August 11, 2002

Father Owen's Homilies

Homily for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Aug. 11, 2002

When our backs are up against the wall it is relatively easy to turn to God. When the towers of the World Trade center fall, it seems like the most natural thing in the world for 50,000 persons to gather at Yankee Stadium for a memorial service. A family faced with loss and tragedy prays and asks for prayers. When the ship is filling with water, it is time to turn toward Jesus.

For the prophet Elijah, the Lord was not to be found in the wind and the crashing rocks. The Lord was not to be found in the earthquake or the fire. When the fire died away there was a tiny, whispering sound. Elijah covered his face with his cloak and stood at the entrance of the cave on Mount Carmel. The Lord was in the tiny, whispering sound.

God is to be found in the tiny and apparently insignificant matters of our life. God is found in the interruptions, the phone call that comes at the “wrong” time. God is found in the when you are alone in the shop or the kitchen. God is found in the third trip to Seneca you had to make for the groceries you forgot, for the part to fix the breakdown. God is found in the apparently dull and losing ball games you sat through. God is found sometimes most profoundly in the silence.

Our reaction? “Here I am Lord. What do you want of me?”