Homily for Wednesday after Epiphany

In today's Gospel passage, we see that after He fed the five thousand, Jesus withdrew to the mountain to pray. Although He went off by Himself, His prayer did not separate Him from His disciples. Actually, it made Him more sensitive to the needs of others and the difficulties they experienced. While praying, Jesus saw that His disciples, who were at sea, were struggling against the wind and exhausted from rowing. So, He left His prayer and went to them on the waters and spoke words of support to them, "Take courage," He said, "it is I, do not be afraid."

 

Our passage demonstrates that while Jesus was in communion with God the Father, He remained in communion with people in need. That is true of us as well. In prayer, we open ourselves to God's presence; we become attuned to the LORD who is present to us, but we also find ourselves thinking of others, feeling with, and for others.

 

This makes sense because the LORD, whom we approach in prayer, is full of love for others; as we draw near to Him in prayer, we will be drawn into His concern for others.

 

Indeed, much of our prayer tends to be intercessory prayer — prayer for others and their needs, and our needs as well. Genuine prayer deepens our communion with God and our communion with others, especially those who, like the disciples in today's Gospel passage, struggle with and are battling the storms that they encounter in this life.+