12th Sunday of the Year (B)

First reading: Job 38:1,8-11
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 107
Second reading: 2 Corinthians 5:14-17
Gospel reading: Mark 4:35-41

"Who can this be that the wind and sea obey Him?"

For this Sunday's gospel, we will hear proclaimed at the lectern,
a miracle story from the gospel of Mark: Jesus stilling the storm.
The story is briefly described. Jesus and His disciples leave the
crowd, and ride in boats toward the sea. As they were at sea, a
bad squall blew up, and the waves were breaking over the boat. The
disciples became alarmed and went to Jesus - who was in the stern
all this time, and sound asleep. The disciples woke Jesus, and
expressed their alarm - fearing that they would all drown. Jesus
awoke, and rebuked the wind and stilled the sea with His voice.
Suddenly, everything became calm. Then Jesus said to His
disciples, "Why are you so terrified? Why lack in faith?" Then a
great awe overcame all the disciples, for they have just witnessed
how their Master commanded the wind and the sea, and it obeyed
Him.

Bible scholar and author Herman Hendrickx, in his book, "The
Miracle Stories", tell us that the previous verses of this gospel
passage let us see Christ as withdrawing from the crowd, who flock
to Him as a healer. And Jesus also withdraws from persons in the
crowd whose unclean spirits wanted to make Him known as the
"exorcistic Son of God". Fr. Herman Hendrickx teaches that this
withdrawal of Jesus from the crowds, and His escape by boat
towards the sea, was because Jesus did not want to be identified
as only a "healer-exorcist". And indeed, the miracle story we
just witnessed had proven that Jesus was something more than a
"healer-exorcist". The miracle He performed is leading us to see
Him in the context of the divine. So, from this miracle at sea,
the plot builds up until Mark 8:29, when Peter, inspired by the
Father, confesses Jesus as "the Messiah".

It took time before the apostles and disciples of Jesus got to
know who He was. It was only after the descent of the Holy Spirit
at Pentecost that they finally learned the whole truth about their
Master. Like the apostles, we too have to make sense of who Jesus
is for us. In our journey as Christians, we will experience the
healing of many of our ills and sins by God through the sacraments
of the Church. And as we experience the "storms of life", if we
go to Jesus to save us, we will experience peace again, and be
thankful that all has been made well for us. Let us review the
storms of life that we have gone through, and examine in what way
did God calm and still these storms of our life? Did each
resolution of the storm strengthen our faith in God? How certain
am I that Jesus will help me through another storm of life? Is
there something shaking that certainty? What means am I taking
to strengthen my faith in Jesus?