My dear Parishioners:
The gospel of this 12th Sunday of year B (Mark 4:35-41) challenges us to evaluate our “Storm theology”, that is, the way we react toward God when things go south; the way we handle our trust and what we believe about God when lifestorms hit our shores. We know that Lifestorms are inevitable as long as we breathe. Job says that life is “full of trouble” (Job 14:1) and in John 16:33, Jesus says “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.” So, as long as we live, we are either headed into a storm, in the middle of a storm, or coming out of one. Life is not one sided dimensioned; there is always the other side.
Christ, in this Gospel story, says to His disciples, “let us go to the other side” of the lake. On this side of the lake, Jesus had performed miracles, the crowd was happy, everything looked very good, and the disciples had faith in their master. Then, the sudden storm strikes while they were crossing to the other side. This is how life is. We are all one phone call away, one doctor’s visit, one conversation, one bad event, and suddenly, we are in a storm—a love one is gone, no longer employed, business gone under water, no longer able to pay bills, marriage/relationship is broken, etc. Bottomline, faith gets a good workout and can be tested when we are on the other side.
The question is, how do we respond when we are on the other side? Is God still a good God or a bad God for allowing things to happen? Is He a caring God or uncaring based on how He answers? Storms have the ability to bring to the surface what we truly believe about God and the truth about us and our faith. Storms will reveal to us whether we live by faith or by fear; whether our heart is full of trust or full of doubt; whether God is God in Himself or God because of His favors.
My friends, life storms are God’s opportunity to reveal and declare His glory and faithfulness. It is in the midst of a storm that God can demonstrate who He is, if He so chooses. So adversity is a great opportunity to exercise faith; to say yes to God so that He can do what He has promised to do. When Christ quenched the storm, the apostles wondered “who is this that even the winds obey Him”. Storms of life are perfect opportunities to praise and worship God, because by so doing, we activate and unleash His power into our situation, giving us cause for testimony, and God is gloried. As Scripture says, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so”.
The storms of life can make us questioned God’s love and faithfulness just like the apostles did in this story, like the Israelites did in the wilderness, and like Christ did on the Cross. This is what can happen when we become afraid because we are tempted to see God as less than He is, and we doubt His love and care for us. This is exactly what the evil one is hoping to accomplish. What the devil is after, in any adversity and storms of life, is not you but your faith in God. So, let us make sure that we do not let trials and tribulations blind us to who God is. Remember the words of Scripture, “My faithful one shall live by faith alone, and if he draws back, I have no pleasure in him” (Hebrews 10:37).
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