12th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B
Readings: Job 38:1,8-11; 2 Corinthians 5:14-17; Mark 4:35-41
Power is one of those things that people of this world crave. Even as kids, the games we play reflect this truth. The title of “winner” goes to the one who has the power to overcome the “loser.” International politics is based on power. The power to annihilate your enemy is what keeps your enemy from annihilating you. It means that the quest for human power is a never-ending struggle played out every day.
Divine power surpasses human power and is still the key to overcoming the enemy and difficulties. John writes, “Through him all things were made…” (John 1:3) That is a lot of power! If nothing existed before Jesus and nothing could exist without him, then without him, no other powers could exist. All other powers are subordinate to the power of Jesus. Therefore, God loves us and we should put our faith in Him.
Today’s Mass readings remind us that, to have faith in Jesus, faith in God Omnipotent who loves us and never abandons us. This idea can also be seen in the 1st reading when God directed Himself to Job, reminding him: “Who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb; when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling bands? When I set limits for it and fastened the bar of its door, and said: Thus far shall you come but no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stilled!” (Job 38:8–11)
The Gospel offers evidence of Jesus’ power and authority as he calms the storm. In his day, power over nature was believed to be a sign of divinity and only God calms storms. Jesus’ rebuke of the storm also echoes the rebuke he uses when he talks to and expels demons. In each situation, Jesus’ power and authority is a sign of his divinity. Indeed, the disciples are left wondering about Jesus’ identity at the conclusion of today’s Gospel. They see before them a human being who acts with the authority and power of God. The disciples’ uncertainty about Jesus’ identity is a recurring theme in Mark’s Gospel.
This Gospel is a metaphor for our lives and St. Augustine compares our life to that of a ship:
“As a vessel on the sea be exposed to a thousand dangers — to pirates, to quick sands, to hidden rocks, and to tempests — so man in this life is encompassed with perils, arising from the temptations of hell — from the occasions of sin, from the scandals or bad counsels of men, from human respect, and above all from the passions of corrupt nature… This should not cause him to lose confidence. Rather… when you find yourself assaulted by a violent passion take whatever you can to avoid the occasions [of sin] and place your reliance on God…: when the tempest is violent, the pilot never takes his eyes from the light which guides him to port. In like manner, we should keep our eyes always turned to God, who alone can deliver us, from the many dangers to which we are exposed” (St Augustine, Sermon 51; from the fourth Sunday after Epiphany).
We are in the boat, the storms of life are raging around us, and like the disciples, we may believe that Jesus is unconcerned, or “sleeping.” We hope that we will be as familiar with Jesus as his disciples. If we feel that Jesus is sleeping, are we comfortable enough to wake Jesus and present him with our needs? Jesus does not chide his disciples for waking him. Instead he chides them for their lack of faith, for their lack of perspective. When we bring our worries to God in prayer, we might just begin to learn to see things from God’s perspective.
Let us ask our Lord to give us a firm and unshakeable faith most especially amidst the difficulties of our daily life