Sunday, June 25, 2006

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Jb 38:1, 8-11
Ps 107:23-24, 25-26, 28-29, 30-31
2 Cor 5:14-17
Mk 4:35-41

Have you ever been seasick? Hello, I’m Franciscan Father Greg Friedman, with the “Sunday Soundbite” for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Listening to today’s first reading and Gospel might recall some unpleasant experiences on board a ship, especially in a bad storm. In the first reading, Job isn’t at sea, except in his emotional state. But God is addressing this ancient holy man out of the midst of a fierce storm. God asks Job to think about the power of the sea and its waves. That power, God says, is kept in check by God’s greater power!

Switch to the Gospel—here the disciples and Jesus are sailing in a bad storm, and the boat is in some danger. When the disciples wake him with the warning that they’re in danger of sinking, the power of God described in the first reading is brought to bear, as Christ calms the wind and the waves.

Now I’ve never been in a really bad storm at sea. Nor have I been seasick, although I’ve been with a friend who was pretty miserable on a relatively calm sail across Lake Erie. But I have been tossed about by emotional winds and waves in my life. And—like the disciples—I’ve wondered if Jesus cared that I was sinking. So this Sunday, I’ll be taking the Gospel to heart, and I hope you will too!

Scripture:

•Who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb… (Job 38:8)

•These saw the works of the LORD and his wonders in the abyss. (Psalm 107:24)

•He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. (2 Corinthians 5:15)

•They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?” (Mark 4:41)
Reflection

•How is God a presence in your life?

•How do you live and die in the name of Jesus?

•Where do you see Jesus present in the world?

In whatever way we live—whether we wake or sleep, we eat or drink, we mourn or sing—all the while we are dying. (Thomas More)

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