6/23/2024 - 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

MEETING GOD IN THE MIDST OF A STORM

The Sea of Galilee lies 680 feet below sea level. It is bounded by hills, especially on the east side where they reach 2000 feet high. These heights are a source of cool, dry air. In contrast, directly around the sea, the climate is semi-tropical with warm, moist air. The large difference in height between surrounding land and the sea causes large temperature and pressure changes. This provides an optimum setup for the perfect storm like the one described in the Gospel. This narrative is not just a ‘news-worthy’ event that elicited a miracle from Jesus, but the portrayal of the Church symbolized by the boat in turmoil, beyond the steering ability of its seasoned occupants.

Jesus is described as asleep in the stern on a cushion. The disciples are in a panic, and they wake the sleeping Lord, to alert Him of the imminent danger they are all in. “Master, do you not care we’re going to die?” Now Jesus gets up and stills the storm of course. Probably, we all have some experience of this helplessness in life, and we feel that God does not seem to care enough, and we resort even to ‘irreverent prayer.’

The Book of Psalms which is the prayerbook of the people of Israel and the Church’s prayer book now, contains many of such sentiments. The psalmist yells out, “Why Oh Lord do you stand so far away from me?” “How long, Lord, will you ignore my prayer?” Or the famous psalm that Jesus prays on the cross, “My God, My God why have You forsaken Me?” When the Jewish people prayed, they asked for what they needed. They were not afraid to demand from God an answer when it seemed what they needed was being forgotten. Although we might think that emotion and accusation are out of order when we address the creator of the universe, such emotion and honesty is not a sign of disrespect. It is a sign of intimacy. We are polite to strangers. But in our home, we tend to be blunt and painfully honest with the people we live with and on whom our survival rests. So, we need to tell God what is in our heart, both when it is pretty and when it is not. Because it is only after we tell God how we truly feel that we will be able to hear the answer that God gives. It is better to pray as a real sinner rather than a fake saint. God knows our inmost thoughts after all.

Mark recounts to us that Jesus challenges their lack of faith, and they respond in words that acknowledge Jesus as far more than a sleepy teacher: "Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?" Our faith is not a guarantee that we will not go under. But it is a promise that, even if we nearly drown, Jesus will be with us. Not every storm of ours is miraculously silenced before his command, but all can be transformed by the abiding presence of love that disarms all fear. The message is clear: the power of the Lord Jesus to save is nothing less than the power of the Creator and Lord of heaven, earth, and sea. Our redeemer is our Creator. This lesson is conveyed to Job in the first reading, after Job suffers loss of wealth, health, family and respect in society.

The Book of Job does not give any explicit explanation for the existence of evil in the world. But the book tries to move our faith to a deeper level. Believing in God does not insure us against bad things happening to us. But the Creator of the universe can be trusted, and He deserves our praise even in a world where evil exists. God is with us asleep in our deepest selves, giving us courage to face the storms of life. So, when our life is in a whirlwind, shaken by death or disease, when our marriage is in tatters or a friend turns inimical, when the feeling of hopelessness tightens its grip and will not let us go, when our dreams for the future dissolve before our eyes, God is not absent. He is waiting for us to call out to Him with faith like that of Job. “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him …” Job 13:15a.  Fr Tom Kunnel, C.O.