by Fr Stephen Lim
Job 38:1,8-11
Psalm 106(107):23-26,28-32
2 Corinthians 5:14-17
Mark 4:35-41
Theme: Jesus Stills the Storms of Our Life
This miracle, the calming of the storm, is an amazing miracle because it shrouds more of God’s nature than to reveal.
Every life journey has its storm. Against all odds, the companions of Jesus were caught in a storm. This should never happened simply because Jesus was in the boat!
And that is why in the eye of the storm, they were looking for Jesus. And what they encountered was amazing. They were scandalised. They were shocked. They were angry that our God, mighty God, was putting His head on a cushion asleep in the storm.
Can you imagine God sleeping in the storm? What a disappointment!
The disciple Mark politely said they woke Him up. In actual fact, they throttled Him. Mark was so polite and say: Do you not care?
Do you think the apostles were telling that to Jesus in the middle of the storm? Uh uh. (Shakes head).
Most like it is this: What have you done? You are asleep in our storm. And because you are asleep, we are going down.
Jesus woke up, rebuked the wind and the sea. There was calm again.
What Jesus said to them is even more shocking: Why are you so frightened? You still have no faith?
What do we take away from this miracle?
You know God asleep is not normal. In the entire Bible, the only time that it was referred to, it was never mentioned, was the book of Genesis. After completing the work of Creation, what the book of Genesis said: God rested. The entire Bible suggested, hinted, that God rested.
And there the blessed Apostles saw this mighty God, creator God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, asleep. Just because they catch God sleeping in their storm, they were furious.
Doesn’t that say something to us? Isn’t it true that is what happens when things go back and we get down to our knees and pray? There is silence. And because God does not answer, we get upset, we get angry. And not only that, we believe and behave that because God is not doing something, that is why WE are suffering. That is why the Apostles said: Do you not care? We are going down.
Is it true? When God is with us, must God do everything we expect or demand of Him? And if He doesn’t, we push Him out.
I like you to think of a same encounter with the Divine but different response.
Almost a hundred years before Christ, the disciples of the Lord Buddha caught the Lord Buddha sleeping. Did they react?
Isn’t it amazing along Kelawei Road, there is the largest Sleeping Buddha Temple in Penang that jammed up the road outside Paragon Mall Sunday after Sunday? They have a temple for the sleeping Buddha.
We get very angry when our God sleeps in our storm. Doesn’t that tell us something about us?
What do we unpack from this miracle?
For us to take home is this.
When troubles come, this is no evidence that God is not with us or God is absent. Just because we don’t see and feel that God is doing something, it doesn’t mean God does not care.
Can we take this home?
That He is with us. Just because He is with us, it doesn’t mean He must do everything I want Him to do. It is never easy to be our God, you know. No rest, do everything we insist, we want, we demand.
Is that how we relate with God?
The Apostles, of course they were disappointed that Jesus was asleep, but how the Parable, the miracle ends is this:
Who is this man? Even the wind and the sea obey Him?
We have a powerful God in us. What is the name of our God? Emmanuel, God with us.
If we believe and claim that God is with us, Emmanuel, Jesus Christ, is with us, we have no reason to ask:
Does God care? Is He around when disaster or tragedy strikes?
We must be assured that He is always around. With or without storm, He is with us. The point is:
With God, in us, with us, as Emmanuel, who do we become?
Do we become better people? Or we become more angry? Do we become more faithful and trusting? Or we become negative and not only negative, we are toxic? We put people down, we hurt others and we do so many harm.
Brothers and sisters, this is the essence of being a disciple of Christ, As someone who has encountered God with us, Emmanuel. And because He is with me, come what may, His presence is always assuring me that I will sail through. I will sail through not because I am good or prayerful, I sail through because HE who is mighty, who dwells with me, is ever faithful. God is ever faithful.
Do we trust that God is faithful? Or we panic whenever things go wrong?
In this Mass, He is here. And He makes obvious that you and I know He is here. How?
Bread in our eyes becomes His body. Bread becomes His body not because you and I are here. Bread becomes His body for one simple reason alone.
It is His delight, it is His way of showing us: I am with you and for you.
Therefore, whenever we suffer or where things seem so dark, bottomless and endless, do we despair and fight with Him, asking Him: Are you around? Do you not care?
Instead, can we be trusting enough and say: Lord, circumstance is bad. Let me experience You being with me. Yes, Lord. In my difficult moment, let me experience You being with me.
You and I can do this because He is with us.
To this loving God, we praise and thank Him.
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