12th Sunday of Ordinary Time

June 25, 2006

by Reverend Deacon Lawrence A. St. Onge

      Sometimes, to our risk we can underestimate the sea. One day it can be so calm and flat that we are convinced we can cross it in a rowboat. The next day, however, it can be whipped up to such a boiling fury that even taking a step near its surf may cause us to be swept away and drowned.

      We need only look to the recent past to understand the potential fury of the sea and the devastation it can cause. On 12/26/04 a tsunami of indescribable proportions hit 12 countries in Asia and Africa, killing hundred of thousands of people. In August last year, hurricane Katrina proved to be the single most devastating natural disaster ever to hit North America. With its levees breached, New Orleans found itself under water. The death toll from Katrina was well over 1,800, and there are still over 6,600 people unaccounted for, almost a year later.

      At the very beginning of the Book of Genesis, the 1^st book of the bible, the sea is identified with the formless void of the deep, and it is only through the action of God, the creator, that the heavens and earth are formed and the deep is held in check. In the Book of Job, when God wishes to answer Job’s questions about his suffering state, he begins by contrasting Job’s limited state in life with God’s own supreme powers. God’s first illustration is that of how he has put bounds on the sea and controlled it. The message is quite clear, only God can control the sea, as was shown in His parting of the Red Sea when the Israelites made their way out from slavery in Egypt to their freedom in the Promised Land.

      In today’s Responsorial Psalm we hear: “His command raised up a storm wind, which tossed its waves on high. They mounted up to heaven; they sank to the depths; their hearts melted away in their plight. They cried out to the Lord in their distress; from their straits he rescued them, he hushed the storm to a gentle breeze, and the billows of the sea he stilled.”

      This week’s scripture readings ask us to feel our helplessness and defenselessness to nature’s storms, and we are called to remind ourselves of the “Power” behind the storms, and to marvel at the power of God. As the psalm reminds us, we tremble in awe, in humility, and turn to God in trust.  Only the One with that power, also holds the power to save us – whether from bad weather, or from our own sin.

      The opening line in today’s 1^st reading from the Book of Job says, “Then the Lord addressed Job ‘out of the storm’ and said…” That line is a perfect metaphor for what happened to Job’s life. His tranquil and comfortable life was thrown into a catastrophic storm of misfortune that took from Job everything he knew and cherished. After God speaks to him, however, Job is able to see clearly how God was actually present in the midst of the storm of his life. Job learned the wisdom of placing his faith in the Lord and seeing new possibilities for his life.

      In today’s gospel we find the disciples, like Job, to be in the midst of a storm. As they cross the Sea of Galilee Jesus is asleep in the boat as a storm with strong winds and waves arose. The water began entering the boat so that it was in danger of sinking. After many panic-stricken moments, the disciples filled with fear, decide to awaken Jesus saying, “Master, do you not care if we sink?” When he is awakened, the Lord immediately saw the danger. He stood up and, with a commanding presence, said to the sea, “Silence, be still!” And at once everything calmed down. Within the calm Jesus asks his disciples, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?

      There is so much turmoil in our lives. We all experience it. And just when we think things have quieted down, more turmoil erupts. You and I wonder at times, how much more can I really take? And truly, sometimes, we can’t take much more; but the thing we need most to remember is we’re never, ever alone. The Lord is always there with us. And he can and will protect us.

      It is so easy not to have faith – to doubt and live in fear. Our lives are as unpredictable as the weather. The waters rise, the winds blow and howl. And we are helpless, flooded with anxiety and worries: bills to be paid, children to feed, sickness to be treated, deadlines to be met, sorrows and disappointments to be absorbed. The boat of our life is tossed about by forces we can not comprehend, or even understand.

      How often do we look up at the sky and ask: “Do you not care that we are perishing?”

      The answer is so simple, but yet, so hard. Have faith – trust - believe. As Jesus stilled the storm on the Sea of Galilee by a word, so does he overcome all the turmoil of the human heart.

      We have to be aware of Jesus’ presence in our lives. We have to awaken ourselves to his consuming desire to care for us. For really, he is not asleep; we are the one’s dozing off, not recognizing His power in our lives. After all, St. Paul reminds us today that faith reveals that “whoever is in Christ is a new creation, and …new things have come” greater than the laws of nature, for we carry about in ourselves the very power of God. We have to trust in him to quell the turmoil in our living and life. He loves us. No matter what crisis we may fear for the future, he is always there ready to keep us from falling apart. He is there for us. Nothing is beyond His power.

      As we journey, like the Apostles, from one shore to another on the unpredictable seas of life, God is ever ready to calm the storm as he says to it: “Quiet. Be still!”

      Always remember, when the storm is at its worst, God hasn’t abandoned us; He is only napping. In faith, we need only cry out to him.