A strong wind rendered the mountains and crushed the rocks…but the Lord was not in the wind…Today we hear in the First Reading an account which, to me, is one of the most interesting stories in the bible: God affording the prophet Elijah an opportunity to ‘see’ God. It is an interesting account because Elijah was the second person (after Moses) to have had the privilege of ‘seeing’ God while still alive. However, unlike the case with Moses who had requested to see ‘God’s face’ (cf. Exodus 33:18ff), Elijah’s encounter with God at the behest of God. It was God himself who initiated the move. And it was for a good reason. Elijah was a wanted man who had fled to the desert to escape the wrath of Ahab’s wife, Jezebel. While in the hideout in the desert, Elijah requested God to take his life (cf. 1 Kings 19:4). He was tired not only of running but also of witnessing the violence meted out against those who, like him, were zealous for God (cf. 1 Kings 19:10). The offer to let the prophet encounter God was perhaps the Lord’s way of re-assuring the prophet that God had not abandoned him. And while Elijah passed on the opportunity to ‘see’ God (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 society of Elijah’s time, the presence of God was mostly announced by phenomena that drew awe and caused fright among the people (cf. Exodus 19:16, 20:18). Perhaps this is how Elijah must have expected to ‘feel’ God’s presence. He must have expected to encounter God 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 whisper. It was a reassuring revelation from God, one about which the prophet must have been badly in need. Since Elijah was running away from violence and destruction, calm and quiet was the best way he could be reminded that God was still with him. His confrontations with Jezebel and the prophets of Baal coupled with the 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 the account of Jesus’ calming of the storm about which we hear in today’s Gospel Reading.
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 on this particular evening might 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, any opinion they might have formed about Jesus’ greatness seems to have been immediately forgotten when the sea grew violent and the waves began to beat their boat. Everything they had been saying about Jesus was replaced with cries of desperation as fear got to overwhelm them. Their attention became focused on how to hold on to the boat so much so that even when Jesus approached them walking on the water, they thought that he was there to add to their misery (they mistook him to be a ghost). They seemed to have forgotten about their Master for when he called out to them with a re-assuring message, their asked him for proof: “ If it is truly you,  let me come to you walking on these raging waters” quipped Peter. Although Peter was able to walk towards Jesus, he soon began to sink. Peter’s tumultuous surrounding prevented him from fully focusing on Jesus. It was not until the waters had calmed down that the disciples were able to marvel at Jesus’ presence. 
Like both Elijah and the disciples of Jesus, there will be times in our lives when chaos and turmoil will overwhelm us. Such will be the times when we will need to hear God whispering in our ears words of comfort and encouragement. But God will not risk having us fail to hear him speaking to us by coming to us at inopportune times or in inopportune ways (such as chaos or loud noises). God will always wait for the turmoil in our lives to quiet down before speaking to us and giving us direction. For it is in the calmness found in the depths of our hearts that God does speak to us.