesus, unlike anything they had expected. Peter, who had never encountered Jesus like this, needs to confirm the experience with evidence. After he is out of the boat however, walking on the water, the wind whips up and fear overtakes him. Peter’s trust turns to doubt, and he begins to sink. He cannot quite believe that he is able to encounter Jesus in this way.

Like Peter, Elijah, and Paul, we occasionally hear God summon us to unexpected encounters. We may even find ourselves questioning whether it is actually God calling us, especially when we falter. Like Peter, we can vacillate between trust and doubt. Like Paul, we may be confident of the work to which we are called but distraught and doubting when our efforts fail. Finally, like Elijah, we might hold expectations about how we will behold the Holy One, and when our experience proves otherwise, we are confounded. 

In many ways, these narratives speak to the faith of the early Church’s members who were struggling to make sense of all that Jesus had disclosed about God, as well as how to be Christ-like amidst the threats and persecution of the Roman world. In addition, Elijah, Peter and Paul become mirror images for all of us who sometimes trust, sometimes doubt, often have a limiting notion of the divine presence in our lives or have a crisis of faith when that image is undercut or eclipsed by a different experience of our God. Take heart and listen carefully. What Jesus said to his disciples during that dark time on the boat tossed by the wind he also will make known to us: “Take courage, it is I” (Mt 14:33).