Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Last Sunday was the feast of the Transfiguration. In the practical implications for the homily last Sunday, I remember suggesting that this altar is our mountain of Transfiguration, and that each Sunday is our Transfiguration Day. I remember saying that the Eucharist is where Jesus and our life come together. Here our life mingles with God’s life. Here we enter into Communion – God with us and we with God. And then, with Jesus we go down the mountain and face life for another week.
Today, I would like to focus on our life down the mountain. How do God and life come together as we go back into the world? How do we bring faith and life together Monday through Friday? How do we have ‘up the mountain’ moments on our ‘down the mountain’ days? I would like to propose three ways to bring faith and life together.
Prayer: The intersection of Faith and Life
Today’s first reading and the gospel reading are very helpful in answering the questions I raise. Elijah’s encounter with God on Mount Horeb happened at a very challenging time in his life. King Ahab and his wife Jezebel had been instrumental in leading srael away from Yahweh. When Ezekiel opposed them, Jezebel sought to destroy him. Elijah was so dismayed that he even prayed that God would end his life. It was to flee the wrath of Jezebel that he went up the mountain. There, on the mountain of God, Elijah encountered God in “small whispering sound’ (1 Kgs 19:12).
The gospel reading describes a very busy day in the life of Jesus. He had ministered to a huge gathering. People had been listening to his words and now they were hungry. He worked a miracle, fed five thousand people, and at the end of the day, he was probably exhausted. Just like at Elijah, Jesus too went up the mountain to pray (Mt 14:23).
I asked earlier, how do God and life come together when we have come down the mountain? How do we have ‘up the mountain’ moments on our ‘down the mountain’ days? The answer is Prayer. Prayer is the intersection of God and life. Prayer is where God and life come together. Monday through Friday we must find ourselves often in prayer like Elijah and like Jesus.
Sacred Space
Today, I want to propose a very practical way to create ‘up the mountain’ times on the ‘down the mountain’ days. Catholic spirituality places a very special emphasis on sacred spaces. This is because Catholic spirituality is very sacramental. We are a people who use tangible realities to be in touch with God. Besides the Bible, the crucifix, the rosary, statues or pictures of favorite saints, candles, holy water, and even flowers come to our aid in our daily lives. A sacred space works the same way. In one sense all space is sacred, but there is something special about a sacred space that is our Mount Horeb or Jesus’ prayer mountain.
Think about your home, for example. Perhaps the family can create a sacred space called the “Prayer Mountain” at home. It can be as simple or as elaborate as you want it to be. Either as a family or individually, anybody can access this sacred space to be with God. This can be your Mount Horeb or your ‘prayer mountain’. This space can be your ‘up the mountain’ space for your ‘down the mountain’ days. This can be the space where God and life intersect. This can be the space where we encounter God in the midst of our busy and constantly evolving lives. Especially, if you are younger family with children at home, this is a tangible way to invite them to pray, to relate to God, and to make God a daily part of their lives.
Silence and Solitude
Besides creating and finding ourselves in a sacred space, silence and solitude is yet another need on our ‘down the mountain’ days. I find it truly fascinating that between a strong and heavy wind, an earthquake, and a fire, Elijah encountered God in a tiny whispering sound. Jesus too, after a very hectic day, went up by himself to pray. Matthew tells us that “When it was evening, he was there alone” (Mt 14;23). I myself have been led into silence and solitude in the spirit of John of the Cross.
Of course, there are myriads of ways to pray. For some people it is their commute to work that gives them time for prayer. For other people it is a hike, nature, working out, doing chores, cleaning, or spiritual reading that helps in prayer. All these ways to connect with God are valid and meaningful. However, I believe there is tremendous value in making time for silence and solitude that allows us to hear the “small whispering sound.”
Whereas every way and every attempt to pray is precious to God, silence and solitude allow us to enter the depths of divine mystery and the mysteries of our own being. Silence and solitude allow to find ourselves alone with God like Jesus did. Silence and solitude allow us to hear the whisper of God. Silence and solitude allow us to have deep “up the mountain’ moments on our ‘down the mountain’ days.
The God we encounter on this altar is the same God who encounters us the rest of the week. May our mingle lives with God’s both here on the top of this mountain and down the mountain back in our homes and in the world. Amen.
- Fr. Satish Joseph