June 20 - 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Job 38:1, 8-11; II Cor 5:14-17; Mk 4:35-41)
Like Job, God often speaks to us in the chaos of our lives. Job has been suffering tremendously, and his life is in ruins. His heart is in turmoil, for he knows he has not sinned in such a way as to deserve this destruction. Suffering has the potential to deepen relationships, and we should not be afraid to speak to God in our suffering, even in our anger. He will always listen to us and will use the situation to deepen our relationship with him. Psalm 107, “They cried to the Lord in their distress; from their straits God rescued them.” All those who have embraced the conviction that Christ died for all humanity know now the fullest extent of Christ’s love. This love requires of us, to die to our old way of life and to embrace a new way of life that is centered on the other, just as Jesus’ death was centered on the other. In Mark Jesus uses this moment to draw the disciples into a deeper understanding of how they are to relate to God. If God is with them, then fear has no place. Like the disciples, we should always call upon Jesus in the storm, and he will calm the wind and the waves with his peace. Despite all Jesus has been teaching the disciples, they respond poorly. Yet, despite their ignorance, Jesus does not abandon his disciples, nor will he abandon us.