Saturday, 3rd Week in Ordinary Time
“Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.”
This is how the Church Fathers and great mystics read this scene: “The sleeping Christ stands for the power and presence of God within the Church and within each of us.” “There is always a source of peace and serenity even in the midst of the greatest storms.”
This sleeping Jesus is the Son of God… He is our connection to the mighty power and loving presence of God. And that is why Jesus is our peace and serenity… peace in the midst of the storm… peace despite the storm. (Robert Barron) We may find ourselves in the midst of the storms, but as long as Jesus sails with us, we can find peace. Of course, the question is: Do we really believe this?
The Lord does not promise to spare us from the storms of life, but he promises to be with us through them. God’s help comes in a variety of forms. It may not always come in the forms we expect, but it will come. He will never leave us to struggle on our own.
Sometimes, in our troubled situation, in the middle of the storm, we are tempted to say to the Lord what the disciples said, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? Doesn’t it matter to you?” We might not have said the same thing – at least not explicitly – but we have definitely doubted the Lord in other ways. The fact is, every time we get worried and anxious, we actually doubt God’s care, concern, and love for us.
It is clear that what Jesus wanted from his apostles, and what he wants from us, is the conviction that God takes care of his beloved children. What he wants from us is TRUST. It all boils down to trust.
Every time we affirm our trust in God, we put a small treasure into his hands – a treasure that builds up equity in preparation for the troubled times. God keeps safely in his heart everything entrusted in him, with great interest – compounding continuously. The more we trust him, the more he empowers us to do so. So, let us practice trusting him during quiet days, when nothing seems to be happening. Then when the great storms come, the interest of our trust will be sufficient to see us through.
It is said that sometimes the Lord calms the storm; sometimes he lets the storm rage and calms his child.
Parokya ni Osong 