Facing Crisis with God

 H.G. Thomas Mar Makarios

 A summary of the retreat message given at St. Gregorios Orthodox Church, Houston on Nov 11, 2006

 Retreat is the opposite of advance. It means moving backward. From what? From some of the things we usually do – talking, thinking, etc. When we stop talking for some time, we are giving a chance for God to talk to us. Today we are here to listen to God.  

I want to share some thoughts about some people in the Bible who have influenced me. They all faced crises in life. Let us have a look at how they faced crises. We will see some positive examples we need to follow. We will also see a negative example we need to avoid.  

Joseph

 We do not read much about this man. However, he is the savior of our savior. When our Lord’s life was in danger as a child, he is the one who saved his life by taking him to Egypt. We see him facing a great crisis in his life. He found that the girl he was going to marry was pregnant. That was a big crisis any young man would face in that cultural background. That was a culture in which such a girl would be stoned to death. Joseph had several choices before him. He could bring out the truth about her and let her die, and he could justify himself for telling the truth and for following the rules stipulated by his religion and community. However, saving the life of a girl and her baby was the first priority for him. It was a risk on his part. If they had found out what Joseph had done, he could have been condemned by his community for this act of covering up the truth, and they would have stoned him to death along with her.  It was an act of sacrifice on his part. He risked his own life to save someone’s life. It requires a lot of courage to make such a decision. That is why he is described as a just person in the Bible. We do not see him speaking anything in the Bible. But we see him acting. And through his actions, we see his heart.  

Abraham

 Abraham had to face crises nine times in his life. The first one was when God asked him to leave his hometown and go. God didn’t tell him where. It was a leap of faith to the unknown, and Abraham took that leap. Abraham trusted God, and set off. That was the beginning of an adventure. He converted his life to an adventurous trip with God.  

The biggest crisis he faced was when God asked him to sacrifice his own dear son, Isaac. Imagine Abraham walking with his son to Mount Moriah where he was supposed to be sacrificed. Isaac repeatedly asked him where the lamb was. Abraham couldn’t tell him the truth. Instead he said, “God will provide”.  Finally when the time came, Abraham couldn’t cover up the truth anymore – the truth that Isaac himself was the lamb.  

Isaac was fashioned after his own father. He surrendered himself to the will of God, and was ready to be sacrificed.  

Abraham raised the knife to the sky to pierce his child’s body. According the stories in Jewish tradition, the heaven trembled at this sight. How could a mortal have such unshakable faith! 

Jonah

 What we have in Jonah is an example we should not follow. He also faced a crisis in his life. Unlike Joseph and Abraham, he chose not to take any risk. Here is a prophet who disobeyed the almighty! He was sleeping comfortably in a ship that was going to sink while all the non-Jewish people in it were praying to their gods. God gave him an opportunity to pray when the huge fish swallowed him. He prayed to God inside the belly of the fish. According to the Jewish stories about Jonah, he jumped right into the open mouth of the fish, and his presence in its stomach gave the fish a severe stomach-ache. Finally the fish had to throw him up to the shore to get relief from its stomach-ache.  

Peter

 We all know what Judas Iscariot did to Jesus. He betrayed Jesus for some money. But there was another disciple of Jesus who betrayed Jesus much worse than Judas –Simon Peter. When he faced a crisis, he chose to save himself. He didn’t want to risk himself. He was given two more chances. He chose to deny Jesus all three times. Then the cock crowed, which brought him back to his senses. His eyes met his master’s eyes. He could not contain his feelings. He went out and wept bitterly.  

That was the difference between Peter and Judas. Both of them denied Jesus. Judas did not repent of it, but Peter did. Judas committed suicide, but Peter reaffirmed his faith. According to a story of Peter, from then onwards, he used to wake up every morning before the cock crows at about 5 O’ clock to shed tears for the wrong choice he took that day. He cried all life-long for his lack of courage to stand with his master in a crucial moment. At the end, he was crucified in Rome. He had a final wish: He wanted to be crucified upside down so that he could kiss the feet of his master.   

Conclusion

 Friends, what kind of choices do we make in our life? In crucial situations, do we deny God or stand with Him? Do we have the courage to take risks in life with God? Is our life an adventurous trip with God or are we comfortably sleeping inside a sinking ship?

Summary written by John Kunnathu