A strong wind rendered the mountains and crushed the rocks…but the Lord was not in the wind…Today we read about one of the most interesting stories in the bible: God giving Elijah the prophet an opportunity to ‘see’ God’s face (for God was about to ‘pass’ by where Elijah was). Unlike the case with Moses who had requested to see God’s face (cf. Exodus 33:18ff), God offering to show God’s ‘face’ to Elijah was not at the behest of the prophet. Rather, it was the initiative of God through which he wanted to re-assure the prophet that God was still with him. Elijah was a wanted man and had fled to the desert to escape the wrath of Ahab’s wife, Jezebel. Elijah did not want to witness anymore the violence meted out against those who, like him, were zealous for God (cf. 1 Kings 19:10), and had even requested God to take his soul (cf. 1 Kings 19:4). And while Elijah did not ‘see’ God’s face (he hid his face as God ‘passed’ by), he was able to encounter the Lord in a way which he had not expected. In the book of Exodus, the presence of God was announced by phenomena that drew awe and caused fright among the people (cf. Exodus 19:16, 20:18). Elijah must have expected to ‘feel’ God’s presence in the strong and heavy wind that rendered the mountains, in the earthquake, or in the fire. However, God chose to reveal the self in a calm and quiet tiny whisper. It was a reassuring revelation from God. Since Elijah had run away from violence and destruction, calm and quiet was the best way he could be reminded that God was still with him. His struggle to live coupled with fear of the unknown had made him to momentarily forget about the signs God had worked in his life. It is a situation that we find repeated in today’s Gospel story. When Jesus decided to let the disciples precede him to their next destination, the disciples must have found it an opportune time to discuss the great signs Jesus had been working in their presence. The larger portion of their discussion this particular evening must have revolved around the latest sign Jesus had performed: the feeding of the multitude. Even though they had been with Jesus for some time now, any new sign performed was an opportunity for them to marvel at this man Jesus. Was there anything he could not do? He could heal the sick, calm raging waters, restore sight to the blind and dumb, and feed thousands of people with five loaves and two fish. This man was truly a great prophet, and how lucky were they to be his partners. However, all that stopped when the sea grew violent and the waves began to beat their boat. All that they had been saying about Jesus was replaced by cries of desperation as fear seized them. Their attention was focused on how to hold on to the boat that even when Jesus appeared to them walking on the water, they thought he was there to add to their misery. Even the voice of Jesus urging them not to fear was subjected to a verification process: “If it is you Lord, give us a sign.” All the signs Jesus had performed in their sight were forgotten. For them to once more believe it was him, he had to do something related to their present situation. “If it is truly you,” said Peter, “let me come to you walking on these raging waters.” Although Peter was able to walk towards Jesus, he soon began to sink because the wind filled him with fright. Peter’s tumultuous surrounding prevented him from fully focusing on Jesus. It was not until the waters calmed down that the disciples were able to marvel at Jesus. The prophet Elijah ‘felt’ God’s presence in a whispering sound. The disciples were only able to profess Jesus as the Son of God when the raging waters had calmed down. Elijah was an old man who had experienced the might of God throughout his career as a prophet. The disciples had been with Jesus for some time and had been there when God worked signs through him. Yet, both Elijah and the disciples took their eyes off God when their lives were cluttered. Similarly, when we allow several things to clutter our lives, we will not be able to discern the presence of God in our lives. The different things with which we clutter our lives will drown the voice of God and God will appear distant to us.