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June 21, 2021Abu Dhabi.
Below is the full text of the homily given by Bishop Paul hinder on the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time at Abu Dhabi.
Readings of the Day:
Job 38:1.8-11; 2 Corinthians 5:14-17; Mark 4:35-41
Last year, shortly after the outbreak of the pandemic (27.03.2020) Pope Francis spoke from Saint Peter’s Square in Rome to the whole world, meditating on the gospel we just heard. He knew that the story of the sea-storm has given consolation and strength to millions of people ever since the time of Jesus. It comforted individuals who went through troubles. It gave courage to the Church when she was at risk to perish. There is a similar story in Matthew’s gospel, where Jesus walks on the water and approaches the disciples in the battered boat from outside to bring them comfort. The text of Mark, we heard today, shows us an important difference: Jesus is in the boat and with the disciples exposed to the same danger.
We may be amazed to see that Jesus amidst the turmoil of the sea is sleeping. It is in heavy contrast to Psalm 121, where it is said: “The Lord who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Ps 121: 3-4). How was it possible that Jesus slept on the boat that was tossed up and down? Yes, he may have been tired after a busy day. However, there is something more important. The fact that Jesus slept shows that he was in peace and felt secure in the hands of his heavenly Father. He showed the same trust and confidence in the most turbulent moment of his earthly life when he prayed on the cross: “Father into your hands I commend my spirit.”
On the opposite side, we find the disciples, agitated and full of fear. They have neither confidence nor faith. “Master, do you not care? We are going down!” At this moment of extreme life risk, they see only the shaking boat and the swamping water and do not yet realize that their master has the power to calm the storm and the waters. Now they experience what Psalm 107 says about sailors in distress at sea: “The stormy wind lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths, their courage melted away in their calamity; they reeled and staggered like drunkards and were at their wits’ end. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out from their distress; he made the storm be still” (Ps 107:25-29).
Today’s gospel mirrors the life of the Church and our journey of faith. The Church at all times has gone through troubles and been shaken by persecution, scandals, internal tensions, and conflicts. And it continues to be so. However, Jesus has always been on board and continues to do so, although he may be sleeping in the stern of the boat. He continues to keep the final control over the powers of the evil.
The same is true for our personal life. We heard in the first reading that “the LORD gave Job the answer from the heart of tempest” (Job 31). God speaks to us also when we have to go through stormy waters and feel that Jesus is sleeping. In such moments of our lives, we too are allowed to cry like the disciples and wake up the Lord. He is with us and will act in the right spot at the right time. Jesus has the divine power to calm the agitated sea of our heart: “Quiet now! Be calm!” However, like the disciples, we have also to face his question: “Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?” It is the decisive question in our life: Do we, do I have faith? Do I trust the Lord? Does not deep at heart slumber the doubt? Do we not very often act in moments of crisis as if Jesus were not really on board of the Church, on board of our own lives? True belief in Jesus Christ, the living Son of God, means to put all our trust in him.
Most of you may know the famous hymn “Amazing Grace”. Its author, John Newton, after a very troubling and rather shameful phase of his life, was on a ship when a storm brought him in serious distress. In that life-threatening situation, John Newton made the promise that in case of salvation he would change his life and devote himself to God. In fact, he was saved and kept his word. Years later, looking back, he composed this hymn:
“Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
was blind but now I see.
Through many dangers, toils, and snare
I have already come;
this grace hath brought me safe thus far,
and grace will lead me home.”
This is the experience of someone who has been shaken in his life to the point of committing suicide. But at the time of deepest crisis, he cried to God and experienced his love and power.
Dear brothers and sisters, in our personal life as well as in the life of the Church we should never forget, that we have on board the one who has the divine power and the will to save. We may have the feeling that he is sleeping. Nevertheless, he is there as the living Son of God and will act at the right moment.
Let us renew this trust in him tonight and profess him as the one who has power over wind and sea in our personal lives and in the life of the Church.
Amen.