Job 28.1-4, 8-11
Psalm: 107
2 Corinthians 5.14 – 17
Mark 4.35-41
The Sea of Galilee was a very large inland lake more than a sea, yet, like a sea, it could turn very nasty due to winds suddenly blowing down onto it from the surrounding hills. Something of the fear that a storm at sea can evoke is very well captured in the way that the disciples address Jesus, ‘Master, do you not care? We are going down!’ They could have been forgiven for thinking that Jesus did not care because, according to the gospel, he was asleep as the storm raged. There is a striking contrast between the relaxed demeanour of Jesus in the storm and the great agitation of the disciples. Jesus was clearly coping with the storm better than they were. Having been rebuked by his disciples, Jesus goes on to rebuke them, ‘Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?’ They had been with Jesus for some time and had witnessed God powerfully at work in and through him. That experience should have been enough to reassure them that, in spite of the raging storm, all would be well, because Jesus was with them. He had said to them at the beginning of their journey, ‘let us cross over to the other side.’ They should have trusted that, with Jesus with them, they would make it to the other side, in spite of the storm they were encountering.
One of the messages of the storm story is that the Lord remains with the church in the storm. The Lord is present to his fearful and faithless disciples. He may rebuke us as he rebuked those disciples in the boat. However, his presence to us in the storm is not just a rebuking presence. It is ultimately a creative and life-giving presence. Jesus brought calm out of the chaos; he tamed the storm and saw to it that the boat reached the other side. The Lord remains stronger than the storms that threaten the church, whether those storms are self-inflicted or brought on by others or a combination of both.
Like the apostles, we need to trust that Our Lord works to bring his church through the storm to a new place where, as in their case, fear gives way to awe and their rebuking question, ‘Master, do you not care?’ gives way to amazement, ‘Who can this be? Even the winds and sea obey him.’ This conviction (that the Lord of the church is stronger than the storm) should not make us complacent. Yet, it keeps us hopeful and faithful, even when so much seems under threat. Today’s responsorial psalm assures us that if we cry to the Lord in our need he will rescue us from our distress. Our need and distress can open us up more fully to the Lord’s life-giving presence among us.
Today’s first reading from Job relates the Lord’s answers to Job. Job was threatened and groaning in pain with no one to comfort him. He was searching for answers.
Saint Paul makes a wonderful statement at the beginning of our second reading, ‘the love of Christ overwhelms us.’ Another translation would be ‘the love of Christ urges us on.’ The love of Christ for us was revealed above all in his death on the cross. As Paul says in his letter to the Romans, ‘God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.’ It is that remarkable love of God in Christ for us that urges us on, even when we are battling against a headwind. It urges us on until we reach what the gospel calls ‘the other side’, the place towards which the Lord is guiding the church — the place where he wants us all to be.
In the Gospel, Jesus stills a storm. Jesus was sailing with his disciples to the other side of the sea of Galilee leaving the crowd behind. A great windstorm arose and the waves beat into the boat so that the boat was swamped. Jesus was in the stern sleeping on the cushion. They woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea: “Peace, Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. His disciples asked among themselves: “Who than is this, that even the wind and sea obey him?”
The security of our life is fragile, and can be undermined in many ways. Life can be sniffed out in fleeting seconds. May be violence, crime, crash, heart attack, accidents weaken our pride and leave us in a pervasive fear.
Our Lord Jesus always equips us with the required power to run our life during our life’s storm. At times we would not have recognized the power our Lord has bestowed on us to get through the storm. But grace carries us through our suffering days. When we recognize our Lord’s grace that He has specially bestowed on us to carry us through the storm, we will experience peace in the storm. So there is always a special grace when we go through the storm.
When our Lord Jesus said “Let’s go to the other side”, He knew there would be a great storm when they were in the middle of the waters. He did not delay their travel even though He was aware of the storm. He led them through the storm. He utilized this opportunity to teach His disciples to face the storm with faith in Him. The storm is also our opportunity to show our trust in Him.
“Let us go across to the other side.” Finally they reached the other side, irrespective of the storm that arose in the middle. The devil is a thief who tries to steal the good life when our Lord Jesus is taking us forward. So the devil may try to frighten us by sending a storm just to hamper our progress. Like how the Apostles feared that they were dying, we may also feel the same. But it is just a game of the devil to keep us away from fulfilling God’s will. So we should still proceed. Since our Lord Jesus is in our boat, He will never allow us to drown.
Can we wake up our Lord Jesus? In the Autobiography of Little Thérèse, when her dad started suffering due to illness, she surprised her novice mistress by saying that she can suffer a little more. But after quite some time, his sufferings not only persisted but also increased, she said that she cannot suffer anymore. Since she had a closer walk with our Lord Jesus, she could sustain longer in her storm. If we are not able to sustain through the storm, it is better to wake up our Lord Jesus rather than giving up. But if we already had a long walk with Jesus, then we will be able to persevere in the storm and allow Him to sleep for a little while in our little boat.
Do we pray, “Jesus, please give us the strength to persevere in this storm” or “Jesus, please calm the storm immediately”?
Our Lord Jesus did not allow the storm to stay for a long time. God says to Job in the first reading that He has commanded the proud waves of the sea, “Only this far you shall come and no farther”, and the proud waves stopped at the shore. This is synonymous with Jesus stopping the stormy rain, wind, and sea in today’s Gospel. The first reading is about how our God the Father always limits our sufferings. There is no part in God’s plan which says that our sufferings will be endless or limitless. Sin brings suffering to both the sinner and saint. The saints sacrifice themselves for the salvation of the sinners and sinners pay the price of their sins until they repent.
Life’s storms will keep on coming. Physical dangers will pop up, illness with its heartbreaking consequences for the family may threaten, let us remember that Jesus is with us with his love and courage to save us. Let’s not wait for a tragedy to turn our life around in repentance to God.
With Jesus in our boat, we will surely reach the other side. At the beginning of this story, Jesus said, “Let us go to the other side”. Finally, Jesus and His disciples reached the other side safely i.e. irrespective of the storm during the middle of the journey, they completed their journey. When we are searching for a job or waiting to get married or having a child or recovering from sickness or … whatever it may be, whenever our Jesus says, “Let us go to the other side”, irrespective of however fierce the storm is in the middle, we will always reach the shore finally.
Let us row our boats confidently since Jesus is inside the boat!
God bless!