June 21, 2015 — Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jb 38: 1, 8-11; Ps 107: 23-26, 28-31; 2 Cor 5: 14-17; Mk 4: 35-41
Life, by its very nature, is filled with storms. In more than one Biblical account, we hear about Jesus calming a storm. Today’s Gospel from St. Mark reports one of these incidents. Jesus is asleep in a boat carrying the Apostles across the Sea of Galilee.
Presumably the storm was raging and was loud, but the Lord does not awaken. We might also imagine that the Apostles are yelling and making noise in an effort to combat the terrible weather, but that does not awaken Jesus. Certainly water in rain and waves is splashing on and into the boat, but He continues to sleep. However, when they call to Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Jesus wakes up immediately and responds to the problem.
In the midst of the storms of our lives, we need to take the time to turn to God and ask for help. The Lord will respond. When He does, we need to be prepared for the same question He poses to His Apostles, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” We must think of the many times in our lives when the Lord has blessed us, and kept us. Our faithful response to this love should be increased trust and a sense of stewardship of the gifts with which we have been blessed.
