Fourth Sunday after
Epiphany, 30th January 1848
Our Lord commanded the winds and the sea, and the
men who saw it marvelled saying, What manner of man is this, for the winds and
the sea obey him? It was a miracle. It showed our Lord's power over nature. And
therefore they wondered, because they could not understand, and rightly, how
any man could have power over nature, unless that power was given him by God.
Nature goes on her own way and we cannot alter it. Man cannot alter it, he can
only use it. Matter, for instance, falls downward, earth, stone, iron all fall
to the earth when left to themselves. Again, left to themselves, they cannot
move except by falling. They never move except they are pulled or pushed
forward. Water again never stands in a heap or a mass, but flows out on all
sides as far as it can. Fire again always burns, or tends to burn. The wind
blows to and fro, without any discoverable rule or law, and we cannot tell how
it will blow tomorrow by seeing how it blows today. We see all these things.
They have their own way; we cannot alter them. All we attempt to do is to use
them; we take them as we find them and we use them. We don't attempt to change
the nature of fire, earth, air or water, but we observe what the nature of each
is, and we try to turn it to account. We turn steam to account, and use it in
carriages and ships; we turn fire to account and use it in a thousand ways. We
use the things of nature, we submit to the laws of nature, and we avail
ourselves of them; but we do not command nature. We do not attempt to alter it,
but we merely direct it to our own purposes. Far different was it with our
Lord: He used indeed the winds and the water; (He used the water when He got into
a boat, and used the wind when He suffered the sail to be spread over Him). He
used, but more than this, He commanded, the winds and the waves - He had power
to rebuke, to change, to undo the course of nature, as well as to make use of
it. He was above nature. He had power over nature. This is what made the men
marvel. Experienced seamen can make use of the winds and the waves to get to
the shore. Nay, even in a storm they know how to avail themselves of them, they
have their rules what to do, and they are on the look out, taking advantage of
everything that happens. But our Lord did not condescend to do this. He did not
instruct them how to manage their sails, nor how to steer the vessel, but He
addressed Himself directly to winds and waves, and stopped them, making them do
that which was against their nature.
So again, when
Lazarus was ill, our Lord might have gone to him, and have recommended the
fitting medicine, and the treatment which would cure him. He did nothing of the
kind - He let him die - so much so that St. Martha said when He at length came,
"Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died" (John 11).
But our Lord had a reason. He wished to show His power over nature. He wished
to triumph over death. So, instead of hindering Lazarus from dying by the art
of medicine, He triumphed over death by a miracle.
No one has power
over nature but He who made it. None can work a miracle but God. When miracles
are wrought it is a proof that God is present. And therefore it is that,
whenever God visits the earth, He works miracles. It is the claim He makes upon
our attention. He thereby reminds us that He is the Creator. He who did, alone
can undo. He who made, alone can destroy. He who gave nature its laws, alone
can change those laws. He who made fire to burn, food to nourish, water to
flow, iron to sink, He alone can make fire harmless, food needless, water firm
and solid, iron light, and therefore whether He sent forth the Prophets or the
Apostles, Moses, Josue, Samuel, or Elias, He always sent them with miracles, to
show His presence with His servants. Then all things began to change their
nature; the Egyptians were tormented with strange plagues, the waters stood in
a heap for the Chosen people to pass over, they were fed with manna in the
desert, the sun and the moon stood still - because God was there.
This then was
what made the men marvel, when our Lord stilled the storm upon the sea. It was
a proof to them that God was there, though they saw Him not. Nay, God was there
and they saw Him - for Christ was God - but whether they learned this high and
sacred truth or not from the miracle, so far they understood that God really
was there. His hand was there, His power was there, and therefore they feared.
You have read in books, I dare say, stories of great men who come in disguise,
and at length are known by their voice, or by some deed, which betrays them.
Their voices, or their words, or their manner, or their exploit, is their token
- it is a sort of handwriting. And so when God walks the earth, He gives us
means of knowing that He does so, though He is a hidden God, and does not
display His glory openly. Power over nature is the token He gives us that He,
the Creator of Nature, is in the midst of us.
And therefore God
is called almighty - this is His distinguishing attribute. Man is powerful only
by means of nature. He uses nature as his instrument, but God has no need of
nature, in order to accomplish His will, but works His great work, sometimes by
means of nature, and sometimes without nature, as it please Him.
And you will observe this attribute of God is the
only one mentioned in the Creed. "I believe in God, the Father
almighty." It is not said "I believe in God the Father All merciful,
or All holy, or All wise," though all these attributes are His also, but
"I believe in God the Father Almighty." Why is this? It is plain why
- because this attribute is the reason why we believe. Faith is the beginning
of religion, and therefore the almightiness of God is made the beginning and
first of His attributes, and just the attribute which ought to be mentioned in
the Creed. We should not be able to believe in Him, did we not know that He is
almighty. Nothing is too hard to believe of Him to whom nothing is too hard to
do. You may recollect that when it was prophesied to Abraham that the old Sarah
his wife should have a son, Sarah laughed. Why did she laugh? Because she did
not bear sufficiently in mind that God is almighty. Therefore the Lord said to
her, "Is anything hard for God?" (Gen. 18). And in like manner our
Lord in the Gospel of this day, when He commanded the winds and the sea, said
"Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" If they had had a firm
perception of His almightiness, they would have been sure that He could bring
them out of danger. But when they saw Him asleep in the boat, they could not
believe that they were safe, not understanding that He, awake or asleep, was
almighty.
This thought is
very important to us at this day, because it will be a means of sustaining our
faith. Why do you believe all the strange and marvellous acts recorded in
Scripture? Because God is almighty and can do them. Why do you believe that a
Virgin conceived and bore a Son? Because it is God's act, and He can do
anything. As the Angel Gabriel said to the Blessed Virgin, "No word is
impossible with God." On the other hand, when holy Zacharias was told by
the Angel that the old Elizabeth, his wife, should conceive, he said,
"Whence shall I know this?" and he was punished at once for
disbelieving. Why do you believe that our Lord rose from the dead? Why, that He
redeemed us all with His precious blood? Why, that He washes away our sins in
Baptism? Why do you believe in the power and grace which attends the other
sacraments? Why do you believe in the resurrection of our bodies? You believe
it because nothing is too hard for God - because however wonderful a thing may
be, He can do it. Why do you believe in the virtue of holy relics? Why do you
believe that the Saints hear your prayers? Because nothing is too hard for the
Lord.
This especially
applies to the great miracle of the Altar. Why do you believe that the Priest
changes the bread into the body of Christ? Because God is almighty and nothing
is too hard for Him. And moreover you know, as I have said, that miracles are
the signs and tokens of God's presence. If then He is present in the Catholic
Church, it is natural to expect that He will work some miracles, and if He did
no miracle, we might be almost tempted to believe that He had left His Church.
When you assist at the holy sacrifice of the Altar
and bow down at the elevation, and whenever you make an act of faith in God,
steadily contemplating all that He has done for us in the Gospel, recollect God
is almighty, and it will enable you to be bolder and more determined in making
it. Say, I believe this and that, because God is almighty - I do not worship a
creature: I am not the servant of a God of restricted power. But since God can
do everything, I can believe everything. There is nothing too much for Him to
do, and nothing too hard for me to believe. I will enlarge my heart. I will go
forward in a generous way. "Open thy mouth wide," says God to me,
"and I will fill it." Well, I do open my mouth, I desire to be fed
with His words. I desire to live and to thrive by every word which He speaks. I
desire to say with the prophet, "Speak, Lord, for thy servant
heareth." I will not grudge, I will not doubt, because I believe that
which takes away all doubting. All acts of divine power do but fall under, and are
but instances of, that universal attribute on which I believe, omnipotence. If
God can do all things, He can do this. He can do much more than this. Wonderful
as this or that may be to our narrow minds, still if we knew all, we should see
that this, whatever it is, was but one thing out of many. This is what our Lord
signified to holy Nathanael. Nathanael, struck with something which our Lord
said, cried out, "Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, Thou art the King of
Israel." He made answer "Believest thou on this account? thou shalt
see a greater thing than this." There is no end of God's power; it is
inexhaustible. Let there be no end to our faith. Let us not be startled at what
we are called on to believe; let us still be on the look out. Some people are
slow to believe the miracles ascribed to the Saints. Now we know that such
miracles are not part of the faith; they have no place in the Creed. And some
are reported on better evidence than others. Some may be true, and others not
so certainly true. Others again may be true but not miracles. But still why
should they be surprised to hear of miracles? Are they beyond the power of God,
and is not God present with the Saints, and has He not wrought miracles of old?
Are miracles a new thing? There is no reason to be surprised, on the contrary;
because in the Sacrifice of the Mass He works daily the most wonderful of
miracles at the word of the priest. If then He does daily a miracle greater
than any that can be named, why should we be surprised to hear reports of His
doing other and lesser miracles now and then?
The Gospel of the
day then sets before us the duty of faith, and rests it upon God's almightiness
or omnipotence, as it is called. Nothing is too hard for Him, and we believe
what the Church tells us of His deeds and providences, because He can do
whatsoever He will. But there is another grace which the Gospel teaches us, and
that is hope or trust. You observe that when the storm came, the disciples were
in great distress. They thought some great calamity was coming on them.
Therefore Christ said to them, "Why are ye fearful?" Hope and fear
are contrary to each other; they feared because they did not hope. To hope is,
not only to believe in God, but to believe and be certain that He loves us and
means well to us; and therefore it is a great Christian grace. For faith
without hope is not certain to bring us to Christ. The devils believe and
tremble (James 2). They believe, but they do not come to Christ - because they
do not hope, but despair. They despair of getting any good from Him. Rather
they know that they shall get nothing but evil, so they keep away. You
recollect the man possessed of the devil said: "What have we to do with
Thee, Jesus the Son of God - art Thou come hither to torment us before the
time?" (Matt. 8). The coming of Christ was no comfort to them, the
contrary: they shrank from Him. They knew He meant them not good, but
punishment. But to men He meant good, and it is by knowing and feeling this
that men are brought to Him. They will not come to God till they are sure of
this. They must believe that He is not only almighty, but all merciful also.
Faith is founded on the knowledge that God is almighty, hope is founded on the
knowledge that God is all merciful. And the presence of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ excites us to hope quite as much as to faith, because His very
name Jesus means Saviour, and because He was so loving, meek, and bountiful
when He was on earth.
He said to the
disciples when the storm arose, "Why are ye fearful?" That is, you
ought to hope, you ought to trust, you ought to repose your heart on Me. I am
not only almighty, but I am all merciful. I have come on earth because I am
most loving to you. Why am I here, why am I in human flesh, why have I these
hands which I stretch out to you, why have I these eyes from which the tears of
pity flow, except that I wish you well, that I wish to save you? The storm
cannot hurt you if I am with you. Can you be better placed than under my
protection? Do you doubt My power or My will, do you think Me negligent of you
that I sleep in the ship, and unable to help you except I am awake? Wherefore
do you doubt? Wherefore do you fear? Have I been so long with you, and you do
not yet trust Me, and cannot remain in peace and quiet by My side?"
And so, my
Brethren, He says to us now. All of us who live in this mortal life, have our
troubles. You have your troubles, but when you are in trouble, and the waves
seem to mount high, and to be soon to overwhelm you, make an act of faith, an
act of hope, in your God and Saviour. He calls you to Him who has His mouth and
His hands full of blessings for you. He says: "Come unto Me, all that
labour and are laden, and I will refresh you" (Matt. 11). "All ye
that thirst," He cries out by His prophet, "come ye to the waters,
and ye that have no money, haste ye, buy, and eat." Never let the thought
come into your mind that God is a hard master, a severe master. It is true the
day will come when He will come as a just Judge, but now is the time of mercy.
Improve it and make the most of the time of grace. "Behold now is the
acceptable time, behold now is the day of salvation." This is the day of
hope, this is the day of work, this is the day of activity. "The night
cometh when no man can work," but we are children of the light and of the
day, and therefore despondency, coldness of heart, fear, sluggishness are sins
in us. Temptations indeed come on you to murmur, but resist them, drive them
aside, pray God to help you with His mighty grace. He allows no temptation to
befall us which He does not give us grace to surmount. Do not let your hope
give way, but "lift up the languid hands and the relaxed knees" (Heb.
12). "Lose not your confidence, which hath a great reward" (Heb. 10).
Seek His face who ever dwells in real and bodily presence in His Church. Do at
least as much as what the disciples did. They had but little faith, they
feared, they had not any great confidence and peace, but at least they did not
keep away from Christ. They did not sit still sullenly, but they came to Him.
Alas, our very best state is not higher than the Apostles' worst state. Our
Lord blamed them as having little faith, because they cried out to Him. I wish
we Christians of this day did as much as this. I wish we went as far as to cry
out to Him in alarm. I wish we had only as much faith and hope as that which
Christ thought so little in His first disciples. At least imitate the apostles
in their weakness, if you can't imitate them in their strength. If you can't
act as saints, at least act as Christians. Do not keep from Him, but, when you
are in trouble, come to Him day by day asking Him earnestly and perseveringly
for those favours which He alone can give. And as He on this occasion spoken of
in the Gospel, blamed indeed the disciples, but did for them what they asked,
so, (we will trust in His great mercy), though He discerns much infirmity in
you which ought not to be there, yet He will deign to rebuke the winds and the
sea, and say "Peace, be still," and there will be a great calm.
May this be your
happy lot, my dear Brethren, and may the blessing of God Almighty, the Father,
etc.
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