Jb 38:1.8-11
Then the Lord answered Job out o the storm and said:
Who shut within the sea,
when it burst forth from the womb,
when I made the clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling bands?
When I set limits for it and fastened the bar of its door,
And I said: Thus far shall you come but no further,
and here shall your proud waves stop?
Second Reading
2 Cor 5:14-17
For the love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore all have died. He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer. So whoever is in Christ is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.
Gospel Reading
Mt 4:35-41
With the coming of evening that same day, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let us cross over to the other side'. And leaving the crowd behind they took him, just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him. Then it began to blow a gale and the waves were breaking into the boat so that is was almost the waves were breaking into the boat so that it was almost swamped. But he was in the stern, his head on the cushion asleep. They woke him and said to him, 'Master, do you not care? We are going down!' And he woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea. 'Quiet now! Be calm!' And the wind dropped, and all was calm again. Then he said to them, 'Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?' They were filled with awe and said to one another, 'Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him'.
The Word in other words
One of the first things they taught me as a "bush missionary" was to take off my shoes before boarding the canoe. Crossing the wide river was dangerous and the canoes made of hollow tree trunks could capsize easily. Without shoes it was easier therefore to swim and save one's life. I was told that in the nearby village a group of pregnant mothers was on board the canoe. They had to be on the other side of the river to have medical checkup in the health center. A storm caught them by surprise and the canoe sank. Everybody drowned including the boatman who preferred to die with the mothers than to face the blame of the whole village. Lakes and rivers are more perilous than the sea. No wonder many people are scared of them.
In the Old Testament the waters were considered as a terrible monster and symbol of all negative and evil forces. If you see the big waves rocking through your boat and the strong winds blowing with horrifying sounds you can really be frightened. Only God was capable to tame the sea and prevent it from harming people. The setting of the Gospel today is in the Lake of Genesareth. Jesus asked the disciples to cross the other side and, while doing so, they fell asleep. A terrible storm came, so strong that even the disciples, mostly expert fishermen, panicked. They woke Jesus up, "Master, do you now care? We are going down!" Jesus talked to the sea as if addressing a person:"Quiet now! Be calm!" A great calm followed. Now Jesus questioned them in return: "Why are you so frightened? Have you still no faith?"
Mark recounts the story to impart many lessons. Leaving the shore, the stable ground, to cross the rocking waters is to take a risk. Following Jesus entails letting go of our security and being ready to face danger for a cause. The consolation is we are not alone; we are on the same boat with other disciples. In times of trouble we get the impression that Jesus doesn't care. He seems not to know that we are perishing. But he is just testing our faith. If the boat collapsed, he would have drowned, too. Note that Jesus did not say: "Have you no faith?" It is important to underline the word "still". That means that faith is not static, it is in constant growth. Later on the disciples' faith will grow and become so strong that Jesus is in the same boat with them. He is capable of calming all kinds of storms. Even the wind and the sea obey him.
