Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip, that started from this tropic port aboard this tiny ship...The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed, if not for the courage of the fearless crew the Minnow would be lost. The stormy seas that became Gilligan's Island!
Any of us who have ever been fishing or sailing in Lake Pontchartrain, gone for a boat ride on the Tchefuncte River or perhaps been deep sea fishing in the Gulf of Mexico know that storms can pop up anytime. And sometimes these storms can be particularly violent and dangerous.
Sometimes we experience storms in our lives and it really has nothing to do with the weather. Life happens and sometimes life brings storms.
As people of faith, we have Jesus to calm the storms of our lives!
Today’s Gospel from Mark is a single episode called a pericope that presents multiple messages. In this story of the calming of the sea we have a nature miracle that points to the divinity of Jesus; that He is God, we are reminded that we are called to have faith and another more ominous reminder that often we, like the disciples, exhibit a lack of faith.
In this very Gospel we see firsthand that followers of Christ, who walked with him and talked with him and witnessed his teachings and his miracles are still capable of doubt. This lack of faith is truly a human weakness that we share with the disciples; we still fail to trust in Jesus completely.
The human condition is such that each of us will have storms. Storms can literally be rough seas, driving rains, howling winds, and yes, a Hurricane Katrina. In these storms we are called to trust Jesus, to pray, to be prudent while being faithful. Our Jesus can and will speak to these storms: Quiet! Be still! But sometimes the storms can be other things; bad news, health issues, the loss of a loved one, employment or financial issues, broken-heartedness. To these storms in our lives, if we have faith, if we trust in Him, our Jesus can and will speak to these storms: Quiet! Be still!!
Just this past week, we witnessed again the cruel reality of violence, murder and racism when 9 innocent human beings were gunned down while studying the Bible in a house of God. This is tragic and profoundly sad. Sad too has been numerous reactions to this tragedy. Some politicians have sought to make political hay of this unspeakable crime while the crazy talking heads of a Fox News and the shrill voices of a MSNBC seek to score sensational media attention by getting lost in the weeds instead of reporting just the facts. And sadly, many of us join in and create a storm at sea instead of trusting fully in Jesus who says to us: Quiet! Be still! If you are filled with anything beyond sadness and sympathy for the victims and their surviving loved-ones, if you find yourself more in need to speak all the talking points instead of uttering prayers, your sea is turbulent, your waters are not calm. Quit looking toward politicians and talking heads when life throws us a storm like what happened this week in Charleston, South Carolina. Look only to Jesus, with full faith and trust.
This past week also brought the long anticipated so-called environmental encyclical was released by Pope Francis. As was expected, immediately the world, including many Catholics, took sides. People rushed to line up to the right and to the left of the Pope. Foolish people! How many of us have read the encyclical, do we even know what it is named? Do we have any idea what is contained in the writings of the Pope? While we may be free to agree or disagree with every word in this encyclical, is it useful to be calling Pope Francis a communist, a socialist, a Marxist, a leftist? I think not. Again, too many of us want to align ourselves with a political ideology instead of a fully formed Catholic faith. For some of us it may even be more exciting to be at sea in a storm than to rest in the quiet stillness of Jesus, and in His Church. These critics are politicians and talking heads, and in this case both haters and so-called lovers of the Church. Again, I ask, have you even read the document? Are you willing to be afflicted in your comfort? In Jesus is our hope, in Jesus is our trust, in Jesus is the only possibility to quiet the storms around us.
So this week, maybe we should ask Jesus in a moment of quiet intimate prayer, calm the storms of my life, lay still the rough waters that engulf me, give me your peace! You know this very Gospel is referenced in Pope Francis’ encyclical. May I suggest reading the Encyclical? Take your time reading it. I started Thursday night and have completed about half. I’m marking it up too, making notes and reviewing the rich amount of references listed in the encyclical. As Catholics, don’t we have an obligation to know what Pope Francis is sharing with us and the whole world? Finally this week, want a great opportunity to take some time and examine how much each of us allows ourselves to be influenced by the divisiveness of politics and talking heads and the 24-hour news cycle when we have all that we need in the sublime teachings of Jesus Christ and Holy Mother Church. Only then will we realize the storms of our lives are subsiding. Long to hear Jesus speak to our storms as he did on the Sea of Galilee: Quiet! Be Still!!
We all remember that the Minnow from Gilligan's Island was shipwrecked on a deserted island. It made for several years of great comedy hijinks. Our ship, our very lives need not be shipwrecked because with full faith and trust in Jesus Christ He calms all our seas.!
No comments:
Post a Comment