Mark 4:35-41 He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm.
Mark 4:26-34 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Negativity has no place in the Kingdom of God
June 12, 2021
Mark 5:21-24, 35-43 He took the child by the hand and said to her “Talitha koum,” which means “Little girl, I say to you arise!” The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.
June 26, 2021
12th Sunday in OT
Job 38: 1,8-11
2 Corinthians 5:14-17
Mark 4:35-41
A. Text/Context
• So Jesus and his disciples crossed the other side of the lake and there halfway in the journey they were battered by a violent storm
• The winds are strong and the waves were breaking over the boat and a lot of water is already inside
• So with all the pandemonium going on Jesus was sleeping on a cushion all too relaxed not even thinking that in a few minutes the whole boat could go down into the bottom of the sea
• Jesus did not seem to care about the extreme danger they face and so the disciples woke up Jesus and told him: Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?
• And Jesus simply said to the wind and the waves: Quiet, be still and there was a great calm all over the sea
• We must remember that most of the disciples of Jesus are fishermen
• And so, naturally, they are seasoned or expert sailors familiar with the many encounters of storm in their lives as fishermen
• But this time the storm is really terrible and now they are almost sinking
• So the question: Do you not care that we are perishing?
• Another irony of the gospel today is this: if a small boat is already battered by strong winds and waves; nobody could sleep anymore because you will be thrown out of your sleep
• So what do you think? It is really most probable that Jesus simply pretended to sleep and not to care and just waiting for the disciples to ask for help in order to test their faith to the limit
• The disciples are seasoned fishermen and are used to this kind of dangers
• But why is it that they do not immediately asked Jesus what to do not until they are about to sink into the sea?
• Because it is very embarrassing for them to admit to Jesus that they are already very much afraid because they are already experts
• The reason is also very cultural because in a Mediterranean setting it is really a shame for a man to show openly to others that he is afraid
• Pride is actually the reason why is it that they have to approach Jesus as the last resort to the dangerous situation
• And so I believe that it is really the pride of the disciples that is tested to the limit and now they are on the point of breaking up
• Because they do not actually asked help from the Lord to use his power but they complain
B. Human Situation
• This is very crucial in our lives as Christians. More often than not we also do in practice what the disciples are doing
• Many of us do not really think very often that God provides for us many of our little needs because we believe we can all do it by ourselves
• What we ask of God are the more important ones because we fail to recognize that the smaller things that we receive also comes from him because we can manage with smaller things
• The smaller graces that we receive daily are the ones that forget to give thanks to the Lord
• Yet when smaller things begin to hinder our day to day life, we realize that the scope of its effects is very big
• I remember my friend in Manila, she is a good housewife and her husband works abroad
• The house help went home for a family affair and the substitute help did not arrive
• Suddenly she finds herself all alone.one of her kids was sick with dengue and she has to watch her in the hospital
• The other kid has to be sent to and from school. The ordinary things in her life suddenly become so problematic
• In a posh village she lives she does not even know her neighbors
• She is now very alarmed because suddenly this day seems to be very difficult and different
• Everything seems topsy-turvy for the very simple reason that there is no househelp. Her friends are all in their work
• Would you believe her old classmate in college has to fly all the way from the south to assist her so somebody will be at home
• Times like this, all your preparations seem not to work
• What I mean is that we really do not pray to God when we think and feel that we can simply do it on our own
• And almost always we make the Lord as our last recourse. Hindi siya kasama sa ating mga plano
• When the time comes that the little things that we enjoy is suddenly withheld from us, we feel helpless and that’s the time we remember God
• That’s what the disciples did, they always can weather a storm but this time they are now drowning and they remember Jesus and he was sleeping
C. Challenge
• So today we are reminded that God has power over our lives and he must always be the first one to rule us in all the events of our lives be it big or small
• Jesus displayed his awesome power to calm the violence of the wind and the sea merely with his words because he has power over the whole creation and that includes us all under his realm and power
• In the book of Job God speaks to him through a storm in a show of power that he is mightier than the storm
• God is calling us to rely first and foremost to his divine providence that he will provide for us all that we need be it small or big
• And therefore we are also reminded to cultivate a faith that can move God to always come to our rescue
• So we should not pretend that we can always handle all things smoothly because it always happen that even small matters can have terrible effects
• We should not wait for the time that God will have break down our pride so that we will be humbled and return to him
• Let us allow God to reign in our lives even in the little decisions that we make
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Mark 4 verse 35-41
