Sunday Gospel Reflection, June 20, 2021: They cried out to the Lord in their distress...

They cried to the Lord in their distress…

Who’s got your back?

   Job experiences all manner of suffering. When his adversary (called the ha-satan in Hebrew) questions the upright Job’s sincerity of heart, God allows many terrible things to befall Job. After much suffering, Job finally begs to be allowed to speak with God in order to understand all that he has gone through, but, rather than offering reasons for Job’s suffering, God speaks of the wonders of creation, and most specifically of God’s bringing order to chaos: Who shut within doors the sea when it burst from the womb? God asks. The ability to set limits on the roiling waters of creation marks the divine; the establishment of order upon chaos is a revelation of God’s saving power.

   When. therefore, Jesus, in Mark’s Gospel, rebukes the wind and says to the sea, Quiet! Be still! he is revealing his divine nature. Jesus is not concerned about the storm; indeed, he’s napping as the violent squall comes up and waves are breaking over the boat. The disciples, however, are terrified. Do you not yet have faith? Jesus asks them. With faith comes trust – trust in God’s plan, on God’s time. In the chaos of the moment, the disciples have clearly forgotten the words of Psalm 107: He hushed the storm to a gentle breeze, and the billows of the sea were stilled. Afterwards, they are filled with great awe, asking Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey? They have as yet no idea of the full lengths Jesus will go to to save them all.

   Nowhere is the Lord’s saving power more evident than in the sacrificial death of Jesus himself. Paul reminds the Corinthians that Jesus died for all. Why? So that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and was raised. Like the new order placed upon chaos in both Job and Mark, Christ’s death produces a whole new order – the old things have passed away, Paul states; behold, new things have come. Leaving behind the chaos of their past lives, Christians are called to live for Christ, aware of the love of Christ that impels them to live for other, trusting that in all they do, the Lord has their back.

This post is based on OLMC’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com