Today’s Thoughts: “You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.”
(Thomas Merton) In today’s first reading Job, the image of the sea in the midst of a storm takes center stage. This image of the sea is important in Israelite history. They were not a sea fairing people. The sea was something to be feared. Yet, as God tells Job today he is the master of the seas. In the middle of a fierce storm, Job has been complaining to God – complaints that God described as Job’s “proud waves.” The overwhelming humbling of Job is the way God brings humility to him: “Here shall your proud waves be stilled!” Very often we have a tendency to blame God for problems and as God points out to Job, it takes honest to goodness humility to realize that God is God. God loves us, this love is often mystery, but it is a love that will calm hearts – but only if we have faith and hope. As the opening line of our first reading tells us, “The Lord addressed Job out of the storm.” It’s easy to feel prayerful and faith filled when all is going well. However, it’s in the middle of the storm where we are most likely to listen to God speaking to us. In our Gospel from Mark today, Jesus and his disciples have gotten into their own storm. While the wave and the wind threatens to swamp the boats, Jesus is calmly sleeping at the back of the boat. Jesus has a calm and a peace we so long for because Jesus lives with faith, hope and trust in the Father. Sometimes we find ourselves in that graced place, feeling cherished and held closely to God’s heart, and we have a sense that there is nothing that we can’t face with that sense of God at our side. Then the crisis is over and our humanity asserts itself again, and we struggle, we fear, and our reliance on God fades. Jesus’ fear filled friends ask a question that is ironic when we know the rest of the story: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Jesus is, in fact, inviting us to die with him. Die to our fears. Die to ourselves. Die to our needs. Die to the past and the future and live in the moment. He’s asking us to be bold and have faith. Once we realize that we don’t need to know precisely what is happening or exactly where we are going. Once we take up the challenges and recognized the possibilities of the moment with faith and hope and really live our lives. We will never really be the same. We can then follow Jesus into the deep waters impelled by his love! The old things have passed away; behold, new things have come,” as St. Paul tells us. Being a disciple means pushing ahead into the newness of each and every moment. Have a blessed, holy and healthy Sunday – and Happy Father’s Day to all fathers!
1 Comment
Mary E
6/20/2021 05:51:02 am
Faith..our GIFT from God... without faith it is difficult to know and believe the mystery of God’s love. It will be difficult to believe that Jesus is in my boat, calming the difficulties in my life. It will be difficult to know that I am being loved with an everlasting Love.
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Fr. Paul R. Fagan, C.P. "Preacher on the Run"Just a few thoughts to help you on your journey through life...let me know from time to time what you think... Archives
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