Today’s readings are rich with images of faith and trust in God. As parents and grandparents, we are left breathless with God’s direction to Abraham for the sacrifice of his son, “By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac…” But Abraham’s rich deposit of faith led him up to that mountaintop to take his son’s life because he trusted that God had a purpose. God would be able to bring Isaac back to life in order to fulfill God’s promise of “…descendants as numerous at the stars.”
The fearful apostles, in the storm, were not quite as inclined to recognize God in their midst. Their human nature trumped their faith. But Jesus, utterly at peace and asleep on his cushion, essentially said: “No worries. I got this.”
Where do we stand in our faith? Like Abraham, totally trusting in God; or like the apostles in the boat, grasping tight to our own egos fearful that there is no power under or behind us on which to rely?
When we surrender to God there is that peace which surpasses all understanding. Many years ago, our oldest son was lost in a winter storm with three other friends along the Appalachian Trail. Our son became severely hypothermic as he and his friends sought shelter in a trail hut. Information about his peril came to us through forest rangers and local and national media outlets. He and his friends were rescued by a group of hikers who happened to have just been certified in wilderness first aid. There just happened to be a ranger in a nearby cabin where a phone line had been connected that very day. Do you see where we are going with this?
God had our son in his hands. I was at a church meeting when I found out and friends prayed with me. But I know I did not place my total trust in God’s hands that all would be well. I recall being interviewed by the news media after his rescue, commenting on his luck on being found and airlifted to a Tennessee hospital. Luck? I should have, like one of his friend’s mothers, poured out my thanks to God’s grace in placing angels in the mountains that day to rescue my son. Instead, like the apostles, I fretted and wondered where God was that day. I like to think that we have come a long way on our faith journey since then. We now turn to God in moments of crisis praying for the peace which surpasses all understanding, possessing a strong faith that He hears our prayers.
There is a beautiful line in today’s gospel which says, “…they took Jesus with them just as he was.” Let us always take Jesus with us in our faith journey, not as a sleeping companion, rather as an ever-present captain in this life journey who would always respond to our plea for help. Jesus takes us as we are. He understands our weakness and he is ready to redeem our frail human nature when it falls short. But as the first reading tells us “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” Jesus steps in to our rescue whenever, in sincere faith, we trust him in the face of uncertainties. And when we do, God is never ashamed to prove that he is our God.
