Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The first reading of this Sunday is perhaps the best-known passage from the Book of Kings[1]. Elijah had been told by a voice “go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.” After a huge wind, an earthquake and fire there was a tiny whispering sound. That voice was the voice of the Lord. It was more powerful than wind, earthquake or fire. That voice was the voice of faith.

You know, sometimes we look for the Lord with pre-conceived notions of how He should appear. We expect to find God in powerful manifestation of His presence. Sometimes we are so concerned with finding Him in a mighty display of natural events that we miss His presence in the quiet whispering voice of faith. We seek the Lord in powerful miracles, and we miss hearing His voice in our children, family and church community. Perhaps, we have to stop detérmining how God should be and simply be open to His presence wherever He is, in others and even in ourselves, my brother, my sister, we have to let God be God: mysterious, loving, present in more ways than we could ever understand.

Very often I hear people say, “I come to Church, but I get nothing out of it.” Maybe we have all said that at times, or at least felt that way. Perhaps the problem is that we are deciding how God should be present instead of opening ourselves to however He is manifesting Himself. Maybe we are looking for feelings of spiritual satisfaction. But, perhaps, today God might not be in the fire, or in warm fuzzies. Maybe we are seeking an answer to one of our problems. But, perhaps, today the Lord might not be in the earthquake, or in instant solutions to our difficulties. Maybe we are looking for a new insight into our lives, but perhaps today the Lord may not be in the wind breaking the boulders of our self-perception. However the Lord is still here! He is always with us. We might not know where, but He is here. For there is a small voice that says He is the reason for everything around us in Church and in our world, from the crucifix over the altar to the Word of God proclaimed, to the Eucharist we share, to the blessing we ask for over our food, to the evening prayers we say and the bedtime prayers with the children. In fewer words: everything radiates the Presence of God. He is within each of us loving us as individuals and uniting us into the community of love. 

Let me be more practical: if we come to Mass and claim we are not getting anything out of it, if we go through life claiming that we cannot find God, it is because we are looking for God where we expect Him to be, not where He is.

How is it that Elijah heard the tiny whispering sound in the middle of the earthquake? He settled himself down; he suppressed his own expectations, and he let God speak to Him as God chose to speak to Him.

My brother, my sister, we need to quiet ourselves down.  We need to free ourselves for quiet time. This is more than freedom from external noise. We need to allow ourselves to experience internal quiet and peace that comes from being in the Presence of God. That is the simple message of today’s Liturgy of the Word. We just heard that Our Lord he went up on the mountain by himself to pray; when it was evening he was there alone.

Together, let us reflect on the fact that God is present for each of us. He speaks to each of us. We just need to do a better job listening to Him. Perhaps our prayer today could be one of the verses of the song: Open my ears, Lord, help me to hear your voice. Open my ears, Lord. Help me to hear ■

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[1] It was on Mt. Sinai, Mt. Horeb, that Moses received the Ten Commandments, written, as Exodus says, with the finger of God