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19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Fr. Tom Wilson, Pastor

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if you've been around All Saints for a while at least during my time here and have a good memory you might recall this this this little image that I'll Cher I've done it at least at least once during a Sunday mass during my time here but it was my last hurrah if you will right before I went into the right into the Seminary after I left my job and before going back to school and in the fall of that year and I've been invited to a friend of mine's extended family summer home off the coast of of Maine to spend a little bit of vacation time before before heading hack into into the academic realm information and so we flew out to Boston we stayed in Boston for a couple of days and did the historical tour things there and then we driving up I-95 along the coast to near Booth bar Boothbay Harbor Maine beautiful beautiful place and as we started out our Drive in the morning if it was it was raining pretty good and then the the rain begin to began to get hard we're in harder and harder and it was it was a it was a full fledge storm and I were driving on this thing and I've it was it was turn to drive in my friend looks at me and says are you are you okay to keep driving and I lied to him and I said yes I am right as my hands were getting getting Tighter and Tighter to the to the wheel we're practically hydroplaning on I-95 the last hour or so of of the drive well it turns out we were actually right in the center of a of a low-level hurricane and I don't ever care to be in or drive in a hurricane but I have to admit I was frightened it was absolutely frightened but we did by by the grace of God get to get to our destination at my friend's cabin safely and it was still it was still pouring and coming down the wind was the wind was blowing and it was still a pretty frightening weather chelation we met my friends uncle is probably in his early 70s at the time spent a lot of time most of his life out in that part country and we said okay do we need to get do we need to go get inlanders to get away from this and very very calmly he said no no you're going to be just fine we're going to be just fine we're high enough up to to be out of range of the of the dangerous water and Flynn storm surge and all that kind of stuff and where we're going to be we're going to be just fine and the Assurance of my friends uncle in in the midst of that storm reduce the shouldn't substantially I was pretty scared my friend was probably even even more scared about about the midst of the storm but somebody who had been through it before somebody who had experienced this and knew what was going on relieved us and assured us and said no it's going to be fine it didn't make the storm go away it's still it's still continue the the the rest of the night but that Assurance even gave us an offer Trinity to laugh a little bit about the the situation that we were in of course today as we hear the we hear the gospel story of of the disciples caught in the storm in Jesus approaching them along the along the water of the the image of course 2000 years of of of reflection and in prayer over it that storm represents the realities of the trials of life that we but nobody escapes none of us escapes the difficulties and trials of life and the whole point in the whole image is that g walks in and is right there in the midst of those storms that is the that is the primary message of this gospel story which we hear three other time in the scripture the Matthews version is unique Matthews version is unique in the interaction between Peter and Jesus and we always remember everybody remembers that Jesus is oh you of little faith and Peter sinking but Matthew actually communicate this to us not primarily because Peter sinks but but Peter at the beginning had enough faith in Jesus to see if it is I tell me to come to you and I can do what you're doing it takes a tremendous amount of faith and confidence who Jesus is and they had just experienced the power of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves they just experienced that they saw power that Jesus had over the natural elements of the world and we're getting a pretty good sense of who he was and if they're still in fear but Peter was the only one Peter was the only one in his faith which clearly is demonstrated as very imperfect because he eventually saying to Sage tell me to come and I will and the truth is Peter saying but Peter also walked on the water Peter was walking on the water and the thing that makes him sink is the fact that he then becomes too focused and locked in on the forearm and not Jesus he remembered he remember that he was in the storm and then he panics instead of I'm bringing keeping his eyes on Jesus in the midst of the storm he remembers only the storm and two off to off and I in those storms of life that we that we experience we get so locked in on the reality of the storm that is in a minute real those storms was trials that we experience in our life no matter where they come from our very real but when we lacking on those instead of the presence of the Lord then we allow the storm to take over instead of the Lord to take over that's the at the scripture reading gives us to remind us that Jesus is present in our storms and the truth is the truth is the presence of my friends uncle gave incredible assurance that we were going to be okay and I think what my uncle or what my friends uncle did for is the invitation the call that all of us as Disciples of Jesus Christ have to do for other people in our lives as disciples people of faith we know even in the imperfections of our own faith that Jesus is there with us in the storms and trials of life and the who's there's that many many people that surround us in our families and our workplaces in our communities when those Storms Come often times is the first rare places that they will begin to ask the question God where are you where are you in the midst of this they're focused on the storm and we can we can be there for people saying he's right here he is right here in the midst of this storm with you that is the message even though most of us including myself are conditioned to want to fix it and make the storm go away alright most of us avoid those situations have about as much power over the storms in other people's lies as I had over that hurricane which is 0 0 but we can as people of Faith witness to the presence of Jesus Christ not just in our life but in theirs and that's what we're called to do but how do we do that it's easy to see it in the scripture story it's easy to see it in the analogy but in the lived ever play life not necessarily so easy but I think we're get we get we're given a clue at the in the first reading how that happened how do we recognize nice Cheese's in the storms I think it begins by first recognizing him in the non storms in the gentleness in the normal of everyday life because it's I don't think it's an accident that the church gives us the scriptures juxtaposed we have Jesus in the storm and then we have Elijah listening and looking for the voice of God at God's command and Elijah looking and looking for it in the midst of the large noisy when looking for it in the Earth looking for it in the fire but doesn't hear it but finally in the softness of the gentle everyday Breeze comes the voice and you sure turn the presence of God and it's in that listening to that voice and paying attention to it in the normalcy of everyday life that then houses to see and hear and experience the presence of Jesus in the chaos in the trials of storms that will all eventually pass in give us the ability and the grace to share that with other people the truth is we had I think we have this this sort of love-hate relationship with storms in trials they can be very exciting and the driving up of I-95 it was exhilarating for a while even though I was scared to death what was scared to death in that in that dry but the truth is the truth is they did in that in that sometimes unhealthy relationship with these things that are that are frightening we didn't become either over-cautious or hyper afraid forgetting that it's actually Jesus there and when we recognize Jesus in the ordinary presence of our everyday lives then we see him in our trials and can share him with in other people's trials as well and we do that by basic everyday living out of faith praying talking to God thanking God for our blessings asking him to bless the things in our life asking him to care for the people in our life simple everyday communicate in with the lore living out the gospel call of of kindness and charity towards our neighbors just live count that every day in our everyday life helps us to recognize the presence of the Lord in the world in our lives in our hearts and when we see him in the simple and the basic in the everyday we're also going to be able to see him in the storms and trials of our own life when we recognize that in our own life the presence of the Lord in those storms and trials we will certainly be able to be faithful Witnesses and disciples to re find others in our life that the Lord is present within their storms and trials as well

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19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

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