Jesus is with us - in spite of our little faith

By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami

• See related story: 'The school is reborn'

Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily while celebrating Mass at St. Malachy in Tamarac, Aug. 13, 2023, to mark the reopening of the parish school.

I am happy to be back here once again at St, Malachy – and I come to officially open – or reopen – St. Malachy Catholic School. We will start small – this year with PreK and Kindergarten in year 1, and we add the other grades in future years.

To do this, we have renovated four spaces in the school building: Two classrooms plus an office and breakout space. We have also fixed up the playground and courtyard, fenced the back property, and completed a number of cosmetic upgrades.

The school will have a “classical” focus. In year 1, students will participate in Latin classes as well as violin. A more academic classical approach will come in future years as the older grades are added.

This has come about by the cooperation of many people – beginning with your pastor, Father Rolon. I thank all the parishioners from St. Malachy who have helped with time, talent and treasure. We got help from the Knights of Columbus of course. And several parishes, especially St. Bonaventure, have assisted with technology and other supplies. The school has received donations of school desks, uniforms, tech infrastructure, etc.

The opening of St. Malachy was truly a “group effort.” Many individuals and groups contributed (with time, talent, and treasure) to make the school open-ready. This has included groups of parishioners and the Knights of Columbus from both St. Malachy and St. Bonaventure. Father Rolon was a good champion of the school. Several nearby Catholic schools have donated technology and supplies. Belen Jesuit provided desks for older classes (once added). A uniform store (Risse Brothers) offered a free uniform to every child upon enrollment. A technology company donated all of the tech infrastructure.

As I said, we will start small – but if you know someone that has a child ready for PreK or Kindergarten, let us know. We’ll make room for them.

In today’s first reading, we find Elijah. Elijah is an important figure in the Old Testament. Last Sunday, it was he along with Moses who appeared alongside the Transfigured Jesus to teach us that the Law, represented by Moses, and the Prophets, represented by Elijah, find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

When once Jesus asked his disciples who do people say that I am, they answered: Some think you are Elijah, or John the Baptist come back from the dead.

Elijah is an important figure for Jews – for in the Jewish tradition, Elijah will announce the coming of the Messiah. A role that John the Baptist did indeed fulfill.

But even today, when a Jewish child is circumcised, it is a custom to place a chair at the ceremony for Elijah, so that he will protect the child. At the Passover meal, an extra cup of wine is poured for Elijah and an empty chair is reserved for him at the table – and during the meal the door is flung open to let him in. Those at table sing: Elijah the Prophet / Elijah the Tishbite / May he come quickly to us / with the Messiah.

And, of course, we Christians believe that the Messiah has come. But he came in a way nobody expected. God comes on his terms, not on ours.

And so, we see Elijah waiting for the Lord as instructed. But he did not come to Elijah in the strong winds, earthquake and fire – as he had once to Moses when he gave him the Commandments. Rather, God comes to Elijah in a “still small voice” or as our translation says in a “tiny whispering sound.”

In this inexpressible gentleness of God’s encounter with Elijah we find a hint of the Incarnation of the Son. God in a manger!

In the Gospel reading, we have this remarkable episode. The apostles are in a boat – Jesus had sent them on ahead so he could be alone in prayer, but he comes to them in a storm and calms the wind and the rain.

Over the centuries those of us who hear this Gospel passage can readily see that the frightened apostles in a boat on the stormy seas represent us. Peter’s boat is the Church – and even today the Church is tossed about by the winds and storms of the opposition we face. And it does seem sometimes that when we are battling against the odds, Jesus is off someplace else.

“Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid,” Jesus tells the apostles in the midst of the storm – and he tells us, as we struggle through the storms of our lives.

Jesus is with us – in spite of our little faith. But, even with our little faith, we acknowledge as Peter and the Apostles did that this man Jesus is the Son of the God.

Perhaps, we would prefer that God would go about things differently. Even the apostles wished that Jesus would bring about an earthly kingdom and liberate the Jews from the yolk of the Romans. But God comes on his terms, not ours.

We find in his Word and the Bread of Life – and in the support of each other – enough to keep us afloat in the storms of our lives.