My dear brothers and sisters,  I am so very pleased to be here today to install Father Jose Chacko as pastor of St. Aloysius Parish. The ceremony is brief. Nevertheless, it is important that you hear his commitment to you as your pastor. Beginning a new assignment or a new task, there can be a tendency to make them seem larger and more complicated than they really are. Not that some of them aren’t challenging, indeed they are. Still, the wait and anticipation can create anxiety that is, at times, overwhelming. Not every time, but often enough, we find that it was not as bad as we had originally thought. It required that we stop, take some time to analyze our situation and circumstances, look around and see what really is going on, and listen to hear the wisdom and encouragement to accomplish the goals we have before us. 

Isn’t this also true with our relationship with God? Sometimes, we imagine that a real genuine relationship to God can seem so difficult, next to impossible to attain. We feel discouraged. Here we are, finite beings - almost insignificant creatures when we imagine ourselves over against the over 6 billion people that inhabit the earth. And our small planet, compared to our galaxy or universe, seems so insignificant. How does our finiteness have a relationship with the majesty, the greatness, of an infinite God? How do we have an intimate dialogue – or experience a closeness - to such an awesome reality?

St. Therése of Lisieux, a spiritual writer from France, once commented that we often seek God as if He were atop a high mountain. We strain, fearful that each step could cause us to lose our footing and we would fall and be hopelessly lost. Don’t we really wonder and question whether we will ever reach the top? And, if we did, what would we really say? According to St. Therése, we expend all the energy and enthusiasm to go up the mountain, only to find that God is in the peaceful, shaded valley, near a cool, quiet fountain, just a few steps away.

Our Old Testament reading gives us the same insight: “A strong heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.” So, from this tender and touching passage, we find that God has a softness, a quiet, simple, intimate closeness of a whisper. Elijah hid his face, not in fear, but in humility before this gentle whispering presence of God.

The Gospel, too, takes up the themes of the storm and the quiet in a contradictory fashion to the first reading. This time, the chief players are the Apostles, especially Peter, and Jesus. They were making a night crossing on the Sea of Galilee. Peter is overly enthusiastic. He, too, envisions that the Lord would return in all His majesty and glory to establish His Kingdom on earth. But here we see Peter, a master fisherman and used to the sea, become anxious, worried, and almost petrified. Then, he spies the Lord coming to him amidst the storm. Peter hastily asks if he, too, can walk on water. Our Lord says, “Come!” As long as Peter kept his eyes fixed on Christ, he was fine – he could do it, that is, he could walk on water. The instant that he perceives “how strong the wind was,” he became frightened and began to sink and cry out: “Lord, save me!” It is Jesus Himself Who restores Peter and calms the sea, bringing tranquility and serenity to their troubled minds and experiences. Their perilous and treacherous night crossing was calmed by the influence of the Lord.

The point is that the Lord is not only found in the small whisper but also in the storms of life. Here, He takes the storms and tempests of this world and one’s life and creates the silence and tranquility so that we could know God even better. 

So, we need to ask, “Where are the storms and tempests that trouble our lives?” For some, maybe there aren’t any. For others, perhaps you are in the midst of one. Still for others you may detect dark clouds looming on the horizon.

There is something likeable about Peter. He reminds us so much of ourselves – his weaknesses, his misunderstandings, his troubles, his rash judgements. We come today with our own weaknesses, our own faults, our own storms, our own difficulties. We may even want to stay in the boat as it is tossed to and fro, making sure we have our life vests on. In the midst of it, we may hear our Lord beckon to us “Come … come and keep your eyes fixed on Me.” The wind and other of life’s distractions will tempt us to break our gaze away from our goal and support and we can begin to sink.

Our gathering week after week is a reminder – that we all have heard the Lord speaking to us in a whisper. We have heard Him in the midst of the storms of our life. We have heard Him say, “Come”! It is for this reason, that as a community of faith we remain together. Because we need to hear each other’s stories of faith, because we need to pray together for that unity that helps us keep our eyes fixed on the Lord. And when we do “blink” or forget that the Lord is there for a moment and find ourselves sinking, we can turn once again to find His hand reaching out to pull us up. 

It is deeply comforting, when we are frustrated and disappointed with ourselves, to realize that St. Peter’s courage also grew faint. Even more reassuring is Christ’s constant understanding and support of St Peter. We can be secure in the knowledge that Christ extends the same hand to catch us, just as He reached out to Peter. As He understood and accepted Peter’s weakness, He also understands and saves us.

Now, we turn once again to the magnificent wonder and beauty of this Holy Eucharist – which I can find nowhere else in the world but here, connected with Peter and with our community connected with our bishop, who is connected with the successor of Peter – to help us keep our eyes and attention focused and fixed on the only One Who can save us.

Perhaps, if we were to summarize our readings today, it goes back to crossing the street when we learned: stop – look – listen. Jesus is here with us! In the ups and downs, in the thick of our lives, He is here.  

So, as a pastor, Father Jose, you will make your profession of faith and oath of fidelity. Our pastoral effectiveness reminds us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus – and we won’t sink or fall behind. We will be right where we need to be in this amazing journey of faith.