In this 19th week in Ordinary Time we hear again from the Gospel of Matthew (14:22-33) which points us to the power of God over the natural world. This is not magic, as modern television shows would want us to consider, but rather it is the nature-or natural act-of God's power over creation. It is the Created working in and amongst and through the created world. We are shown how wonderful God is and how powerful He is, and what an impact it will have on our human lives if we stay focused on the Lord. That focus on the Lord is the challenge we all face in this created world.
Many things can detract us from focusing on Christ and His love for us, keeping us blinded to His love and compassion for humanity, turning our faces away from His desire for forgiveness and for His hope that we will return to Him and His ways. From broken relationships and failed marriages to other commitments that are put aside or forgotten when inconvenience rears its ugly head; to seduction of money and power and self-importance, to the glamour and the materialism of the manmade world - all polished up and shiny, to the simple everyday untruths of spoken when it seems to inconvenient to tell the hard truth - all these things steer us away from the Lord and toward our own inward beings.
What's the solution? What will refocus our attention on Christ?
The answer is found in the time we spend with God, with the Lord, with Christ. It seems simple, and it is. Our Lord wants to know us and wants us to know Him. The latter part of that equation cannot happen if we are surrounded by the busyness of everyday life; if the television or the radio or the iPad or iPhone are blaring all the time. We cannot know the Lord if we do not communicate with Him. Now, we might not have an "actual" conversation with Him, we might not hear His booming voice or see Him in a vision of white, floating in the clouds. But the Lord will talk to us - in the silence of the day or night. When we step aside from the world and pray, talk, and simply listen to Him. Take a walk in the field, sit for a spell in the Mary Garden or before the Blessed Sacrament; get connected with a rosary, or listen to some wonderfully inspiring sacred music - get connected to God by being disconnected to the white noise around you. In this beautiful and peaceful silence, He will talk to you, calling you closer to Him and His ways, enlightening your mind with His thoughts and desires, infusing in your heart and soul His Will. Pick up a book or a tape; meditate on Christ and His power. It all begins with prayer - the greatest from of wireless communication!
When Peter was focused on Christ he was able to walk on water toward the Lord. When he focused on the storm of life around him, he sank. Don't allow the world around you to distract you from the Big Picture. Keep your eye on the ball, the Lord is counting on you.