4th Sunday after Pentecost 8.6.08 Unless the Lord build the house
The miraculous catch of fish reminds us that we rely heavily on the power of the Lord to get things done. If we have access to that power miracles can happen. If we are apart from God we are as much use as a branch that has fallen off the tree.
Refer the story of Gideon and the shrinking army. God made Gideon reduce the size of his army so that the Israelites would know that it was only by the power of God that they had won the battle. (Judges 7)
There are many similar such stories. We need constant reminding of our frailty.
There are two aspects where we need to remain humble.
One is that we have no strength apart from the Lord.
The other is that we don’t know what course to follow without His guidance.
We cannot win the battle without Him and we do not know which battle to fight.
We need both His wisdom and His power, and He freely provides both.
One lesson is that nothing should ever seem too hard for us. We face some very difficult things in life, but if we recall that God is infinitely powerful we can then laugh at whatever the difficulty is. With Him on my side I can do all things.
It is very hard to be so confident, but we can get there with practice.
This is one reason why God lets us feel we are all alone – not to torment us, but to force us to go to Him for help.
If we get into the habit of calling on Him then we will not feel overwhelmed by any crisis.
The whole Church also works on the same principle. We pray constantly for the grace we need to stay afloat in every kind of storm.
We cannot do just any miracle (casting mountain into sea) but only those God wants to do.
This makes miracles less common, insofar as God generally wants us to get by without seeking the spectacular. We would be moving mountains all day long if we had the power, so He wisely withholds that power from us, again so that we have to rely on Him. I can only move a mountain when I ask Him, and then He has the power of veto.
So with our projects and plans. How easily we slip into worldly patterns and just do what the world does. We try to live as long as possible and make as much money as possible and have as much fun as possible. All of which might not be God’s will, or in any case we don’t ask Him.
We hold conferences and seminars and all the rest, but do we ever ask Him what He wants?
When the world holds conferences on climate change, disarmament, health matters... does anyone acknowledge Almighty God? No, because that would offend the unbelievers.
If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do the builders labour.(Ps126) How many useless or harmful projects has the human race launched, when they could have saved the trouble by asking God first.
So we need to develop a calm and orderly dependence on Him, seeking His will in every situation; offering up each new day to Him, letting Him decide the course of events. Only He knows what is best, and only He can provide the power to make things happen as they should.
The habitual dependence will enable us to remain serene in all circumstances. He never has and never will abandon us. He will let us see some scary things, but we are not scared if we are close to Him (cf Ps 90: He will set His angels over you, lest you strike your foot against a stone).
