Homily Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B. 21st June, 2015
Jesus Calms the storms of life. Jesus is God, whom even the Wind and the Waves obey.
“Jesus was asleep in the boat; how few souls there are that let him have his sleep out! He can't be always doing all the work, responding to all the calls made upon him; so for my own part I am content to leave him undisturbed. I dare say he won't make his presence felt till I start out on the great retreat of eternity; I don't complain of that, I want it to happen… our Lord doesn't supply me with provisions for my journey – he just gives me food unexpectedly when and as I need it. [St Thérèse (1873-1897)]
I have never had much luck with boats. One time, whilst on Lake Cootharaba, in a tin boat we were coming close to the pier and the captain yelled out, "quickly, jump out and moor the boat.' I had always been taught that the captain must be obeyed in all things, so I immediately leaped out of the boat. Sadly, the captain had meant, "when the boat gets close enough to the pier please jump out.' The boat was not near enough to the pier so I leapt out and disappeared into the lake, but not before hitting my chin. The whole thing could have been terribly disastrous (even fatal), so I was very much relieved to discover that my head must be made of concrete because I leapt up out of the water, which was thankfully only three feet deep at the pier, and emerged sheepish, but fairly well. Later, I was lying in the back of the boat, half dazed and injured, as they took me back to the other side of the lake, and I thought about how Jesus has lain in the back of a boat as it crossed another river. I was in such a dazed state, I began musing on ponderous topics….. such as this…."I reckon Jesus would have been calm even if the storm had not quietened, and even if the boat had sunk. This is because Jesus was totally and utterly at one with his Heavenly Father and had surrendered his will and his trust totally in his Father's will. So, come what may in his life and ministry, he was content to be calm and rest in God's will."
For my part, I vowed to be very hesitant to leap into or out of a boat very soon!
Not many of us would be fast asleep in a small boat which was tossing around like a cork on a stormy sea! Jesus must have been extremely exhausted, needing rest, and fearless. We may think the disciples should have had strong faith after the miracles they had witnessed. When we are going through difficult times, we, too, often forget that Jesus is there with us.
God in Jesus calms even what seems like the most unconquerable disturbances, just like the storm at sea.
What "storms" assail my faith? How do I look to Jesus to quiet my fears? The disciples wonder, "Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?" ; How can I go beyond the "signs" of faith and grasp who Jesus is in my daily life?
Life is a challenge. Couples sometimes struggle with their relationships. Parents have to deal with their children growing up in a world that is sometimes hostile to the values we hold sacred. Kids sometimes live with parents who don't necessarily understand the distant horizons that call to a new generation. Every life has its storms that come up and threaten to sink our boats. Doesn't God care that we feel tossed about and lost? Can we believe that Jesus is with us, in our boat, snoozing on a cushion? We are confident and trusting that he will awaken to our calls and calm the storms that frighten us so?
“Why therefore be disturbed? Your heart is agitated by the tribulations of the world, as the boat in which Jesus Christ was asleep.... This boat in which Jesus Christ is sleeping is your heart in which faith is slumbering. What news do you hear, O Christian, what news do you hear?” —AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO (354-430)
“When he established the Heavens, I was there, when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him.” —PROVERBS 8:27-30
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Extra
"We begin to reflect on who God is for each of us. What do we think of God? How have we experienced God in our lives? Like these early followers of Jesus, if we meet someone who can stop a storm, who can still the wind and the waves, we would surely be impressed and wonder about that person. Today we can imagine Jesus sleeping in this boat. It could not have been a very large boat and the storm would have been tossing it all over the place. And Jesus sleeps!
How many times have we experienced storms in our lives and thought that the Lord was asleep, that God was not concerned, that God was simply ignoring us? The Gospel today lets us know that God is always aware of what is happening in our lives, even when He seems asleep, unconcerned and uncaring. The Gospel invites us to a deep level of trust in our God. God loves us and cares for us always and will not let us perish. We don't always understand the ways of God—and that should never surprise us. God sees all and knows all and our vision and knowledge is so restricted!
The first reading today, from the Book of Job, is part of our learning about the divine also. Job finally realizes that God is God—and Job understands so little of all reality. We also must learn that lesson. We can easily think that we know what is best in any situation. So we don't pray and we don't even ask God to give us wisdom and understanding. We also need to repent, as Job does at the end of the Book of Job. We stand in the presence of the Almighty and think that we have more wisdom and knowledge than does the Almighty! Again, we can reflect on our personal image of God and of the power of God."
(excerpt from Abbot's Homily, Monastery of Christ in the Desert).
References:
* Fr Paul W. Kelly
* Abbot's Homily, Monastery of Christ in the Desert
* Some questions from Prepare the Word
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