May the Lord give you peace and health in the Holy Spirit.
12th Sunday of the Ordinary Time.
It is 20th June 2021.
We reflect from Readings Job 38:1, 8-11; the second reading 2 Corinthians 5:14-17; and the Gospel from Mark 4:35-41.
The whole world is in the hands of God tells the first reading. Without God, there is nothing is possible and through His only Son Jesus, we enjoy God’s love.
St. Paul reminds us that we are all new creation in Christ Jesus because of our faith in Him. We become new people by believing in Him. Faith gives us a new perception and the power to face any fear we are in.
Through the parable, Jesus stirs the hearts of the disciples and their depth of faith.
“God Who watches over you will not sleep. Listen, God Who watches over Israel will not close his eyes or sleep.” (Ps.121:3,4).
Does God care? Yes, God cares for us through His Beloved Son Jesus is the message today. But we do not have enough faith to believe and behave accordingly.
Casabianca was first published in 1826 which is also popularly known as ‘The Boy stood on the fire Burning Deck’. This poem is about the actual incident that happened in 1798 during the Battle of the Nile where Casablanca, a 12-year-old boy, the son of Luce Julien Joseph was the commander of a warship. When everyone was jumping out of the burning ship, he was playing on the top of the deck. He spoke. “My father is the captain of this ship; I am not afraid.” That is what placing the entire hope on means.
We are read in Ps.91 5-10 “You will not be afraid of trouble at night, or of the arrow that flies by day. You will not be afraid of the sickness that walks in darkness, or of the trouble that destroys at noon. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand. But it will not come near you. You will only look on with your eyes. Because you have made the Lord your safe place, and the Most High the place where you live, nothing will hurt you. No trouble will come near your tent.”
Again, God promises God’s protection through Is. 43:1,2 “I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;”
It is time to move in with Jesus facing our fear with faith. There is an anonymous saying goes this way, “Fear enlarges as you move away from it, but shrinks as you move towards it.”
Our life is full of storms of disease, natural calamities, accidents, wars, famine, pandemic, riots, marital infidelity and domestic violence, and crimes against humanity.
How Jesus calmed the storm is the Gospel?
Jesus is not frightened by the storm but the disciples. Jesus rebukes the fierce wind and lack of faith in the disciples. No matter what happens, Jesus will not allow us to perish. We need to go across to the other side trusting solely on Jesus. We need to move from fear to faith.
Are we worried, distressed, terrorized by the storm or the indifference, unconcerned, sleeping, and inattentiveness of Jesus during the storm? “Give all your worries to Him because He cares for you.” (1 Peter.5:7)
When our faith is tested severely in a series of events of life, we are left with two options in our life: one is to worry about how God is not concerned and cared or to trust God in Jesus completely without any doubts.
Whatever is the storm we are in, whether it is health, or financial, or relational, or spiritual, Jesus has the power to calm the storm. Do we believe it?
This Gospel is the metaphor for the lives we are facing at this moment. The storm of the pandemic has not stopped its violent attacks on all of us. There is a new and ferocious wave of threat and destruction is hitting our lives now than ever.
By recognising the identity of Jesus as the Son of God who has the absolute power and authority to calm the storm, we will be scared to wake Him during these uncertain times. Do we know who Jesus is?
“Master, do you not care? We are going down!”
Our prayers can surely wake Jesus up. Jesus will never silence us or ignore us when we have the courage through faith to wake Him up.
“Lucile Clifton said once, “Any dog will keep chasing you if he knows you are afraid. The only remedy is to turn around and face the dog.”
The church, the people of God in the sea facing the storm with Jesus is another theme that runs through the reading. Yes, Jesus accompanies us to the stormy sea. His presence is our spiritual insurance for our fear and anxiety when our faith is profound and persistent.
The storm of pride can toss us and turn our lives. We might be asking where is the Lord in all these? The Lord remains stronger than the storms.
St. Chrysostom says that Jesus calmed the roaring sea and storm not by a staff like Moses but the Word and command.
It is time to face the storm because Jesus is with us.
Let us face any storm and be assured of the Lord’s protection as St. Paul confesses
“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”
Yes, “Steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.” (Ps.32:10). May we cross over from fear to faith. Have a peaceful and safe week. God bless you.