Gospel Mark 4:35-41
On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples: “Let us cross to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.
They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”
Homily
As I read the Gospel story given to us by the Church for our reflection this weekend, I could not help but think of Mary and Joseph after the Annunciation. For Mary, what had occurred had the potential to destroy her. She could have been stoned for adultery. In a culture in which family honour was extremely important, this occurrence had the potential of bringing shame and disgrace, not only to her but to her family as well. Yet Mary accepts the news and remains in a tremendous calm. For Joseph, the world must have appeared to be crumbling around him. What shame his betrothed had heaped upon him. Yet on receiving the message of the angel Joseph calmly took Mary to his home as his wife. We can ask ourselves; where did the calm of Mary and Joseph originate? The answer is very simple. They believed God’s word in the psalm which they knew; “Let them give thanks to the LORD for his kindness and his wondrous deeds to the children of men.” They knew that in spite of the obvious difficulties, the love of God would see them through. They were persons of faith.
Gentle massage may even help levitra no prescription men who have impotence problem to get and sustain the stiffness of male reproductive organ for the ample period during the love making. The medicine has been famous to collect lots of fame from numbers of satisfactory customers around the world. viagra online samples WHAT IS IMPOTENCE? Impotence is a disorder which also means erectile buy cialis canada opacc.cv dysfunction. The most effective herbal erectile dysfunction remedies available, one outstanding remedy is home care. opacc.cv levitra online The story given to us in the Gospel reading according to Mark shows us however the behaviour of those whose faith is weak. Even though Jesus is with them, the disciples forget the words of the psalm which they would also have known. They feared that because Jesus was asleep his kindness would not be in operation and his wondrous deeds to the children of men would not happen for them. The disciples wake Jesus and say to him; “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Jesus we are told gets up and calms the seas and then asks the disciples; “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” The disciples up to this point did not believe in the saving presence of God in Jesus even though they had been witnesses of so many miracles.
It is a fact of life however that human beings all go through periods in which it appears that the world is collapsing around them. It may be the death of a spouse or the loss of a job or the certainty of bankruptcy or the betrayal of one who was supposed to be a friend. When that happens persons who are going through the experience react in different ways. Some go into depression, others commit suicide, some seek illegal ways of escaping the calamity which appears to be upon them and others call out to God in desperation as the apostles did. People of faith however put their trust in God who always does the best that God can for his people. They do all that they can humanly do to solve the problem confronting them but they do so in peace conscious of the loving God who never abandons his people. A look at the lives of the saints will show us that often enough they did not have the necessary resources to continue the works in which they were involved but they put their trust in God and God rescued them from the disasters that threatened.
It is important to recognize however that this trust in God only comes about when we have built a relationship with the Lord. It means spending quality time with the Lord and as always happens when we spend quality time with someone we come to know that person and to trust them. Let us all then factor into our days quality time with the Lord so that our trust in Him may grow, and then like Mary the first of the disciples we can say to the Lord when confronted with earth-shaking situations “I am the servant of the Lord, may it be done to me as the Lord wishes.”
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God your word tells us that you always seek our good. At times though it appears that the boat in which we travel is sinking; the seas are rough!
You calmed the sea and the waves when the disciples called on you but you upbraided them for their lack of faith. Our faith needs to be bolstered Lord, give us the gift of faith; strengthen our faith so that like Mary and Joseph we may believe in your word and be confident that You always seek what is best for us. Help us to face the challenges of life with confidence because You walk with us. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, our mother and Jesus, your son and our brother. Amen
