CATHOLIC HOMILY FOR 12TH SUNDAY OF THE ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B
CATHOLIC HOMILY FOR 12TH SUNDAY OF THE ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: ‘WHY ARE YOU AFRAID?’
BY: Fr. Karabari Paul
Job 38: 1 -11, 2 Cor 5: 14 -17, Mark 4: 35–41
Have you ever been in a really difficult time, and felt like God wasn’t there? Like you were praying hard for a miracle in an impossible situation, but God wasn’t showing up? Our emotions can often make us feel like we are alone. Our situations can be such great storms that all we can see is destruction.
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When life seems to be going wrong, and everything seems up in the air, we have a choice to make. We can either panic or we can trust God and believe that He has got it all under control. Many of us would like to say we do the second, but often we wonder if we are going to be able to cope with what we are facing. We search frantically for things that will help or distract instead of bringing it all to the feet of Jesus and acknowledging that He is still in control.
In the Gospel of today (Mark 4:35-41), when the disciples were in the boat and a storm arose, Jesus was asleep. Sleeping through danger can be a sign of great faith. The Psalmist says, ‘In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you, Yahweh alone, make me live in safety’ (Psalm 4:8). However, sleep can also represent passivity in a moment that cries out for an active response. The disciples interpreted Jesus’ sleep as evidence that he didn’t care enough to save them. It might have appeared that He wasn’t in control. The sleeping time of Jesus could be the period that nothing seems to be working despite your efforts and prayers. A period that you continue to wait for help. Interestingly, the case of Job in the First Reading (Job 38:1, 8-11) is a perfect example. Despite all the troubles Job was going through, God spoke directly to Job for the first time in this chapter. God remained silent before now. And when Job heard from God, Job said, ‘I am not worthy; I cannot answer you anything, so I will put my hand over my mouth’ (Job 40:4). But Job earlier said something remarkable. He said: ‘Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him’ (Job 13:15). Sometimes, the best way to handle your storm is to be still and not talk. To submit and not speak.
The storm was raging, the disciples were scared, and Jesus didn’t seem to be waking up and doing something about it. They woke Him up and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do you not care if we perish?’ The apostles in the boat were seamen and experienced fishermen, but it is in the nature of life’s storm to make irrelevant the resources we tend to rely on. The challenge it throws can render what man relies on as a pillar completely useless. The rich would say, ‘We have done everything money could do, but we are helpless. It is not about money.’ The best doctor would say, ‘In my years of experience, I have never seen this kind of situation. I have done my best.’ The teacher would say, ‘I am confused.’ In all, it is to push you back to your Maker. It is then you cry out, like the apostles, having reached your limits, ‘God don’t you care?’
So many of us may be crying for help at the moment. Your storm could be ill-health, job loss, marital crisis, failure in business, or insecurity. These storms cause fear. They seem to be getting increasingly strong, and we cry to God, trying to get His attention. Like those early disciples, we pray panicked prayers to a God who appears to have abandoned us. ‘God, don’t you care that we are dying?’ When life is difficult, we need to ensure that our faith prevails over our fears. It is natural for us to be afraid in stormy situations, but God wants us to have faith in Him. He wants us to trust His goodness and believe that He can calm the storm. He is ultimately in control, so why should we be afraid?
Did Jesus see the storm coming. Of course, yes! As God, He saw the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). But while this could be a spiritual training for the apostles, there is no life without a storm. The storms were contrary when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. They were contrary on their way to the promised land, and they were contrary when they got there. Life is a journey, and there is no such thing as a storm-free voyage: The Bible says, ‘Through…hardships and tribulations we…enter the kingdom’ (Acts 14:22). When you have to fight to stay afloat day after day, it is easy to get discouraged. Paul said, ‘When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days…all hope…we would be saved was…given up’ (Acts 27:20).
Maybe you are weary and discouraged because of what you are battling. You are ready to call it quits, and humanly speaking, nobody would blame you. But you don’t have to. You can’t choose the what, how, and when of your storm, but you can always do the following:
1) Trust what He has said. When Jesus says, ‘Let us cross to the other side,’ we won’t encounter a wave big enough to drag us under. The truth is, we can’t stand in the storms of life based on someone else’s faith. We must trust Jesus and be completely assured in our own hearts and minds. So when storms come our way, let us stand in the strength of Jesus. Fill your mind with Scripture: David said, ‘If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction’ (Psalm 119:92). Your mind is like soil; it will grow any seed you plant, good or bad. When you plant words spoken by God, you are sowing energy, life, and hope into your spirit. God’s Word is like a vaccination; it strips Satan of his power to infect you with fear and unbelief. The psalmist said, ‘The law of their God is in their hearts; their feet do not slip’ (Psalm 37:31).
2) Reach out to others: When the disciples became overwhelmed, they reached out to Jesus. ‘When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!’ (Job 42:10). Does that sound strange? It may be strange in the kingdom of men, but not in the kingdom of God. You are the solution to somebody else’s problem, and when you reach out to them, God will reach out to you (see Ephesians 6:8). Go ahead, try it.
3) Remember that seasons change. No storm lasts forever. David said, ‘Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning’ (Psalm 30:5). This attack won’t last forever. Morning is coming! People change and circumstances change, but God remains God. So, start believing God to change things on your behalf. He promised to do it, and He will it.
4) Trust strongly God to save you: When we are facing a difficult time and can’t see how we are going to get through it, there is one thing we must try and do: turn to God and trust strongly. When Job lost everything and his whole world was turned upside down, he said: ‘He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread’ (Job 23:10-12). Paul’s life wasn’t trouble-free either: ‘I have been in danger from rivers…from bandits…from my fellow Jews…from Gentiles; in danger in the city…in the country…at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have laboured and toiled and…often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and…often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches’ (2 Corinthians 11:26-28). Reading that list can make us wonder how he managed to get through it. Paul knew the secret to making it through tough times, He allowed his troubles to drive him closer to God: ‘I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong’ (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Let us try to remember Job’s and Paul’s attitudes and be inspired by them when we are facing our own troubles. Following Jesus doesn’t mean we will avoid life’s storms, so we need to remind ourselves that Jesus is with us. If Jesus can calm the storm, He can prevent it. But He allows us to go through storms to prove that there’s no problem He can’t solve. We might be powerless in the situation, but He is not. By going through the storm, we will come to know and trust Him in a way we never have before. His goal is to bring us out stronger on the other side.
It is true we can’t avoid life’s storm but we can choose where to go when it comes. We must struggle to have Jesus in the same boat with us whenever we sail and call on Him when the storm comes. No situation surprises Him. The devil that will strike around us may it never meet the absence of God. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. May God bless and protect us through Christ Our Lord Amen. I give you the assurance of my daily prayers. Please, stay safe.
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